Rating: 
Summary: Waste of Time with NO HELP
Review: Don't spend your money on this terrible software. It is a bit easier to use then some programs, but the use is annoying. The worst part is their tech support. They are arrogant and never help you with your Sibelius problems. Don't bother even calling.
Rating: 
Summary: Love it, but too expensive
Review: From a 13 year old composer/arranger in San Diego: I love the program. It's likely the best music notation softare program out there for me - Finale's good too, but it's too hard to learn. the manual to learn to use the manual is 600 pages long! To the point: It IS a wonderful program, but I find the cost a little excessive...
Rating:
Summary: MUSIC MAJOR HEAVEN
Review: I attend school for musical theatre, and when it came to planning my recital, I needed music in different keys . . .and I needed them pronto. My school computer lab uses Finale, and I could not make heads or tails of it after sitting down for 4 hours and getting through the first system. I have always considered myself somewhat computer savvy and have a knack for figuring out programs on my own, so you can imagine how this frustrated me. Then my friend introduced me to Sibelius 2. First of all, I was able to completely scan in one piece with MINOR corrections on each page(1 or 2 per page that took about 3 minutes to fix) and then I learned the interface for the program the week before my recital jury in which I now have ALL my pieces in the correct keys, with lyrics, marking, etc. I did this on my own with no manual. DO I reccomend this to everyone? No, but if you are looking for the simplest, most powerful music software out there . . .here it is folks, I have become so adicted that I now plan to fully orchestrate my SENIOR recital. Is the manual big? Yeah . . .do you need to read it? NO . . .use it when you run into something that you can't figure out on your own . . .other then that . . .GO TO IT!!!
Rating:
Summary: Amazing!
Review: I dabble in composing: I'm not superb or anything, but it's just fun for me. Sibelius was like a dream come true for me. It is incredibly easy to use and it can produce incredibly detailed music scores and play them back for you. I love this program! It has given me many, many hours of enjoyment.
Rating:
Summary: It's the best! No jest!
Review: I have been the Director of the Hattiesburg Public Schools Orchestra Program in Mississippi for the last 15 years. Over the years I have experimented with several different music writing and editing programs, usually giving up in frustration at the complexity and time-consuming effort they involved. But Sibelius is a shining star and truly stands alone. My staff and I use this program almost daily, and have found that it is the best and the easiest program we have ever used. It is teacher-friendly and therefore benefits us as teachers as well as our students by allowing us to be creative and letting Sibelius do the rest!! It is the easiest and the best!
Rating:
Summary: Waste of Time with NO HELP
Review: I'm a professional studio musician and composer in Los Angeles and have been using Sibelius for about 3 years. For creating high quality, totally professional looking music and scores, Sibelius is the best. I constantly have other pro musicians come up to me after seeing the charts I've done in this program, to tell me how incredible they look. I've even had other copyists tell me they were going to bail on Finale when they've seen the results I get. There have been many times where Sibelius's ability to create Graphics, including PDF's have saved me, and my clients thousands of dollars. Now instead of printing 500 pages of backup copies for a show, I can give the client a CD with PDF's they can print from any computer, or e-mail anywhere in the world in a second.
Rating:
Summary: Finale Killer
Review: I'm a professional studio musician and composer in Los Angeles and have been using Sibelius for about 3 years. For creating high quality, totally professional looking music and scores, Sibelius is the best. I constantly have other pro musicians come up to me after seeing the charts I've done in this program, to tell me how incredible they look. I've even had other copyists tell me they were going to bail on Finale when they've seen the results I get. There have been many times where Sibelius's ability to create Graphics, including PDF's have saved me, and my clients thousands of dollars. Now instead of printing 500 pages of backup copies for a show, I can give the client a CD with PDF's they can print from any computer, or e-mail anywhere in the world in a second.
Rating:
Summary: Career Changing Software
Review: I've been using Sibelius in my professional composing and orchestrating work for almost three years. It has changed my work habits in important ways. What was hard labor, done with a mild sense of drudgery has become fun, interactive work. My creativity has been freed-up and my sense of what I can accomplish in a given time has expanded dramatically. It has also availed me of new relationships based on use of the program which been an important boost in my career. I recommend Sibelius to anyone who is serious about upgrading their professional capabilities.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing - the state of the art
Review: I've used Sibelius for a couple of years now, having checked out the other music programs around, and I can assure you it's a truly amazing piece of software. The guys who designed it (composers themselves, apparently) have thought of everything. I've been able to write everything from piano pieces to jazz charts to full orchestral scores really easily (and I'm no computer expert). Basically I'd recommend this software to anyone who currently uses manuscript paper - it may be pricey, but I reckon it's worth every cent (and so do my friends who've bought it too, on my recommendation).
Rating:
Summary: Thank You Sibelius!!!!
Review: Musical notation is my JOB, and Sibelius is a dream come true. It took me a while to decide where to go after being an Encore power user for so many years, but when I saw Sibelius 2 and was able to get my hands on it for just a few minutes, I fell in love with it immediately, ditched Encore, and put Finale (where I thought I might end up) and the others out of my mind entirely. (I actually have Finale, and I've had to do jobs on it, but it's never given back anything but frustration. Now I stress out at the thought of having to use it, and I rarely accept jobs on it because I'm given plenty of work on Sibelius, and I can get twice as much done.) Sibelius, the program itself, helped me to make the decision to choose it as my professional choice for musical notation -- copying, transcription, arranging, and composition. Sibelius is competitively priced and worth every penny. It's created by musicians and composers who understand what music needs to look like on the page. It's extremely intuitive and easy to use and learn. The Sibelius employees are mostly musicians and music educators who understand your concerns and are eager to help and please. The program has an incredibly fast learning curve if you're new to it, it's cross-platformed, and it just keeps getting better. I'm here, waiting for version 3, and couldn't help but give my opinion about version 2. Buy it! It's unbelieveable~!
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