StaffPad

I really enjoy this app but it is excessively difficult to consistently draw the accidentals correctly. Flats in particular are especially hard to get right. It’s moments like this that can really kill the momentum of writing. Adding accidentals to the tool bar will be a very simple fix to this issue that way I can just toggle to the accidental I need instead of fighting with my iPad to draw the accidentals perfectly. You should also add note values to the tool bar. Just about every notation software has this option and will be a game changer for this app. Again, instead of fighting with my iPad to write out the notes perfectly, I can just select the note value I need and put it on the staff. In fact, why not combine both of those ideas. For example, if you need to draw quarter notes, just select the quarter note value in the tool bar before you draw the notes. That way, the software knows no matter how poorly the note is drawn that its supposed to recognize the notes as quarter notes. Same thing with tuplets. These two things alone will easily make this the best music notation software bar none. The interface is gorgeous and the sounds are phenomenal. However, all of that is useless if 99% of your time is spent fighting with the software. I am BEGGING you guys to please include these features in the next update.

So far, I have really been liking staff pad. I’ve never liked notation softwares so I have always relied on paper. However, though it is intuitive and easy to use there are a few things missing for me that I bet if added could be perfect for A LOT of composers. Overall I just find it bit too traditional. As someone interested in experimenting and in avant-garde techniques, I find myself unable to use certain types of notation that are not even that uncommon in today’s age. Since I’ve never been interested in notation softwares for listening to my own music, I would love if microtonal accidentals could be added as an option even if it doesn’t change the audio. Another thing that would be great for me is being able to just write the note heads or neumes for the musician to improvise. Something else that I really wish would be added is cross staff notation and being able to hide time signatures and barlines. Or just be able to select no time signature as an option. As I said, this could make it perfect for more modern composers like me. Who are not too interested in listening back to their music but need these kinds of notation. One more suggestion would be being able to “format the score” my way. Not always trying to fit 4, 6, or 8 bars into each system. But to be able to really customize the end product of your score. I really hope these can soon be integrated! it would make it the best for me and many other composers and I think it doesn’t need too many changes. Keep up the good work

I wrote a review shortly after I bought the app and shared my enthusiasm at the time. Well, my appreciation for this app has only grown. I have bought the Berlin sound libraries, a number of fine samples libraries, and Voxos ( about $800 worth of sound libraries in total). This app, with sound libraries of this quality, is truly the fulfillment of a lifelong dream…write out musical ideas and realize them in high quality with ease. I look forward to how the app will evolve, but I hope that you continue to build on the core vision, which, for me, is the support for easily inputting notation by hand and translating it into high quality sounds. Currently, I get 80-90 percent of the way there with StaffPad. And, I am grateful for that! To get the last 10-20 percent, requires exporting midi or xml in order to fine tune performance with more fully featured sound samples (For example, VSL synchron series or EWQL libraries). Unfortunately, the last 10-20 percent requires almost starting from scratch in a DAW (Cubase or Studio One for me) as almost none of the performance subtlety output via midi or xml translates. Not sure what the best solution would be…integration with more libraries, or the addition of some sort of export settings? Maybe the ability to draw more accurate cc curves and export them to channels as desired? Not really sure. Anyway, thank you!