NoteFlight and MuseScore

This week's assignment centered around two composition tools for the classroom, NoteFlight and MuseScore.  I've been writing music using computer software since middle school - first intermittently on Finale when I had access to others' computers with it or computer labs at school, and more recently using my own copy of Sibelius.  I've tried multiple notation software packages, including text-based programs like freeware LilyPond and the VexTab add-on available for Google Docs.  MuseScore and NoteFlight both are solid programs that could serve multiple educational purposes.

NoteFlight is a freemium-model browser-based notation and playback package. An account is required to access and use the service, but the only requirement to initiate an account is an email address (which needs to be accessed to then activate the account).  Free accounts are limited to 10 scores, a limitation that can be worked around if you are willing to register multiple accounts with multiple email addresses (gmail and yahoo accounts work great for this). 

NoteFlight primarily uses point-and-click entry although there are keyboard shortcuts that can be used in addition to the mouse.  Simple note entry is fairly straight forward, but finding articulations, expressions, and other more nuanced detail requires opening up menus that are not obvious at first glance.  The layout settings are somewhat challenging, as the sliders have no markings and you have to actually drag the pointer along the various sliders to find out what each parameter is set to.  Scores in NoteFlight cannot be broken out into parts with just the free version (although this limitation could probably be overcome by judicious use of copy, paste,  and keeping multiple instances of the program up in multiple tabs).

NoteFlight seems like it would be best suited to using in the classroom with students who are familiar with the basics of music notation, but who might not be completely sure of all of the requirements of arranging or composing a piece of music.  The limited palettes (when compared to larger notation software packages) remove complexity that could be challenging for novice composers.  The point-and-click entry would be easy to navigate when using an interactive whiteboard,  making NoteFlight a good choice for guided practice or modeling in the classroom. 

 Student composition assignments would also benefit from the sharing options. Users can select to allow others to view,  view and comment,  or directly edit work on a score-by-score basis.  Older students may benefit from sharing work with their instructor and receiving comments back without ever printing the work out, which also saves the instructor from having to lug stacks of in-progress scores back and forth for grading purposes. 


NoteFlight's limitations as freemium software really turn into annoyances more than anything.

MuseScore is a full notation program for download and installation.  I found it to be very intuitive, other that creating a new percussion score separate from the primary score. For those with Finale and Sibelius experience already, MuseScore will be second nature. Conversely, MuseScore will make a great entry point for secondary students studying more advanced composition and theory. Being freeware, MuseScore is not as visually appealing or highly supported as the more commercial Sibelius or Finale, but it does fill a needed niche for low/no cost notation software free from ads or freemium pricing structures for advanced features. 

All things considered, both NoteFlight and MuseScore can be valuable notation programs in the classroom. I'm looking forward to introducing some of my students to these programs in the near future.