Good midi software?

[Timenn]

My father is getting to an age of 50 soon, and I want to give him a nice present. I know he is doing much with musical notation on the computer, and currently he is using shareware stuff. And I know he is seeking (sort of) for a really good full musical notation program.

Does anybody know a good program, and if you do, could you give me a link to its homepage?

These are the thing needed:

• The ability to open and save as midi files.
  
• Smooth editing of musical notation, without weird limits (like you can only have a maximum of 4 notes per chord)
  
• You must be able to let the computer play what you have written down in quite many different music instruments. And that you can perfectly see what the computer is playing right at that moment (like you see all notes highlighted for the moment they are played)
  
• The ability to have more tunes in one file, and also that you can select which ones you want to let the computer play.
  
• The ability to simply write text under (or above) the music.
  
• The ability to give notes certain extra signs (like you have to play louder and louder, or that you may hold a chord as long as you want (you know, something like this: '(.' but then turned 90 degrees clockwise) and a wide variety of other signs)
  
• The ability to connect a midi keyboard to it, and fill in the notes with help of that
  
• Not too expensive, remember that it must stay a gift I can buy :)

EDIT:

Very important is that the musical notation can be printed out as well, and without any weird side effects, but just as it shows on your screen.

Thanks in advance

[Cyborg]

Is he only making Midi files?

[Timenn]

Oh, I totally forgot, he wants to print the musical notations as well. He wants it because he needs a program which can print such things out.

[Cyborg]

You still haven't answered my question :P

[Timenn]

Ok, then I didn't understood what you mean.

Did you mean if it was only necassary to open and save *.mid files, and other file types aren't so important?

In that case yes, but it would be, ofcourse, a nice welcome if it was compatible with other file types as well...

[Andrew]

I did a simple google search and found:

http://www.vanbasco.com/

http://aitech.ac.jp/~ckelly/midi/help/midi-players.html

midi links

and

http://www.ronimusic.com/swmipl.htm

[Timenn]

Sorry, but I was more looking for programs to really make your own midi files.

I can check websites and all, but I also want some personal opinions of people.

[nemafakei]

I use a programme called Music Masterworks. It works pretty well, but it lacks a few things:

The accentuation, like the rotated (

[Timenn]

Yes, I meant multiple tracks.

And thanks, I will check it out.