A useful tool for a fiddlin' fool

I have begun using PrintMusic software to help with my progress. This product was originally intended to aid musicians in composition and arrangement. I am able to use it to help with my fiddle practice by grabbing midi files of various tunes which I want to learn from The Session, Fiddler's Companion, JC's Tunefinder, Gatherer, or Upton, importing them into PrintMusic and then displaying the music on the screen of my desktop or laptop. I can then add a pickup measure, change the key, add grace notes, etc. until the tune is exactly what I want, save it as my own arrangement and then practice it ad nauseum.

This is aided by a very cool function in PrintMusic which allows the user to select an instrument (such as fiddle, flute, etc.) to play back the music through the computer's speakers. The great thing is that you can slow the playback speed to a crawl, half speed, three-quarter speed, or anything you want. AND it highlights each note in the music score as it plays the tune. This allows me to read the music as I am playing it along with the computer, which helps enormously with intonation and timing. I usually add a repeat symbol to the end of the piece and have it repeat the piece ten times at a clip as I play along with it.

I recently gifted this software to a very close friend who is also learning the fiddle and she was delighted when she saw its capabilities. I hope that you benefit similarly.