​Pursuing ultimate technical ​supports for
music notation software, and
developing its new utilization ways

- Encounter with the world of the Music Technology

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The word of company name "Tech" stands for "Technical Support" and “Music Technology".

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Looking back, I believe that the Berklee College of Music, where I studied, was an educational institution that put particular emphasis on the music technology. When I was enrolled in the college in 2005, there was already an educational system that a MacBook was provided for all the new students, and a class called "Music Technology", where you could learn the basics of various music production software, was available for all. Students in the composition major were also given a bundle of production tools such as DAWs, sound sources, and an audio interface. It also included Finale, which was my first pro-use music notation software. 

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After coming back Japan, when I was involved in a video game music project as a manager of two composers who were friends from the college, we basically delivered the pieces as a complete package created by DAW, and for the orchestra recorded pieces we were asked to deliver the reference sound sources which were created by DAW at a complete package level quality, and of course the Finale files for the recording session in addition to it. At that time I was keenly aware that DAWs and the music notation software were indispensable production tools in order to complete everything from composing, arranging to orchestral recording within a short project period. 

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- Involved in Finale's localization and support
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Afterwards I had an opportunity to work on the Finale's Japanese localization and support at the MI Seven Japan Inc., the sole distributor in Japan. One of the things I felt most strongly about was that the use of the music notation software sometimes had a negative impact on the creation.

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For example, sometimes you don't know how to realize your musical idea in the music notation software, then you waste your energy researching it, sapping your creativity. Also, I have seen many cases where even if you have a high-level musical ability, you might have a trouble in the software operation just because your basic computer skills are not sufficient.

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The music notation software is also an IT tool used on a computer, so it requires a certain amount of IT knowledge to truly master it. However, there must be many people who want to learn more about music itself rather than IT in their short lifetime. 

 

In order to solve this problem, it is necessary to have someone that can strongly support your creation from the IT side while knowing music. One of the lessons I learned through Finale's technical support was that technical supports for the music notation software sometimes needed to be comprehensively provided, including supports for operating the computer that serves as the platform of the personal music production.

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- Exploring the new usages for the music notation software
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When I was performing in bands actively, there were many times when only reference sound sources were sent from the bandmaster. In the process of copying it by ears and creating my own readsheet, I was able to deepen my understanding while analyzing the music, and by the time the score was completed, the image training was also completed, and subsequent practice was smoother. This was what I experienced on my own many times.

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From the composing and arranging point of view, for example, if you use a word processor to finish a sentence, you can convert your thoughts into character blocks and organize your thoughts by moving the blocks back and forth. You can organize your musical ideas exactly in the same way by using the music notation software. I have heard from many composers and arrangers that this is one of the benefits of introducing the music notation software that goes beyond simply being able to draw beautiful scores.

 

Originally, the music notation also has a function as a tool for visualizing music and assisting in your analysis and study. After the music notation software came along, I think this function as an "Idea-oganizing tool" has been enforced. By focusing on this point, it may be possible to bring about diversity in the methods of music production and music education in the future.

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Our corporate mission is to contribute to the development of the music creation culture and the music education by pursuing the possibilities of the music technology centered on the music notation software. We hope that this initiative will help you in your musical endeavors.