I had a little piano keyboard hooked up to the computer, and when i played my songs, it would produce the notation, with all my rhythmic nuances. Sometimes, though, my jazzy, syncopated way of playing would become so complex when translated into notes, that I would have to go back into the program with the mouse, and point and click to clean it up. I published a book of Blues exercises that was on Amazon for a while (out of print now) using that cheesy little program! The fancier ones, like Finale and Sibelius, did not suit my needs at all.
I also had a CuBase program for mastering my 16 Track Digital recordings. I had to dismantle and rebuild my studio three times before I finally “went out of business” to come home and take care of Mom. I couldn’t sell my equipment because everybody was using tablets to record, so I just gave it all away so I could move fast.
Drove to Boston from Florida with my Motorcycle in tow, my computers, my Dog, and my Guitar.
And here I am.
Sometimes the simpler programs are the better ones. Sounds like that was your case and you did just fine going the simpler route.
Too bad you had to give the stuff away. People want to go with the new stuff and only a few want to stick with the tried-and-true. Would have been nice if you could have found someone like that to sell your equipment to.