Denemo vs Harmony Assistant

Denemo is a free desktop music-notation program for composing, transcribing, arranging, and listening to music. It runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows, with MusicXML, MIDI, parts extraction, and tablature support. Music can be entered through a computer keyboard, MIDI controller, mouse, or microphone. Denemo opens its own files and imports MIDI, LilyPond, and MusicXML. LilyPond typesets notation in the background while you work, and the program supports figured bass, historical noteheads and barlines, chords, and tablature. It can create exercise sheets, aural-training materials, note-reading exercises, and playing exercises. Scores may be printed or exported as images, MIDI, OGG, or WAV files. MIDI or audio can be routed to other applications such as JACK, and LilyPond text and commands can be included in a score. Denemo is free to use, share, and change under the GPL; the listed plan costs nothing. Version 2.6 is listed as the current stable release, dated March 11, 2022. Some download links still point to version 2.2.

Harmony Assistant is desktop software for computer-assisted music composition and editing. It supports MusicXML, MIDI, parts extraction, and tablature, and runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows. Users can enter scores with a mouse, computer keyboard, or external MIDI keyboard, then work in full-page editing or engraver mode for score layout. Its embedded SoftSynth contains hundreds of instruments and can play through basic sound cards without external MIDI hardware. The program loads and saves MIDI, WAV, AIFF, MP3, OGG, TAB, ABC, and XML files. The embedded MyrScript language lets users add features. Documents can be password-protected and allowed to play without modification. Virtual Singer is an additional module for singing lyrics in multiple languages and voices. The trial has no time limit, but saving is disabled and printing is limited to one page while unregistered. A registration code is a lifetime license for one platform and includes future versions.