Songworks 4+

Music notation plus tune ideas!

How often do you see a music notation program that can also suggest melody ideas in any key, with chords, or chords to go with your melody, or melody to go with your chords? Songworks 4 allows easy entry of melodies, chord symbols, and lyrics - for anything from a simple song to a chorale or instrumental arrangement - but it can also stimulate your musical imagination by inventing tune and harmony ideas using its own artificial intelligence. Songworks supports both standard notation and alternatives such as Shape Notes (both 5 and 7- shape systems, with shapes automatically chosen), stemless, stick, and x-head notation, all at any scaling, from tiny notes to big ones. In version 4 you can now edit music either in page or panorama view, and control over spacing between staff systems can vary as needed. There is no set number of measures per line - just enter notes, rests, and other symbols, slide them left or right, up or down, delete them or add new ones as desired, and Songworks will adjust to make the music look good. Lyric text can be typed as a complete line of poetry - type a space or hyphen between syllables and the Songworks will line the syllables up with notes as needed. Chord symbols in Songworks are audible, playing with various accompaniment patterns to give you a better idea of how the chords work with a melody. You can quickly transpose any piece to a different key, or use various composition tools to develop melody (inversion, retrograde, etc.). In addition to tools for writing your own music you have access to the Ars Nova online music library, with many sample files for example or play-along - including Bach Chorales, viol and recorder compositions by Dowland, Byrd, Jenkins and others (including an option to sound at A415 instead of A440), traditional songs, fiddle tunes with chords, Handel's entire Messiah, harmonized etudes for violin or viola practice, and more.