[NDBounce]

Okay,

Here is the deal. A friend wrote three songs that I want to print the music to (I'm not a musical person, so I don't know what to call all the lines with the notes on them, but basically he is looking to print the music for a chior to sing).

I was wondering if there are any shareware/freeware programs that can do this (ie that let you put notes and text on a page just like a song book would have). Again, this is only for 3 songs, so I'm not looking for some grand composing program.

If anyone can help, please let me know.

Peace,

O
B unce!

[Briareus]

The lines with notes on them are "staves".

Maybe the free Finale Notepad would work for you. It's a way scaled-down version of Finale, but if your needs are basic it might do the trick.

[CharlesS]

Seconded. If all you want to do is enter notes and print them, Notepad should be perfectly adequate.

[NDBounce]

Thank you for the advice.

This seems to be what I was looking for. I do have one question though...does anyone who uses this know how to add a second verse. I can add lyrics, but I can't figure out how to get the 2nd verse lyrics to show up below the first.

I looked through the help files a bit (admittedly I have been studying for mid-terms so have not been able to give my full attention to this), but didn't find what I am looking for.

Also, and perhaps a musician can help me here...the notes that my friend gave me are in 3/4 and have 4 sets of 3 notes per "line." The Finale program is putting 3 sets of notes per line. Is there a way to add a 4th set to a line. I tried the add measure tool but it adds another set to the end of the peice, and still keeps 3 sets (measures?) per line.

Any assistance you can give is greatly appreciated.

[Briareus]

There's a limit of one line of lyrics in Notepad. Hey, it's free... and quite limited.

Your only workaround would be to write out the repeat and add the new verse text under it. Or, you could charge your friend enough for you to buy the next option up the Finale ladder that allows unlimited lyrics verses - PrintMusic, which is $70.

There's a feature comparison chart at the above link that shows the differences between versions.

I can't think of any cheaper notation options out there. Encore, Overture, Finale, and Sibelius are all higher end.

As to number of measures per line, it just defaults to that (filled with rests) until you start entering notes - then it acts like end of line word-wrapping in a word processor. I.E., a few bars of constant 16th notes take up more horizontal space than a few bars of whole notes. As you enter notes you'll eventually see measures jumping to the end of the previous line as things are respaced for legibility.

The free version doesn't give you manual control over barline/measure spacing & placement.