Finale for iOS?

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thankfuldawg
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Post by thankfuldawg » Tue Jun 25, 2019 10:26 pm

Are we any closer to getting Finale on an iPad? Am I dreaming or is this a possibility?

For that matter, does anyone know if Sibelius or any other programs will work at a sophisticated level?

I use a Mac.


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MikeHalloran
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Post by MikeHalloran » Wed Jun 26, 2019 12:10 am

A stab was made and abandoned years ago — I’m remembering 2012, perhaps?

Notion for iOS pretty much came out with the iPad and has gotten pretty good over the years. It’s inexpensive @ $14.99, supports the Apple Pencil and uses MusicXML to exchange with Finale/Sibelius/Notion etc. It’s good enough that Android users have been complaining for years that it hasn’t been ported over (the Notion app for Android isn’t musical notation).

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/notion/id475820434

I would surprise me if anyone at MM is serious about Finale for iOS.
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miker
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Post by miker » Wed Jun 26, 2019 12:57 am

At this point, I sometimes wonder if they are serious about Finale.
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Bill Reed
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Post by Bill Reed » Wed Jun 26, 2019 1:02 am

Amen Mike. Seems like they have one part time programmer...
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thankfuldawg
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Post by thankfuldawg » Wed Jun 26, 2019 3:23 pm

Thanks for the information.

Do you guys know if it is possible to move files from Finale back an forth from Notion to Finale?

That would seem to be an essential function.

Thanks

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miker
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Post by miker » Wed Jun 26, 2019 3:36 pm

You can do it as XML files.
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thankfuldawg
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Post by thankfuldawg » Wed Jun 26, 2019 3:59 pm

When you move xml files back and forth do they maintain all of the settings and open looking and functioning the same in both programs?

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miker
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Post by miker » Wed Jun 26, 2019 7:06 pm

I don’t think so. I suspect that formatting will be lost. I would just use the back and forth to get the notes in. Then, stick to Finale for layout.
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thankfuldawg
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Post by thankfuldawg » Wed Jun 26, 2019 7:39 pm

Thanks Mike

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MikeHalloran
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Post by MikeHalloran » Thu Jun 27, 2019 1:24 am

thankfuldawg wrote:When you move xml files back and forth do they maintain all of the settings and open looking and functioning the same in both programs?
Of course not.

One app is on iOS while the other is on a desktop with a ton more resources.

You are not likely to begin a project on the desktop and finish on an iPad. The heavy lifting and layout is done on the desktop — as it should be.
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karlkaminski
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Post by karlkaminski » Thu Jun 03, 2021 4:21 pm

Now that the M1 Macs have been released, the coming convergence/unity of OS systems may get Finale one step closer to using an pencil to handwrite scores instead of midi input.

Im dying to go back to the 'good ol days' of pencil in hand for score writing!

Anyone doing this yet? (without the hassle of file swaps or OCR scanning)

oldmkvi
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Post by oldmkvi » Thu Jun 03, 2021 4:26 pm

I spent SO Many hours writing and copying music by hand.
The result?
PAIN.
No way I'm going back!
Not even on the Computer.

SickBoy
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Post by SickBoy » Thu Jun 03, 2021 5:39 pm

karlkaminski wrote:
Thu Jun 03, 2021 4:21 pm
convergence/unity of OS systems may get Finale one step closer
Not even close to accurate. Just because iOS apps run natively on arm64 macs does not mean Finale's deep and convoluted codebase can be pushbutton ported in the opposite direction.

Bill Stevens
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Post by Bill Stevens » Thu Jun 03, 2021 5:42 pm

I'm with Old mkvi regarding doing scores by hand in olden days. In addition to eye strain, I did erasures with a razor blade, leading to nearly finished pages ruined by spilled ink and blood spatter.

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motet
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Post by motet » Thu Jun 03, 2021 6:00 pm

I suppose a very intelligent program could recognize from pen gestures what you're trying to do and make it fast and efficient without you having to switch tools, etc., but I suspect that's ten years off or something like that. Meanwhile, take the trouble to really learn an engraving program, be it Finale or something else. The time you take to learn will more than pay off in time saved writing your music, and you'll likely cease to look back fondly on the pen and ink days.

oldmkvi
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Post by oldmkvi » Thu Jun 03, 2021 7:07 pm

Bill and Motet!
Tell it like it Was!!!
But won't be.
Anymore!

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David Ward
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Post by David Ward » Fri Jun 04, 2021 9:14 am

Somewhat off-topic, but…

I have a number of these little notebooks like the one pictured, just under 15 cm (6 in) high, in various pockets together with at least one 3B pencil, a small sharpener & an eraser. I jot down ideas as they come to me anywhere - up a mountain (not that I go up so many now I'm 80), in a forest, fishing a remote hill loch, waiting at a station &c. Or I may bring one out to illustrate something in conversation, or as an aid to memory if I hear something etc etc etc.

I would not like to rely on an electronic gadget for this sort of thing. I feel vastly less inhibited with pencil & paper than when circumscribed by software with its many constricting routines and procedures. Software is a wonderful time saving boon for the later stages, fair copies, parts, vocal scores and much, much more; but I rarely want to start with it.

The notebook shown was in a the pocket of a jacket I haven't worn since before first lockdown in March 2020! I'm not sure what the little pencil sketch was supposed to be for…
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Perotinus
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Post by Perotinus » Fri Jun 04, 2021 2:48 pm

Shades of Beethoven! Even with a reference to his conversation books!
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gogreen
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Post by gogreen » Fri Jun 04, 2021 5:46 pm

I still have manuscript paper stashed everywhere I go, but these days more often than not, I sing musical ideas into my iPhone's voice memos app. I then speak added information about the idea after I'm done singing. I then notate the idea into Finale. For me, that's so much easier and faster than trying to input notation on any iOS app. Sometimes, one burst of song in my iPhone quickly leads to further embellishment of the original idea. So by the time I would start notating my ideas correctly, I would have forgotten half of them. Singing into my iPhone is even easier and faster than using good ole' paper and pencil.
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Anders Hedelin
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Post by Anders Hedelin » Fri Jun 04, 2021 6:31 pm

I'm sure an iPad would suit some fine. Maybe not Sibelius though:
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MikeHalloran
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Post by MikeHalloran » Sat Jun 12, 2021 7:51 pm

gogreen wrote:
Fri Jun 04, 2021 5:46 pm
I still have manuscript paper stashed everywhere I go, but these days more often than not, I sing musical ideas into my iPhone's voice memos app. I then speak added information about the idea after I'm done singing. I then notate the idea into Finale. For me, that's so much easier and faster than trying to input notation on any iOS app. Sometimes, one burst of song in my iPhone quickly leads to further embellishment of the original idea. So by the time I would start notating my ideas correctly, I would have forgotten half of them. Singing into my iPhone is even easier and faster than using good ole' paper and pencil.
True that. Even though Music Memos has been depreciated, Voice Memos now has most (all?) of its functionality. I don't use it much.

And again, Notion for iOS has been out nearly a decade, is inexpensive and quite good. There are even in-app instrument purchases (I suppose they must benefit someone). Its MusicXML capabilities, though limited, are more than good enough so that one can finish any project in Finale.

No one I know over at Make Music is talking about porting Finale to iOS and Apple has made it very clear that MacOS and iPadOS will have different development paths.

It's interesting to read all the frothing at the keyboards by people going ape over promises that Apple never made such as Logic Pro on the iPad.
Mike Halloran

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