Musegraph’s Wolfgang font brings the SCORE look to Sibelius

Notation software has come, gone, and evolved over the years. But for many digital engravers, one program remains the gold standard by which all others are measured. That program is SCORE, the first commercially available music notation program, released in 1986. Although it continues to be used, its creator, Leland Smith, died several years ago, and it is unlikely to ever be updated.

Fortunately, Musegraph has produced a music font to suit typesetters and enthusiasts who enjoy the look of SCORE’s output. Its Vienna font, derived from SCORE, has been available for a while for Finale users, and now it has been ported for use in Sibelius.

That font family is called Wolfgang, and it is available now from Musegraph for 40 €. Wolfgang doesn’t replicate every symbol within the Opus family, but the most common ones are available through the three fonts that comprise the Wolfgang family: Wolfgang Std, Wolfgang Special Std, and Wolfgang Text Std. (For other, less common symbols, you can use one of the Sibelius default fonts such as Opus, or the free Bravura-derived Norfolk font.)

After you install the fonts on your computer, setting it up for use in Sibelius is very easy. Instructions are provided on Musegraph’s web site, and should you need it, more information is available in the Sibelius Reference in the Music fonts chapter. Once you have set up a document using the Wolfgang fonts, you can export a house style or manuscript paper that uses them.

I tried it and was very pleased with the results I achieved. Here is an excerpt of music created in SCORE:

And here is the same excerpt, created in Sibelius with Wolfgang:

Of course, achieving output in Sibelius or Finale that truly emulates that of SCORE is more than just a simple font substitution; note spacing, layout, engraving rules, and a host of other settings come into play. But if you’re already interested in changing your music font, chances are you’ll want to spend the time adjusting your house style and your document’s settings to achieve that distinctive look. Using Wolfgang will go a long way toward making it possible.

For more options, Musegraph also offers another font called Ludwig (the Finale version is called Stockholm), which it says “gives an older look to your scores. It has softly shaped accidentals and dynamics with a relaxing look.” Ludwig is priced at 35 €.