Music Scoring question

Hi there, I have been using Reaper for a little while, and find it really intuitive and generally excellent. However I have not managed to find a scoring utility within the software, if there is one, how can I access it? If there is not one, then is there a plugin available that would allow me to see my midi tracks scored? Thanks in advance for your help. David L

No, Reaper does not offer musical notation support at this time. You could set up a separate notation application as an external editor in Reaper.

I've wondered about the plugin possibility too... Has anybody ever made a notation vst? I'm not sure how useful it could be - if the track has a MIDI item on it, the plugin could show the data in standard notation - but how could the notation be edited, reflecting the changes in the item? Reversely the plugin itself could generate MIDI, using notation as an interface, but then the regular editing advantages would be lacking... Maybe some of the JS gurus could make a "simple" notation view JS? :)

TonE - its much easier to see which note is which on a staff than on a piano roll: a grand staff can display four octaves with ledger lines in less than a vertical inch of space. And rhythmic divisions and key signatures are meaningful and efficient. Of course the main use of notation is for communicating to players: and here it can be very useful: phrase marks, technical indications etc. But I certainly don't feel that a piano roll is "more advanced" just because it is newer! and +1 for Lilypond

MIDI and musical notation 

These programs main aim is to get the score looking right, and they use MIDI to give an approximation of the sound - so they are expensive MIDI editors, too. Finale and Sibelius do have a free reader for works in their own formats. They are okay to try a few things out. I did try the cheaper, limited, version of Finale and found it restricted; it soon got frustrating. Score editors are in a different world, really, with MIDI as a common language to Reaper. A closer fit for you might be the "arranger" Band-in-a-box, which shows the notes, can edit MIDI and use audio tracks. It's also cheaper, and more fun.

Sibelius and Finale are hardly half-baked ... Sibelius in particular is arguably the best sheet music package every created. It's a very specialized activity and I wouldn't expect a plug-in to be able to offer much more than rudimentary midi -> notation conversion. Lee

I didn't vote since I don't really use notation much, but I understand many people do. I mean, if you want a HS marching band (or any reading band or players) to play your composition you don't hand them a midi file, you hand them scored parts and work out the other little nuances during rehearsal. The score need not be picture perfect in that Sibelus kinda way, just get the idea across in a basic way. It does (at this point) seem like a waste of developer time but I could see notation in Reaper more down the road. Why not?

I've got Finale Notepad set as a external midi editor, it seems to work fine but it does not update the file in Reaper. If you wish edit the midi you need to save it, then you can drag the file in from an explorer window. I just had a look on the Finale site and it looks like Songwriter would be a good value option for this kind of thing. I don't use notation very often so you need to do your own research with this

A great alternative to Finale is to stick red-hot needles in both of your eyes - except that the needles hurt less than trying to use Finale and you'll get more work done while you're in a fetal position writhing in pain. I tried to use Finale for three years and the only benefit was it improved my handwriting. (I eventually switched back to Encore) Finale is just so bloated and kludgey. Simple and routine tasks are nested in layers of submenus and multi dialogs. The main reason people use it is because of their educational program(s). Schools get it cheap and they offer generous student discounts. Still, I've never met anyone who used it and doesn't hate it - even people who've worked thru grad school to get used to it. Sibelius, fwiw has the opposite reputation. Though I haven't used it myself, I've never met anyone who has used it and doesn't love it.