Have you ever listened to an episode of the Scoring Notes podcast and wished you could ask a question directly on the show?
Well, it’s time to open the phone lines again. For the third time — after 2023’s three-part marathon and last year’s round — Scoring Notes wants to hear directly from you, on any topic in the world of music notation software and related technology, or anywhere adjacent to it.
Whether you’re a “long-timer” or a “first-timer”, all are welcome to ask a question about anything in the world of music notation software and related technology — or really, any one of the adjacent subjects we’ve covered on the Scoring Notes podcast or web site, and we may feature it an upcoming episode.
Send your question as an email to podcast@scoringnotes.com, or record it as a voice memo and send it as an email attachment or file-sharing link, or drop it directly here. However you send it, questions are due by Wednesday, July 22, 2026.
We’d love it if you provide your name (first name only is OK), where in the world you’re calling from, and what music notation software you use — or if you don’t use it at all.
In the meantime, have a listen to our latest episode, and have a look back at the first six months of the year — it may well spark a question or two that you want to send our way.
Listen to the podcast episode
On the Scoring Notes podcast, David MacDonald and Philip Rothman announce that it’s time to send us your questions for the Scoring Notes podcast — deadline July 22. Plus, a mid-year catch-up on Dorico, Sibelius, and MuseScore updates, Cantai, and a first look at the reimagined 2027 MOLA Tech Fair in San Francisco. Listen now:
This is a question for your next podcast .
I am a Dorico user – so the question is frame in “Dorico” language.
We can “ explode” a chord to a set of instrumentation in our score, we can realise the notes from a chord symbol, and we can create a chord symbol from notes. Is there a market / a desire to be able to create a music passage of melody and harmony on a ( piano/ sketch) grand staff and invoke ( AI assisted?) a tool to orchestra the passage – without not necessarily having any or all instruments in the score? With hints / choices from say full Mahler orchestra/ Beethoven /Mozart/ chamber/ Big band / etc? So the music can play before we settle on the sound we want?
Hello Philip and David. I am a long time listener of your wonderful program and always value your well-considered discussions on all things involving musical notation and related technologies. My question for the podcast falls into the related technologies corner and concerns digital page turning apps.
We have apps available today for our tablets and phones that allow a performer to “page through” a score or part in numerous ways; some mechanisms involve use of gestures (swiping left and right on the screen, for example); others involve use of external bluetooth pedals to navigate through the score. In still other cases, a tempo can be established when the performance of the piece begins and the software will automatically scroll forward when a measured amount of time (based on the tempo and bar count) on that page have elapsed (this approach makes it very challenging for compositions with liberal use of rubato).
What would be wonderful is a page-turning app that could “listen” to the performance and correlate that audio input with the actual manuscript. We have tools in the community that attempt to generate notation from audio; we also have tools that “understand” musical notation and use that knowledge for intelligent playback from our notation programs (e.g., NotePerformer). Is there a tool that can blend together these two technologies to automate the role of a human page-turning assistant, one that not only understands the structure of the composition, but can also track in real-time how the performer is progressing through the score, making the appropriate page turning decisions based on this combined knowledge? Such an app would eliminate the need for silly hand gestures, mouth movements, eye blinks, and external pedals. A beautiful collaboration between the performer and digital technology. (Sadly, though, it may also end the careers of our most-valued human page-turning assistants :-) …
Thank you in advance for your comments.
Philip and David- I’m writing to you today to ask if you can help me with some research on my family business- Associated Music Copy Service. Located in New York City for many decades, originally on 43rd Street, then on 53rd street and lastly 55th street.
My parents Bob Haring Jr and Judy Haring ran the business which provided music copying, scores and parts printing, a wide range of music manuscript papers and a range of music copying tools- pens, inks, blotters, rulers and most importantly for this enquiry- the Aztec Scoremaster 101 pencil.
I worked off and on with my parents, but my heart was in the theatre, as a stage manager.
I’m working on a film project inspired by the Aztec Scoremaster 101 pencil, which has been used by a long list of composers and arrangers- in particular the British composer, Gavin Bryars who still composes all of his music with this particular pencil. Gavin has championed the qualities of the pencil for decades and tried to find another manufacturer who could reproduce the lead, but with no success.
I live in England, as does Gavin and we have become good friends.
I have been scouring the internet for any existing Aztec Scoremaster 101’s, and recently found two, one of which has been gifted to Gavin.
I’m hoping to connect with anyone else who might have these pencils, or any of range of Aztec music manuscript papers or branded stationery produced by Associated. I have been in touch with a number of music copyists some of whom worked for my parents and/or who used the Aztec papers and products. But THE PENCIL is the motivation for this documentary film.
So, any mention of Associated Music, Aztec products and the documentary in progress would be wonderful.
Also worth mentioning, my grandfather, Bob Haring was a composer, arranger and band leader (The Bob Haring Orchestra) with several hundred recordings still available!
Best regards for now.
Look forward to hearing from you.