The contents of this page were last updated on 2007/08/01. Many things may have changed in the meanwhile.
The goal of this page is the following:
…then I will need to know which programs can read/write which formats…
| # | Name | Operating system | License | Native format | Can read | Can write |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Canorus | GNU/Linux, Windows, Mac OS X | Free, GPL | ? | ? | ? |
| 2 | Denemo | GNU/Linux | Free, GPL | Denemo (.denemo, .dnm) | Denemo, MIDI | Denemo, Lilypond, ABC, jtf, Csound |
| 3 | Encore | Windows (98, ME, 2000, XP), Mac OS (9.x, X > 10.2) | 129.99 €, Proprietary | Encore (.enc) | ? | ? |
| 4 | Finale | Windows, Mac OS X | 600 $, Proprietary | Finale (.mus) | .mus (not newer than available Finale version), .etf, MusicXML, Midi 0 + 1 | .mus, MusicXML, MIDI 0 + 1 |
| 5 | Harmony Assistant | Windows, Mac OS X Power PC, Mac OS X Intel, Mac OS Old versions | 70 € or 70 USD, Proprietary | Myriad .mus (different from Finale .mus) and .myr | MIDI type 0 and 1 (.mid), MIDI Karaoke (.mid, .kar), Rich MIDI Tablature File - RMTF (.mid), Creative Music File -CMF (.cmf), Finale versions 1993 to 2006 (.mus, .etf), Encore (.enc), Rhapsody (.rhp), MusicTime (.mus), NoteWorthy Composer versions : 1.3 to 2.0 (.nwc), GuitarPro (.gtp, .gp3, .gp4), Tabledit version 2.0 (1999) and up (.tef), Band In a Box Style (.sty), Yamaha Style (.sty), Soundtracker MOD (.mod), Scream Tracker S3M (.s3m), MusicXML (.xml), ABC (.abc), Tablature text file (.tab) | MIDI type 0 and 1 (.mid), MIDI Karaoke (.mid, .kar), Rich MIDI Tablature File - RMTF (.mid), Creative Music File -CMF (.cmf), MusicXML (.xml), ABC (.abc), Tablature text file (.tab) |
| 6 | Lilypond | GNU/Linux, Windows, FreeBSD, MacOS X | Free, GPL | Lilypond (.ly) | only native format, but includes converters: abc2ly (from abc ASCII format), etf2ly (from Finale format), midi2ly (from MIDI format), mup2ly (from Arkkra Enterprises Music Publisher format), musicxml2ly (from MusicXML format) | MIDI |
| 7 | Melody Assistant | Windows, Mac OS X Power PC, Mac OS X Intel, Mac OS Old versions | 20 € or 20 USD, Shareware | Myriad .mus (different from Finale .mus) and .myr | MIDI type 0 and 1 (.mid), MIDI Karaoke (.mid, .kar), Rich MIDI Tablature File - RMTF (.mid), Creative Music File -CMF (.cmf), Soundtracker MOD (.mod), Scream Tracker S3M (.s3m), ABC (.abc), Tablature text file (.tab) | MIDI type 0 and 1 (.mid), MIDI Karaoke (.mid, .kar), Rich MIDI Tablature File - RMTF (.mid), Creative Music File -CMF (.cmf), ABC (.abc), Tablature text file (.tab) |
| 8 | NoteEdit 1) | GNU/Linux | Free, GPL | NoteEdit (.not) | NoteEdit, MusicXML, MIDI | MIDI, MusiXTeX, ABC, PMX, Lilypond, MusicXML |
| 9 | Rosegarden | GNU/Linux | Free, GPL | Rosegarden (.rg) | Rosegarden, MIDI, Hydrogen | MIDI, Lilypond, MusicXML, Csound, Arkkra Enterprises Music Publisher |
| 10 | Sibelius | Windows, Mac OS | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| 11 | xml2ly | Any 2) | Free, GPL | None | Music XML | Lilypond |
| From → to | abc | cmf | csound | dnm | enc | etf | gtp | h2 | jtf | kar | ly | mid | mod | mup | mus | mus | myr | not | nwc | pmx | rg | rhp | s3m | sty | sty | tab | tef | tex | xml |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| abc (ABC) | 5 7 | 5 7 | 5 7 | 5 6 7 | 5 7 | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| cmf (Creative Music File) | 5 7 | 5 7 | 5 7 | 5 7 | 5 7 | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Csound | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| dnm (Denemo) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| enc (Encore) | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| etf (Finale) | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 5 6 | 4 | 5 | 4 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| gtp, gp3, gp4 (GuitarPro) | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| h2 (Hydrogen) | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| jtf | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| kar (Karaoke) | 5 7 | 5 7 | 5 7 | 5 7 | 5 7 | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| ly (Lilypond) | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| mid (MIDI) | 2 5 7 8 | 5 7 | 2 9 | 2 | 2 | 5 7 | 2 8 9 | 4 5 6 7 8 9 | 9 | 4 | 8 | 9 | 5 7 | 4 5 8 9 | |||||||||||||||
| mod (Soundtracker MOD) | 5 7 | 5 7 | 5 7 | 5 7 | 5 7 | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| mup (Arkkra Enterprises) | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| mus (Finale) | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| mus (Music Time) | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| myr, mus (Myriad) | 5 7 | 5 7 | 5 7 | 5 7 | 5 7 | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| not (NoteEdit) | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| nwc (Noteworthy Composer) | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| pmx | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| rg (Rosegarden) | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| rhp (Rhapsody) | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| s3m (Scream Tracker) | 5 7 | 5 7 | 5 7 | 5 7 | 5 7 | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| sty (Band In a Box) | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| sty (Yamaha) | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| tab (Tablature text file) | 5 7 | 5 7 | 5 7 | 5 7 | 5 7 | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| tef (Tabledit) | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| tex (MusiXTeX) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| xml (Music XML) | 5 8 | 5 | 5 | 8 11 | 4 5 6 8 | 4 | 8 | 5 | 4 5 8 |