Notation Software for GarageBand

[captsandwich]

I just got an iMac and have started messing with GarageBand. I want to fiddle with melodies, then print out the various parts and bring them to my band, the horn section in particular (I can't read or write music, they're all accomplished jazz players). Can anyone recommend saoftware to do this? The free-er the better.

[bitzerguy]

I don't know too much about Garageband yet, but if it can convert and output your analog recorded music to a MIDI file, you might try Finale Notebook. It's free:

http://www.finalemusic.com/notepad

I use Finale Allegro with my PC. This is MIDI software, though. You need to get your music into a MIDI format somehow.

To get the guitar parts in to the software, I use a Godin SA guitar with the 13 pin synth access port. For the rest I use a Yamaha Portasound keyboard to generate the MIDI and Finale to map any other instruments I need. It's not like having real musicians playing real instruments, but it's close enough to communicate the concept to my band, and it generates scores for everyone, and for copyright purposes.

...Dean

[tony_carey]

Thanks for the info Dean. Years ago, I used to use Finale Coda? Very expensive, but I had a need for it then. It was superb, so Finale have obviously been doing this for a long time.

Unfortunately Greg, I don't know anything about garage band, so I can't offer an opinion on compatibility.

[captsandwich]

Thanks guys. I'll check out Finale. I'll be using my wife's Yamaha P200 as a midi trigger, so that's how I will be writing horn & keyboard parts.
I'll be in here a lot asking questions as I try to figure this out. I'm a 'midiot'!

[amcrory]

AFAIK, Garageband has a notation feature (MIDI, not "real instrument").

-a

[captsandwich]

Andrew,
how do you print out music from Garageband? Nobody on my GB forum has a solution. GB Does not export midi files so my solution thus far: open GB, open Finale Notepad, look at the staff in GB, manually input the same notes into Finale, print.

[liquidc2]

I have used everything - CakeWalk, Finale, Sibelius, Garageband. In my experience, the best notation software out there is Sibelius for ease of use and reliability. Finale notepad is free, but clumsy and a real pain. I love Garageband and use it for a basic recording studio. Its great on my budget!

As for garageband, you can not notate in garage band, but you can manipulate notes on a staff or print parts. To begin with, you must enter in midi notes using a keyboard first, not a real time instrument. Then you can edit the notes by sliding them around with a mouse. By using the "Quantize note timing" feature, you fix inaccuracies in the dispersion of the beat. That is about it. If your software instrument track is green, this means you have notation available by selecting the little scissors at the bottom LEFT corner and then selecting "score" from the area that pops up.

If you like garage band but want more powerful notation features, I believe Logic Pro or the cheaper Logic Express from mac allows for more notation. It is not free.

To export from Garageband to Finale Notepad, I believe you need Music XML files, but again this is midi. You could contact Apple support or the makes of finale for details on how that is done. I am not currently aware of a way to do this, if at all.

[johnhall]

It'a a bit convoluted but you can use the Midio AU plug in to output midi from GarageBand. You then have to capture the midi stream back either with a looped cable or software null midi port into Sibelius, Finale, or whatever DAW you normally use.