Thank you for those informations, flutist06.

Well, I think I will need one but not for big compositions, just easier for me to convert those "numbered notation"(mostly only used by Chinese) into proper notation.

So, may you give me some example(s) of the SW? and, which type of keyboard(s) will suite it? How much will it costs?

Finale 2007 has this feature; you can input notes from a midi keyboard or even from a microphone if your instrument is not midi. Other input options are direct or Word-processor-style note entry (ENglish note names ara types as words and numbers), scanning a music sheet (in good condition), importing from a tiff image, importing a midi file and a few more.

Now, it is expensive. Price tag is around 600 US$. There are used versions (or so they say) in Ebay, selling for about half that.

<Added>

OOPs
ENglish note names ara types = English note names are typed

Thanks jose_luis.

I will look out for Finale 2007 as you said. But I seldom import files or scan sheet musics...so that feature will be kind of a waste.

It will suite me good as long as it can compose the melody I played.

Nevermind, I will check that out first. Who knows maybe I will need to use those features one day!

You could also check previous releases of Finale, as I believe this particular feature has been around for some time. Older versions may be much cheaper. There is also a free (and reduced) version of this SW, Finale Notepad.
I am not sure whether it accepts inputs from a midi device, most probably not, but if you want to give it a try, you can download it for free at the Finale WEB
You can hear the impressive difference in final playback using one of the nicest features, "Human Playback". There is an example on this link:

http://www.codamusic.com/notepad/features/default.aspx

Another important feature is the ability to play with natural instruments (The Garrison Personal Orchestra, instead of synthesized midi. Beware you get the complete version (or bundled version) that includes the GPO. Otherwise you have to pay it apart.

Thanks a lot jose_luis!

I just simply search for "notation software" and I found this...

Looks like there are lots of software that have MIDI keyboard input, and cheaper too! But it didn't include "Finale" in the list so I can't make a comparison...

Why don't you take a troll in the web and give me some suggestions? I don't think I need the percussion notation and guitar chords things...

I know the choice is hard.
I started using Finale as I was interested in writing the accompaniment for Flute and voice and expected to be able to make small ensembles with it, not just piano. I found it too much complicated but by now I know the tricks I use most often and I can do it considerably faster. My sing professor told me most people use Sibelius, but I see there are so many alternatives that I feel happy I did not go through all of them and decided for one from the very beginning.

I cannot help you much, I only have experience with this specific SW and moreover, it is a short and recent practice. However, I think the final result is important; I do not copose myself, I am just a user student.
But as you compose your own music, you could be interested in obtaining the best results. Unless you plan to have your pieces performed by live musicians, which is, of course, the best option possible. But even in this case, the possibility of writing (and testing) your arrangements with several instruments could be a valuable feature.
If you go to my profile, you can listen to a few pieces I have uploaded, all made with Finale. The Berceuse is the most accomplished, although it was the first I made (but I spent many hours on it).

HI all,
Remember that this software was and is basically intended for notation.
Here's Jose's link again:
http://www.codamusic.com/notepad/features/default.aspx
because if you look on the right side, it shows all of the features of the Coda music software varieties from the Full Finale to the lightest version, Allegro.

I have tried some composing arranging with Finale and find that it is actually easier to do this right on staff paper, then after I have something to do the printing in Finale. I find that the view in notation software limits my ability to see the big picture of what I'm writing.

I don't know if some of the features (bugs) have improved since 2002 version of Finale that I use but using the mic input for notation left a lot to be desired. In order for it to hear the correct note, you have to play very "in tune" according to what it thinks and because it quantizes the tempo/rhythm you have to play very "in time" as well. You also may have features in software where it can enter music through OCR (Scanner) and they generally are a tad inaccurate. I think that typed OCR is way better for word processor software but in music notation, it was not worth the trouble of laying with it.

I've found that he easiest entry setup for Finale is through the MIDI Kbd. (Speedy-Entry) You can really cruise along at certain times once you get the setup going. Entering something like a typical Boehm Study is realtively easy and fast as long as the notation is fairly consistant in the note values. Entering a piece like the Chant de Linos would take some time because the note values constantly change.

You can also have some of the software like Finale import MIDI into notation. It works-kind of. Somethimes it's right on but it may not get the enharmonics correct. You may have accidentals that would need changing whinc can be a pain to find and correct basically by hand. You can also have situation where it reads the correct notes but in the wrong clef. -Something like a piccolo part notated in the bass staff but with a large stack of leger lines below all the notes.

The down side of using something like Finale is that it has a fairly high learning curve but you learn over time and do what you can.

For a MIDI keyboard, if you are a fairly serious musician, I'd get something that has some decent quality sound output capability. Get a keyboard from a reputable company. Roland has been around for awhile as well as Kurzweil, Yamaha and Moog. To name a few. If you respect the piano, get something with weighted keys. With a good keyboard, you can transcend the plastic MIDI piano-roll sounds of typical computer sound cards and make your music sound very life-like. Some of these keyboards can be very complex and allow you to create your own sampled sound or to finely tune a sound to make it unique. They can have extensive instruction manuals. If you get involved in this kind of music, then you'd want to get specific MIDI note editing software such as Cakewalk. http://www.cakewalk.com/

With this stuff,you can combine the MIDI with the real input. I'm fairly certain that many composers such as John E. Davis who did Beverly Hills 90210 TV series uses Cakewalk for it's ease and versatility. (I taught his Daughter for a bit on Flute)- a whole other story.

Bilbo is right; the SW makes many errors and is very critical on the quality of the input. When optical scanning is used, the score must be original or a copy of excellent quality, otherwise you get nothing. When scanning, the most important is to keep the page "horizontal", that is, when seen on the screen the staffs must so appear; otherwise the OCR fails miserably or refuse to recognize the page at all.

I have not tried midi input from keyboard, though I have one, I am not familiar with keyboards in general (except, perhaps, the one in my PC)...

With some of the software (notably Finale) there is alot of know-how which can be useful but not intuitive. In general, Sibelius has better scanning capabilities than Finale which tends to get confused in my experience. One trick I've learnt (with the help of the Finale support desk) is to cut and paste the notation from the scan into another window. This is especially useful when Finale picks up an incorrect time signature but even then its important to correct note values before cutting and pasting.

Finale PrintMusic is inexpensive but the direct input on the stave is poorly designed (it doesnt conform to Windows conventions) and takes some time to get used to - and my patience is limited!

The sound playback quality in Finale PrintMusic is perfectly adequate in my experience to produce practice and play along tracks etc. I tend to like real live music for performances ...

Finale has a "light" version of the scanner OCR (SmartScore Lite).

But they offer an improved version of the OCR, at an additional cost.

Could it be that the full fledged version be smarter in the recognition of chords and complicated measures (for example, those with two or more voices)?

Has anybody tried the "full" SmartScore SW?

I will take Bilbo's words-about the mid keyboard thing. Thank you for your advices about playing very in tune and in time, I won't know these if you never tell me. So, I think I can handle it-playing in very carefully.

As for the keyboard, I will get the Roland or yamaha (is "Casio" good enough? It is quite famous here) since both are easier to find in my country.

But...does every mid keyboard suites the software? or it depends on the format/software?
Is it connected to the computer by just using a wire(sounds wierd)? Then which port am I going to use? or it depends?

I seldom scann music(I prefer try them out myself on instruments or write a new one) so it wouldn't mater me.

Actually, "Mozart"(the one I m using(the evaluate version)) is quite good but I can have the midi keyboard input feature only if i get the virtuoso version...maybe i will get the virtuoso version,..just maybe.

"Thank you for your advices about playing very in tune and in time, I won't know these if you never tell me. So, I think I can handle it-playing in very carefully."

The software makes it difficult to capture the notes from a microphone input. It can be adjusted so that the level of detail is more or less picky. but that takes a lot of tweaking. Hours of it and then you may be able to get something down on the program that is about 90% correct. The wrong items then have to be re-edited or re-entered. in the mean time you could hae doen it all by MIDI input.
There are also MIDI input devices that are more similar to a wind instrument. Specifically a clarinet/recorder kind of instrument but I have not tried them. They would be more accurate with respect to pitch than a Mic input. The keyboard is really the way to go since you ar going to be entering the accompaniment notes anyway.

"As for the keyboard, I will get the Roland or yamaha (is "Casio" good enough? It is quite famous here) since both are easier to find in my country. But...does every mid keyboard suites the software? or it depends on the format/software?"

Roland or Yamaha would be decent ones. Casio are more toy-like but they would work as long as they are MIDI compatable. MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface.) Is an industry standard that would mean that the instrument can be used to control, be controlled or to input MIDI data. So, if an INstrument has a MIDI input/MIDI Output, you are good to go. The difference is in other capabilities of the keyboard such as the sound quality of the keyboard, sequencing (Music storage), Pre- formatted accompaniments like Band-In-A-Box junk (I don't use them), and the action of the keyboard. Some keyboards are good for MIDI input in a small area and they may have smaller keys and only a few octaves of notes. They would be fine for a smal computer setup. Some keyboards have full piano weighted key action and up to 88 notes of a full keyboard. Some are very flexible and very complicated to learn.



"Is it connected to the computer by just using a wire(sounds wierd)? Then which port am I going to use? or it depends?"
I use the sound card port but the USB connector is easier to find these days. I have a MIDI plug and cords that connect to the round MIDI connections on the back of the music keyboard and then to the Sound card port of my computer. I believe it's called the game port or joystick port. but you can probably also use the USB connection with an adapter. Some computers have these USB connections on the front and that would be a convenience. One can also use a laptop with USB connector and become way portable. See:
http://www.nextag.com/midi-to-usb-cable/search-html
Something on the connectino setup BUT the USB connection is the newer way to go.
http://musicmall.com/cmp/article6.htm

Concerning the connection of the PC to a midi device, beware that your computer should be equipped with a joystick (games) port, as it is usually he port used also for midi in/out.

Most Laptops do not have this port, so you may be in trouble if you intend to work from a laptop. Also you need a "special" midi cable, you can call it a wire, but it is a 2 pole, well screened cable with the correct connectors bot sides.

As for the USB connection, I have searched for a suitable adapter (for my Laptop, BTW) and could find only one, expensive thing (I think it was around 100 US$) and that required WinXP and would not accept any other OS. As I do not (and most probably will never do) use WinXP, I decided not to use my laptop for this application.

But all this was a couple of years ago and may have changed. Just check compatibilities, computer side, before commiting to expensive purchases.

"Actually, "Mozart"(the one I m using(the evaluate version)) is quite good but I can have the midi keyboard input feature only if i get the virtuoso version...maybe I will get the virtuoso version,..just maybe."

If you are going to get the musical keyboard, get the full virtuoso version if it suits your needs. It's way cheaper than Finale I think. I know one person who uses the software called Noteworthy Composer and is happy. The advantage with Finale is that yo can have more capabilities of notation editing I would asume. These other side things like OCR scanning, live mic input and such are extra fluff. What notation software shoud be good at is to input and edit notes on a page as easily as a word processor. The problem is that music is more complicated to notate than written words.

Something else to read on MIDI:

http://www.harmony-central.com/MIDI/
See the MIDI Resources section

One comment. There is a section on "Making a MIDI Interface" I would not do this yourself unless you really know the fine details of the electronics involved.

Thanks for the link, Bilbo. I will check that later today.

I recall now that the adapter I found was not USB<-->Midi, but a PCMCIA <--> MIDI.

I could find no USB to MIDI adapter at that time. But I am still interested in this possibility, if you or someone else know of a suitable interface/adapter for USB 1.0 to MIDI, please let me know.

I am an electronics guy and could probably build the midi interface myself, if correctly described in that link. But I have no time left (and increasing sight problems) to deal with the ever shrinking size of the electronics devices required. So I prefer to buy something plug-in ready.