Mosaic notation program

{{Short description|Scorewriter}}

Mosaic (also called Composer's Mosaic{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TxgXhfMmJ5sC&q=%22Mosaic%22+%22mark+of+the+unicorn%22&pg=PA112|title=Anatomy of a Home Studio: How Everything Really Works, from Microphones to MIDI|last=Wilkinson|first=Scott R.|date=1997|publisher=Hal Leonard Corporation|isbn=9780918371218|pages=112|language=en}}) was a Macintosh scorewriter application for producing music notation, developed by Mark of the Unicorn.

First released as Professional Composer among early Macintosh software in 1984, the application introduced a user interface similar to the word processor.{{cite magazine |last= McGeever|first=Christine|date=June 4, 1984|title=New Programs, Macintosh carries a tune|magazine=InfoWorld|publisher= CW Communications|issn=0199-6649|volume=6|number=23|page=44}} The main features included entering musical notation, printing sheet music, and support for lyrics under the score with the font of choice. Notes could be selected from the user interface or entered from the keyboard. The user could also change or extend the tempo, key signature, meter, and other parameters.{{cite book |last1=Clapp |first1=Doug |last2=Ryall |first2=Pat |date=1985 |title=The Complete Macintosh Sourcebook|url=https://archive.org/details/mac_The_Complete_Macintosh_Sourcebook_1985 |location=Santa Monica, CA |publisher=InfoBooks |pages=[https://archive.org/details/mac_The_Complete_Macintosh_Sourcebook_1985/page/n146 135]-136 |isbn=0-931137-03-9|chapter=12 Sound & Animation Software}}

The next major release, Professional Composer 2.0, supported writing on up to 40 staves and allowed the user to enter notes as short as 128th notes, with all operations mainly controlled by menus and dialog boxes. Version 2.0 also introduced several improvements for printing (such as automatically condensing parts with several rest measures), allowing production of professional quality scores. Although the application demanded knowledge of music theory to use its rich features, it offered only rudimentary playback capabilities. A Macworld review also criticized the high price (US$495 in February 1986) and the lack of automatic scrolling when staves were filled (only via scroll bars).{{cite magazine |last=Swigart|first=Bob|date=February 1986|title=They´re Playing Our Song |magazine=Macworld|publisher=PC World Communications|volume=3|number=2|issn=0741-8647|pages=109–112}}

Version 2.2 (1988) corrected several bugs and improved compatibility with Mac Plus, SE and II.{{cite magazine |date=August 1988|title=Updates, Professional Composer |magazine=Macworld|publisher=PC World Communications|volume=5|number=8|issn=0741-8647|pages=230}} Version 2.3M was the last release of Professional Composer.{{cite newsgroup |title=MOTU's {{sic|MOS|IAC|hide=y}}|date=February 1992 |newsgroup=rec.music.synth |url=https://groups.google.com/d/topic/rec.music.synth/rfloPZjaB44/discussion |access-date=July 28, 2017}}

Mosaic entered the market in 1992 as the successor to Professional Composer.{{cite magazine |last= Gruberman|first=Ken|date=October 1992|title=Composer's Mosaic|magazine=MacUser|publisher= Ziff-Davis|issn=0884-0997|volume=8|number=10|page=85}} An early user review of version 1.01 criticized stability issues and problems with file importing from other applications.{{cite newsgroup | author = Ron Hemmel | title = MOSAIC | date = March 8, 1992 | newsgroup = rec.music.synth | message-id = Mar.8.15.31.22.1992.12994@finesse.rutgers.edu| url = https://groups.google.com/forum/message/raw?msg=rec.music.synth/22kluj6ofZY/HOvoAZRMYrIJ| access-date = July 29, 2017}} In version 1.58 released in 1998, the notation software removed all limits on page size, score length, number of staves, and number of voices per staff. Configuration options in different windows created a flexible but sometimes confusing user interface.{{cite journal |last=Whitney |first=Ross|date=December 1998 |title=Composer's Mosaic |journal=Notes |volume=55 |issue=2 |pages=436–438 |doi=10.2307/900205|jstor=900205|issn=0027-4380}} Drag and drop features and ability to convert MIDI files into usable notation were counted among the strongest points of Mosaic.{{cite magazine |last=Shirak |first=Rob |date=November 2000 |title=There's More to Creating Good Scores and Parts Than Just Putting Notes on Paper, Get It In Print, Mark of the Unicorn Mosaic (Mac) |magazine=Electronic Musician |publisher=Intertec Publishing|issn=0884-4720|url=http://www.digitalprosound.com/Features/2000/Oct/Notation5.htm| access-date=July 29, 2017 }}

After 1998, no new versions of Mosaic were released by MOTU, and therefore was not compatible with MacOS 10. Competing notation packages are Sibelius, Finale, and Dorico, however no direct conversion of file formats, such as via MusicXML, is possible.(19 August 2008). [http://www.sibelius.com/cgi-bin/helpcenter/chat/chat.pl?com=thread&start=195426&groupid=3&&guest=1 Request by Sibelius users for a Mosaic to Sibelius conversion application]. Sibelius (software) Mosaic users now have to rely on creating PDF files of Mosaic output under MacOS 9 and then having these read by OCR programs such as PDFtoMusic[http://www.myriad-online.com/en/products/pdftomusicpro.htm PDFtoMusic]. Myriad. and PhotoScore[http://www.neuratron.com/photoscore.htm PhotoScore]. Neuratron. by Neuratron.