In Technology in Music Education this week, we looked at varying notation softwares. We first looked at MuseScore; a free program. Personally I have used MuseScore for about a year now and I have found the layout very simple to use and easy to follow.
We did learn that we can copy and paste high quality graphics using MuseScore, and this can especially be useful when developing resources for students (see left).
MuseScore also allows you to send a score to a cloud online. Here, students have access to a download link which will load the file into their own MuseScore. This will be useful as a teacher when sharing interactive worksheets, for example. MuseScore also allows you to export to XML, MP3, MIDI, PDF, and send to YouTube.
Sibelius is the notation software I am most familiar with, as I used it countlessly in high school. It has the same export features as MuseScore. It also allows you to generate a versions log to track progress, a worksheet creator for students, and an ideas panel for composition.
In groups we looked at Flat.io and Noteflight (my group explored NoteFlight). NoteFlight is a web browser based notation program. It also has a feature called NoteFlight marketplace, where scores can be purchased. In America, people use the marketplace app to dodge copyright.
Finally we talked about Copyright:
According to copyright law you need permission to go arranging songs. As a teacher, we can contact APRA AMCOS, let them know you want to arrange <insert song here> for your school choir, for example. APRA will find out for you if a license is available, and these could be a couple thousand dollars.
The Fair Use Copyright Law is evident in America; however we aren’t covered by it in Australia. This means, if you have commercially purchased sheet music to use, and slightly alter the French horn part for a beginner French horn player, you’ve technically broken copyright law in Australia. You would need to get permission from APRA AMCOS. Or similarly, if you’ve purchased a MIDI file, and transpose the file and slow it down, you have also broken copyright law.