PC Help: Viewing music

I am trying to locate software that will allow me to edit my music on CD and then transfer the edited version to print as sheet music. I have looked at Cubase and Magix but they do not appear to have the facility to print sheet music.
Mr LJ Ward

What sounds like a simple request is actually a lot more complicated. To understand why, it is necessary to understand that music is handled by computers in several ways and they are not always compatible.

The music held on an audio CD is a representation of the sound of the music, just like a cassette tape. The computer plays the pitch and duration but has no way of knowing whether the note is a C sharp, D flat or B double sharp, which is essential when creating sheet music.

Most software for editing sheet music (called notation software) will use a different audio format called Midi. This includes the information of note name along with duration and anything else required for the music. Midi music is converted into audio when it is played.

A helpful analogy is to think of Midi music as a text file and an audio file as a photograph of the same text. Both files can be manipulated but in different ways.

Conversion from an audio CD to sheet music is possible but difficult and probably more trouble than it is worth without spending money on software. One such program is called intelliscore and costs $130 (£70) for the download version.

Software such as Magix Music Maker is aimed at producing audio tracks. Software designed for editing notation includes Sibelius, which is expensive although there is a cheaper version, G7, aimed at guitarists and Noteworthy, a cheaper shareware program.

Mac owners can use Garageband and Linux users should take a look at Rosegarden.

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