Scoring Notes

At the 2026 NAMM Show, we interviewed representatives from the businesses in our field of music notation software and related technology.

In this interview, we talk with Chris Swaffer, senior product manager of software at Fender, about how he thinks about Notion’s current phase in its lifecycle, what the Fender name signals to users today, and how decisions around refinement, continuity, and cross-platform consistency get made in practice. We also dig into under-the-radar improvements, accessibility as a core product principle, direct transfer between Notion and Fender Studio Pro, and how intelligent assistance can support — rather than replace — human musical judgment.

Come back next week for more conversations from the NAMM Show. And as always, if you like this podcast episode, there’s plenty more for you from Scoring Notes — be sure to follow us right in your podcast player.

More about the 2026 NAMM Show from Scoring Notes:

NAMM 2026: On the scene

NAMM 2026: Piascore’s bet on interactivity

NAMM 2026: John Barron opens the door to Dorico’s future

NAMM 2026: Sounding out the inputs with klang.io’s Sebastian Murgul

NAMM 2026: Getting into a Fender-bender with Chris Swaffer

NAMM 2026: An avid Sibelius discussion with Sam Butler and Joe Plazak

NAMM 2026: An interview with John Barron

NAMM 2026: An interview with Sebastian Murgul

At the 2026 NAMM Show, we interviewed representatives from the businesses in our field of music notation software and related technology.

In this conversation, we speak with Sebastian Murgul, co-founder and CEO of klang.io, to talk about a category that sits just adjacent to music notation — and yet increasingly intersects with it in practical, unavoidable ways: music transcription. Sebastian explains what klang.io’s tools are designed to do — and just as importantly, what they are not. We talk about why AI-based transcription has reached a point of practical usefulness now, where the hardest musical problems still lie, and how klang.io thinks about accuracy as something musicians can trust and build on, rather than a promise of perfection. We also discuss interoperability with notation software via formats like MIDI and MusicXML, real-world use cases that have surprised him, and the broader anxieties musicians understandably have around automation and AI.

Come back the next few weeks for more conversations from the NAMM Show. And as always, if you like this podcast episode, there’s plenty more for you from Scoring Notes — be sure to follow us right in your podcast player.

More about the 2026 NAMM Show from Scoring Notes:

NAMM 2026: On the scene

NAMM 2026: Piascore’s bet on interactivity

NAMM 2026: John Barron opens the door to Dorico’s future

NAMM 2026: Sounding out the inputs with klang.io’s Sebastian Murgul

NAMM 2026: Getting into a Fender-bender with Chris Swaffer

NAMM 2026: An avid Sibelius discussion with Sam Butler and Joe Plazak

NAMM 2026: An interview with John Barron

At the 2026 NAMM Show, we interviewed representatives from the businesses in our field of music notation software and related technology.

In this conversation with John Barron, international product specialist at Steinberg, John reflects on Dorico’s current development phase, how its underlying design principles continue to guide day-to-day decisions, and where users should most clearly feel progress compared to a year ago. We also talk about under-the-radar features, user feedback, interoperability with broader music-production workflows, playback and realism, and how automation can support — rather than supplant — notational intent.

Come back the next few weeks for more conversations from the NAMM Show. And as always, if you like this podcast episode, there’s plenty more for you from Scoring Notes — be sure to follow us right in your podcast player.

More about the 2026 NAMM Show from Scoring Notes:

NAMM 2026: On the scene

NAMM 2026: Piascore’s bet on interactivity

NAMM 2026: John Barron opens the door to Dorico’s future

NAMM 2026: Sounding out the inputs with klang.io’s Sebastian Murgul

NAMM 2026: Getting into a Fender-bender with Chris Swaffer

NAMM 2026: An avid Sibelius discussion with Sam Butler and Joe Plazak

NAMM 2026: An interview with Sebastian Murgul

We’re very pleased to bring you this episode, and more to come in the future, thanks to our friends at Twenty Thousand Hertz, a podcast that tells the stories behind the world’s most recognizable and interesting sounds.

People with perfect or “absolute” pitch hear every single sound as precise musical notes. Is this extraordinary talent a blessing or a curse? In this episode, our friends at Twenty Thousand Hertz dive into the neuroscience, pluses, and pitfalls of absolute pitch. Featuring neuroscientist Daniel Levitin and Grammy-winning musician Jacob Collier.

Art by Mafalda Maia.

Music featured in this episode:

Hide and Seek by Jacob Collier
Light It Up On Me by Jacob Collier
Down the Line by Jacob Collier
To Sleep by Jacob Collier
All I Need by Jacob Collier
Bakumbe by Jacob Collier
Hideaway by Jacob Collier
Colrain by Marble Run
Sky Above by Jacob Collier
Moon River by Jacob Collier
A Noite by Jacob Collier
Connect by Steven Gutheinz
Count the People by Jacob Collier

Twenty Thousand Hertz is produced out of the studios of Defacto Sound, and hosted by Dallas Taylor.

‘Tis the season to be thankful for all of the products and services in the world of music notation software and related technology, and for the Scoring Notes audience who tunes in to hear us opine on them! We show our appreciation by bearing good tidings and do a little shopping to find some Black Friday deals and make a few recommendations for fun and productivity.

Black Friday 2025 deals for music notation software and related tech post coming on Monday, November 24

Show notes:

Scoring Notes Product Guide, with links to posts about Dorico, Sibelius, and MuseScore updates from the past year

Black Friday products and deals:

Steinberg Cyber Deals

MakeMusic discounted crossgrade to Dorico

Avid Black Friday Savings

MuseScore

Sheet Music Direct

Sheet Music Plus

Newzik

Notation Central, Notation Express, Scoring Express, MTF Fonts, NorFonts

Rogue Amoeba

PDF Expert Black Friday deals

Elgato

Audio production deals on Reddit

Adobe Creative Cloud

Setapp

CleanMyMac

Dropzone

CleanShot

Soulver

Forklift

Affinity by Canva

PopChar

TRMNL

Glance LED

Logitech B100 Wired Mouse