MusiCAD

{{Short description|Scorewriter}}

{{more citations needed|date=January 2021}}

{{Infobox software

| name = MusiCAD

| logo =

| logo size = 170px

| screenshot =

| caption =

| collapsible =

| author = Musys Software

| developer =

| released = {{Start date and age|df=yes|1994|09}}

| latest release version = 4.0

| latest release date = {{Start date and age|2015|05|01|df=yes}}

| programming language = C++

| operating system = Microsoft Windows

| platform =

| language = Dutch, English, German

| language count = 3

| genre = Scorewriter

| license = Proprietary

| website = {{URL|https://musicad.com/}}

}}

MusiCAD is a scorewriter program originally designed for folk music

{{cite web | url = https://muzamus.dse.nl | title = Muziek Archief voor MusiCAD gebruikers | publisher = Digitale Stad Eindhoven | access-date = 27 April 2019 | url-status = live | df = dmy-all | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190427232838/https://muzamus.dse.nl/ | archive-date = 27 April 2019 }}

featuring irregular meter (like {{music|time|7|8}} or {{music|time|13|16}}) and automatically generated accompaniment voices (bass

{{cite web | url = https://musicad.com/automatic_bass_line | title = automatic bass-line | publisher = Musys Software | access-date = 27 April 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190426210743/https://musicad.com/automatic_bass_line | archive-date = 26 April 2019 | url-status = live | df = dmy-all }}

/chords{{cite web | url = https://musicad.com/automatic_chord_line | title = automatic chord-line | publisher = Musys Software | access-date = 27 April 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190426210743/https://musicad.com/automatic_chord_line | archive-date = 26 April 2019 | url-status = live | df = dmy-all }}) from chord symbols and specified time signature.{{cite journal

| last = Touburg

| first = Barbara

| author-link =

| title = Muzieknotatie en Computer

| journal = Akkoord

| volume = 95-4

| pages = 21–22

| publisher = Stichting LOAM

| location = Utrecht

| date = 15 September 1995

| language = Dutch

}} Created lead sheets are audibly verifiable. One of its design goals was to be as predictable as possible: 'what-you-write-is-what-you'll-hear'.

{{cite web

| url = https://musicad.nl/ontwerpfilosofie

| title = Ontwerpfilosofie (design criteria)

| publisher = Musys Software

| access-date = 12 April 2019

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190412183041/https://musicad.nl/ontwerpfilosofie

| archive-date = 12 April 2019

| url-status = live

| df = dmy-all

}}

The resulting music engraving is the result of the notes used and an applied set of rules (note sizes etc.) that determine how notes should be drawn. After changing the layout parameters or after transpose the (new) rules are applied, perhaps changing page layout completely.

The name MusiCAD is a portmanteau of music and computer-aided design.

The DOS/XT and Dutch-only 1.65 version has been available since 1994. Version 2.0 added support for multi-voice score editing. Later versions do not focus that much on folk music anymore and will allow up to 32 voices as well as percussion notation. The 3.0 version is available for Microsoft Windows and in Dutch, English and German.

{{cite web

| url = https://musicad.com/history

| title = MusiCAD evolution

| publisher = Musys Software

| access-date = 12 April 2019

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190412183039/https://musicad.com/history

| archive-date = 12 April 2019

| url-status = live

| df = dmy-all

}} Like a few other scorewriters, it uses plain ASCII files for storage. MusiCAD will read and write ABC-notation

{{cite web

| url = https://abcnotation.com/software#MusiCAD

| title = abc-notation

| access-date = 26 April 2019

| url-status = live

| df = dmy-all

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190328053359/http://abcnotation.com/software#MusiCAD

| archive-date = 28 March 2019

}}

as well as MIDI, and is capable of writing PDF-files for easy distribution of scores. There is an unlimited-time evaluation mode which allows storing and printing. Version 4 adds (among others) UTF-8, MusicXML import/export.{{cite web

| url = https://help.musicad.com/release_notes

| title = Release notes MusiCAD

| publisher = Musys Software

| access-date = 24 April 2019

| quote = }}

File:MusiCAD score Zeeuwse Schots (1993).png

File:MusiCAD score Kaneis edo den tragouda (2019).png

{{Clear}}