I fully agree! It really is amazing in this day and age when customer support is so critical to any business’s success, and is expected especially in the software world, that MakeMusic has such complete indifference to their long-time user’s requests and needs. Pretty arrogant to just tell us that we don’t need it… Sadly, their software is the best and though I’ve tried moving to others because I’m sick of MM’s disdain for their customers, I always keep having to come back to them. I’ve been using Finale since 2001, over 20 years! And this is how they treat us. Very sad.
Think what you want. Finale for iOS from 10 years ago was terrible and no one misses it. With Notion 9 years ago and now Sibelius and Dorico all entering the fray and the results being exportable via MusicXML, there are some excellent solutions in place.
I don’t like Notion 6 on the Mac but it’s pretty good in iPadOS and doesn’t cost much.
So essentially every OTHER notation program has an IOS app, EXCEPT Finale. If Finale is not working on this (even if it's quietly), I doubt they'll survive. That said, now that Mac has moved to Apple Silicon, it should be easier for MM to doe an app as the Mac App is now closer to IOS than it's ever been.
So essentially every OTHER notation program has an IOS app, EXCEPT Finale.
That's not at all true, "essentially" or otherwise. Of the six active notation app licenses I own, only two have corresponding iPadOS apps. I don't have either version of Sibelius.
In any case, if MM does not see the need and a successful business model, there's no chance that it will happen.
Okay.. so lets' make a list then:
MuseScore -- Ipad App (ableit Read Only)
Sibelius - Ipad App
Dorico - Ipad App
Symphony Pro - iPad App
Score Creator -iPad App
Notion - iPad App
Crescendo Music Notation - No iPad App. (App for Google play though...)
Flat- iPad App
PlayScore - iPad App
Notes- Ipad App
Notation Pad- iPad App
Composer Pro - iPad App
NotateMe Now - iPad App
Maestro Music - iPad App
Staff Pad - iPad App
Now is the list exhaustive? No, as these are just the ones that came to my mind and my list is Mac Centric as well. Not ALL of the competitors have an app (The ones I haven't listed), but essentially, most of them do have apps, and arguably of the top 4 (Sibelius, Dorico, Finale and Notion) Finale is the only one that does NOT have an app. If you want quibble over that not all of them have an app, go ahead but I doubt any new software coming out, that's growing it's user base won't have an app or doesn't plan on releasing some kind of app.
I would also arguably say that it's not that Finale doesn't want an app, but it's that Finale doesn't have the money for the app. If Finale doesn't have the money to develop this app, then I don't think they'll be around much longer. I"ll be glad to be wrong however.
Finale has stated that they believe in the present environment one typically owns multiple applications to meet one's musical needs (just as one used to have to own multiple hardware synths to be taken seriously ), so MakeMusic has prioritized interoperability, starting with their leadership in XML. One may not like that approach, but that is the announced policy.
I agree with Mike Halloran:
Think what you want. Finale for iOS from 10 years ago was terrible and no one misses it. With Notion 9 years ago and now Sibelius and Dorico all entering the fray and the results being exportable via MusicXML, there are some excellent solutions in place.
I don’t like Notion 6 on the Mac but it’s pretty good in iPadOS and doesn’t cost much.
If other options didn't support MusicXML, this would be a bigger priority. But they do, so it's hard to prioritize this very highly since Finale Desktop can simply import the MusicXML from Notion/Staffpad/Dorico/etc. That's the benefit of open standards and interoperability. Instead of wasting R&D developing an iPad App, you can just use whatever is available and they can invest in improving the desktop product.
First time I've seen Notion mentioned as a Top 4, though.
And Sibelius Mobile doesn't export MusicXML. Dorico for iPad is probably the best option on iPad, followed shortly by StaffPad (also great for Microsoft Surface Tablets). Notion is the best budget option.
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