Composer's Mosaic 1.58 on Mac OS X?

[TeeAich]

I have hundreds of Mark Of the Unicorn Composer's Mosaic 1.58 files that will only run on Mac's OS 9. Is there a way to convert them to Sibelius (which I am now using) so that they can be run on OS X? If so, how is this done? If not, forget about it; I will probably have to manually enter each voice into a Sibelius file—hundreds of hours of work—if I want easy access.

[1nput0utput]

Composer's Mosaic will probably open in Classic Mode (if you have a computer that still supports it). However, when the app is running in Classic Mode, it probably won't work with your MIDI interface hardware. But if all you need to do is get the files in a format that Sibelius will deal with, then you should be able to export to standard MIDI files using this method.

[TeeAich]

Prior to when I bought an iMac G5 with OS X, I ran Mosaic on a Mac G4 with OS 9 ("Classic") and used the MOTU "FastLane" USB MIDI interface for playing back files. They also can be played back with the internal sound of the Mac.

Sibelius has a built-in interface, and the playback is beautiful with no problems.

The iMac G5 cannot run in classic mode.

That said, transferring Mosaic files from the G4 to the G5 doesn't work. The icons are dark grey, and opening them results in showing an "Adobe Bridge" window—whatever that is. But they simply will not open.

Th Sibelius support person said, "Can Mosaic save files in the .xml format? If so, Sibelius can open the .xml files (this is a common way to transfer files between Finale & Sibelius, but I'm not sure Mosaic offers this same option). If Mosaic doesn't have an .xml export capability then the only other way to do it would be to save your scores from Mosaic as MIDI files, then open the MIDI files in Sibelius. This isn't as good of a method since you will lose some text and formatting, but it would be your only other option."

I'm willing to try anything.

I don't know what they are talking about; does any one out there? How do I do this? What's an .xml file? How do I save scores as MIDI files?

[carrythebanner]

I don't know what they are talking about; does any one out there? How do I do this? What's an .xml file? How do I save scores as MIDI files?

There's a Music XML file format that's used in notation programs to save both MIDI data and score formatting. I don't know to what extent it saves every single little formatting change that you could possibly make, but I've heard it saves a good deal more than just a plain ol' standard MIDI file. Mosaic is an old app that hasn't been updated in a long time and it doesn't support Music XML import or export as far as I know.

An alternative that I've heard of some people have had decent results with is printing a Mosaic score as a PDF then using a PDF-to-notation converter. Your mileage may vary, but there's a decent chance you'll save more formatting details than if you simply exported a standard MIDI file.

[dosuna11]

My iMac G5 runs on classic mode. Look for a Classic.prePane. Or you can open any old OS 9 program and it will launch automatically. Then you can keep it on your dock. Open what you want in OS 9. Then save your files to the desk top as smf.

[James Steele]

The iMac G5 cannot run in classic mode.

Not sure if that's true. I think Classic Mode was a feature of Tiger (10.4.11) and earlier. However, if you upgraded to Leopard then you're out of luck because Apple killed off Classic capability with Leopard.

[dosuna11]

The iMac G5 cannot run in classic mode.

Not sure if that's true. I think Classic Mode was a feature of Tiger (10.4.11) and earlier. However, if you upgraded to Leopard then you're out of luck because Apple killed off Classic capability with Leopard.

10.4.11 is good to go. Leopard!! Those dang cats!! That is so true. It is so sad to be left aside by Apple.

[mhschmieder]

I think some people may be confusing the ability of apps to run in Classic Mode with whether or not the system supports Dual Boot in OS 9 and OS X -- they aren't the same thing.

I deleted my OS 9 dual boot drive a couple of years ago as it was starting to have surprising side effects at times on OS X stuff (they aren't as fully decoupled as Apple would have us believe, due in part to some sharing with how Extensions are dealt with). But I'm pretty sure Classsic Mode is still possible on Tiger with my G4 iMac -- it's just that I haven't encountered a Classic App in a long while.

I don't think XML was supported long enough ago that MOTU Mosaic is likely to have supported it.

As it turns out though, one of the developers of Music XML is a MOTUnation forum member and also a former colleague of mine (both musically and at work), so maybe he'll chime in. My most recent PM to him (from April 2009) stands undelivered in the forum email ether several months later though, so he may have left the forum and/or that position at Music XML.

How about writing up a list of supported import and export formats in your copy of Mosaic, and all of us here can then see if our respective programs support that format and can then resave in something else useful that retains more markup info that is available in MIDI?

If I have tools that will help, I will be perfectly happy to receive your files and convert them into something useful moving forward. I also may have colleagues who can help, since two of my current co-workers have been contributors to the code base of competing notation programs.

[TeeAich]

Well, I tried the MIDI route, and discovered that I would spend just as much time—maybe less—entering each voice of each Mosaic file into Sibelius by hand. Or, doing what I'm now doing—using my old G4 just for Mosaic.

If I remember correctly my first OS on my first G5 purchased four years ago came with OS X v10.4 Tiger installed, with, according to the manual, an option to install OS 9, which I maybe should have done but didn't. Subsequently, I have upgraded the systems as they became available; I now have the latest, OS 10.5.7, but I'm almost sure that OS 9 is not an option anymore. I'll have to contact Apple to find out, but I don't want to mess with it if it will cause headaches

How can I send you a Mosaic file that you can use without the app. which is copy protected?

[dosuna11]

Try saving your files as Standard MIDI Files on the G4. Then burn them on a CD. Sibelius on the G5 will be able to read that right off the CD.

[TeeAich]

Yes, I tried that. Sibelius can read the MIDI file, but the resulting formatting is so weird that it takes almost more time to fix than it would be to start from scratch.

[dosuna11]

In Sibelius try setting the staffs to one per track. Be sure to name your tracks before saving to SMF. If this isn't it then there is some sort of format problem. Hope this helps.

[mikehalloran]

A G5 running 10.4x should be able to run Classic. It will not boot into OS 9.

DP has a module for notation based on Mosaic but, to my knowledge, cannot open Mosaic files. How wrong is that?

That MOTU never partnered with another company to allow something else to open those files is ... typical of MOTU's high regard for their customer base. Yes, I am being sarcastic.

If you have as many scores as you say, the easiest way to enter them is to use SmartScore if you are a Finale user or PhotoScore if a Sibelius user. Both programs are bundled with "lite" versions but the full versions handle lyrics, expressions etc. There is an inexpensive upgrade to the full program for Finale and Sibelius owners.

If you use neither Finale nor Sibelius, get SmartScore Pro. It functions quite well as a stand-alone notation program and can export to any modern notation program through MusicXML. $399 is way cheap compared to your time. I have a friend who finally accepted that the promised Mosaic upgrades will never happen and SmartScore Pro saved him hundreds of hours. He tried SmartScore Lite bundled with Finale - it was great for getting the notes and rests but the extra money was well spent to get the complete scores in with few or no mistakes.

Mosaic owners can upgrade to Finale for $199. The upgrade to the full version of SmartScore Pro is $199 for Finale owners (retail is $399).
http://www.musitek.com/

Mosaic owners can upgrade to Sibelius for $199. The street price for PhotoScore Ultimate 6 is $190 - $249. I don't know what the upgrade price is for Sibelius owners.
http://www.neuratron.com/

I use Finale, SmartScore and Encore.

[musicxml]

Sorry for the delay in replying - I don't follow this forum very often.

As suggested earlier, the best way to get from Mosaic to Sibelius is to print a PDF from Mosaic, use PDFtoMusic Pro to convert the PDF to MusicXML format, then open the MusicXML file in Sibelius. PDFtoMusic Pro is available for a free trial download and purchase from:

http://store.recordare.com/pdftomusicpro.html

You may need to run Mosaic in OS 9 vs. running in Classic to get the PDF printing (using tools like Adobe Acrobat 5 or PrintToPDF) to work correctly for use with PDFtoMusic Pro.

Michael

[mhschmieder]

I was hoping to be able to chime in with an update on support in Notion now that v3.0 is out, but I can't install it as it requires an ungodly amount of free system disk space before one has the opportunity to copy the content elsewhere. I'll have to wait for a new Mac.

Glad that Michael chimed in with useful advice though for a multi-staged export/import workflow.

And to Mike Halloran, as you list Encore as in use in your studio but don't mention it for the import support, I take it that the new version does not support what the OP needs to do, and/or doesn't have a crossgrade price from Mosaic?