Sibelius Questions

I've downloaded the trial, and really like it, better than Finale in my opinion, and I've noticed there is a Sibelius student.


Is the student version hampering as far as composing and saving goes? Or is it worth the cut in price and things, I'd like to not spend so much on Sibelius 5, but I'd also like to still have a good program.


Anyone have Sibelius Student? Help?


Thanks.

Originally Posted by AGD

I've downloaded the trial, and really like it, better than Finale in my opinion, and I've noticed there is a Sibelius student.


Is the student version hampering as far as composing and saving goes? Or is it worth the cut in price and things, I'd like to not spend so much on Sibelius 5, but I'd also like to still have a good program.


Anyone have Sibelius Student? Help?


Thanks.

I can tell you for certain that Sibelius Student shouldn't hamper your ability to write music with it if you're going to keep it fairly simple. Here are the differences that I can remember off the top of my head-
1) Sibelius Student has fewer instruments (You could work around this by adding a treble/bass staff and changing the name of the staff and the sound, but why go through that? )
2) Sibelius Student doesn't let you post scores on the internet (no big deal)
3) I believe you aren't allowed to use Sibelius Student as a career-enhancing tool (not 100% positive about this- I'm pretty sure it says something about it in the liscensing agreement)

If you want to find more, you can find it on the Sibelius website- Sibelius home page

I feel that if money isn't an issue (up to 400$, in some cases), it's best to stick with the professional version. However, Sibelius does have promotional offers- IOW, Sibelius has an offer where if you provide proof that you own Finale or other composition programs not Sibelius, they will sell you Sibelius for 99$. I believe their latest offer has since expired, but it will come up again soon. The offer can also be found on thier website- when it is active, it will be on the shop page.

I hope I helped!

Yes you have helped, I think the latest offer is that if you own Student, they will sell you professional for a discount, I'm not sure though.


But what do you mean about a career-enhancing? Just elaborate a bit on that please, thanks. = )

Originally Posted by AGD

Yes you have helped, I think the latest offer is that if you own Student, they will sell you professional for a discount, I'm not sure though.


But what do you mean about a career-enhancing? Just elaborate a bit on that please, thanks. = )

On the first statement- I KNOW there is an offer that lets you move from Finale to Sibelius (this is how I got Sibelius), but I don't know when the next one will be. The upgrade from Sibelius Student is either a seperate one, or part of the same offer.

Lol I guess I didn't make that clear, but it's hard to explain. "You can't use Sibelius Student to make scores that you are going to sell." is what I wanted to say... is that better?

Alan

Oh haha yeah that's better, sorry about that.

Thanks for the help, I think I'm going to get it today.

Yeah, I don't think there are many differences between the two. If you're fairly new to composing, the student version my be the best option, then as you progress and become more confident you would have the option to upgrade to the professional version at a cheaper price.

I think to buy the student version though you need to prove that you are a student, provide details of your school etc...which is always annoying.

Originally Posted by Chaski

I think to buy the student version though you need to prove that you are a student, provide details of your school etc...which is always annoying.

This is true, thanks Chaski! I knew I forgot something! That shouldn't be a big deal though- I don't know how to provide that information- I think it will tell you, but otherwise your parents may know...

I thought I should post here instead of create a new thread.

I am using Sibelius 4. I find it pretty functional for what I am doing, and the integration with GPO Studio (KONTAKT ??) is pretty nice.

The thing that bugs me is that, unless I'm doing it wrong, I have to press Esc everytime to shift focus from the last note created to other parts of the score. This makes the process require 2 hands instead of just 1 hand using the mouse (I don't have a music keyboard for note input).

Am I crazy? I actually consulted the manual and it does instruct me to press Esc to shift focus.

Another question - am I missing any cool features in Sibelius 5?

Pressing Esc only releases the focus from whatever item(s) you happen to have given the focus. I wouldn't have thought there was a reason to routinely make use of that functionality, unless I'm missing something about what it is you're trying to do.