I Finally Found Software I Can Use!

[OldStrummer]

I've bought a lot of software in pursuit of bettering my guitar playing. Band-in-a-Box, Neck Diagrams (and now Neck Diagrams II), Songs Pro, and some others I can't remember that are now consigned to the trash bin. My guitar instructor used Sibelius for his work, but he's a pro and it's worth the $$$ to him. I found and downloaded MuseScore, which is a free alternative, but as free/open source software, it's not really Mac-like. Every time I use it, I get frustrated and wind up quitting. Still, it's the closest I've found that does what I want it to. Which is simple: I want to be able to write a score with notes, tabs and chord diagrams. I'm not (yet) in need of multiple instruments or tracks, so how difficult can it be to find a piece of software that does this?

Enter TuxGuitar.

I'm embarrassed to admit that I'd heard about TuxGuitar a while ago, but given its name, I figured it was a Linux-only program. Whoops, was I wrong!

I downloaded a copy about two years ago and forgot about it. Scanning my Applications folder, I spotted it and since I'm trying to put together solo arrangements of some Christmas songs, thought I'd give it a whirl. Zowee! I have a (mostly) finished, printed out version of "I'll Be Home For Christmas" including all of the above, plus notes on fingerings, hammer-ons, etc. I am quite pleased. I found the software fairly intuitive, although it's got features I'll look into later. But for what I wanted, I got a very usable printout that I can now use to practice and memorize.

http://www.tuxguitar.com.ar/

Full documentation: http://www.tuxguitar.com.ar/tgwiki/doku.php

[DanTheBluesMan]

I'm going to check that out. Thanks

[gibsonjunkie]

I use MusicTime and have for years. Really simple, you can play notes through a keyboard or drag and drop the notes onto the score. It will do multiple scores if you want. The advertisment looks cheesy, but it really works. I've done simple songs and sophistaicated choral pieces.

http://www.passportmusic.com/products/musictime-deluxe/

[OldStrummer]

Thanks, GJ. I went to check them out. Unfortunately, their macOS support ends at Mojave (10.14). I have one Mac now running Big Sur (11) and two running Catalina (10.15). Deal killer. At least until they update.

[gibsonjunkie]

Thanks, GJ. I went to check them out. Unfortunately, their macOS support ends at Mojave (10.14). I have one Mac now running Big Sur (11) and two running Catalina (10.15). Deal killer. At least until they update.

They have been bought and sold sevearl times and the company that bought them promised to revitalize it - but that was a couple years ago. I bought my first version (1.0) as shareware on a 386-16 mhz machine - it used to take minutes to render it... when I bumped up tyhe motherboard to a 386-40 it gained speed - at least turtle speed.

Forte is also pretty good - not sure what they do on the Mac side.