Encore (software)


Encore is a music notation program for Microsoft Windows and macOS.
MusicTime Deluxe is a 'reduced functionality' version of Encore.
Encore is meant to play back music - either imported as MIDI, recorded from a MIDI device, or entered with mouse and keyboard.

History

Encore was originally created for Atari ST series computer by Don Williams for the US company Passport Designs Inc. of Half Moon Bay, CA., and first released in 1984.
Lyrrus Inc., d.b.a. GVOX purchased the intellectual property of Passport in 1998 and Encore 5 was released 10 years after Encore 4.
Encore is notable for being one of the first scorewriter programs to enable items in the musical score to be added and edited using the mouse
.
Encore 5 included wizards to create scores for numerous types of ensembles from scratch, MusicXML support, use of VST, and J.S. Bach complete works for keyboard in Encore format.
On August 1st of 2013, Passport Music Software LLC, acquired the rights of Encore, Music Time Deluxe and MasterTracks Pro.

Status

Direct competitors in the music notation niche have taken market lead over the last decade, surpassing Encore in features and improved standards. While Encore runs on the latest versions of Windows, it is not compatible with macOS 10.15, and it lacks support in some areas, such as for 4k displays, recent MIDI to USB applications, and later versions of VST.
Passport Music Software, LLC claimed to be reworking Encore, departing from the original code that was created over 20 years ago. As of July 2018, the news feed on their website shows no version updates since at least 2015.