MakeMusic on Friday announced the release of Finale SongWriter 2007, a new version of its entry-level music notation software for Mac OS X and Windows. It costs $49.95.
Finale SongWriter 2007 lets you enter music via a computer keyboard, MIDI keyboard or by importing MIDI files. It lets you create sheet music, MP3 files and e-mail your songs to others.
You can click on notes on the staff to hear their pitch, dragging them up and down to find the pitches you want; add lyrics with multiple verses; change tempos; transpose to different keys; type a chord name and see its guitar fretboard; select drum grooves; add automatic harmonies; and see how more than 128 different instruments sound.
New to this release is a Universal binary that runs natively on Intel and PowerPC-based Macs; a coda system generator; “textured paper” to give you a more real-world look to your scores; real-time control of volume and pan; customizable reverb; improved playback controls; music XML import and export and more.
A feature-limited demo is available. System requirements call for a G4 or better and Mac OS X v10.3.9, a CD or DVD-ROM drive, 800 x 600 resolution, 256MB RAM and 200MB hard disk space. MIDI connectivity is optional.
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