• Tremolos now are played in rhythm and are performed properly within tuplets
• Default stereo mixes have been put into all Noteflight Crescendo templates, to improve sound
• Students can now be deleted in bulk on Noteflight Classroom’s My Sites / Members page by selecting and dragging to the Trash
• Noteflight Classroom now supports custom plans and pricing, and automatically generates quote request emails for PO purchases.
• Compatibility changes to support Noteflight use on IE10 and Windows 8.
• Filter Selection now works even with documents that you cannot edit (since it doesn’t change the score).
• When changing the time signature of a pickup bar, do not alter measures other than the first.

Crescendo and premium users now have a complete set of male/female vocal instruments on three syllables (ahh, ohh and ooo) which completes our newly licensed samples from Sonivox.

Page layout is improved in a couple of ways. First, we’ve changed Noteflight’s vertical page layout to add much less vertical blank space when the music doesn’t occupy the height of the entire page. The amount of page is controllable through a new “System stretch” slider on the Document Layout panel. Second, we now allow you to shorten the final line of music when it doesn’t occupy the whole width of the page, by dragging the final barline in the score to the left.

It’s now possible to copy and paste music in individual voices without overwriting all the music in the passage being pasted into. Text, expression marks and chord symbols can also now be pasted on top of music without overwriting it. In order to get this behavior, use the new Edit > Filter Selection commands before you copy into the clipboard. These commands limit your selection to the notes in only one voice, or to the specific text and symbols you want to copy. Then, before pasting the clipboard into the music, select a note in the specific voice where the pasted material should go.

We’ve made it easier to include symbols for note values and accidentals in performance text with special codes like {eighth} or {flat}. Also, you can just use text like “Ab” or “F#” and it will be automatically formatted for you, just like in a chord symbol.

There are also a bunch of other goodies in this release:

• Fix difficulty with clicking and selecting lines
• Fix problems with parts of score being cut off in Landscape orientation
• Automatically position new performance text, expression text or chord elements to line up with preceding elements of the same kind.
• Only color beams when there is same color for start and end note sets.
• Ensure compatibility with preview release of Windows 8.
• Change performance of 8th-note tremolos to use a true metrical 8th note.
• Add proper error message reporting for YouTube videos which don’t allow embedding, are private, or have been taken off the YouTube site.
• Fix the “Clear Following Marks” function to also clear the current measure selection, so that the next “Mark Next Measure” operation works as expected..

The instruments are named “Chorus, Men (aah)” and “Chorus, Women (aah)”.

As a sample demonstrating both instruments check out this transcription of Bach’s chorale Jesu, meine Freude BWV 227. (If you only hear a piano sound, your browser’s cache may still be holding onto yesterday’s instrument list — try clearing that cache.)

Filter Selection is a new command on the Edit menu that allows you to first select a range of music, and then filter that selection so that only objects of a certain kind remain selected. For example, say you wanted to shift all the chord symbols in your piece upwards. You could select the entire score, filter the selection so that only chord symbols remained selected, and then move all the chords up at once.

It’s now possible to import any number of MusicXML or MIDI files at once. Just select multiple files in the dialog box that comes up when you use the Import… command. If you import into a file that’s in a Folder, all the imported files will be in that same Folder.

Scores created by Crescendo users can now be viewed on mobile devices by anyone, even people without a Noteflight account! This makes it even easier for Crescendo users to share their scores with friends, bandmates, colleagues and others.

Musical excerpts can now be set up so that the first bar begins with any desired number.

Double accidentals are now supported in all chord symbols and figured bass.

Another question we hear is, “Isn’t Flash dead?” Or, put another way, “When is Noteflight moving to HTML5? Isn’t everyone doing that now?”

These two issues are very strongly related, and at Noteflight we think about them together. With today’s release of Noteflight’s mobile score viewer, it feels like a very timely moment to talk about what we’re doing, and why we’re following the particular path that we’re taking.

First of all, a little philosophical musing (I wouldn’t want to disappoint you!). Noteflight is “music notation for a connected world”, and the word “connected” has to include mobile devices for this slogan to make any sense. We’ve known that from the start, and the question has always been not whether to make this happen, but how. “Connected” is an important word to us, but so is “world”: Noteflight has to work everywhere.

What’s the thing that is “everywhere” in the world today? There’s a simple answer: the web. The web is everywhere, on every device, and it’s finally getting to the point where it pretty much looks and works the same on all those different platforms. (It doesn’t yet sound the same, which is a problem for music apps, and I’ll say more about that below.)

Therefore, we’ve decided that the best approach is to follow our original instinct: wherever possible design for the web, not for proprietary platforms. Our plan is to move our entire platform from Flash to HTML5. This plan is currently in motion. Our HTML5-based mobile viewer for the web is a crucial step in that plan, as it makes Noteflight scores available today for reading and playback everywhere. Other steps are well underway.

Many people are probably wondering why we haven’t moved our entire score editor over to mobile at this time. It’s a fair question. The reason is that the technology landscape shifted, causing us to change from Plan A (continue with Adobe technologies for a while) to Plan B (aim for HTML5 from the get-go). Plan B takes longer and requires more work, but the result will be vastly better for our users and will result in a Noteflight platform that is truly ubiquitous and works the same everywhere. Hey, we like that!

Our original short-term plan was to get our Flash-based Noteflight editor onto mobile using Adobe AIR, a technology that allows Flash applications to be built to run on many mobile devices (including the iPad). Part of the way through this work, Adobe made a set of announcements about Flash and AIR that raised serious questions about how long this solution would continue to be supported. AIR also required a heavy investment in redoing our sound engine, and this effort was getting us no closer to working in the future world of HTML5 audio. In the end we ultimately decided to set this project aside and focus on HTML5 alone. Plan A was a technological dead end, and following it would lead our company and our customers down a blind alley, diverting effort from our true goal of working everywhere seamlessly.

So now, we are on a path to put all of our good things (and many new ones!) on top of a secure footing on open standards. We are also working actively and directly with the W3C to define how HTML5 audio will work, which is essential in order for Noteflight’s sound engine to function in the coming generation of browsers. Audio and sound synthesis is one of the areas in which HTML5 most needs to catch up, and one of the few areas where the Flash platform still has a decisive advantage.

A question that may come to mind is, “if Noteflight is 100% web based, will there ever be a Noteflight app on iOS or Android?” The answer is almost certainly yes. Our new mobile viewer is designed to work perfectly as a pure web page, which lets it work cleanly and identically in every environment, but there will be times where we need to take advantage of features that fall outside the realm of what is possible within a web browser. That’s still okay: HTML5 works just as well inside an app as it does in a web browser. Standards will get us where we want to go.

I hope this snapshot of our thinking helps everyone understand what we’re up to. I want all of you — our users, customers and partners — to know how we’re dealing with the complicated decisions that reality throws at software developers today. You are the best thing in our world, because we go to work everyday knowing that we’re doing something that people care about. Noteflight will keep on evolving and getting better, thanks to you.

Big news for Noteflight Crescendo and other premium users! You can now view and play Noteflight scores on most mobile devices and platforms, including iPad, iPhone, Android and Kindle Fire. We’ve made it easy to view and play your scores anywhere – just login to Noteflight.com on your mobile device and tap any score. There’s no app to install or purchase – the mobile viewer is a feature of our website. It automatically comes up when you view a Noteflight score on a mobile device.

You can display a score in either of two ways – as multiple pages sized to exactly fit your mobile device screen, or as a single scrolling page.

When you play a score in multi-page view, we automatically turn the pages for you, which is great for following along with, or performing, the score.

You can display single parts of a score by selecting an individual part from the part chooser.

Note that there can be a delay of several minutes the first time a score is accessed from a mobile device. Our servers need to do a bunch of work to “mobilize” each score – the amount of time it takes depends on how busy our servers are, and how long the score is. Once a version of a score has been “mobilized”, viewing it should take just a few seconds.

When you view a score, we reduce the Noteflight header to a thin black bar to give you the most room to view your score on smaller devices – tap on your browser’s back button to return to the score listings, or you can display the full sized Noteflight header by tapping on the arrow in the upper right corner of the screen.

If you’re using a mobile device that supports Adobe Flash (many Android devices do), you can still access the full Noteflight editor by tapping on the “Open in Noteflight Score Editor” link above the score.

Stay tuned for more developments on the iPad and mobile devices – this is just our first step towards making Noteflight accessible everywhere, for all of our users (free users too)!

Some fine print on our first release (expect improvements in the future):

• Scores with synchronized audio or video media will play the built-in Notelight sounds, and video will not be shown.
• Document layout settings like note size and system spacing are ignored.
• Page mode doesn’t automatically scroll to keep the cursor in view.

(Want to know more about Noteflight’s mobile strategy? Read Joe Berkovitz’s blog post on Mobile, HTML5, Flash and Noteflight.)

April 23, 2012 Cambridge, MA –
Christian Copyright Licensing International (CCLI) announced the re-launch of its SongSelect service showcasing the unique capabilities of Noteflight’s MusicXML sheet music viewer technology. As part of this major re-launch, CCLI has deployed a custom version of Noteflight’s MusicXML sheet music viewer, that supports SongSelect’s various score formats and features while adding new functionality that leverages Noteflight’s specific technological advantages.

Noteflight’s viewer is ideal for use within the SongSelect service due to Noteflight’s full-featured score layout and playback capabilities. This flexibility allows CCLI customers to exercise more control over layout, transposition, note size, inclusion of parts and many other options.

CCLI serves a large, diverse population of churches by providing SongSelect, a subscription-based licensing service that includes access to musical scores in a variety of formats including lead, chord and vocal sheets. As the most comprehensive legal source for worship music, the selection of the viewer technology was a critical consideration for CCLI.
“Over 60,000 churches across North America already have a SongSelect subscription. But we’re always looking to better serve our customers and provide them with the best possible experience. With web technology pushing forward so quickly, we want SongSelect to remain relevant as a worship team resource and Noteflight is an integral part of this vision.” remarked George Ross, CTO of CCLI.

“CCLI is unique in its global reach and in its use of a subscription model, which allows its customers great flexibility in tailoring their sheet music to their needs,” said Joe Berkovitz, President of Noteflight. “We’re extremely pleased to be able to serve an organization of this scale with our platform.”
Noteflight offers cloud-based music notation software to individuals, K-12 music teachers, university level music educators and has licensed its viewer technology to leading global music companies, including sheet music publishers and digital content distributors.

# # #

About CCLI:
Based in Portland, Oregon, CCLI also has regional offices in Australia, the United Kingdom, South Africa and Brazil. Globally, CCLI provides license and resource services to over 200,000 churches, schools and ministries. For more information visit ccli.com

About Noteflight
Founded in 2008 and headquartered in Cambridge, MA, Noteflight, LLC. is dedicated to reinventing the way people create, share, and use written music. Noteflight allows users to take advantage of the full power of the Web to edit, display, and play back music notation in a standard web browser and is integrated with an online library of musical scores from which anyone can publish, link to, or embed their compositions. Noteflight Publishing Server allows music businesses to manage large, scalable cloud-based repositories of sheet music that can be customized for any device on the fly. For more information, visit noteflight.com.

Noteflight Press Contact: Joe Berkovitz, joe@noteflight.com, (978) 314-6271.

April 16, 2012 Cambridge, MA — Noteflight, LLC (noteflight.com), developer of innovative online music notation software, today announced its partnership with Dorian Business Systems, Inc, the developer of the Charms Office Assistant which provides K-12 schools and universities with a comprehensive, web-based music program management application. Noteflight for Charms will be made available as an optional purchase from within the Charms dashboard to allow teachers and students to take advantage of Noteflight’s musical score creation and sharing program. With a click of a button, schools will be able to select Noteflight and have it integrated with Charms, providing teachers and students with convenient single-sign on access to both applications.

For only $175 per year, Noteflight for Charms will provide Charms members with their own private Noteflight site. Noteflight is ideal for creating and sharing musical scores in a community setting, such as a band, choir, orchestra or any other ensemble. Students are able to create their own solos, contribute warm up exercises and easily gain access to practice materials. Teachers and band leaders can broadcast parts to their private Noteflight community and provide direction and feedback to band members. Noteflight for Charms will be made available among Charm’s existing offerings that include financial management, fundraising, asset management, grade book and parent communication tools. Teachers will be able to experience Noteflight prior to purchase.

“Noteflight’s vision of web-based music notation, combined with its support for music educators, made Noteflight a clear add-on for Charms customers.” said Michael Baker, Founder and CEO of Dorian Business Systems, Inc. “Charms and Noteflight were both founded on the notion of access to music instruction and program resources at any time, from any place via the web, and our partnership is based on this shared principle.”
Noteflight Founder and CEO Joe Berkovitz added: “Noteflight is always looking for ways to bring our music notation technology to teachers and students. Charms is a perfect channel in this way: it’s very popular with teachers and it has a powerful set of web-based tools for music programs. Together, the two products support musical creativity and ease of administration in a simple way that makes good sense. We are thrilled to be working with an industry leader like Charms.”

In addition to Noteflight for Charms, Noteflight offers cloud-based music notation software to individuals, K-12 music teachers, university level music educators and has licensed its viewer technology to leading global music companies, including sheet music publishers and digital content distributors.

In addition to Charms, Dorian Business Systems, Inc. offers web-based contest management software for state and regional organizations such as the Texas University Interscholastic League, and the Connecticut and Illinois Music Educators Associations.

# # #

About Noteflight
Founded in 2008 and headquartered in Cambridge, MA, Noteflight, LLC. is dedicated to reinventing the way people create, share, and use written music. Noteflight allows users to take advantage of the full power of the Web to edit, display, and play back music notation in a standard web browser and is integrated with an online library of musical scores from which anyone can publish, link to, or embed their compositions. Noteflight Publishing Server allows music businesses to manage large, scalable cloud-based repositories of sheet music that can be customized for any device on the fly. For more information, visit noteflight.com.

Noteflight Press Contact: Joe Berkovitz, joe@noteflight.com, (978) 314-6271.

About Charms
The Charms Office Assistant is a product of Dorian Business Systems, Inc., the leading provider of web-based management software to schools and state festivals. Founded in 2001, Charms has grown to encompass financial management for trips, fundraisers and other payments, asset management for libraries, uniforms and inventory, parent communication through tools such as built-in texting, phone messaging, emailing and chat and assessment with our gradebook and web-based recording studio. Dorian Business Systems, Inc. is located in Rowlett, TX, a suburb of Dallas. For more information about Charms, please visit www.charmsoffice.com

Press Contact: Paul Brown, pbrown@charmsmusic.com, (214) 556-1912

March 29, 2012 Cambridge, MA — During its live webcast of Beethoven’s “Emperor” Concerto on March 23, 2012 on www.dso.org/live, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra partnered with Noteflight, LLC (noteflight.com), developer of innovative online music notation software, to invite its live broadcast audience to submit a 2-bar theme via the web as a subject for live improvisation by pianist Robert Levin. This partnership introduced an unprecedented level of interactivity to a virtual audience, allowing each web viewer the opportunity to not only observe the performance but play a part in it.

Under the guidance of Levin, renowned as an expert in baroque and classical improvisation, a global audience watching the webcast was directed to Noteflight.com to create and submit a musical theme using Noteflight’s unique online composition tool. The live audience in Detroit also submitted musical themes on paper. Several selections from both audiences were then chosen by Levin and transformed into a live, spontaneous improvisation in the style of Beethoven, with a section devoted to each of the themes. The submitted scores can be viewed on the DSO’s website: Audience Scores

“This innovative experience for our web audience is part of the DSO’s vision to expand public access to the orchestra’s music through webcasts, digital downloads, and events like this one,” explained Scott Harrison, Executive Producer of Digital Media. “We sought out Noteflight to help us with this exciting experiment because of the ease of their notation software and Noteflight’s global community of music enthusiasts.”

Noteflight set up a dedicated web location for the DSO, allowing the Orchestra to promote the event to its web audience via a simple link. Joe Berkovitz, Founder and CEO of Noteflight explained, “The benefit of being flexible, web-based, software is that we can easily innovate with partners like the DSO. We were thrilled to be identified as an innovative company that could support this exciting project.”

Noteflight offers cloud-based music notation software to individuals, K-12 music teachers, university level music educators and has licensed its viewer technology to leading global music companies, including sheet music publishers and digital content distributors.

# # #

About the DSO:
The internationally acclaimed Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the fourth-oldest symphony orchestra in the United States, is known for trailblazing performances, visionary maestros, collaborations with the world’s foremost musical artists, and an unwavering commitment to Detroit. Esteemed conductor Leonard Slatkin, called “America’s Music Director” by the Los Angeles Times, became the 12th Music Director of the DSO during the 2008-09 season. The DSO offers a performance schedule that includes Classical, Pops, Jazz, Young People’s, Neighborhood concerts and festivals. The DSO makes its home in historic Orchestra Hall, one of America’s most acoustically perfect concert halls, and actively pursues a mission to impact and serve the community through music. In April 2011, the DSO launched Live from Orchestra Hall, an unprecedented webcast series that makes DSO concerts available for free on the web and mobile devices. On May 10, 2013, the DSO will return to Carnegie Hall with Maestro Slatkin to perform all four Ives symphonies in one evening. For more information visit www.dso.org

DSO Press contact: Gabrielle Poshadlo, GPoshadlo@dso.org, (313) 576-5194.

About Noteflight
Founded in 2008 and headquartered in Cambridge, MA, Noteflight, LLC. is dedicated to reinventing the way people create, share, and use written music. Noteflight allows users to take advantage of the full power of the Web to edit, display, and play back music notation in a standard web browser and is integrated with an online library of musical scores from which anyone can publish, link to, or embed their compositions. Noteflight Publishing Server allows music businesses to manage large, scalable cloud-based repositories of sheet music that can be customized for any device on the fly. For more information, visit noteflight.com.

Noteflight Press Contact: Joe Berkovitz, joe@noteflight.com, (978) 314-6271

So please check out Kevin’s video sync of his composition Cucumbers and Gin.

We’d love to find out about how you’re using the feature. Please write to us at our info address, or post a comment here!