BP8_2009102_Web2.0_Tools--Comment

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

BP5_2009102_Web2.0_Tools--Noteflight

Recently, I discovered that Finale Notepad, a “watered down” version of the Finale family of music notation software is no longer available for free. At a cost of $9.95, it is certainly still reasonably priced, but not really practical for installation in a computer lab at school unless it is used more frequently than our music department currently uses music notation software. It was nice to be able to direct students to a free tool, too. They seem less likely to explore a tool that requires payment (especially credit card payment) on their own.

So, imagine my delight when in my search for Web 2.0 tools I found a free music notation tool! Noteflight (http://www.noteflight.com) is actually very similar to Finale Notepad, and I can definitely see myself using it for student composition projects. It allows users to create scores, share them with other Noteflight users (a feature NOT available from Finale) and publish them by placing html into a web page.

The entry of notes, rests, and rhythms into Noteflight is actually very similar to the Simple Entry feature of Finale. Personally, I prefer the speedy entry feature of the full-featured Finale, and since I own this software, I will continue to use. It. However, for a free product, Noteflight is very comprehensive. Students will be able to notate just about anything they want to, and can use the playback feature to hear what they’ve composed. The sharing feature could be really cool for class compositions, as well, though compositions can be kept private if that’s what a user prefers.

Files created in Noteflight are saved within the user’s “my scores” page. (Registration is required to use this tool.) They can also be printed (or saved as .pdf files.)

Overall, this seems like a great tool for student composition, and I look forward to giving it a try in my classroom. (Someday I may also look into the Noteflight Learning Edition which is a paid subscription service for educators to share scores, activities, and assignments with students.)

References

Noteflight. (2009). The online notation that’s reinventing music on the web. Retrieved October 5, 2009 from http://www.noteflight.com

1 comments:

Kelly McKinley said...

Therese, I have been using Notepad for years and had (luckily) it installed on several lab computers before it was no longer free. Unfortunately, I had several students want to get a copy for home use only to find out of the cost. Thanks for the tip! I'll have to try this one out.