Songworks
macOS / Musique
How often do you see a music notation program that can also suggest melody ideas in any key, with chords, or chords to go with your melody, or melody to go with your chords? Songworks 4 allows easy entry of melodies, chord symbols, and lyrics - for anything from a simple song to a chorale or instrumental arrangement - but it can also stimulate your musical imagination by inventing tune and harmony ideas using its own artificial intelligence.
Songworks supports both standard notation and alternatives such as Shape Notes (both 5 and 7- shape systems, with shapes automatically chosen), stemless, stick, and x-head notation, all at any scaling, from tiny notes to big ones. In version 4 you can now edit music either in page or panorama view, and control over spacing between staff systems can vary as needed. There is no set number of measures per line - just enter notes, rests, and other symbols, slide them left or right, up or down, delete them or add new ones as desired, and Songworks will adjust to make the music look good. Lyric text can be typed as a complete line of poetry - type a space or hyphen between syllables and the Songworks will line the syllables up with notes as needed.
Chord symbols in Songworks are audible, playing with various accompaniment patterns to give you a better idea of how the chords work with a melody. You can quickly transpose any piece to a different key, or use various composition tools to develop melody (inversion, retrograde, etc.).
In addition to tools for writing your own music you have access in the file menu to the Ars Nova online music library, with many sample files for example or play-along - including Bach Chorales, viol and recorder compositions by Dowland, Byrd, Jenkins and others (including an option to sound at A415 instead of A440), traditional songs, fiddle tunes with chords, Christmas carols, Handel's entire Messiah, harmonized etudes for violin or viola practice, and more.
Quoi de neuf dans la dernière version ?
Version 4.072 improves the placing of symbols such as first ending/second ending, fermata, etc. - they will stick right where you drag them without needing the nudge tool, and are functional unless you turn off the "observe repeats" option. These are handy if you're wanting to play along.
If you don't yet have the previous 4.070 update, that one features improvements to the 'active listening' feature that lets you tap the rhythm of one part in a composition while hearing the others follow you. The other parts will wait for you where appropriate and continue on their own in places where your chosen part doesn't have notes. When listening 'the normal way' the beat marker display in page view is improved, and when in "panomama" (left-right) view the scrolling keeps up better. You can of course still view your music at any zoom level, and print it at any magnification - anything from an orchestra score with tiny notes and many measures per line, to big easy-to-read notes for children.
