Since I have a music education background as well as a performing background, I wanted the best music publishing program out. I started with the very first version of Finale (1.0) and have upgraded from there. I have to admit, the learning curve on this program was a bit steep. If it's any consolation to you new users, it took me somewhere around 45 hours from start to finish on the first song that I transcribed. But the program has gotten a lot easier since then! And the power behind it is tremendous. SIBELIUS is also very popular and I have had interns who are using this program. In fact, now many people now have both platforms. The main point here is to get a program that you won't outgrow and be consistent with it's use in your studio. It's worth a little extra money in the long-run to get a good quality program. There will be little quirks in any program you choose, but you can learn to get around them.

DIGITAL PERFORMER

My first experience with PERFORMER was when it wasn't digital, which was a while ago! I used it on DESTINY, the first album I put out. I read the manual and used it on a friend's computer at his studio. Now the manuals are all online or built into the program. When I started, there were two programs: PERFORMER or PRO TOOLS. PRO TOOLS was prohibitively expensive at the time for home and project studios so PERFORMER seemed to be the best choice for me. As with every program, there are limitations, but this program has taken me through many projects and lets me do most things I need to do professionally, teaming up with other studios. I can export sound files in a number of platforms, do sound cuts with fades, merge song tracks in order with the right spacing for live shows and program create midi and scratch tracks for my writing. When I write musicals, I create "dummy tracks" and sing all the parts myself at first to see how the song works. (true "blackmail" material!) This sounds like a lot of work, but it's been a very good creative learning process for me. Some of the songs sound tremendously funny at this stage, but it's helped to weed out and refine some of the songs I've used in the final project. As a writer, you need some tool to document your songs and hear them back. Unless, of course you're Mozart or Beethoven and can hear every instrument and vocal line in your head. And still, they had orchestras at their disposal. There are many other great programs out there, SONAR, LOGIC PRO, a now much more affordable versions of PRO TOOLS, and many others. You may have GARAGE BAND and BAND-IN-A-BOX (which has some great drums & guitars) which will all do different things for you. Again, the main thing is to find a basic program that will do most everything you need to do for your projects and go from there.

REASON, GIGASTUDIO, ETC...

REASON is basically a library of sounds. As with any program, there are limitations and the number of libraries to be had these days seems endless. I keep my REASON files on a seperate hard drive and have to admit, I don't use them as often these days as I've gotten in the habit of putting together such simple midi tracks, then bringing my work to another studio. It takes a tremendous amount of time and money to keep up with all the recent sounds and software. I don't have GIGASTUDIO, but have worked with studios who have it and it works seamlessly with other programs as PERFORMER and PRO TOOLS. It's basically acomputer of sounds, PC-based. Again, there's so much out there and if you're just starting, find a basic platform that will work for you, then build your studio. I've heard some incredible things come from GARAGE BAND, but realize that you get past a basic song design, you will want a program that can grow with you.

FINAL NOTES

Look at your goals and what you want to do. Many programs will do basically the same thing. Pick your main notation program and your main sequencing/recording program, then build your studio from there. Decide what your "business" is-- if you love sound design, shop e-bay and find last-year's models and have fun. If you're a writer, get the basics with a few keyboards or sound modules that work well together so your process can run smooth and uninterrupted.