It is my guess that some of us dream of getting works performed or premiered with an orchestra. Some of us have even grander aspirations of getting face to face with an orchestra, rehearsing original music, and playing it live, having control equal to that of a conductor. It is sad though that most of the time, that is not the case. Rehearsing and performing with an orchestra requires big money; just ask Emerson, Lake, & Palmer how the "Works" tour fared. You might try getting your work sequenced but getting that played in a live performance would just be akin to having a backing track, right? Notion Music NOTION3 says it doesn't have to be that way.

If you don't have an orchestra at your disposal, NOTION3 says it’s the next best thing. NOTION3 is the latest version of the music notation software that boasts of a collection of sounds from the London Symphony Orchestra. NOTION3's user interface allows for intuitive workflow that allows you to focus on your music. Of course, you might say that this is nothing new with regard to notation software titles but there are other features which set NOTION3 apart from other software titles. NOTION3 has one distinct feature called "SequencerStaff". SequencerStaff merges the best of both piano roll and traditional staff notation features where you can record and edit your work using the familiar piano roll view of a sequencer while having the view of the traditional staff at the same time. The value of this feature lies in the ease in which you can create that spontaneous human performance and notate it as precisely as possible being that even the note velocities and CC changes such as with pitch bend and modulation are represented, making it easy to translate such commands into traditional written notation.

Another interesting thing that sets NOTION3 apart is its live performance features that I have yet to discover in other notation applications. NOTION3 allows for an orchestra-like performance with Peformance Mode, being able to control NOTION3 as if you were a conductor of an orchestra with just your MIDI controller. Every aspect of the performance such as tempo, dynamics, pauses, vamps, repeats, and stops can be readily manipulated either as planned in the score or as damage control. Such performance control allows spontaneity in performances, examples of which are performing cadenzas that stretch out either shorter or longer than planned, improvised lines in musicals, and other things where spontaneous events must be called for and controlled without disrupting the entire show or performance.

Besides these new features, NOTION3 also has over 10GB of sounds such newly sampled sounds from the London Symphony Orchestra, third-party VST support, and pro audio mixer (at left)comparable to DAWs. NOTION3 will run on either Windows or Mac. Notion Music NOTION3 shipping will start on September 24, 2009 and can be pre-ordered for 249.00 USD. If you already have a previous version of NOTION, upgrades are free and only requires 8.00 USD to cover for shipping and handling. Now, if I ever get to finish composing a piano concerto and I can't get an orchestra and/or a soloist to play it, NOTION3 offers that possibility of getting that performance done. At least, in a sort of non-human way, you have the London Symphony Orchestra beneath your MIDI controller without ever paing for food and performance fees. Hmm, you could pair it up with a virtual singer if you wish but that's another story from the past.