Our contributors are experts in the field and knowledgeable about a broad range of topics \u2014 and so are our readers. Sometimes you can learn as much on our blog by reading the comments as you can by reading our articles!<\/p>\n
Philip Rothman, editor and principal contributor<\/h3>\n
David MacDonald<\/strong><\/a> is a composer<\/a> who currently teaches music composition, theory, and technology at Wichita State University. He has previously taught at University of Central Florida, Full Sail University, Grand Valley State University, and Michigan State University. He has been commissioned by Hastings College Symphonic Band, H2 Quartet, and others.<\/p>\n Darcy James Argue<\/strong><\/a> is a Vancouver-born, Brooklyn-based composer and bandleader who has toured nationally and internationally with his 18-piece ensemble, Secret Society<\/a>, garnering countless awards and nominations and reimagining what a 21st-century big band can sound like. Argue made his mark with his critically acclaimed 2009 debut Infernal Machines<\/em>. 2013 saw the release of Brooklyn Babylon<\/em>, which, like Infernal Machines <\/em>before it, earned the group nominations for both GRAMMY and JUNO Awards. His most recent recording, Real Enemies<\/em>, released in the fall of 2016, earned a third consecutive GRAMMY nomination.<\/p>\n Ben Byram-Wigfield<\/strong><\/a> is a musicologist and publisher, who works under the banner of Ancient Groove Music<\/a>. Over the last 25 years, he has reintroduced forgotten masterworks to the repertoire, and created editions that challenge accepted thinking. He has a PhD from the Open University, on the sacred music of Antonio Lotti. He sings when asked and conducts when allowed.<\/p>\n Jason Loffredo<\/strong><\/a> is a New York City-based musician primarily working in musical theater. He’s worked on many Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Way-Off-Broadway shows as a music director, keyboard player, conductor, arranger or orchestrator. He has also worked as a professional copyist for projects large and small, from film to theater and concerts to publication.<\/span><\/p>\n Bob Zawalich<\/strong><\/a> is a composer, guitarist, and software designer who lives near Seattle, Washington. He wrote software professionally for over 20 years. After getting a degree in music composition, he got into notation software. He has written more than 400 plug-ins for Sibelius, and has written a number of music notation blog posts. He has a website at bobzawalich.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n Shortly before leaving Avid for Steinberg, Daniel asked Philip to assume responsibility for the blog, which Philip did in November 2012. Over time, the blog expanded its scope to cover not just Sibelius, but any music notation product and related technology, and in April 2017 it re-launched as Scoring Notes to reflect that wider mission. Every post originally published as Sibelius Blog remains available here \u2014 you can browse the whole run in the Sibelius Blog archive<\/a>.<\/p>\n In 2024, MakeMusic announced that it would end development and availability of Finale<\/a>, bringing the long history of that software to a close. To help Finale users navigate the transition, the series concludes with a three-part mini-series: Finale’s twilight zone<\/a>, Using Finale in the unsupported era<\/a>, and Leaving Finale behind<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Thanks for reading Scoring Notes! We love music notation software and related products and technology, so that\u2019s what we cover here. You\u2019ll find timely news, engaging podcasts, in-depth coverage about the field, and honest reviews about products you use every day. Our advice, ranging from quick tips to heady tutorials, will give you a leg […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":3,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","sn-card-cat-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.scoringnotes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/philip-headshot-2026-150x150.jpg\")
Philip Rothman<\/a><\/strong> is the editor and principal contributor to Scoring Notes. Philip\u2019s a Juilliard-trained composer and orchestrator with two decades of experience preparing quality materials for professional clients in the music industry. Philip\u2019s music preparation firm, NYC Music Services<\/a>, provides music services to professional clients and has worked on thousands of projects ranging from simple transpositions to large opera productions.<\/p>\nDavid MacDonald, senior contributor and podcast co-host<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.scoringnotes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/david-macdonald-new-150x150.jpg\")
<\/h3>\nContributors<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\n<\/strong>Ian Blick<\/strong><\/a>
\nJeremy Borum<\/strong><\/a>
\nRobby Burns<\/strong><\/a>
\nJon Burr<\/strong><\/a>
\nAndrew Noah Cap<\/a>
\n<\/strong>Bernie Cossentino<\/strong><\/a>
\nCory Davis<\/strong><\/a>
\nDouglas Gibson<\/strong><\/a>
\nJohn Hinchey<\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n
\nFlorian Kretlow<\/strong><\/a>
\nClaude Lapalme<\/strong><\/a>
\nJeremy Levy<\/a>
\nSteve Morell<\/a><\/strong>
\nLeo Nicholson<\/strong><\/a>
\nThomas Nicholson<\/strong><\/a>
\nTristan Noon<\/a>
\n\u0130lkay Bora \u00d6der<\/a><\/strong><\/div>\n
\nTim Pietzcker<\/strong><\/a>
\nAlexander Pl\u00f6tz<\/a><\/strong>
\nNeil Radisch<\/strong><\/a>
\n<\/span>Marc Sabat<\/a>
\n<\/strong>Marc Sabatella<\/strong><\/a>
\nStephen Andrew Taylor<\/strong><\/a>
\nJoseph Trefler<\/strong><\/a>
\nLuciano Williamson<\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/h3>\n
History of Scoring Notes<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"Daniel](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/daniel-spreadbury-thumb-150x150.jpg\")
Scoring Notes started in October 2008 as Sibelius Blog, founded by Daniel Spreadbury<\/strong><\/a>, who contributed hundreds of posts. Daniel joined Sibelius in May 1999 on the company’s technical support team and eventually became senior product manager, until his departure from Avid in October 2012. During his tenure, the blog was the<\/em> source for news and tips about the Sibelius scoring program. Daniel is now product marketing manager at Steinberg, where he has worked on the Dorico scoring program since November 2012. He holds a music degree from Oxford University and was one of the two tenor lay clerks in the choir of Ely Cathedral for two years.<\/p>\nOf Note<\/strong><\/h4>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.scoringnotes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/robert-puff-150x150.jpg\")
Scoring Notes is also home to the archive of Of Note<\/strong><\/a>, a sister publication founded by the late Robert Puff<\/strong><\/a>. A respected engraver and longtime member of the notation community, Robert wrote prolifically about Sibelius, Finale, and Dorico on Of Note from 2011 until 2022. We’ve preserved a selection of that body of work \u2014 more than 150 posts, with their original authorship and publication dates intact \u2014 so it remains available to the community he served for so many years.<\/p>\nThe Conquering Finale series<\/strong><\/h4>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.scoringnotes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/jason-loffredo-new-150x150.jpg\")
In January 2021, we were pleased to bring the Conquering Finale<\/strong><\/a> series to Scoring Notes \u2014 the comprehensive collection of video tutorials created by Jason Loffredo<\/strong><\/a> and cross-published from his Conquering Finale<\/a> site. Over the following months, Jason walked readers through Finale in patient, thorough lessons covering everything from navigation and view modes to the program’s more advanced corners. (Our introduction to the series<\/a> tells the full story.)<\/p>\n