Kathleen Muscettola wrote:
I would like feedback on Finale v.s. Sibelius. I am a flutist, private teacher, general music teacher and flute choir director. I would be using a notation program for all of these jobs. I use a G4 Powerbook, OS X, and have midi controller etc. I tried Finale on a friend's computer and really liked the notation quick-entry using the keypad but was unable to try midi play-in entry. I was ready to buy and then someone I talked with who had used Finale for years just switched to Sibelius.
I do some composing and a lot of music writing for students, arrangements for flute choir. I would appreciate any advice on what I should get for my needs.
Download the demos for both Finale and Sibelius and try them out. You won't be able to save your work, but choose a simple project, something like setting Yankee Doodle for 3 flutes and create it in each program.
See which is easier for you.
Both produce great output, but as with any program (or instrument) if you learn to use the program you can produce great output and if you don't learn the program you can get garbage output.
I am a long-time user of Finale who does 99% of my data entry using speedy entry and I can work extremely fast with it. I also bought Sibelius 2.11 about 15 months ago and, try as I might (not as hard as I probably should), I haven't been able to find a good working method in Sibelius that doesn't leave me frustrated and much slower than when I work in Finale.
Both programs have strengths and both have weaknesses, but Finale gives you greater control over the final output. However, if the defaults that Sibelius offers (and the more limited number of things you can change) suits your needs, the greater power Finale offers won't be important.
There is a Sibelius group at yahoogroups, so my advice would be to join that also and read the threads over the past year or so, both before version 3 was released and after. There are long-standing problems with both programs which continually don't get fixed, while new bells and whistles get added. Those long-standing problems don't get in the way of most users, though, doing most projects, so the development team puts its efforts into new bells and whistles to attract a wider user base, and slowly improves those core problems. Same with both programs.
Whichever program you finally decide to go with, be sure you work through the tutorials and then start practicing with simple projects which are not time-critical for you and gradually work your way into projects that you need completed and perfect by a deadline.
Whichever program you finally choose, these groups will probably be your best first-line of tech support, before contacting tech-support for either company.
Good luck!
-- David H. Bailey [EMAIL PROTECTED] _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
