Question

I don't know if there is already a thread about this, or if this is the right place... but I have a question....

FINALE OR SIBELIUS?

Has anyone ever used "Anvil Studio?" This program is free.....

And is it nesecarry to get prof. editions, or are the student versions good enough? Who can help me?!?!

Thank you friends.

Heshi,

Daniel

I use finale, but since I have never used Sillabus, all I can say is that Finale works very well, I love this program. I have Finale Printmusic, which is the $70 version of Finale and it works perfectly for what I do.

Give this thread a read over, it has some opions on both in it.

Hi GoldenLotus,

I read over that thread really quick and it seems people are going between Finale and Sibelius quite a bit based on which they start off with. But here's the breakdown.

Finale is a 'stronger' program, but Sibelius is a 'smarter' program. So what does this mean? This means it is somewhat personal preference with this difference:

Finale is much more flexible and can do more than Sibelius when it comes down to the most COMPLICATED notation. I'm talking about writing abstract pieces and pieces that may break the boundaries of conventional music notation. It puts you in complete utter control of every aspect of your score, but that also means you'll have to learn every aspect of scoring (and the program) to use it to its full potential. If you want to do something completly illogical in a score, its not gonna do anything to stop you, you have all the tools!

Sibelius is more like an automatic car. Sibelius has an amazing intelligence system that almost reads your mind. Take a bar drag it somewhere else, and it moves everything over and plops it in, no problem! Want to change keys or time signagtures, sure! It'll make sure everything re-arranges itself properly for you. So what can it not do? If you want to get into the nitty gritty of the notation and put in amazingly complicated scores, the program will be more stubborn than Finale. Sibelius is smart, and knows whats best for the most part... if you're illogical in your notation (on purpose) its gonna fuss.

Hope this helps!

PS: As for which version, these are two top of the line programs. The student version should not hinder you at all. It might possibly take some small things from Finale, but barely anything from Sibelius.

PPS: I almost forgot. The biggest difference I've seen between Student Sibelius and Professional Sibelius, is that Professional comes with more publishing options and also the ability to print out 'student' exercises, as if you were a teacher.