Which Notation Programs Import MusicXML Correctly?
I recorded a guitar arrangement in Mixcraft, used the Melodyne engine inside Mixcraft to turn it into MIDI, and cleaned it up in Guitar Pro. When I imported the MusicXML file into Dorico, it was a disaster. To find out whether the file was the problem, I imported the same MusicXML file into six notation programs and compared the results.
What I cover:
- Importing MusicXML into Dorico
- Finale
- Guitar Pro
- MuseScore
- Sibelius
- Noteflight
- The best and the worst
Last place: Dorico. It split chords apart and misread notes and timing all through the piece, so fixing it would take too much work. Importing from inside an open session also put the music an octave too low. Importing from the start screen fixed the octave, but there was still no TAB and the chords were still broken up.
Second worst: Noteflight. It randomly put some measures in the wrong octave. It’s fixable, but it’s extra work you shouldn’t have to do. Sibelius created good standard notation in the right octave for guitar, but there was no TAB. Guitar Pro loaded the file fast and the page looked good, but it still needed a fix, since one eighth note came back in as a quarter note.
The joint winners were Finale and MuseScore. Both came in correct with only minor fixes. Finale flagged one slur error in measure 23 and even played it back with a guitar sound. MuseScore 3 recognized the part as guitar and put it in the right octave, which is impressive for free software. Ironically, if Dorico could import MusicXML correctly, its note grouping would have been the easiest to read.
More on notation software: Guitar Pro 8 Review, Dorico 4 Tips and Tricks, TAB from MIDI with MuseScore and Create TAB in Mixcraft Pro.