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Former Symphony Pro user looking for new notation app

PostPosted: Tue Feb 19, 2013 6:35 pm
by pianoman_ssb2
Hello, I am interested in purchasing a notation app for the iPad. I used to have Symphony Pro (which was a fantastic app before iOS 6). However, the developers suddenly and permanently cut off support for the app with no warning to its paying customers. So now I'm left with an app that looks great, but is nearly useless because it crashes every minute or less.

Basically, I want to know who is developing this app. Are you three undergraduate students only making and selling an app for graduate school, or are you truly a professional company that is dedicated to creating this and other software? I want to know before I even consider purchasing this. I don't want to lose yet another $15.

Re: Former Symphony Pro user looking for new notation app

PostPosted: Wed Feb 20, 2013 1:36 pm
by Admin
pianoman_ssb2 wrote:Hello, I am interested in purchasing a notation app for the iPad. I used to have Symphony Pro (which was a fantastic app before iOS 6). However, the developers suddenly and permanently cut off support for the app with no warning to its paying customers. So now I'm left with an app that looks great, but is nearly useless because it crashes every minute or less.

Basically, I want to know who is developing this app. Are you three undergraduate students only making and selling an app for graduate school, or are you truly a professional company that is dedicated to creating this and other software? I want to know before I even consider purchasing this. I don't want to lose yet another $15.


We can assure you that we are dedicated to developing and delivering the best notation app for mobile devices. We are not in the position to comment on Symphony Pro's development as an app or a company, but we can assure you that we are in this for the long haul:)

Re: Former Symphony Pro user looking for new notation app

PostPosted: Thu Feb 21, 2013 8:23 pm
by mac jones
Symphony Pro is kaput.

They closed up shop without any goodbyes or explanation leaving everyone hanging. Nice of them.

Apparently, it was three college kids that had created it. One of them went on to graduate school and since the code was outdated they abandoned it. The word then is that It will not return or be updated, ever.

So anyone, feel free to help yourselves to their ideas and intellectual property :mrgreen:

Re: Former Symphony Pro user looking for new notation app

PostPosted: Thu Feb 21, 2013 11:24 pm
by pianoman_ssb2
Admin wrote:
pianoman_ssb2 wrote:Hello, I am interested in purchasing a notation app for the iPad. I used to have Symphony Pro (which was a fantastic app before iOS 6). However, the developers suddenly and permanently cut off support for the app with no warning to its paying customers. So now I'm left with an app that looks great, but is nearly useless because it crashes every minute or less.

Basically, I want to know who is developing this app. Are you three undergraduate students only making and selling an app for graduate school, or are you truly a professional company that is dedicated to creating this and other software? I want to know before I even consider purchasing this. I don't want to lose yet another $15.


We can assure you that we are dedicated to developing and delivering the best notation app for mobile devices. We are not in the position to comment on Symphony Pro's development as an app or a company, but we can assure you that we are in this for the long haul:)


Thank you for the response. I just bought the Notion app a few minutes ago. I look forward to using it!

Re: Former Symphony Pro user looking for new notation app

PostPosted: Thu Feb 21, 2013 11:27 pm
by pianoman_ssb2
mac jones wrote:Symphony Pro is kaput.

They closed up shop without any goodbyes or explanation leaving everyone hanging. Nice of them.

Apparently, it was three college kids that had created it. One of them went on to graduate school and since the code was outdated they abandoned it. The word then is that It will not return or be updated, ever.

So anyone, feel free to help yourselves to their ideas and intellectual property :mrgreen:


I know, that's why I included that as my example. I'm not blaming them for stopping development of the app because they ran out of money. I'm fine with that. However, the fact that they cut off all signs of life to their customers without any notification or apology to us. Oh well, I'll need to be more careful about that in the future. At least Notion is an app with a dedicated and professional developer.

Re: Former Symphony Pro user looking for new notation app

PostPosted: Sun Feb 24, 2013 1:38 am
by choirguy
Yep...Symphony Pro is over. I managed to track down some of the original members, and one of them was kind enough to let me know--officially--that the app is no longer in development.

There's an danger every time you buy an app from a start-up; there's no guarantee that the app will continue to work in years to come, or that it will continue to be developed to work out bugs or even new versions of iOS6. The exception is when you find a developer who is solving their own problems/needs--such as unrealBook. That app keeps developing because the developer continues to make the app fit all of his needs.

The good news is that Notion is really committed to the iPad app. Their goal is to make it equal to Notion 4. And if you've seen the latest updates, they're doing it. And no one else has anything like it. I bought a small MIDI keyboard (An Akai 25) mainly to test Notion's new MIDI input. It's good. I can enter notes nearly as fast as I can with Finale, and I've owned Finale since the early 1990s.

Re: Former Symphony Pro user looking for new notation app

PostPosted: Sun Feb 24, 2013 3:19 pm
by Wawoodman
That's interesting to know, about SymphonyPro. I guess I'll stop waiting for it to come back, and start pestering the Notion people about note-on-staff entry, which was why I went to SP in the first place.

Re: Former Symphony Pro user looking for new notation app

PostPosted: Sun Feb 24, 2013 4:17 pm
by lemeurt
Wawoodman wrote:I'll... start pestering the Notion people about note-on-staff entry, which was why I went to SP in the first place.


Same for me... At first i wanted to buy notion for iPad untill i realized that direct note entry on staff wasn't possible.

Re: Former Symphony Pro user looking for new notation app

PostPosted: Sun Feb 24, 2013 4:50 pm
by wcreed51
You must have tiny fingers!

Re: Former Symphony Pro user looking for new notation app

PostPosted: Sun Feb 24, 2013 4:58 pm
by Wawoodman
No Bill, that's not the reason in my case. It's this:

When I was taking piano lessons, 5 decades ago, I dropped as soon as it got to two or more accidentals. I just couldn't wrap my head and fingers around it. When I have a Finale score with five or six accidentals, it doesn't matter: I enter an A from my QWERTY keyboard, and an A it is. The program knows if it's a flat, a sharp, or a natural. With Notion and the piano, I need to enter the note correctly. So, direct staff entry is what I want. As an option, maybe notion should give buttons for A-G, in addition to the piano and guitar. That would be perfectly acceptable. But if a person wants to tap on a line or space on the staff, that would be a good entry method as well.