Now that Sonar developers have shown us they can and will fix staff view bugs, I think we can safely dismiss the attitude that they don't care or don't have the expertise to do so.  Any group of developers who've created Sonar Platinum have proven their expertise many times to this composer, I have no doubt if the will and funding is there, Sonar's staff view can be improved.   What I hope for, as I've mentioned before, is to consider this:  The staff view is primarily a MIDI editor, it is not an aspect of the program designed to create finished, publish-quality scores.  Parts? OK...   Lead sheets?  Sure!   Sketches for band members?  That too!  Advances in music notation, publishing and print quality are such that notation on the level of a fully professional score is primarily a graphics issue, and a DAW is primarily a piece of software that works in the medium of sound.  I know some people want a "jack-of-all-trades" piece of software, and to a degree, all DAWS are already adaptable to a wide range of purposes.   But really, most people understand the value of specialized software that does one or two things very well--which is why some music publishers still use SCORE, by Leland Smith (I used it for 10 years).   This program was pre-Windows and did (does) one thing and one thing only:  Output gorgeous and accurate scores. 
 
None of the DAW notation editors are as powerful as Sibelius or SCORE, nor do they need to be.  For those who are new, Sibelius isn't a DAW, it's not a music production tool, it is a graphics tool designed with the final purpose being the creation of fully realized music notation.
 
What Sonar's notation can use in my opinion are really only three things:
 
1. Bring the note resolution down to 64th notes.   That includes 32nd and 64th note triplets.
2. Fix the dotted, tied and nested triplet issue (all triplets) so that they conform to SMN (standard music notation)
3. Change the way dotted notes are displayed:  The dot should never be on a staff line, instead always above the line the note is on, based on SMN rules. 
 
That's it.  
 
If Cakewalk does this, Sonar's staff view will be equal to any DAWs MIDI editor.  It can already handle mixed meters, changing meters and fractional tempos, AND, Sonar has the added value of having tabs with multiple staff views visible, and a staff view that doesn't emulate a page of printed music, but rather a score running across the entire width of the screen.  I hope Sonar's developers understand what a great help that is to composers. Also, cutting and pasting section in Sonar's notation is easy, once you get the hang of it.  As a tip, with the new Sonar Control Bar, here's how I set up the custom module:
 
Save                 Copy                                      Cut
Paste                Paste To: (paste special)      Undo
Redo                 History                                  Fit Tracks  (Resize and zoom)
 
 
 
Sonar's market:
 
songwriters
composers
film composers
game composers
TV composers
arrangers
orchestrators
educators and instructors
house of worship music services
 
All of the above make frequent use of music notation.  And these people:
 
sound designers
sound engineers
mixing engineers
live sound people
musicians who don't read or write SMN
amateurs who just like to fool around with the software
 
will also have a first class DAW in audio and plug-in usage and flexibility, which Sonar amply and competently demonstrates.
 
That's my opinion based on writing music in Sonar since 1991. 
 
Jerry
http://www.jerrygerber.com
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Great post, Jerry. I would only add that the printing function should be able to organize a score, so that the first page shows the entire orchestra, and subsequent pages only have the instruments actually playing. (I am using 8.5; perhaps later versions have this - if so, disregard). This eliminates endless pages with mostly empty space!

michael diemer
Great post, Jerry. I would only add that the printing function should be able to organize a score, so that the first page shows the entire orchestra, and subsequent pages only have the instruments actually playing. (I am using 8.5; perhaps later versions have this - if so, disregard). This eliminates endless pages with mostly empty space!

Michael, why not use Sibelius, Score or Finale or Notion or some other program designed not as a DAW but as notation program instead for that?   Software already exists that has the notational sophistication you are seeking.   I still believe that notation's role in MIDI input and editing is really what a DAW is about, and what the original creators of Sonar intended. 

Wow,
 
I have to applaud Jerry for a very well presented case combined with a very reasonable attitude.  I have seen a lot of heated discussions over the Staff View, but this is a clear and concise request that even I (being a drummer who hasn't worked with notation in years), can see the value in.
 
Nice job Jerry - I hope you get some traction with this post.  I think you have a very balanced and reasonable case here.
 
Bill.

Jerry, I will be doing just that. My plan is to export my projects into MuseScore and edit them further there. For years I have been making two versions of my works, a sound version and a print version. The latter is cleaned up as much as possible. I used to print them out and then do the rest by hand! (I have literally cut-and-pasted). So exporting into notation software will be (hopefully) an improvement. I don't need anything high-falutin as I'm a hobbyist, so something like MuseScore should be fine.

Very helpful, Jerry...not that I'm surprised. I'll do what I can to bring those three things to the surface.
 
Your patience and gracious attitude is much appreciated.

Thanks Jerry. That's a great post.

Many users have asked for the notes options to be returned to the Staff view, as it used to be. I know you have set up short cuts, and prefer that way. So why not have it as an option, something you can hide if you don't need. 
 
I also like the idea of dragging out the note length, rather than pre selecting it. Be it whilst holding CTRL or shift or something or a right click hold option or something. This seems far more intuitive to me.

Kamikaze
Many users have asked for the notes options to be returned to the Staff view, as it used to be. I know you have set up short cuts, and prefer that way. So why not have it as an option, something you can hide if you don't need. 
 
I also like the idea of dragging out the note length, rather than pre selecting it. Be it whilst holding CTRL or shift or something or a right click hold option or something. This seems far more intuitive to me.

Digital Performer has two notation editors, one allows only one staff at a time, the other is Quickscribe.  The one that only allows one staff can do what you're suggesting, one enters a note by dragging its length.  Unfortunately, once the note is entered, you can't change it by dragging.  I think it's a bug, because the DP manual says you can do it, but I couldn't get it to work. 
 
I used Sonar for many years when the note icons were in the staff view.  Given that I am your normal cranky nerd who doesn't like when things change, I was annoyed too when the note icons disappeared.   But I really urge you to try keybinding because it really is just as fast or faster as using note icons (depending upon whether you bind with one key or two, such as CTRL or ALT + a key).  
 
Jerry
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

You come in contact with music i various ways
1. listening on the radio or your pod or smartphone
2. buy albums etc
3. to sing or play an instrument - and there it is - notation
 
So notation a natural part of doing anything proactive regarding music - and needs more attention...