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Sibelius: Versions & Licences

Sibelius: Versions & Licences

Wednesday, 17 June 2015 by Kasper | Bax-shop

Thankfully, these days there are plenty of tools available that can help you write your score. While you still need to be pretty focussed to get the job done, in general, notation software is nothing short of a blessing from the music gods. The question is, which title should you go for? While Sibelius is not the only scoring software pack on the market, it’s by far the most popular one.

Sibelius is compatible with both Windows and Mac operating systems and is navigated and controlled via your mouse and a series of keyboard shortcuts. Anyone fluent in Sibelius keyboard shortcuts will be able to work with the program fluidly, so you can assume that anyone who raves about its user-friendly interface knows their hot keys inside and out.

Two Paid Versions, Various Licences

The paid-for versions of Sibelius are called Sibelius Artist (formerly known as Sibelius Standard) and Sibelius Ultimate. Here, the Ultimate edition obviously offers the full package, but that’s not to say the Artist edition is basic in any way, shape or form. In fact, it’s a more than solid software pack for mainstream music and moderately complex pieces. Besides the paid versions, you have the pick of various licences. Both the different versions and the various licences are explained in more detail below.

	Artist	Ultimate	Ultimate EDU
Perpetual Licence With 1-Year of Updates & Support	» Artist	» Ultimate » Ultimate + Audioscore » Ultimate + Photoscore + NotateMe » Ultimate + Audioscore + Photoscore + NotateMe	» Ultimate EDU » Ultimate + Audioscore + Photoscore + NotateMe EDU
Renewal Updates & Support (current plan about to expire)	» 1-year renewal	» 1-year renewal » 3-year renewal
Renewal Updates & Support (previous plan expired)	» 1-year renewal	» 1-year renewal » 3-year renewal
1-Year Subscription With Updates & Support (new ID)	» Artist subscription	» Ultimate subscription	» Ultimate EDU subscription
Subscription Renewal 1 Year + Updates & Support (same ID)	» Artist renewal	» Ultimate renewal	» Ultimate EDU renewal

Orchestration - It's an Artform

Writing a clear score that can guide other musicians that you may never even meet is an artform in its own right. So, what makes a well-written score? It needs to be built on the actual sections and instruments of an actual orchestra rather than the virtual MIDI-based orchestra sitting inside your laptop. You’re writing something that’s going to be read by a human being, rather than digital data that’s going to be read by a plug-in.

While notation software can take care of a lot of things for you, having some knowledge of how to read and write music is still essential, and one of the biggest hurdles when it comes to writing score is all of those symbols and staves.

You can mimic the legato that many orchestral instruments can play (such as strings or woodwind) by overlapping notes in a DAW. Your sample player, whether it’s Kontakt or Halion, etc, recognises the overlap and simply takes care of the rest. When writing score, however, any overlapping legato notes need to be connected by a legato arc.

Another example is the harp, which is a diatonic instrument (meaning that it’s only able to play the white notes of a piano). So, if you want the individual strings of the harp to be tuned a semitone higher or lower, rather than simply tweaking the tuning of the MIDI harp sample you’re working with, the tuning needs to be accurately stated on your score.

Of course, there are countless other examples of how sheet music and MIDI differ.

Sibelius First

Sibelius First is the free version of Avid’s popular scoring software. This stripped-down edition is limited to four staves and, while that may be enough for some singer-songwriters who simply sing and play guitar, it’s most likely not enough for the orchestrators among us. If you’re new to notation software and want to try your hand at scoring simple songs however, Sibelius First offers a great introduction to the series.

Sibelius Artist vs Ultimate: The Differences

Listing all the differences between the Artist and Ultimate versions would be virtually impossible, so we're just going to highlight the most important ones.

For most composers, being able to apply a sharp, flat, double sharp and double flat symbol is more than enough to write their score, and all of them are available in the Artist version. However, the Ultimate version includes quarter notes as well, which are less common in Western mainstream music, but are essential for more ambitious work.

Four-sixteenth notes are usually written linked together in a group of four but could technically be split into two groups of two. You can freely experiment with various groupings in the Ultimate edition, but in the Artist edition, the program will decide for you, which may not seem that significant, but sometimes it’s the small details like this that could greatly improve the overall legibility of your score.

The number of available staves also differs between each edition. Artist offers sixteen staves while Ultimate offers an unlimited number of staves. Whether or not this is important really depends on the scale of your project. If you're writing for a symphony orchestra, then sixteen staves should be enough as long as the individual instruments in any one section are more or less playing the same part. If you're writing for a section of three trumpets, two of which play chords and a third who plays the melody, then it makes sense to use one stave for the melody and a separate stave for the chords. This makes your score easier to read, but in the Artist edition, this would 'cost' you two of your sixteen staves.

Sibelius also features a library of virtual instruments so you can play back your score and get a clear idea of what your score will sound like. With Standard, you get a 10GB library, while with Ultimate, you get over three times the amount in a 36GB library.

There are countless other details in the Ultimate version that may not seem significant at first glance, but they can really make a difference when it comes to the clarity of your final score.

What's the right edition for me?

Since Ultimate was developed for large-scale, professional projects and orchestras, it can do virtually anything. So, if you want in-depth control and the ability to tweak some of the visual features of your score, then Ultimate will give you everything you want. Basically, if you have big ideas and orchestration is your profession, Sibelius Ultimate is the edition for you.

If you're writing for smaller ensembles or you're relatively new to orchestration in general, then sixteen staves will be more than enough, which means the Artist version is probably the right choice for you.

PhotoScore, AudioScore and NotateMe

Pay close attention to the product names of our Ultimate bundles and you’ll notice that some include one or more extra software packs that can be used to scan parts or dissect audio fragments and convert them into Sibelius notation. Why? The answer is simple: scoring costs a lot of time and tools like this can really speed up the process. Note that the regular Ultimate edition includes Lite versions of PhotoScore, AudioScore and NotateMe. These software titles are also available separately.

The Various Licences

Since Sibelius is developed by Avid, the licensing model is really similar to another of their popular titles, Pro Tools. Sibelius offers a range of licence options, which we’ll cover in more detail below.

You can get a perpetual licence or a subscription for all versions of Standard and Ultimate. If you get a perpetual licence, you can use Sibelius whenever you want. Getting a subscription can be a cheaper option if you’re only working on a project for a limited time and don’t necessarily need to use the software later.

Just like Pro Tools, Sibelius comes with an Update & Support subscription. This plan includes annual updates to ensure you're always working with the newest version and you’re getting constant support from the Avid team.

If you're not sure about how to do something (which isn't unthinkable considering the scale of this software) then someone from Avid is always available to help you out online.

The convenience of annual updates and support comes at a price, however. If you have a permanent licence, then you'll have access to the update & support service for one year. After this period, you can keep the permanent licence with the most recent updates from that year, but if you want continual updates and support then you'll need to renew your plan (just) before it expires. If you don’t renew it before it runs out, but want updates and support later on, then depending on the edition and kind of licence you have, you'll need to renew your licence. As such, subscription licences can be easier because the updates & support service comes included.

Got an expired licence and wonder whether you should renew it or go for a new subscription? While both options boil down to the same thing, a new subscription will also come with a new Sibelius ID for your Avid account, whereas going for a renewed licence allows you to keep your old ID.

The Right Edition for You

Only you can decide which edition is right for you. If you're a professional producer working on large projects regularly, then a perpetual licence is probably going to be the best option. If you want to be kept up to date with bug fixes and new functions, then we recommend annually renewing your updates & support service. If you don't need those extras, then you’ll probably be more than happy with a perpetual licence.

Special Licences

There are also special educational licences for students and teachers. Indispensable for conservatories and other music-based educational institutions, these versions include the ‘EDU’ suffix.

In addition, Avid like to invite users of other notation software packs to cross over to Sibelius. Their trade-up offer is aimed at users of the full versions of Finale, Encore, Mosaic and Notion. To make use of this offer however, you'll need to provide proof that you own a valid licence for one of these packages.

Quick Comparison Chart

Below, you’ll find an overview of the main features of each version of Sibelius (First, Artist and Ultimate). You can also download the complete list of differences between the various versions (PDF).

General Tips

If you don't have much experience with arranging score for an orchestra, then make sure you don't underestimate the amount of time you'll need to get the hang of this software. Take your time and try to imagine how each individual musician will read your score. The way you use MIDI in your DAW has very little to do with how you write an arrangement.

Writing score is a job that requires precision and patience. Sibelius offers you the tools you need to translate what's in your head onto the page, but at the end of the day, the ideas have to be good. That said, you'll know the true meaning of satisfaction when your score is finally finished!

We'd like to leave you with a couple tips to help take your composing skills to the next level. First: invest in a good book on the subject, like The Study of Orchestration by Samuel Adler. Secondly, get hold of a few orchestral scores and study them. Dover Publications offer a wide variety of informative books that include examples of complete orchestration. It's a good idea to study works from the 20th century because orchestras and orchestra techniques have become increasingly elaborate over time. A good starting point is French Impressionist Maurice Ravel, who is known as one of the best maestros of all time.