United StatesSymphony Pro 6 is a complete and intuitive app for writing music notation on iPad. It allows you to compose music for just about any size ensemble, from piano, symphonies, band, lead sheets, chord charts, guitar tabs, and more. Starting Version 5, Symphony Pro now offers handwriting recognition as the only in-app purchase: Perfect with Apple Pencil, and works great with touch or capacitive stylus GETTING STARTED SP provides all of the key options to begin your work. Import a score via MusicXML, MXL, MIDI, or SP file from your computer, or from apps like Dropbox, Mail, iCloud Drive, or Safari. You can base your project on a template, or start a blank score and add additional parts later. EDITING To add notes, choose Pencil mode, and tap anywhere on a bar to begin editing right away. You can quickly specify note properties before or after placing notes. By switching to Select mode with one touch, you can also transpose, erase, cut, and paste multiple notes/tracks. With an on-screen instrument, a QWERTY keyboard, or Core MIDI compatible keyboard, you can quickly enter notes & chords in step entry mode. Record a part in real-time with on-screen instruments to transcribe into notation. Versions 4 & 5 take greater advantage of the iPad touchscreen. With shortcuts and contextual menus to edit note & bar properties, many of the commonly used editing commands are right at your fingertips. SP supports a wide range of notational elements for your composition. Including dynamics & articulations, time & key signature changes, clef changes, pedals, and repeat conventions. Edit chord symbols, lyrics, and annotations using the iPad’s standard keyboard. EXPORT & SHARE When you’re finished, print out your score with AirPrint, or export it as a PDF, MusicXML, AAC, MIDI, or Symphony file. Share files via email or directly to another computer or iPad via Dropbox/iCloud Drive. KEY FEATURES • Introducing Handwriting Recognition for Apple Pencil & touch • Starting Version 5, Handwriting is the only In-App Purchase to enable the complete app • Now download SP on your iPhone • 24+ professionally recorded and sound-designed acoustic instruments, free out of the box Earlier features offered free, to existing & new owners • 114 built-in instruments for playback, and auditioning the notes you entered • Create in standard music notation or tablature • Edit with an on-screen piano, QWERTY keyboard, or a MIDI input device • Dozens of shortcuts & gestures to edit & navigate • Reduce your score size, range, or combination of parts for viewing & editing* • Print directly to AirPrint • Up to 48 instruments, 100 staves, 4 voices/layers per score • Record a part in real-time with clicks at the beat with optional emphasis • Backup & sync your scores with iCloud* • Import MusicXML, MIDI, MXL, or Symphony files • Export as a PDF, MusicXML, MIDI, AAC, or Symphony file • Large selection of articulations & dynamics • Multi-measure rests, including automatic rests • Grace notes • Customizable noteheads & note colors • Chord symbol, lyric, and annotation tools • Edit the properties of multiple notes and rests simultaneously by multi-note select • Copy/Paste function supports partial & multi-bar/staff select • Unlimited undo/redo • Customizable stem directions & note beaming • Transposing & concert pitch score option • Change tempo or clef anywhere in score or bar • Stream audio or share your screen wirelessly with AirPlay • Advanced document management • Create your own custom project template or use a built-in one • Customizable part groupings for SATB and instrument families • Customizable chord symbol, lyric, and annotation font • Loop playback feature • Auto-save support * Previously paid, but now free upgrade in Version 5 For More information, please visit: • http://www.symphonypro.net • http://forums.symphonypro.net • Facebook page at www.facebook.com/symphonyapp • Learn about the iPhone-only app: bit.ly/symphonyiphone
Honestly, It’s my favorite app on my iPad
Honestly, It’s my favorite app on my iPad
United StatesPaper Replacement
I’m an old cello guy who has all his music in SP. The program allows playback customization to meet my declining skills. Adding accompaniment parts allows me to use Bluetooth to play accompaniment via an external device while using a pedal to start, stop, and repeat the score or parts of it. These features are a real help in practicing. I’d say, however, the program has some "quirky" faults: 1) It will not back-up my scores to the iCloud. Apple support showed me how to manually copy/paste scores to the Cloud. I finally had to creat a spread sheet to track changes and a date when it was manually backed up. 2) The Apple pencil does provide better a selection technique than a fat finger, but the pencil isn’t always recognized by the program especially if the pedal is active. 3) The User Manual needs an update. I’ve spend lots of time trying to figure out a complex program. Sometimes the explanations are vague or don’t address the searched issue. I am very appreciative of the Lab’s continued work on improving a remarkable software program. Thank you.
United StatesUnusable. Look elsewhere if you’re going to pay $25
This is the first time I’ve felt compelled to write a review for an app, but after dropping $25, it seems worth the time. Bought the main app along with the $10 add-on for handwriting recognition and it just simply doesn’t work. Maybe it’s user error, but I literally cannot select the correct bar and staff I want to write in with the display going wonky and zooming in and out. Once I finally get the correct staff selected, when I go to write (you know the thing you have to pay an extra $10 for), it lets me write one note and then fails to allow me to write any other notes for a chord and fails to recognize a sharp symbol. I tried five times just now to write a simple D and F# in the bass clef and every single time without fail, it got the D, interpreted the # as a staccato marking and didn’t even let me write the F. All I’m trying to do is write down some basic ideas and the user experience SEVERELY limits the usability for such a simple action. Not gonna lie, feeling pretty ripped off right now. Hopefully someone else can avoid the mistake I made.
United StatesBeen using it for years…
…for transcribing, arranging and scoring, and have had no real problems [intermediate skill level]. Works well with iPad split screen if not too many other apps are open. Would be great if I had an Apple Pencil, I’m sure.
United StatesFinally updated Jan/Feb ‘24
I have not yet had time to put the latest version of this app through all of its paces, but I wanted to make sure to adjust my review in light of the fact that the app has been updated at least twice in the past two months. I’m happy to see the developers are still active, fixing bugs.
United StatesUPDATE-FEB 2024-Back on track
This updated review is written several years after my review from when I’d begun using the app regularly. I’m happy to say that recently the developers’ online presence has resumed after a period being out of contact with users. I’d come to SP as a longtime professional pen & ink music copyist. I was a beta tester for this app from v4-v6, & had high hopes for its progress. I was in close contact with the design team & head programmer, sending them detailed reports they found very useful. It was gratifying to see my suggestions or bug fixes implemented, sometimes within days, & know I was influencing development based on my practical experience. Suddenly, some time after v6 was released, with no warning, my beta license, which had been renewing automatically, expired. Multiple emails to the head & design team went unanswered. I finally had to purchase the current retail version just so I wouldn’t lose years of work & could convert them to an exportable format. After over a year I sadly began shopping for another iOS notation app, dreading taking on a new learning curve from the beginning. THE GOOD NEWS: I see the developers have now resumed user communication & renewed their commitment, after understandably being overburdened keeping up with iOS updates. Apple does little to consider how their updates affect independent developers. Although we users saw nothing on our end, I’m sure it was a hectic time for the SP team. Small developers perform a complex balancing act between user support & maintaining basic compatibility; accommodating a small OS change can mean months of work, causing communication delays. On the other hand, your comments are read directly by the people writing the code, not some clerical sub-subcontractor who may only vaguely (if that) understand what the app does. Responses are individual, not scripted. I’m impressed with the SP team’s dedication to their work & look forward to seeing future developments. ____________________ THIS IS MY ORIGINAL REVIEW OF v4, SEVERAL YEARS AGO: I should qualify this by stating that this is the only notation app I've ever used, so my only bases for comparison are my 20 years experience as a professional music copyist doing string & horn charts for recording sessions, & lead sheets; as well as what I've read about other apps. The features seem to compare favorably to other tablet apps, & after a bit of a learning curve transferring my pen & ink techniques to the app's features, I've been able to function pretty efficiently, producing jazz piano charts w/a grand staff, bass & melody lines, w/a combination of notated chord voicings & chord symbols. Keeping in mind that for $10 you're not going to get Finale, within some workable limits I've been able to accomplish what I set out to do. Cons are: 1) ties over bar lines don't carry over line or page breaks (the ties appear on the beginning note, but don't continue after line break); hopefully they'll fix this bug in an update; 2) I wish I had more control over horizontal spacing - sometimes w/8th-note rhythmic figures, complex chord symbols come out on top of each other. A workaround is to reduce the bars per line at those points, but this frequently stretches the layout unnecessarily; if I was doing it w/pen I'd be able to adjust the spacing within a bar to accommodate chord symbols & lyrics w/o necessarily having to reduce bars per line; 3) while italic font is automatically applied for some common text indications such as "cresc," "rit," it isn't for some others; it would be nice to be able to have more control over this; 4) 1st & 2nd endings are tricky to manage, & there's no provision for making multiple repeats such as a "1.2.3." ending & a "4." ending; you have to do a kludge superimposing a text notation over the ending #s, & of course it won't be reflected in the MIDI playback (which I haven't used anyway). Overall, though, for the price I've found this a very useful app.
United StatesFinally updated Jan. ‘24
I have not yet had time to put the latest version of this app through its paces, but I wanted to make sure to adjust my review in light of the fact that it has not been abandoned. Earlier review: This application certainly had great potential, but I noticed it hasn’t been updated in quite a few years, and there has been no activity from anyone at the company on the forums or on the Facebook group, etc. At this point why would I want to expand the effort just to see the app crash or suddenly quit, and my work gone? Time to move on. it should not be offered for sale at the App Store at this point.
United States
- General bug fixes - Fixed issue on iPhone with iOS 17 where toolbars were not clearly visible - Fixes other issues on iPad and iPhone where menus and icons were sometimes not clearly visible
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