Hello Mike,
Could you please fill in the blanks below - as *you* think the
freeware request should appear on the web page. My knowledge is
lacking in many areas and I'd much prefer that this be done by the
person who has a request.
There's a good question - the problem is my knowledge is faulty too,
however
PROGRAM: Midi Editor with good staff note entry
REQUIREMENTS: To open midi multitrack files, and show editable musical
staves, probably eight at least; to play the files through the computer
so that effects of edits can be heard
WHY NEEDED: It is difficult to compose or edit music in midi, (though
possible by experts, I think), as midi notation is totally different from
staff notation, coonsisting basically of a very long list of note
durations and timings.
Also midi event list and piano roll editing are very difficult from the
traditional music viewpoint, but midi is the fundamental way to write and
edit music on the computer; other sorts of "studio" program just
manipulate pre-existing sounds.
Noteworthy composer has good note entering, but saves in it's own file
format and does not preserve a lot of midi information, ie pan.
My 1995 Cakewalk Express is good on most fronts, but deficient on staff
entry - I don't know what the modern version does as there isn't even a
demo version.
I do not believe there is any freeware that can do the above, though I
have come across single track programs, though I've tried so many I can't
recomember what they are. You need two staves even for piano, four for
choral, and six for choral plus basic accompaniment.
I don't know how many tracks groups and ensembles require, but I bet it's
at least that many.
I hope that helps- I feel a bit of a fraud filling out an order for a
mini-Sibelius and asking someone to do it for free, but you did ask!
Sorry about the verbosity, that's just me - do edit at will
mike r
