Mozart Music includes some of the most popular features we looked for in music notation software, such as a MIDI sound library and the ability to create multiple kinds of notations. However, the software falls short by lacking educational options and extras such as score cleanup, a professional sound library, support for external sound libraries and performance options. The application is premium music notation software from a company based in the United Kingdom. It borrows the name of classical music's most prodigious composer of all time, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

In some ways, Mozart Music lives up to the reputation of its glorified namesake. Modern-day composers can use the application to create sonorous melodies and harmonies that will be easily legible to all performers. With a touch of genius and a drive for perfection, those same composers can use Mozart Music to notate musical masterpieces. Notation style options include the basic two-stave piano layout with a bass and treble clef, vocal and choral scores, and templates for big band music and rock-and-roll groups. You can also compose for percussion and fretted tabulation and add chord symbols to any arrangement. You can also choose between two note fonts, but a jazz font advertised by the manufacturer was unavailable during our tests.

In other ways, Mozart Music needs improvement. Unlike competing premium composition applications, Mozart software doesn't let you create recordings or demonstration tracks based on the music you write. This is because it lacks both a professional sound library and the capability to support external libraries. Your only option is the elementary MIDI library. With Mozart software, you can't overdub the MIDI sounds with the recording of a performance, and you can't use the software to accompany you while you play live unless you wish to play exactly in tempo.

Mozart software is also lacking capabilities when it comes to the music classroom, where many of the best music notation applications are used extensively. The application lacks almost all the education-specific features we tested for, including ear training and composition exercises, and jazz improvisation worksheets. Nevertheless, Mozart comes with a free reader application that has the kind of basic functionality that allows students to do their homework using the same software their instructors use in lessons and lectures.

Editing and transposing options are improved in the latest version of the software application. You can transpose whole scores, parts, or measures and notes. When you choose to change your complete score, any chord symbols you have entered change simultaneously. Unfortunately, we were unable to convert fretted tablature to standard notation and vice versa.

Mozart Music does a good job when it comes to entering notes into staves. You can do the job with a mouse and QWERTY keyboard or with a MIDI keyboard. You can also use a virtual piano to enter notes, or scan hard copies of sheet music for easy entry. Mozart Music notation software doesn't allow you to enter notes by importing MIDI files, with a MIDI microphone or with a virtual fretboard. You may import an XML file.

When you're ready to publish, Mozart Music offers multiple options. You can print your tunes on paper, export them as a standard MIDI or XML file, export them as an audio file or even as graphics for inclusion in lectures and textbooks.

Mozart Music is fairly easy to use, but this is partly because it doesn't offer an extensive feature set. However, navigation isn't so intuitive that you'll never need assistance. You can make your job easier when you first open this application by choosing the toolboxes you want to see. If you can't find anything on the dropdown menus or tool palettes, you can use the built-in help file. This file looks outdated, but it is searchable and useful. We recommend keeping the free user guide handy as you learn to use Mozart Music, although the guide is a version behind the latest iteration of the software. You can also browse the user forums online or can call company representatives, but you will have to make an international call unless you're in the United Kingdom.