Chris Swaffer’s Notion of where music notation software is headed

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Rebecca Ferguson (A HOUSE OF DYNAMITE) 39:04

לפני 9 ימים39:04

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39:04

For the first time, Skip Intro goes to The Paris Theater in Manhattan to sit down with Rebecca Ferguson who stars as Captain Olivia Walker in A HOUSE OF DYNAMITE . Directed by Oscar-winning Kathryn Bigelow, the film was screened this month at the historic 535-seat theater — NYC’s longest-running arthouse cinema. Ferguson shares what it was like to read the powerful script written by Noah Oppenheim and how working with Bigelow was unlike any other experience on set. The Mission Impossible actor also talks about jumping off the roof of the Vienna State Opera with Tom Cruise, Denis Villeneuve’s love of veils and jingle jangles in Dune , and teases Netflix’s upcoming Peaky Blinders movie with Cillian Murphy. Video episodes available on Still Watching Netflix YouTube Channel. Listen to more from Netflix Podcasts .…

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Notion is one of the oldest and most ubiquitous music notation software products available today. With its roots stretching back to Musicprinter Plus, a program invented in the 1990s, to today, with native apps on virtually all major desktop and mobile operating systems, Notion has always been at the vanguard of music notation software. Notion was one of the first applications to include high-quality orchestral samples with their software, and appeared on the iPad more than a decade before we saw Dorico and Sibelius release iPad versions of their products.

Notion’s product manager Chris Swaffer has been there for most of those developments, and he joins Scoring Notes podcast co-hosts Philip Rothman and David MacDonald to tell us more about what Notion is, who it’s for, and where it’s headed — particularly in the aftermath of its acquisition by Fender, Notion’s second such move, after first being acquired by PreSonus. We first learn about Chris’s early days in the field and how he came to work on Notion, and how his experience as a composer and conductor informs his very important role. We also hear how Notion has been steadily upgrading its codebase to align with its Studio One DAW, and why its versatility is important for the product’s strategy in a very crowded marketplace.

Chris Swaffer’s Notion of where music notation software is headed

Scoring Notes

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Cleo Huggins, the designer of the first music font [encore] 58:38

לפני 4 ימים58:38

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We talk a lot about fonts on the Scoring Notes podcast. But there was a time when there were no music fonts. And then, there was one. Cleo Huggins, on the staff of Adobe in 1986, designed Sonata, the very first music font. It’s hard to imagine today, but it was revolutionary at the time, and a leading industry publication called it the “Music Product of the Year”. Sonata provided the blueprint for the core music fonts later created for use in Finale and Sibelius, but it may surprise you to learn that Sonata was created without any one particular music software product in mind. Cleo tells Philip Rothman and David MacDonald about her early studies with some of the great typographic experts of the 1970 and 1980s, and how her work in graphic design, 3-D animation, background as a violinist, and a key meeting with Steve Jobs about the launch of the first Macintosh computer all led to her taking responsibility for creating Sonata. Cleo discusses the revolution in PostScript technology and the introduction of the laser printer, and how that made it possible for her to create a high quality music font that was unconstrained by limitations of bitmapping. She recalls the various sources of inspiration and research she did — everything from Bach’s manuscript to the Music Writer, to Notaset dry transfer sheets — and the process of regularizing beautiful calligraphy without losing the distinctive elements of music notation. She also recalls thinking about all the minute details from careful placement to the key mapping of each character, and the feedback received from early music software pioneers eager to incorporate Sonata into their programs. Cleo’s career moved on from Sonata to a variety of endeavors, all propelled by a deep curiosity and propensity to good, and we talk about that too — and ask her if she’d ever come back to the world of music fonts, with all of the progress that has taken place in the nearly four decades since her groundbreaking work transformed the history of music notation. More on Scoring Notes: Music Type Foundry fonts newly revised and re-released Download and install all Finale fonts on Mac and Windows MuseScore Studio 4.6 adds full SMuFL support, other engraving and playback updates Cantorum, a plainchant font for Dorico Introducing Lelandia, a new suite of music fonts for Sibelius Daniel Spreadbury on music fonts: past, present, and future Music fonts and open standards with Daniel Spreadbury A brief history of music notation on computers Back to the future of music notation on computers How to make a SMuFL font A fount of fonts at Notation Central Introducing the Norfolk and Pori chord symbol fonts for Sibelius — and an angled slash variant From the Finale Blog: Meet Steve Peha, creator of Petrucci, Finale’s first music font A brief history of Finale fonts…

Scoring Notes

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The lowdown on updates 1:07:11

לפני 5 weeks1:07:11

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Recent updates abound in Dorico, MuseScore Studio, Sibelius, and across the Apple operating systems. Whether you use all of these products or just one of them, we help you get current with the latest features and improvements, so that you can make the most of the notation software and the operating systems they run on. More from Scoring Notes: Music notation software and macOS Tahoe Dorico 6.1: Select more MuseScore Studio 4.6 adds full SMuFL support, other engraving and playback updates Sibelius 2025.7 brings note spacing control, UI updates Sibelius updated to 2025.8 File system tools mentioned: Onyx CleanMyMac…

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With freelancing comes responsibility 1:20:05

לפני 10 weeks1:20:05

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Freelancing is a kind of freedom. Freedom from a regular schedule, an office, or a permanent boss. But with freelance work comes responsibility. Part of your job as a freelancer is deciding what the work should be and finding the clients who are going pay you to do it. Not only are you responsible to them, but you’re responsible for yourself, your family, the tax man, and more. In the music notation software and related technology world of Scoring Notes, it’s possible to have freelance work in which those tools are used regularly. Paul Beck is principal librarian of the Milwaukee Symphony, concert librarian for Renée Fleming, and formerly librarian at, among other institutions, The Metropolitan Opera, The Juilliard School, and the Aspen Music Festival & School. Paul joins Philip Rothman and David MacDonald to talk all about his decades of experience both as a freelance music preparer and salaried performance librarian, and to offer a wealth of insights and practical advice for anyone seeking freedom — and responsibility — as a freelancer. This wide-ranging and detailed conversation explores the methods and manners of pursuing freelance work; the differences and similarities among being a freelancer, independent contractor, part-time employee, and full-time employee — and the benefits and drawbacks of each; managing your time and boundaries as a freelancer; the importance of mentors; essential tools; and specific advice about finances, invoices, and payment processing options. More from Scoring Notes: An interview with librarian Paul Beck Road report: Copland’s Rodeo in Milwaukee How to charge for music preparation Chronology of a perfect music printing job The tale of the tape The staples of printing self-published music…

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You have questions, we have answers 1:11:51

לפני 13 weeks1:11:51

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We open the Scoring Notes mailbag, contemplate the musings of our audience, and try to leave no question unanswered in this fun and informative podcast episode. More from Scoring Notes, referenced in this episode: Finale’s twilight zone: Ensuring a smooth ride into the sunset Using Finale in the unsupported era Leaving Finale behind The rights stuff, with Jim Kendrick Scanning the current OMR landscape Partying with parts, part 1 Partying with parts, part 2 Working with page numbers in Sibelius Better Sibelius slurs for opposite stem direction on outer notes Marie Chupeau and the human side of Newzik’s artificial intelligence From “zero to slice”: Soundslice takes on optical music recognition with AI Sibelius 2022.5 brings multi-section headers, other workflow boosts…

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Send us your questions! (plus a classic episode) 1:05:17

לפני 19 weeks1:05:17

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Have you ever listened to an episode of the Scoring Notes podcast and wished you could ask a question directly on the show? Two years ago, we opened up the phone lines directly, so to speak, and they were jam-packed! So much so, that we ended up devoting three episodes to answering those burning queries. You can find Part 1 , Part 2 , and Part 3 in the podcast archives. Well, time and technology moves fast, so it’s time we do it again. Whether you’re a “long-timer” or a “first-timer”, all are welcome to ask a question about anything in the world of music notation software and related technology — or really, any one of the adjacent subjects we’ve covered on the Scoring Notes podcast or web site, and we may feature it an upcoming episode. Just record your question as a voice memo and drop it directly here , or send it as an email attachment or as a file-sharing link to podcast@scoringnotes.com . We’d love it if you provide your name (first name only is OK), where in the world you’re calling from, and what music notation software you use — or if you don’t use it at all (yes, we have quite a few listeners in that camp). If you’re shy, you can alternatively write your question in an email and send it to us. Send us your question no later than Monday, July 14, 2025 . From the archive: How we don’t use music notation software (but do use related technology) The rest of today’s episode is a classic one from March 2023, and perhaps it will spur some new questions. Sometimes music notation software is perfect for the job, but other times, it’s the related technology that’s better suited to the task. Fortunately, we cover both sides of the equation on Scoring Notes — and it’s the latter part that Philip Rothman and David MacDonald discuss on this podcast episode. When creating scores and parts, music notation software is clearly the choice. But what about front matter — the pages of text and sometimes other markings and symbols that preface the music? For that, better options may exist. We look at the pros and cons of making that material directly in music notation software, and suggest apps for when it’s helpful to split the job. We talk about some of our favorite apps specifically for working with PDFs and the surprising number of ways that you can edit a file using those apps — and may need to do so — without actually having access to the music notation files or the software. What about when you need to make music notation outside of notation software? For that, there is a whole suite of fonts designed to create music notation within non-music apps. They’re called MusFonts, and Dan Kreider created them to fill this niche. For many users, creating audio is an essential component of music notation software, and we outline ways to complement the built-in process of making MIDI mockups with other software without getting too complicated. Finally, we give a shout-out to our favorite piece of related technology. More from Scoring Notes: Export PDF to true black in Finale, and a macro for all parts Fix printing problems with Sibelius, PDFs, and Acrobat Quickly scale many PDFs with PDF-BatchScale Make booklets and 2-ups with PDF-BatchBooklet PDF-MusicBinder and PDF-BatchStitch utilities for music printing File renaming and PDF batch utilities MusGlyphs, an advanced music text font MusGlyphs updated to 2.1; text version added MusAnalysis, an advanced font for musical analysis MusFrets, a font for chord diagrams Introducing Ambitus, a new font for pitch incipits, scales, and range diagrams Preparing teaching materials in music notation software “Playing” with notation software, part 1 of 2 “Playing” with notation software, part 2 of 2 Apps and fonts we talk about: Microsoft Word Apple Pages Affinity Adobe Acrobat PDF-BatchScale PDF-BatchStitch PDF-BatchBooklet PDF-MusicBinder PDF Squeezer PDF Expert MusGlyphs MusAnalysis MusFrets Ambitus…

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MOLA 2025 conference and tech fair wrap-up 53:57

לפני 22 weeks53:57

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Hosted by The University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the 43rd annual conference of MOLA: An Association of Performance Librarians ran from May 30 through June 2, 2025, and brought together music librarians, publishers, vendors, composers, performers, and technology enthusiasts. The 2025 conference was the first one hosted by a university, reflecting the organization’s broader membership. It spotlighted the working environments of the academic performance librarian and offered opportunities to cross-pollinate ideas across ensemble tiers and types. On the podcast, David MacDonald and Philip Rothman recap the 2025 MOLA Conference recorded in person from the University of Michigan, with a summary of the tech fair and conference sessions on broadening access, copyright, professional development, IMSLP, and much more. And, if you like your podcasts in video format, we have a special treat for you: A video of this podcast episode, recorded live . More from Scoring Notes: Road report: MOLA 2025 Conference…

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Daniel Spreadbury on Dorico 6: “Our largest release to date” 1:19:18

לפני 27 weeks1:19:18

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Steinberg’s product marketing manager Daniel Spreadbury returns to the podcast to discuss Dorico 6 and its bevy of features for music composers and preparers. Daniel talks in-depth with Philip Rothman and David MacDonald about a few of the headline items, especially those that are unique to Dorico. The new proofreading tool continuously scans a project looking for potential pitfalls, and the cutaway scores feature makes quick work of what was once a tedious effort. We explore those key elements of Dorico 6 along with cycle playback, grids, fill view, chord symbols, and more, learning more about their origins and what’s planned for the future. We also reflect with Daniel about the software’s trajectory in the past decade. Dorico has gotten ever more capable in the audio area in recent years, more deeply integrated with Cubase, Steinberg’s digital audio workstation, and Daniel takes us behind the scenes to tell us about the decisions and development plans in those areas. Finale’s end has also brought challenges and opportunities for the Dorico team, and we discuss how Steinberg’s partnership with MakeMusic and its endorsed path to Dorico has influenced the product’s direction over the past year. More from Scoring Notes: Dorico 6 review: Proof positive…

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Tune Tech: Distortion, sequencers, Auto-Tune, and more 39:15

לפני 31 weeks39:15

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We’re very pleased to bring you this episode, and more to come in the future, thanks to our friends at Twenty Thousand Hertz , a podcast that tells the stories behind the world’s most recognizable and interesting sounds. From electric guitars to samplers to drum machines and beyond, the music we love is only possible thanks to the technology used to create it. In many ways, the history of popular music is really a history of technological innovation. In this episode, Twenty Thousand Hertz partnered with BandLab to unpack four inventions that changed music forever. Featuring author and journalist Greg Milner . Music featured in this episode: Original music by Wesley Slover Prelude by Ghostnaut To Little, With Love by Elvin Vanguard And All the Rest by Dream Cave Subtractions by Epocha To Find You (with KYAND) by Modera Out Linear by Sweet Stare Grumpalo by High Horse Grand Theft by Katori Walker One Day by Ten Towers Hopscotch Bop by Stan Forebee I Feel You by Yuppycult Swing Step by iamalex Here With You by Super Duper Twenty Thousand Hertz is produced out of the studios of Defacto Sound, and hosted by D allas Taylor .…

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Holding court with Brian McBrearty, forensic musicologist 54:00

לפני 36 weeks54:00

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If you hear the term “forensic musicologist” and conjure up detectives with fingerprint dusters and a magnifying glass, well, metaphorically you’re not far off. The job of a forensic musicologist is to apply musical knowledge to questions around copyright, explain musical facts, and put them into context so that a court can arrive at a decision with the best information available. Brian McBrearty is a forensic musicologist, and he joins Philip Rothman and David MacDonald to discuss real-world cases of music infringement and the multi-dimensional approach that he takes in his analyses. We tackle the question of music notation and how it plays a role in Brian’s process, and talk tech — including the acceleration in artificial intelligence, both as a potential means of forensic analysis, and as a creator of potentially infringing content. More on Scoring Notes: The rights stuff, with Jim Kendrick…

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NAMM 2025: An interview with John Barron 29:23

לפני 37 weeks29:23

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At the 2025 NAMM Show, we interviewed representatives from the businesses in our field of music notation software and related technology. This podcast episode is a conversation Philip Rothman had with John Barron, the international product specialist for Dorico. NAMM offers representatives like John the opportunity to meet with customers from both the notation and audio sides of the music community. We spoke about the new Dorico-powered score editor in Cubase that appeals to a large cross-section of users, and how Dorico fits into the wider world of Steinberg and Yamaha products. We also discussed industry developments and what he’s hearing from Finale users as they explore the officially-endorsed migration path to Dorico. Be sure to check out our other conversations from the NAMM Show from earlier this month. And as always, if you like this podcast episode, there’s plenty more for you from Scoring Notes — be sure to follow us right in your podcast player. More about the 2025 NAMM Show from Scoring Notes: NAMM 2025: On the scene NAMM 2025: Decondensing Sibelius with Avid’s Sam Butler NAMM 2025: Imbibing transcribing with Oriol López Calle NAMM 2025: Musing on software and design with Martin Keary NAMM 2025: On with the show with Steinberg’s John Barron NAMM 2025: An interview with Avid’s Sam Butler NAMM 2025: An interview with Oriol López Calle NAMM 2025: An interview with Martin Keary…

Scoring Notes

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NAMM 2025: An interview with Martin Keary 35:23

לפני 38 weeks35:23

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At the 2025 NAMM Show, we interviewed representatives from the businesses in our field of music notation software and related technology. This podcast episode is a conversation Philip Rothman had with Martin Keary, the head of software for Muse Group. Martin spoke with me about the conversations he had at NAMM about some of the exciting possibilities for MuseScore collaborations and integrations with other app makers in the future. More practically, we also discussed recent MuseScore development efforts and some of the new features we can expect to see in upcoming releases, as well as the role that industry changes like the end of Finale played in the road map for the software. Come back next week for more conversations from the NAMM Show. And as always, if you like this podcast episode, there’s plenty more for you from Scoring Notes — be sure to follow us right in your podcast player. More about the 2025 NAMM Show from Scoring Notes: NAMM 2025: On the scene NAMM 2025: Decondensing Sibelius with Avid’s Sam Butler NAMM 2025: Imbibing transcribing with Oriol López Calle NAMM 2025: Musing on software and design with Martin Keary NAMM 2025: On with the show with Steinberg’s John Barron NAMM 2025: An interview with Avid’s Sam Butler NAMM 2025: An interview with Oriol López Calle…

Scoring Notes

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NAMM 2025: An interview with Oriol López Calle 32:30

לפני 39 weeks32:30

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At the 2025 NAMM Show, we interviewed representatives from the businesses in our field of music notation software and related technology. This podcast episode is a conversation Philip Rothman had with Oriol López Calle from My Sheet Music Transcriptions, a service that he founded in 2011 that has since grown to employ dozens of people and serve tens of thousands of customers. Oriol told us about his company’s approach to their work, which includes not only transcribing but a full range of music preparation tasks. We also discussed technological innovations that have already transformed the business and those that we expect to do so in the future. Come back the next couple of weeks for more conversations from the NAMM Show. And as always, if you like this podcast episode, there’s plenty more for you from Scoring Notes — be sure to follow us right in your podcast player. More about the 2025 NAMM Show from Scoring Notes: NAMM 2025: On the scene NAMM 2025: Decondensing Sibelius with Avid’s Sam Butler NAMM 2025: Imbibing transcribing with Oriol López Calle NAMM 2025: Musing on software and design with Martin Keary NAMM 2025: On with the show with Steinberg’s John Barron NAMM 2025: An interview with Avid’s Sam Butler…

Scoring Notes

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NAMM 2025: An interview with Avid’s Sam Butler 25:55

לפני 40 weeks25:55

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At the 2025 NAMM Show, we interviewed representatives from the businesses in our field of music notation software and related technology. This podcast episode is a conversation Philip Rothman had with Sam Butler, Avid’s director of product management. Sam talked with us about the new decondensing parts feature in Sibelius that Avid previewed at NAMM, and he celebrated the award that his team received for last year’s release of the Android app. He also shared his thoughts on the industry’s developments over the past year, the direction that he anticipates for the future, and what it all means for Sibelius customers. Come back the next few weeks for more conversations from the NAMM Show. And as always, if you like this podcast episode, there’s plenty more for you from Scoring Notes — be sure to follow us right in your podcast player. More about the 2025 NAMM Show from Scoring Notes: NAMM 2025: On the scene NAMM 2025: Decondensing Sibelius with Avid’s Sam Butler NAMM 2025: Imbibing transcribing with Oriol López Calle NAMM 2025: Musing on software and design with Martin Keary NAMM 2025: On with the show with Steinberg’s John Barron…

Scoring Notes

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From cylinders to streaming 40:38

לפני 44 weeks40:38

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This episode was written by Andrew Anderson. We’re very pleased to bring you this episode, and more to come in the future, thanks to our friends at Twenty Thousand Hertz , a podcast that tells the stories behind the world’s most recognizable and interesting sounds. The history of recorded sound stretches back over a hundred and fifty years, starting with a device that could “record” a voice on a piece of paper. Today, we can enjoy lossless streaming anywhere we go… but getting here wasn’t easy. In this episode, our friends at Twenty Thousand Hertz worked with Qobuz , the high quality music platform, to chart the history of audio mediums, from cylinders made of tin foil and wax, to vinyl, 8-track, cassette, CDs, and mp3s. Along the way, they explore the innovations and quirks of each format, with memories sent in from their listeners and the 20K team. Featuring Adam Tovell from the British Library Sound Archive . Then, stay tuned afterwards as David MacDonald and Philip Rothman tie all of this “related technology” back to the “music notation” portion of the Scoring Notes mission, and explore how music notation and recorded sound are complementary sides of what makes a song a song. Further reading: What Is a Song? , by Ben Sisario from The New York Times , about the copyright questions raised in the lawsuit involving Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On” and Ed Sheeran’s song “Thinking Out Loud”. Further listening: The [COMPRESSED] history of mastering Music featured in this episode: Original music by Wesley Slover Steppin Intro by Sound of Picture Paraphrase on Sleeping Beauty by Paul Pabst Greylock by Skittle Lonely Summertime by The Rockin’ Berries Ding Dong by Niklas Gabrielsson Bebop Blues by Vendla Living Memories by Golden Age Radio Gin Boheme by Vermouth Forever in Love With a Ghost by PÄR You Oughta Know by Rockin’ For Decades Back in Time by They Fall Pink Gloves by J.F. Gloss Dreamweavers by Sven Lindvall & Daniel Fridell No One Knows But Me by Torii Wolf Tour 505 by Epocha Blipper by Sound of Picture October by UTAH Do You by KENA Twenty Thousand Hertz is produced out of the studios of Defacto Sound, and hosted by D allas Taylor . Art by Divya Tak .…

Scoring Notes

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A snapshot of music scanning apps, and picturing the future 55:33

לפני 47 weeks55:33

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Music scanning technology, or optical music recognition (OMR) if you like, has been around for decades, and yet in many ways is still barely out of infancy. But that could soon change as classic algorithm-based desktop programs converge with newer mobile apps and web-based machine learning tools. Steve Morell joins Philip Rothman and David MacDonald to discuss his review of six of those products that run the gamut of those technologies: Newzik, Soundslice, PlayScore 2, Sheet Music Scanner, SmartScore 64 Pro 64 NE, and ScanScore Professional. He takes on through his process of testing each of them from the common perspective of a user wanting to get a quick and accurate scan for exporting via MusicXML to other software such as Sibelius, Dorico, or MuseScore. However, those applications have many other use cases. We explore those as well, and how each of the products may be suited to one particular use or another in their own way. We also envision where the industry is headed and how these technologies could potentially evolve in the future. Read the full Scoring Notes review: Scanning the current OMR landscape…

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