Synthesising / Sample-playback software
Digital pianos usually include several built-in piano tones, however due to hardware costs these are unlikely to produce the highest quality sound. If you want to listen to or record the best audio quality then you will need to invest in software piano products. These range in price from about USD $10 up to hundreds of dollars per instrument.
Sample-playback software
Garritan CFX Concert Grand – a well-sampled Yamaha CFX concert grand piano (USD $159)
VI Labs Modern D – currently the most popular Steinway D-274 virtual instrument (USD $249)
VSL Concert D-274 – a well-sampled Steinway & Sons D-274 concert grand piano (EUR €285)
VSL Synchron Fazioli F308 – a well-sampled Fazioli F308 concert grand piano (EUR €315)
WavesFactory Mercury Fazioli F228 – a well-sampled Fazioli F228 (EUR €149.00)
East West Platinum Pianos – four pianos: Bösendorfer 290 Imperial, C.Bechstein D-280, Yamaha C7, and Steinway & Sons D-274. (USD $93.50 – USD $23 per piano virtual instrument)
IK Multimedia Pianoverse MAX – nine pianos: Hamburg Steinway & Sons D-274, New York Steinway & Sons D-274, Gran Concerto 278, Concert Grand YF3, Grand Piano Y7, Royal Upright Y5, Black Diamond B280, Liberty Upright, and Black Pearl B200. (USD $98 – USD $11 per piano virtual instrument)
Synthesising / modeling software
Modartt Pianoteq – modelled pianos from Steinway, Blüthner, C.Bechstein, Petrof, Gotrian, Steingraeber, Yamaha, and Kawai.
Roland Earth Piano – the same Roland piano sounds used in their digital pianos (modelled on Steinway pianos).
Arturia Piano V – modelled pianos not based on any particular acoustic piano brands.
TruePianos – 5 modelled pianos.
Audio recording / editing software
If you want to record the sound of your digital piano, Audacity is free, intuitive-to-use and since the year 2000 it has been the most popular open-source audio software available for Apple macOS, Microsoft Windows, and Linux. Audacity lets you record audio from any input (including USB Audio) and edit any audio recordings.
Video editing software
If you want to combine audio recordings with videos, images, or text titles / captions (e.g. to upload to YouTube), then you will need to use video editing software.
AviDemux is free, intuitive-to-use and since the year 2001 it has been the most popular open-source video editing software for Apple macOS, Microsoft Windows, and Linux.
If you require more advanced video editing, then the best free software is DaVinci Resolve, available for Apple macOS, Microsoft Windows, Linux, and iPadOS.
If you are using Apple macOS, then the built-in iMovie software is also simple and effective to use (although it is not very intuitive – so you should watch some training videos first).
If you want easy-to-use commercial video editing software, then Adobe Premiere Elements is only about USD $99 (for a perpetual licence – not a subscription) and is available to purchase directly online for both Apple macOS and Microsoft Windows. Adobe also provides a 30-day free trial, so you can try it out before deciding if you want it.
Music Notation Software
MuseScore Studio – exactly as it is described on the box: ‘The world’s most popular music notation app‘. Completely free (and open source), no limitations. Professional music notation software – easy to use, yet powerful. Available for Apple macOS, Microsoft Windows, and Linux.
Steinberg Dorico Elements – the best quality paid commercial notation software on the market. Beware: there is a steep learning curve. Reasonably priced at around USD $94 for the well-featured Elements version. The also offer an education discount (around USD $64). Steinberg Dorico Elements also includes the Etude Elements Yamaha CX3 piano virtual instrument (separately USD $29).
Steinberg Dorico SE – a free version of Steinberg Dorico that has custom fonts, custom notation-editing, and custom staff-spacing disabled. It also limits you to 8 instruments, which is perfectly fine if all you want to compose is piano music. Other than those limitations it has all the other same features as Steinberg Dorico Elements.
Sibelius – the oldest commercial notation software on the market, so there are a lot of examples and guides on the internet for this. However there is also a steep learning curve as the user interface is less intuitive than most software. Sibelius is also the most expensive music software available – the Ultimate version has all the features, whilst the Artist version is quite limited and not recommended.
StaffPad – this allows you to hand-write notes directly onto the staff using a stylus. Currently this only supports Microsoft Surface and Apple iPad devices.
Notion – similar to StaffPad, however this has an Android version.
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