Bellevue, WA -- (ReleaseWire) -- 05/15/2007 -- The culmination of more than 12 years of software development, Notation Software's releases of Notation Musician 2.0 and Notation Composer 2.0, and the major upgrade release 2.1 on April 23, 2007, offer everyday musicians engaging ways for making music-both the sheet music and the sound. The Home musicians, members of small ensembles and choirs, and adults renewing their musical interests now have music software specifically designed with them in mind, as an alternative to complicated and expensive music notation programs optimized for full-time professional musicians and music publishers.

Whereas the starting point for making music with other desktop music publishing software is typically hand-written music that the user enters onto the screen, the starting point for the Notation Musician or Composer user is typically music that the program helps the user find and download from the Internet. The user then customizes, arranges the music for himself or his music group, according to his or his group's musical skill level, taste, and unique set of instruments or voice ranges. Song writers and composers can also write music from scratch, using tools well-optimized for that task.

Notation Musician 2.0 and Composer 2.0 introduce a new look that can be customized by the user. A large collection of tools are readily accessible in a well-organized three-level palette, taking the guesswork out of finding the option that is only one or two mouse clicks away.

Version 2.1 of the Notation products includes support for Vista, support for automatic software updates, forward and backward compatibility of Notation .not files, and several secondary new features, such as a convenient way to specify a fixed number of bars per line.

It's easy to prepare parts for yourself, such as for fake book lead sheets, or for members of your music ensemble. As first introduced by Notation Software in 2004, parts are fully integrated with the conductor's score so that changes are automatically reflected in both.

Notation Composer and Notation Musician run on Windows Vista, XP, ME, 2000, and 98. Notation Musician 2.1 ($49.95USD) and Notation Composer 2.1 ($149.95USD) can be purchased online or by phone as described at Notation Software's web site, www.notation.com.

For more information contact:
Mark Walsen, President
Notation Software, Inc.
http://www.notation.com
markwa@notation.com
Ph: 425.688.0793
Fax: 425.688.0795