I'm rather fond of Encore there are some things it does better/quicker than Sibelius, such as manually editing staff or note spacing, or selecting non-contiguous elements. Sibelius is working well for me, though it has its quirks. So for anyone faced with the problem of transferring Encore files to Sibelius, that's my suggestion. Although I still have to proof and revise each file, my time spent was cut to about 25% of either of the other methods I tried. It reads the PDFs pretty accurately, although occasional errors still occur.
Unfortunately, Photoscore Lite does not pick up articulation marks or text, only notes - meaning more work on my part, putting that stuff back in.įinally, I bit the bullet and purchased the upgrade to PhotoScore "Ultimate." This was really the best solution. This worked well, preserving the original format. I exported the Encore files as PDFs, then read those PDFs with PhotoScore Lite (since PDFs would likely be cleaner than scanned versions of hard copy).
The next thing I tried was using PhotoScore Lite, the note recognition program that is included with Sibelius.
Although this procedure worked OK, the original formatting was lost, necessitating extra work on my part to restore the format. I really did not want to recreate everything from scratch. So the problem was: How do I get old Encore files into Sibelius? The first thing I tried was exporting the files from Encore into MusicXML, then opening the MusicXML files in Sibelius (MusicXML is a format designed to facilitate the transfer of music files from one music notation program to another). Sibelius' user interface is similar enough to Encore that the transition was easy. Fortunately, I have been working on a different project for which I have been learning Sibelius (current version: Sibelius 7). Unfortunately, Mel Bay no longer accepts Encore files, only Finale and Sibelius. Then - a few months ago - I got an email from the company asking if I was still interested in seeing them published, and if so, could I provide digital files. I did so and sent them in, but these books never were actually published. A year or two later, the company asked me to produce versions for viola and cello. The book was then picked up by Mel Bay Publications and published as the "Easy Classics" series, with additional versions for trumpet, tenor sax, and violin, and with piano accompaniments (written by my mom and my sister). I also made transposed, compatible versions for alto sax and flute. I used Encore to chart some clarinet duets to use with my students the duets eventually became a booklet. It seemed quicker and more intuitive, with fewer actions required to perform routine tasks.
Back in the early 1990s, when music notation software had just become available, I bought Finale and Encore, and after working with both, settled on Encore.