Music Score OCR & Editing Software - Selection & Use
Todman (Theo)
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Write-up2 (as at 01/04/2024 20:08:10): Music Score OCR & Editing Software

Contents
  1. Introduction3
  2. Initial Investigations4
  3. Further Investigations5
  4. Trial Software6
  5. The Way Forward7
  6. Progress to Date8
  7. MuseScore Software Notes9
  8. Oboe Reeds10

Introduction
Initial Investigations
Further Investigations
  1. Avid: Sibelius Music Notation Software:
    • This is the blue ribband music editing software but is very complex and expensive.
    • You now have to license it, though I’m told you can buy old versions on eBay.
    • There are three versions (with the company blurbs!):-
      1. Sibelius First: Compose simple scores with free music notation software. FREE.
      2. Sibelius Artist: Write music with up to 16 instruments — great for smaller ensembles. ‘From’ $99 p.a. or $10 / month (can purchase a perpetual license)
      3. Sibelius Ultimate: Enjoy a full toolset to compose, arrange, and engrave without limits. ‘From’ $199 p.a. or $20 / month. Free trial.
    • The comparison between the versions is here:-
      → Avid: Sibelius - Version Comparisons
    • All versions are mobile and desktop (mobile bundled with Desktop, but can be had on its own; not sure of the price).
    • At the moment, I don’t know whether the versions import from pdfs nor whether the ‘Artist’ version does engraving (printing) – though presumably it must.
    • The ‘Ultimate’ version is realistically too expensive to be worthwhile unless you are a music professional (or rich).
  2. Musitek: SmartScore. 64-bit version.
    • One-off payment of $400 or $200 for 3-staves only.
    • I’ve downloaded demo versions of both, including full documentation. The demo versions have full functionality, except they won’t let you print, save or otherwise output your files.
    • Seems to do what I want. Even seems to do part-extraction, though I’d need to check what this means in practice. I’d be tempted by the full version.
    • See YouTube: Welcome to SmartScore 64: This is just a 5-minute description of the improvements introduced in the 64-bit version.
  3. Avid: PhotoScore & NotateMe Ultimate
  4. SharpEye Music Scanning:
    • This claims to include Neuratron PhotoScore & NotateMe Ultimate 2020.
    • There’s a 30-day free trial, and manual.
    • Costs £173.50.
    • Presumably it does a lot more … I need to check that it includes everything from Neuratron PhotoScore.
  5. Capella-scan
    • Seems to be an interface to Capella and other tools. Outputs an XML file.
    • Also, the ‘scanning’ seems to be of audio files rather than scores.
    • Comes in a starter version for $68 and a full version for $218.
    • There are trial versions to download for both (30-day trial).
    • Not clear if you can edit the output. Probably useless without another tool.
    • That said, everything about the trial version hails from 2006! It may be that the licensed version is completely different.
    • I probably won’t be investigating further for the time being.
  6. PlayScore 2
    • Looks really interesting – a mobile phone app. Looks like it’s useful to find out how a difficult piece is supposed to sound like or to play along with accompaniment without an accompanist!
    • But not for editing and printing out scores, I don’t think. You need to export it to another tool via XML. It mentions Finale, Sibelius, MuseScore & Dorico.
    • Some complaints about the UI / intelligibility.
    • You license it: $6.49 / month; $44.99 / year. There’s a slightly cheaper ‘productivity version’.
    • You seem to be able to do some things without a subscription (but only play what’s already been read in by someone else’s PlayScore 2). Might be useful for sharing.
    • Might be worth trialling for a month. Purchase on the iPhone AppStore.
    • There’s also a Windows version for reading PDFs. You can trial it free for a week. It’s new and hasn’t got good ratings. Seems you take out a month’s rental but can cancel before a week is up for no charge. Rental is £8 / month, £80 / year. Rather expensive?
  7. MuseScore

Trial Software
  1. MuseScore:
    • I had a quick look at MuseScore: Sheet Music and the first score I wanted to look at (Eine Kleine Nachtmusik for mixed Quintet) was behind the paywall, so – given that I liked the look of the free editing software – I decided to pay for a year’s subscription for £40. It looks like the renewal is also £40, which is good.
    • I now need to read the documentation and get used to the software so that I can print out the parts, do the transposition and so on.
    • Otherwise, I need to look through the huge catalogue and hunt out scores for the Enigma Ensemble. Also,
  2. PlayScore 2 (on iPhone):
    • I tried out the free version, using photos. It wasn’t bad on simple music but would occasionally miss out a note or too. I was impressed with the ‘oboe’ sound. Easy to control the tempo with the slider. Worked out how to delete OK.
    • However, it was hopeless on the really awkward Grade 8 pieces that I wanted to know how they sounded.
  3. PlayScore 2 (on Windows 10 Laptop):
    • I took advantage of the ‘One week free’ offer (I immediately cancelled the renewal – I have until 10th November to play; then I could take out a subscription).
    • It read in scores from printed scores really well, though I’ve not tried the really scruffy ones.
    • Useful for the Orchestral excerpts. I imported most of them.
    • The most difficult Grade 8 ‘Enlightenment’ piece sounded rather odd, as though it was missing out half the Notes. Need to export and investigate.
    • I haven’t tried multi-staff yet.
  4. SharpEye 2:
    • I downloaded the 30-day free trial. It seems to be very old and to bear no relation to the blurb in the review. I also think the integration with Neuratron is an advert!
    • It would only import from TIFF or BMP, but when I tried converting my PDF to either of these formats, it complained: ‘wrong sort of TIFF’ and ‘can’t handle coloured BMPs’. I tried various options using combinations of PDFelement, GIMP and Adobe Acrobat but all failed at one hurdle or another if the pdf was originally coloured. As soon as you try to merge grey-scale pdfs in PDFelement, the colour re-appears.
    • However, you can scan directly. Select ‘black and white’.
    • Thereafter, it produced a playable and editable text from a simple one-part sheet (I’ve not yet tried anything more complex).
    • Exporting to MuseScore via MusicXML seemed to work fine.
    • As noted above, the trial version – including the documentation – is dated 2006, so it may not be the version you get on purchase. This would require further investigation, but from a quick Google it doesn’t look as though it’d lead anywhere.

The Way Forward

I’ve at last decided what to do! I may revisit some of the above if I run into difficulties:-
  1. Use my free trial of PlayScore 2 (on Windows) – which expires on 10th November 2023 – to read in and convert to MusicXML everything in hard copy that seems useful (including anything that John’s missing).
  2. I can also use SharpEye – during the 30-day trial (I downloaded it on 4th November) – on those pdfs that have failed using PlayScore 2. It’ll also tell me whether it’s worth buying.
  3. I can always hire PlayScore 2 (on Windows) for a month as and when I need it. Much cheaper (£8 / month) than purchasing any of the above alternatives or taking out annual rentals as I can ‘batch up’ any scanning that’s needed.
  4. Use the free version of PlayScore 2 (on iPhone) to hear what sheet music sounds like on an ad hoc basis on-going.
  5. Thoroughly get to grips with the MuseScore scores catalogue. See what’s available and playable by the Enigma Ensemble.
  6. Also there might be interesting items for solo (or piano-accompanied) oboe, though I dare say I’ve got enough of that: especially if I can use PlayScore 2 to see what it’s supposed to sound like (at the required tempo).
  7. Thoroughly get to grips with MuseScore transcription software: especially editing, transposition, and engraving.
  8. So, the general technique is:-
    1. If hard-copy only, scan in and then deskew using Wondershare PDF Element.
    2. Read in using PlayScore 2 (on Windows) and save in PlayScore 2 format.
    3. Export from PlayScore 2 into MusicXML format.
    4. If PlayScore 2 (on Windows) license expired, try using the PDF import within MuseScore.
    5. If this fails, and SharpEye licence hasn’t expired, use SharpEye:-
      • Be careful with directories!
      • Scan and save the image.
      • Read in and play. Save the music.
      • Export to MusicXML.
      • Note that you can combine several images into one before processing using SharpEye’s ‘batch mode’. This avoids problems with lost time signatures.
    6. Then, or otherwise, read the MusicXML file output from PlayScore 2 or SharpEye into MuseScore and save in MuseScore format.
    7. Remove excess parts of the score.
    8. Merge scores that span pages.
    9. Correct any errors in transcription. Add identifying headers.
    10. Transpose a part for Clarinet as necessary.
    11. Transpose any parts for Viola from Alto Clef to Treble / Bass Clef as appropriate.
    12. Transpose any parts for Eb instruments to Concert pitch.
    13. As required, combine parts into a full ‘conductor’s’ score.
    14. As required, split a full, or piano-accompanied, score into parts.
    15. As required, split a piano accompaniment into orchestral parts.
    16. Engrave (ie. print out) the score: parts and – possibly – full score.
    17. Possibly create a MIDI file(s) for distribution.
  9. Short term Plan:
    1. Scan and combine the Miller of Dee parts to see how the harmony is supposed to sound!
    2. Otherwise, convert:-
      → Orchestral Exercises
      → Mower – Good Tempered Oboe
      → Bach – Difficult passages
      → The Clarinet Enigma Ensemble pieces that John lacks.
      → Accompaniments … various
    3. MuseScore Software Familiarisation:
      1. Read the documentation.
      2. Look through the free resources on Outside Shore Music: Mastering MuseScore - free resources.
      3. Try MuseScore out on scores:-
        → Imported through MuseScore (transposing & arranging)
        → Uploaded from pdfs
    4. MuseScore Catalogue Familiarisation:
      1. Like most of these catalogues, it seems to me that if you want something, it’s not got it. So, best to go with what it’s got.
      2. The Search facility seems to be absolute rubbish!
      3. …

Progress to Date
  1. Miller of Dee: Major parts scanned in and converted to MusicXML using PlayScore 2. A job of work outstanding in MuseScore to make the music playable and combine it into one score.
  2. Orchestral Exercises: All relevant items scanned in and converted to MusicXML using PlayScore 2. Rather stupidly, I forgot that I’d saved the previous scans. Oh well. A job of work outstanding in MuseScore to make the music playable.
  3. Mower: The 5 relevant items scanned in and converted to MusicXML using PlayScore 2. Need checking in MuseScore.
  4. Bach: All relevant items scanned in and converted to MusicXML using PlayScore 2. A job of work outstanding in MuseScore to make the music playable.
  5. Clarinet Transpositions: Selected parts from missing items scanned in and converted to MusicXML. A job of work outstanding in MuseScore to make the music playable. Also need to transpose. As all this will take a while, I’ll defer until needed.
  6. Accompaniments: I tried a scan of the first page of the Nielsen Fantasy using MuseScore’s PDF Import, but it failed. It was a fair copy, so presumably it was too complex. So, if possible, I will see if the scores are available on MuseScore before going through the bother of scanning and using PlayScore 2 to convert to MusicXML. So:-
    1. Albinoni – Concerto Opus 9.2: All three movements downloaded fine from MuseScore.
    2. Boni – Sonata in G:
      • Not on MuseScore.
      • Scanned using SharpEye (all pages individually), grouped into the 4 movements.
      • Then used SharpEye’s ‘batch mode’ to combine the 4 sets of TIFF files and saved 4 SharpEye files. Seemed to play fine. Exported to MusicXML.
      • Imported the 4 combined files into MuseScore: Mostly fine, though I’ve not checked in detail. An occasional error was a loss of the key signature. Needs correcting.
    3. Cimarosa – Concerto:
      • Not on MuseScore.
      • Scanned using SharpEye (all pages individually), grouped into the 4 movements.
      • Then used SharpEye’s ‘batch mode’ to combine the 4 sets of TIFF files and saved 4 SharpEye files. Seemed to play fine. Exported to MusicXML.
      • Imported the 4 combined files into MuseScore: Mostly fine, though I’ve not checked in detail. All play Presto!
    4. Fiocco – Arioso:
      • Not on MuseScore.
      • Scanned and converted OK by PlayScore 2 & imported into MuseScore.
      • Plays as ‘swing’ so needs some investigation!
    5. Head – Presto:
      • Not on MuseScore.
      • Scanned using SharpEye (6 pages individually). Seemed to play fine. Exported to MusicXML.
      • Then repeated using SharpEye’s ‘batch mode’ to combine the 6 TIFF files and reprocess. Worked fine.
      • Imported the combined file into MuseScore: Seems fine, though I’ve not checked in detail.
    6. Morricone – Gabriel’s Oboe:
      • Lots of scores available on MuseScore but none with the approved piano accompaniment.
      • I scanned in with PlayScore 2 the Piano Accompaniment (which had the oboe part above the piano, but this got ignored, maybe because there’s no oboe part for the 4-bar Intro). By the time it got to MuseScore, the piano accompaniment wasn’t perfect, but might be good enough. I tried the same with the Oboe part but, for some reason, it was rubbish!
      • Tried again using SharpEye: seemed to work fine (though I had to re-scan). Need to join the two pages together in MuseScore.
    7. Nicholas – Rhapsody: Nothing on MuseScore, sadly, as I’ve not got the piano accompaniment!
    8. Nielsen – Fantasy Pieces:
      • Romance: downloaded fine from MuseScore.
      • Humoresque:
        • Not on MuseScore.
        • Scanned using SharpEye (all 6 pages individually), then used SharpEye’s ‘batch mode’ to combine the 6 TIFF files and saved the SharpEye. Seemed to play fine. Exported to MusicXML.
        • Imported the combined file into MuseScore: Mostly fine, though I’ve not checked in detail.
    9. Saint-Saens – Sonate:
      • I’d though I had the third movement from Dave, but couldn’t find it.
      • Not on MuseScore.
      • Scanned using SharpEye (all pages individually), grouped into the 3 movements.
      • Then used SharpEye’s ‘batch mode’ to combine the 3 sets of TIFF files and saved 4 SharpEye files. Seemed to play fine. Exported to MusicXML.
      • Imported the 3 combined files into MuseScore: Mostly fine, though I’ve not checked in detail.
    10. Schumann – 3 Romances: All three movements downloaded fine from MuseScore.

Notes to Self on MuseScore Software use:
Notes to Self on Oboe Reeds:

In-Page Footnotes

Footnote 2:

Text Colour Conventions (see disclaimer)

  1. Blue: Text by me; © Theo Todman, 2025


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