Finale NotePad

Creating sheet music involves some trial and error and a large amount of crumpled paper. Finale NotePad makes music notation much easier. Instead of writing down your notes on real paper and erasing them each time you make a mistake, you can simply place your notes on virtual staves, along with any other symbols and undo any mistakes instantly, with a single click. Besides creating a musical composition from scratch, the application allows you to import and edit existing music as well.

Finale NotePad is available for Windows and Mac OS X and it is offered completely free of charge. It can be installed quickly, without making any complicated settings along the way. The application's hardware requirements are modest and it doesn't ask for any supplementary tools or services.

The main user interface resembles an advanced word processor, but instead of a blank page, it displays a series of staves. The application places a few useful customization options at your disposal, when you start a new project. Besides specifying the composition's name and choosing a paper size, you can also choose from a wide range of instruments, to create an orchestration of up to 8 staves. Additionally, you can select a time signature and a concert key signature.

Notes and other symbols can be inserted by selecting their corresponding options, located on a toolbar and simply clicking on the staves. Each time you insert a note, the application will play its corresponding MIDI sound. What's more, you can play your entire composition at any time, if you wish to hear your creation, rather than humming. Compositions can be exported as MIDI Music XML files. It is also possible to import files, in the same formats, after which you can edit them however you want.