Q & A(I)
Part one of our listener Q&A follows the mailbag into AI: scanning, audio transcription, proofreading, language-model bridges, and the “Gould test” — all leading to larger questions about expertise, judgment, and responsibility.
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Q & A(gain)
Part 2 of our Q&A: An iPad that won't behave like a desktop, an app that has gone quiet, VST vocal and instrumental plug-ins, large-print parts, a lifetime of files to organize, operating systems to keep current with — and how any of this becomes a living.
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Half-time report: what’s new, and a call for your questions
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.
Score preparation and production double-checklist
Score preparation and production, revisited. Six years after the checklist that launched this podcast, we work through it section by section — what the software has solved, what it hasn't, and what wasn't even on the original list.
Richard deCosta gives your score a voice
What happens when your notation software can sing? Richard deCosta, founder of Cantai and the Turing Opera Workshop, discusses bringing expressive vocal synthesis directly to Dorico, Sibelius, and MuseScore.
Freshly pressed
A delightfully nerdy take on new Notation Express updates for Dorico and a major overhaul to the PDF Batch Utilities. Plus, the notation software tools hiding in plain sight, and where they could go next.
NAMM 2026: An interview with Sam Butler and Joe Plazak
From NAMM 2026: Avid’s Sam Butler and Joe Plazak on Sibelius’s development philosophy, how user feedback shapes priorities, where users should feel progress since last year, plus automation/AI, cross-platform realities, and Avid’s long-term commitment.
NAMM 2026: An interview with Chris Swaffer
From NAMM 2026: Fender’s Chris Swaffer on Notion, what the Fender name signals, refinement and cross-platform consistency, under-the-radar improvements, accessibility, Studio Pro interoperability, and intelligent assistance in service of musicians.
NAMM 2026: An interview with Sebastian Murgul
From NAMM 2026: Sebastian Murgul of klang.io on why AI transcription is finally practical, where the hardest musical problems remain, how accuracy earns musicians’ trust, plus MusicXML/MIDI interoperability and real-world use cases.
NAMM 2026: An interview with John Barron
From NAMM 2026: Steinberg’s John Barron on Dorico’s current development phase, guiding design principles, where users should feel progress since last year, under-the-radar features, playback realism, workflow interoperability, and automation in service of notation.