MacMini for notation

brinxmat · Joined: Oct 24, 2005 Posts: 262 Location: Norway

Does anyone have experience with the Mac mini? Exactly how low-end is it? Could you run Sibelius on it? (I expect that Sibelius runs best on a PPC Mini) Any other experience making music with minis?

This is a question I'm asking for an friend, so I haven't got much in the way of details on what they want to do other than notation and Sibelius was especially mentioned.

I reckoned that they would be better of with a secondhand G4, but maybe even this is more expensive (and not quite as new!)

v-un-v · Posted: Sun Mar 19, 2006 2:15 pm Post subject:

My Brother (who is a London based professional session guitarist and lecturer) runs Sibelius (and Logic) on his MacMini with no problems. After all- it's a powerbook in a square box! Very Happy

PS- The main reason he bought one is because they are so quiet!- Very useful Wink

brinxmat · Joined: Oct 24, 2005 Posts: 262 Location: Norway

They are cheap enough, but they are -- as you rightly point out -- specced like portables, with all the usual bottlenecks. I wondered if this would make them worse to work with than my G4/800 iMac?

elektro80 · Posted: Sun Mar 19, 2006 2:32 pm Post subject:

You are thinking of the new Macintel Mini? Nice box!
The old mac Mini is a PB in a cigar box. It is decent, but still a PB. It will do notation just fine.

Why can´t you run Harmony Assistant on your current Apple Lamp?

I recommend you look into HA. It is an excellent app and does stuff Sibby and Finny won´t.

elektro80 · Posted: Sun Mar 19, 2006 2:36 pm Post subject:

HA

This is an incredible app. I love it!

elektro80 · Posted: Sun Mar 19, 2006 2:39 pm Post subject:

Harmony Assistant ( HA ) must not be confused with these guys: Elephants On Parade

mosc · Posted: Sun Mar 19, 2006 2:40 pm Post subject:

Harmony Assistant looks like a great program

elektro80 · Posted: Sun Mar 19, 2006 2:41 pm Post subject:

HA is pure magic. Very Happy

mosc · Posted: Sun Mar 19, 2006 2:50 pm Post subject:

Curious, does it do automatic parts printing with transpositions etc.?

elektro80 · Posted: Sun Mar 19, 2006 2:53 pm Post subject:

Autoacco Roland style?

I have never checked. Download a demo and trty it yourself. It hjas a lot of features. It is not Sibelius, but it does a lot of stuff far better than Sibelius. HA is well suited for actual writing of music, not just for making cute printouts.

mosc · Posted: Sun Mar 19, 2006 2:56 pm Post subject:

By parts, I mean the music for the different instruments. If you are doing an arrangement for a band, printing the parts prints separate scores for the flutes, trumpets, baritones, drums, etc - all in the correct clefs and transposed appropriately. I know the Finale and Sibelius do this.

elektro80 · Posted: Sun Mar 19, 2006 3:17 pm Post subject:

Aha. Well, yes. Not automatically though, you will have to set up the "part" and write the music, but yes, Harmony Assistant is perfect for writing say string quartets, brass band stuff, polka, rock and whatever. Please take a look at the demo. There is a tutorial at the website too I think. It comes with templates for various "types" and styles of music. It makes very nice printouts.

brinxmat · Joined: Oct 24, 2005 Posts: 262 Location: Norway

Thanks for the help, I have passed the info on.

I will have a look at HA. Might be a good way to get myself back into action!