Any Mac recording people out there...

... in TDPRI land? I've recently been working with GarageBand, and I'd really like to get a notation/sequencing program that is easy to use and compatible with GarageBand `08. I have been trying Easy Beat, Inteum, and Aria Maestosa, but up to this point I haven't been able to find a smooth inputting method to place notes on the staff. It seems to me that a drop and drag method would be a no brainer for Mac OS, but I haven't been able to find anything anywhere near as easy to use as my old Yamaha QY-10. All of the above mentioned software seem to be well thought out and have complex features, but simple, intuitive music writing seems harder than it ought to be. I'd appreciate any suggestions. Thanks!

I think you can do drag-drop stuff in garageband. I don't know how, but a friend wrote out a synth solo on one once. I'll need to ask him how he did it. I really like Garageband for being simple and coming with my computer :-P (no emoticon-free zone here!)

look in the "Recording in Progress" forum. Lots of Mac guys there.

Try Finale, you can download the free 'notepad' version here ...........

http://www.finalemusic.com/notepad/

Logic Studio has an excellent score facility- Garageband is based on Logic's core code.

I've found Sibelius a lot easier and more flexible than Finale, which I had used for years until recently.

An excellent intermediate solution is Apple Logic Express. It can do lots more than Garage Band, but less than Logic Pro.

I have used Logic Express for extensive score editing in MIDI environments with great results. At $200, it's a good deal.

The first limitation of Garage Band that drove me nuts is the single tempo requirement - all songs must have the same tempo from beginning to end, which is great for hip-hop. In Logic Pro/Express you can create and edit Tempo Maps, essential for my work.

I use the Sibelius Player G7 software. I got it through an educator's price on the web for $90 and it is written for guitarists. I like it. It is intuitive and does drag and drop editing very well. It also does a good job on chord charts. It was my first experience with writing music notation, but the learning curve wasn't too arduous.

I also bought an M-Audio Axiom 25 keyboard/MIDI controller for $150 at GC that can be used for direct input of notes into either GB or G7. I believe this is the easiest way to enter music, if one knows how to play the damn thing, which I don't. Play it in, then the editing is minor when compared to mousing it all in.

Good luck.