Write Music Scores on a Computer With Pizzicato

Pizzicato is the name of music composition software distributed by the Arpege music company. Pizzicato works basically like a word processor for musicians, making it easy to construct complex scores for many instruments. Pizzicato also allows you to listen to your compositions directly from the composition window. Using Pizzicato to compose everything from simple piano/vocal sheets to orchestral arrangements can save you many hours of composition time and help ensure that your musical compositions are professional and correctly notated.

Step 1

Open Pizzicato by clicking the icon on your desktop or Start menu. A dialog box will open, giving you several options, depending on the type of composition you want to write. Select the "Professional Evaluation" option. A new blank music sheet appears, ready for you to begin composition. Click "File" and choose "Creation Assistant" from the menu that drops down. Type the time signature and key for your song.

Step 2

Set up your score for the number of instruments you would like to compose for. Double-click on the music staff to open the score dialogue. Select the number of staves to add to the score, select the clef sign for each new staff and click "OK."

Step 3

Begin composing. You can compose on all of the lines simultaneously or write one line of composition at a time. Click "Tools" and click the "Notes and Rests" palette to open it. Click "Tools" again and click the "Main Palette" to open it as well. You can do most of your composing here by clicking the desired note or rest on the palette and then clicking on the music staff.

Step 4

Click "Window" and click on the "Chord Progressions" option to insert the letter names for chords. Place these chords above your music staff to create a general chord-progression sheet.

Step 5

Open the lyrics editor by clicking "Window" and then clicking on the "Lyrics" option. Type lyrics directly into the editor, then click "OK" to insert the lyrics in the appropriate location on your score.

Step 6

Play your composition at any time by clicking the "Play" button on the toolbar. The software uses MIDI files to emulate instrument sounds.

Step 7

Print your composition from the "File" menu using the "Print" command. There is no need to purchase music staff paper. Pizzicato prints all elements of your composition on standard score paper.

References

• Arpege Music: Pizzicato

About the Author

Carl Hose has been writing since high school. His work appears in the zombie anthology "Cold Storage," which he co-edited. His work also appears in "Champagne Shivers," "DeathGrip: It Came from the Cinema," "DeathGrip: Exit Laughing," the horror anthology "Loving the Undead," the erotic ghost anthology "Beyond Desire" and issues of "Lighthouse Digest." Hose's nonfiction appears in "Blue Review" and "Writer's Journal."

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