To: "VOCALIST" <vocalist>
Subject: Re: Computer programs
Date sent: Thu, 30 Dec 1999 08:12:37 -0500
Send reply to: VOCALIST <vocalist>

Hello Dean:

We too bought MidiScan a few years ago and had to work much too hard for it
to be usuable. We were looking for software to help my mother-in-law, a
singer who is blind. Do you think we can still upgrade, even though it's
been a few years?

Laura


----- Original Message -----
From: "Dean FH Macy"
To: "Vocalist" <vocalist>
Sent: Wednesday, December 29, 1999 8:45 PM
Subject: Re: Computer programs


Lee wrote:

> I'm wondering if anyone knows of a good computer program that will allow
you to scan
> music in and actually read it as music. I'd like to know if you've
actually used the program,
> and, if so, how did it work?
>
I have been using MidiScan since they began with MidiScan 1.0 about three
years ago. At that time
it was the most exciting program I'd ever used. It read scanned TIF music
files and got about 25%
of the notation correct which mean I had to correct only 75%. After a
little while I no longer was
excited. Then came 1.2, and 1.6 and then 2.0 which had an error percentage
of less than 20%. That
software could read well drawn handwritten notation with 50% accuracy and
regular notation at an
acceptable rate. I am now using MidiScan 2.5 with a 98% perfect read, less
than 2% error on printed
sheet music and it includes a scanning program which scans at their
desirable rate and allows the
saving of the scanned music also. I highly recommend this new package for
converting notation to
playable music.

I believe the cost is under $200 (unsure because I've been getting updates
for two years). The
MidiScan company is Musitek at 410 Bryant Circle, Ojai, CA 93023 (805)
646-8051. Link is at
http://www.musitek.com/demopage.html for a free demo (download or diskette).
The latest version is
2.5.1 which I use mainly for reading in complex orchestral scores.

Try it! I think you will be surprised at the results. (And no, I do not
own stock in Musitek.)

--
Dean FH Macy, Lit.D./Mus.D.
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