Adam Golding wrote:
Eric,
I have used both Sibelius and Finale. Sibelius is currently faster for me,
but I know it somewhat better than Finale---further practice on finale might
make it faster for me, on the other hand, further practice might be futile.
I agree that each program will produce different creative results if one
composes directly into it, so I should clarify that I'm probalby going to
start composing in Cubase and doing a score when the composition is said and
done, so I'm specifically wondering about engraving speed.
For the kind of work that Adam appears to be doing, I would say that
Sibelius would be the better choice.
I work in both, although I'm not as fluent in Sibelius as I am in
Finale. I find that I can work equally fast in either program, but the
more recent developments in Finale have made it a less desirable working
environment for me (having used it since version 3.5) while recent
developments in Sibelius make it a lot more enjoyable working
environment for me.
Adam, you need to know, however, that there remain certain things which
are easier in each program. Such as having independent key signatures
like 2/4 and 6/8 at the same time in different staves -- Finale makes it
very easy and Sibelius makes the user jump through hoops. But if you
don't work on music like that it won't matter. And it is possible in
Sibelius, just not as easily as with Finale.
Both programs are really equal -- those who prefer one or the other do
so for either of two reasons: 1) the program they like fits their
working methods better; 2) the program they favor makes the musical work
they do easier than the other program does.
Engraving speed is really determined by the type of music you will be doing.
For a large number of people in your situation Sibelius is easier from
the start and remains easier. The real differences show up with more
complex scores, with the advantage going to Finale, but increasingly by
a narrower margin with each new release.
Then there is the corporate future -- Sibelius is making huge advances
in capturing the education market at all levels, enticing teachers to
install it in school computer music labs, while Finale seems to have all
but abandoned that market. Which means that young students are learning
Sibelius and are more likely to remain Sibelius users, broadening the
marketplace significantly, while Finale seems to make no apparent effort
to broaden its user base. What that means is that Finale's future
income is limited to corporate engraving and to current users locked
into an annual upgrade "subscription" model, and increasingly more and
more current users are reluctant to upgrade because newer Finale
versions have introduced significant new problems while failing to fix
some long-standing problems.
Sibelius on the other hand appears to release new versions only when
they're ready and not due to any pre-determined calendar model. In my
opinion, Sibelius' future seems rosier than Finale's future. MakeMusic,
who own and market Finale, have their business hopes pegged onto their
SmartMusic Accompaniment System, which is specifically aimed at the
student market and is based solely on annual subscription fees for
access to the accompaniment files. Finale appears to be less
significant in corporate vision.
Sibelius (the company as well as the product) has been purchased by
Avid, which owns M-Audio and other major music technology products, so
it appears that it will have a more robust future.
Only time will tell, but when making a significant investment in a
software product it is important to keep the company's long-term
continued health into consideration. Users of both programs likely have
many files from abandoned notation programs of the past which they can't
get at.
A word to the wise -- when completing a project in whichever program you
finally go with, save it as MusicXML in addition to the native format,
which may well be the key to the future access to the pieces without
having to completely re-engrave in whatever notation software we're all
using 20 years from now. Finale will allow that now with no extra
purchase, to do that in Sibelius you will need to purchase the Dolet
plug-in from www.recordare.com.
--
David H. Bailey
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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