Portable Denemo

The art of creating music relies as much on theory, as it does on the talent of the given artist. While for the latter part, digital tools cannot provide any significant help, for building musical scores to serve as a building block for future songs transcribing and composing programs can be employed. Offering users a professional solution for these needs, Portable Denemo presents itself as viable musical scores editor and creator.

The program supports most of the features that standard applications of this type offer, including the ability to create sheets composed of all types of notes (low and high notes in any key); support for multiple instrument staves is available and users also have the option to insert clefs (including treble, bass and alto).

Working with the tool is performed in a highly intuitive environment and notes can be added either with the mouse (by activating GUI buttons), with the keyboard (Numpad controls) or via a plugged in MIDI instrument. One of the features distinguishing this application from the multiple other musical composers is the users' ability to check their work as they insert notes; after a musical element has been inserted, the utility automatically plays back the note and allows users with adequate aural training to tell if any errors are present.

This notable feature allows one to employ the program for educational purposes and, indeed, there is a menu with just such a title. Browsing it reveals that aspiring musicians can train their ear by identifying scales or notes, as well as by comparing chord sounds. Note reading exercises can also be performed and the application facilitates this by providing several built-in 'tests' (e.g. “Diatonic interval detection” or “Note name recognition”).

Once satisfied with their work, composers can play back their musical scores, by employing a built-in function. If checks reveal no errors, the project can be exported to PDF format or to PNGs (the latter mode also allows one to save selections and not the entire sheet). A separate module handles printing and features an ample view panel to assess the musical score.

To conclude, Portable Denemo is a valuable tool for composers of music or for anyone else involved in the process of creating songs. It can be effectively employed as a professional tool, as the myriad functions provide it with great power and versatility. There are several educational resources that also make it a worthwhile learning utility.