Sheet music

Discuss music production with Ableton Live.
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Doministry
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Joined: Mon Jul 21, 2025 9:56 am

Sheet music

Post by Doministry » Mon Jul 21, 2025 1:13 pm

Hello! I am thinking about switching to Ableton Live, which seems to be a well developed DAW with future.
However one of the things I use sometimes, and it's quite important to me, is to write/edit sheet music. How can I edit sheet music before finally exporting it to a sheet music software? How can I see the score in Ableton? Except the piano roll... Thanks

kitekrazy
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Joined: Sat Jan 16, 2010 7:16 pm

Re: Sheet music

Post by kitekrazy » Mon Jul 21, 2025 3:38 pm

Someone has created a Max4Live device for this, It can only be viewed so you can't really edit the score.

Doministry
Posts: 5
Joined: Mon Jul 21, 2025 9:56 am

Re: Sheet music

Post by Doministry » Mon Jul 21, 2025 5:02 pm

Thanks. That is a pity!
You think there is a plan for this in the future?

BarryChabala
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Location: Albuquerque, NM
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Re: Sheet music

Post by BarryChabala » Tue Jul 22, 2025 2:17 pm

check out maxscore/livescore ? https://www.computermusicnotation.com
Guitarist, composer, Macbook M4pro

Doministry
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Joined: Mon Jul 21, 2025 9:56 am

Re: Sheet music

Post by Doministry » Tue Jul 22, 2025 8:20 pm

BarryChabala wrote:
Tue Jul 22, 2025 2:17 pm
check out maxscore/livescore ? https://www.computermusicnotation.com
Oh thanks!

stringtapper
Posts: 6321
Joined: Sat Aug 28, 2004 6:21 pm

Re: Sheet music

Post by stringtapper » Wed Jul 23, 2025 7:32 pm

Doministry wrote:
Mon Jul 21, 2025 5:02 pm
Thanks. That is a pity!
You think there is a plan for this in the future?
No, I would not hold my breath for a native notation editor in Live.

For one thing, very few DAWs do have this feature anymore (Logic and Cubase are it, I think), and further development of those systems within those DAWs doesn't seem to be a priority.

And second, Live really isn't the kind of app that would ever really warrant it. Even with all of the post-production features that have crept into Live over the years, it's still a DAW geared towards live performance at its heart.
Unsound Designer

BarryChabala
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Joined: Mon Mar 26, 2007 2:59 pm
Location: Albuquerque, NM
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Re: Sheet music

Post by BarryChabala » Thu Jul 24, 2025 4:24 am

stringtapper wrote:
Wed Jul 23, 2025 7:32 pm
Doministry wrote:
Mon Jul 21, 2025 5:02 pm
Thanks. That is a pity!
You think there is a plan for this in the future?
No, I would not hold my breath for a native notation editor in Live.

For one thing, very few DAWs do have this feature anymore (Logic and Cubase are it, I think), and further development of those systems within those DAWs doesn't seem to be a priority.

And second, Live really isn't the kind of app that would ever really warrant it. Even with all of the post-production features that have crept into Live over the years, it's still a DAW geared towards live performance at its heart.
Studio One has notation too, and Cubase's just got upgraded to be based on Dorico.

I hear that a lot that Live is geared toward live performance but for me it does everything I need to create & produce any kind of music that comes into my head. I've used it a few times in live performances but that's certainly not all it's great at.
Guitarist, composer, Macbook M4pro

Doministry
Posts: 5
Joined: Mon Jul 21, 2025 9:56 am

Re: Sheet music

Post by Doministry » Fri Jul 25, 2025 1:09 pm

stringtapper wrote:
Wed Jul 23, 2025 7:32 pm
Doministry wrote:
Mon Jul 21, 2025 5:02 pm
Thanks. That is a pity!
You think there is a plan for this in the future?
No, I would not hold my breath for a native notation editor in Live.

For one thing, very few DAWs do have this feature anymore (Logic and Cubase are it, I think), and further development of those systems within those DAWs doesn't seem to be a priority.

And second, Live really isn't the kind of app that would ever really warrant it. Even with all of the post-production features that have crept into Live over the years, it's still a DAW geared towards live performance at its heart.
Thank you. I believe Ableton is not that thing anymore. People actually use it for production and composition which hasn't been possible years ago.
I work in Samplitude which also has a sheet music support.

stringtapper
Posts: 6321
Joined: Sat Aug 28, 2004 6:21 pm

Re: Sheet music

Post by stringtapper » Mon Jul 28, 2025 6:52 pm

Personally, I have never found the notation features included in most DAWs to have the range of features I need, so I have always used Finale and now Dorico for scoring, which I do quite a lot of.

If I need to score something I have already composed in a DAW I will usually do some combination of simply transcribing parts into the notation app, or exporting MIDI from the DAW and importing into the notation app.

If I composed in the notation app first, then it's just exporting MIDI from the notation app and into the DAW.
Unsound Designer

Doministry
Posts: 5
Joined: Mon Jul 21, 2025 9:56 am

Re: Sheet music

Post by Doministry » Wed Jul 30, 2025 6:10 pm

stringtapper wrote:
Mon Jul 28, 2025 6:52 pm
Personally, I have never found the notation features included in most DAWs to have the range of features I need, so I have always used Finale and now Dorico for scoring, which I do quite a lot of.

If I need to score something I have already composed in a DAW I will usually do some combination of simply transcribing parts into the notation app, or exporting MIDI from the DAW and importing into the notation app.

If I composed in the notation app first, then it's just exporting MIDI from the notation app and into the DAW.
I know. However seeing the sheet in DAW helps cleaning the stuff in piano roll before exporting.

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