Existing users, log in.  New users, create a free account.  Lost password?

Mac OS X  |  Audio / Video  |  Editors  |  Sibelius

Sibelius

Sibelius - 6.1.0

Music notation: notate, edit, play back, publish music.

All Time: (3.7)
This Version: Not rated (0.0)
Current Version: 6.1.0
Release Date: 2009-10-29
License: Update
Downloads (this version): 608
Downloads (all versions): 45,840
Price: $599.00

Information Related to Version:

Broken Link? Newer Version? Tell us!

Product Description:

At Sibelius, we believe notation software should be a joy to use, not a frustration. If you thought it was impossible for an advanced scorewriter to be easy to use, think again: you'll be astonished by Sibelius's intuitive design and uncompromising quality. And our latest version, Sibelius 4, is another giant leap forwards for notation software, with three ground-breaking features, unique among notation products, that will change the way you work with music: Dynamic Parts keeps instrumental parts in the same file as the score, and keeps both score and parts up-to-date as you edit; attach a digital video to your score and compose to picture, with the video in perfect synchronization to the score's playback; and use the Worksheet Creator to generate teaching materials in moments, choosing from the more than 1700 ready-made worksheets and other resources.

What's new in this version:

  • Magnetic Layout takes care of almost every detail of score layout for you, automatically. As you write, it gives everything just the right amount of space and avoids collisions - producing beautiful results. This one feature cuts the time taken to prepare a score by up to half.
  • Versions keeps track of revisions to your score, lets you look back at earlier versions of it, and see what changes were made since. Add sticky note-style comments to your score as reminders for yourself, or for others. Compare two versions of the same score, or even two separate scores, and see the differences color-coded in the score.
  • Live Tempo lets you conduct the playback of your score by tapping a key on your computer keyboard, MIDI keyboard or foot pedal. Sibelius follows your beat just like a real orchestra does: you can subdivide your beat to slow down, beat once per bar in fast tempos, and hold as long as you like at pauses, all without marking up the score in advance.
  • Sibelius Sounds Essentials, the included sample library, is better than ever and now requires no set-up thanks to the integrated technology from AIR. The new Sibelius Player allows Sibelius to play back up to 128 channels simultaneously (depending on computer power) with real-time effects including convolution reverb. Sibelius even loads the samples required for playback in the background, so you can edit your score while the sounds load.
  • ReWire support allows you to sync Sibelius playback with Pro Tools, Cubase, Logic, GarageBand, and more.
  • Classroom Control enables teachers to instantly send scores to every classroom computer, temporarily lock student computers to attract their attention, and gather in all student files at the end of a class.
  • Totally revamped chord symbols, with faster input than ever via your MIDI keyboard. Typing chord symbols is faster too: you can simply type the plain text equivalent, and Sibelius will auto-format the chord symbol for you. Text chord symbols and guitar chord diagrams have been combined into a single kind of object, with a library of more than 600 different chord types, and many new features.
  • Keyboard and Fretboard windows allow you to input notes by clicking on keys or frets, or play your computer's QWERTY keyboard like a piano. These beautiful, resizable windows are also ideal for students learning notation.
  • Professional engraving improvements include the most flexible and controllable slurs of any notation program, automatic stemlets, feathered beams, note-attached arpeggio lines, automatic cautionary accidentals, and intelligently positioned jazz articulations.

Operating System Requirements:

This product is designed to run on the following operating systems:

  • Mac OS X 10.5 Intel
  • Mac OS X 10.5 PPC
  • Mac OS X 10.4 Intel
  • Mac OS X 10.4 PPC

Screenshots:

Download Links:

Your Installed Versions:


 

Feedback Summary:

This Version:
Overall Rating: Not rated (0.0) Features: Not rated (0.0) Support: Not rated (0.0)
Ease of Use: Not rated (0.0) Quality / Stability: Not rated (0.0) Price: Not rated (0.0)
Add Your Feedback

Key to Types of Feedback:

ReviewsReviews   TroubleshootingTroubleshooting   Usage TipsUsage Tips   Developer NotesDeveloper Notes   CommentaryCommentary   Featured ReviewsFeatured Reviews

Sibelius ReviewSibelius Support - Version: 5.2, 5/24/2008 06:49PM PST

(5 of 6 users found this comment useful)

zimbop
I upgraded from Sibelius 4 to 5 for a project the was postponed. It was resurrected after a few of months and I had cause to ask some tech questions relating to MIDI setup. They flat refused to speak to me because I had bought Sibelius upgrade some 115 days ago, even though this was the first time I'd booted it after installing it. Seems there's a 90 day cutoff on telephone support, never mind it was the first few hours of me actually using the software,

In contrast, I needed to talk to MakeMusic about an EPS issue between a previous version of Finale (2007) and Adobe Illustrator CS3. They happily spent 10 or 15 minutes troubleshooting with me and flagged up the issue which I found could be worked around easily, and was fixed by an update.

I guess this isn't a "negative" for Sibelius (I don't fancy my chances getting live Tech Support from Apple for Logic) as much as it is a plus for Finale. Either way the issue took a few more days to solve with Sibelius than I think it probably should have.

My overall impression is that the famous "ease of use" is only sustained for as long as you want to do things "the way sibelius wants to do them", and as soon as you try to use conventions outside of Sibelius sphere of comfort, it's poor and hacky. It seems to me that Sibelius is akin to "Pages" and Finale is more like "InDesign". You'll be up and running quickly in Sibelius, and if you don't want to make anything too challenging you'll probably be OK.
Post a commentAlert Admin

Most Recent Replies: View All 1 Replies

Sibelius ReviewSpeed/graphics problems - Version: 5.1, 2/29/2008 09:45AM PST

(3 of 3 users found this comment useful)

hkim
This version is still very slow in entering notes and performing many graphically-related tasks, i.e., selecting notes, entering notes. This happens with the GPO not being used as well. Though support personnel tell me a G4 is a slower computer to run this on, that should not be since I also do photoshop work that taxes the CPU even more than any music notation software should! In short, there appear to be programming issues that have not been resolved as of yet.

Though Sibelius potentially offers much for music notation, it does not bode well for OSX software to have such a problematic version as this. I suspect this software works better in Windows than OSX, despite their attempt to re-write the code for OSX. Does this thing even support openGL!?
Post a commentAlert Admin

Sibelius ReviewNot ready for prime time - Version: 5.0, 7/15/2007 11:30AM PST

(3 of 3 users found this comment useful)

dshertz
I am a long time user of Sibelius 4 and a software engineer. When I installed Sibelius 5 I had nothing but problems. The installation was not very well integrated: there was a .net upgrade which had to be run separately. Plus it was suggested that files should be copied from Sibelius 4 to Sibelius 5. Later the installation guide suggest that these files may not work because of software changes. Since the job of an installation program is to copy and install the correct files, one gets the impression that the installer was very hastily done.

The principle flaw was the removal of means to edit sound set plus no guide on how to create these in the new XML format. So if you were using an external synth, (I'm using Motif Rack) suddenly you old work is now unplayable. Tech support has offered the ususal banality of a fix will be ready "Real Soon, Now." Much of the functionality in the play menu is greyed out or unresponsive. (The manual only mentions that menus have been 'removed' but offers no recourse as how to replace this functionality).

My recommendation is to wait six months to a year and look for positive reviews before buying this 'upgrade'.
Post a commentAlert Admin