Proofreading Questions

Discuss the rules of notation, standard notation practices, efficient notation practices and graphic design.
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John Ruggero
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Re: Proofreading Questions

Post by John Ruggero »

OCTO wrote:Yes, a great idea! In months to come I will do a massive work, and that would be of a great help (also sharing my experiences!).
I will start such a thread at some point, unless someone else wants to. It would be very interesting to hear your experiences in writing this work.
OCTO wrote:One of my first attempts to use Finale seriously was more than 15 y.a. when I did my Piano trio in Finale. Since I was copying everything by hand until than, I used that same approach: each measure must be done completely, and when one system was done, everything was controlled once again.
Looking now at that score I find it extremely beautiful. I used just plain default settings and fonts from Finale (Maestro, Times NR), and I even didn't know for many hidden features of that "Finale 2000".
I think that the beauty is hidden somewhere else, in the way music is engraved and proofread, how everything was fine tuned and, since only one person was doing that, the same aesthetic decisions were made across the score. Many of the current plugins were not developed at that time, and it was impossible to apply on the document level "beautifying beams" or whatever else
You were hand engraving with the help of a computer, relying on your eyes and instincts developed over years as a practical musician. This allowed your individuality to be expressed in the engraving. For me, the best computer tool for engraving will do the things that a computer does best supremely well, but also honor and facilitate the things that a human does best.
M1 Mac mini (OS 12.4), Dorico, Finale 25.5, GPO 4, Affinity Publisher 2, SmartScore 64 Pro, JW Plug-ins, TG Tools, Keyboard maestro

http://www.cantilenapress.com
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tisimst
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Re: Proofreading Questions

Post by tisimst »

John Ruggero wrote:For me, the best computer tool for engraving will do the things that a computer does best supremely well, but also honor and facilitate the things that a human does best.
What a beautiful statement.

The golden question, then: What kinds of things should a computer be able to do well when it comes to music engraving? Or rather, what do we want or expect the computer to do for us or take the drudgery out of? Since computers are really good at performing lots of calculations really fast, what would we expect it to calculate when it comes to music?

On the user side, ideally, the computer would facilitate *any* customization we throw at it, but practically, this may not be feasible with how software is written. So, what basic capabilities should the computer facilitate? I would love a generic alignment tool that allows you to snap two object's positions together easily, or space things evenly. I would also love a grouping/attaching function so that when one thing is moved another moves right along with it.

I think it may be helpful to enumerate the pros and cons of our favorite engraving apps, in this regard, but perhaps this is too off-topic here? I think this could lead to some very constructive discussions for the app developers to glean ideas for improving their apps.
Music Typeface Designer & Engraver - LilyPond | Sibelius | Finale | MuseScore | Dorico | SMuFL | Inkscape | FontForge
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OCTO
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Re: RE: Re: Proofreading Questions

Post by OCTO »

tisimst wrote:I would love a generic alignment tool that allows you to snap two object's positions together easily, or space things evenly. I would also love a grouping/attaching function so that when one thing is moved another moves right along with it.
Oh, yes. A kind of InDesign or Illustrator tool. Snapping, but not "magnetic" as in Sibelius.

tisimst wrote:I think it may be helpful to enumerate the pros and cons of our favorite engraving apps, in this regard, but perhaps this is too off-topic here? I think this could lead to some very constructive discussions for the app developers to glean ideas for improving their apps.
I would like to do it. Maybe in "digital notation tools" subforum, a kind of "how should slur work in an application" or so?
Freelance Composer. Self-Publisher.
Finale 27.3 • Sibelius 2023.5• MuseScore 4+ • Logic Pro X+ • Ableton Live 11+ • Digital Performer 10+ /// MacOS Monterey (secondary in use systems: Fedora 35, Windows 10)
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John Ruggero
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Re: Proofreading Questions

Post by John Ruggero »

tisimst wrote:The golden question, then: What kinds of things should a computer be able to do well when it comes to music engraving?
Thank you for your compliment, tismst!
OCTO wrote:I would like to do it. Maybe in "digital notation tools" subforum, a kind of "how should slur work in an application" or so?
That would be a very useful thread.
M1 Mac mini (OS 12.4), Dorico, Finale 25.5, GPO 4, Affinity Publisher 2, SmartScore 64 Pro, JW Plug-ins, TG Tools, Keyboard maestro

http://www.cantilenapress.com
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