Sibelius | First
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Sibelius
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Sibelius | Ultimate
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GENERAL features |
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Ideal for... |
Composing simple scores with up to 4 instrument parts (staves) | Composing simple/moderate music with up to 16 staves | Composing, arranging, and publishing scores and parts of any size and complexity; creating notation worksheets and exercises for education |
Availability | Available for free for anyone to download and use | Subscribe monthly or annually, or purchase and own a perpetual license | Subscribe monthly or annually, purchase and own a perpetual license (educational discount available), trade-up from other notation software, or get network licensing |
Number of computers you can install a single copy on | N/A | 2, for use by same person (e.g., desktop + laptop) | 2, for use by same person (e.g., desktop + laptop) |
Software updates and support | Download the latest update as it becomes available | Access all new releases and Standard support through a subscription or renewable 1-Year Software Updates + Support Plan (included with new perpetual licenses) | Access all new releases and Standard support through a subscription or renewable 1-Year Software Updates + Support Plan (included with new perpetual licenses) |
Compare
Sibelius | First
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Sibelius
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Sibelius | Ultimate
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NOTATION |
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Accidentals | Normal and double only | Normal and double only, bracketed | Normal, double, quarter-tones, bracketed |
Metadata | Common ones only | Common ones only | Full set |
Bar numbers | Limited | Limited | Full range of formats |
Barline types | Single, double, repeat only | Single, double, repeat only | Single, double, repeat, dotted, early music |
Bars, irregular | No | No, except pick-up bars |
+ |
Beams cross-staff in (keyboard music) |
+ |
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Beam/rest groupings | Fixed | Fixed | Customizable |
Brackets and braces | Fixed | Fixed | Customizable |
Change transposition of tranposing instruments |
+ |
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Chord symbols appearance and MIDI/text input | Limited preset options | Limited preset options | Fully customizable |
Cue (small) notes |
+ |
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Dotted notes: single, double, triple |
Single dotted |
+ |
+ |
Guitar chord diagrams | Limited | Limited |
+ |
Guitar scale diagrams |
+ |
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Guitar tab | Basic only | Basic only | Full |
Instruments | Common only | Common, jazz, and world instruments only, with fixed number of staves | Full customizable range |
Jazz articulations: scoops, falls, doits, and plops |
+ |
+ |
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Lines, custom |
+ |
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Note values: 512th note (7 beams) to "long" (double breve) | 32nd note to breve |
+ |
+ |
Noteheads, custom |
+ |
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Ossia staves |
+ |
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Page numbers | Automatic | Automatic | Customizable |
Special symbols |
+ |
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Split multirests in parts |
+ |
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Staves | Up to 4 | Up to 16 per system | Unlimited number |
Stemlets (half-stems) and "feathered" beams |
+ |
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Tuplets | Duplets (2:3) to sextuplets (6:4) | Duplets (2:3) to nontuplets (9:8) | Any (such as 2, 7, 44:31, and nested tuplets) |
Sibelius | First
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Sibelius
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Sibelius | Ultimate
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Playback |
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Advanced notation interpretation |
+ |
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Edit MIDI data |
+ |
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Included sampled sounds | N/A | High-quality Sibelius Sounds (10 GB library) | Full range of professional-quality orchestral, jazz, pop, marching band, and percussion sounds in Sibelius | Ultimate Sounds (36 GB library) |
Espressivo 2.0 | Presets only | Customizable rhythmic feel | |
Live Tempo (conduct playback by tapping) | Limited—playback only | Limited—playback only | Record, edit, clear, and play back Live Tempo |
Playback markings on specified repeats |
+ |
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Playback of hairpins, rits, and accels |
Fixed | Fixed | Adjustable |
Playback of fermatas | Fixed | Fixed | Adjustable |
Words that affect playback (e.g. legato) | Fixed | Fixed | Editable |
Sibelius | First
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Sibelius
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Sibelius | Ultimate
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Utilities |
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Annotate |
+ |
+ |
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Arrange: automatic arranging and orchestration |
+ |
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Comments (sticky notes) |
+ |
+ |
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Compare different scores or versions |
+ |
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Copy and paste to Word and other programs | Low resolution (96 dpi) only |
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Display timecode | Single format | Customizable format | |
Edit Dynamic Parts | Limited | Full | |
Edit word menus |
+ |
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Export a log of changes to a score |
+ |
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Export lyrics as text file |
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Filters for editing similar objects | Quick filters only |
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Find |
+ |
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Focus on staves |
+ |
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Graphics export (for creating worksheets and other content) |
+ |
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Highlight music |
+ |
+ |
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Ideas Hub | 300 library ideas, with the ability to capture your own ideas (editing not supported) | 300 library ideas, with the ability to capture your own ideas (editing not supported) | Over 2,000 library ideas, with the ability to capture and edit your own ideas and add to the score/library |
Import MusicXML files |
+ |
+ |
+ |
Instrument changes |
+ |
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Join scores together |
+ |
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Keyboard shortcuts | Fixed | Fixed | Customizable |
Lyric verses allowed | 2 | 5 | Unlimited |
Lyrics from text file |
+ |
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Note input options | Fixed | Limited | Full |
Panorama scroll view |
+ |
+ |
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Paper and desk textures | 40 | 40 | Over 60 |
Part extraction |
+ |
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Paste As Cue |
+ |
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Plug-ins | None | 38 included | Over 140 included |
Inspector window to edit individual objects | Full | ||
Rehearsal marks | Default only | Fully customizable | |
Repeat structures | Fixed | Customizable | Fully customizable |
Rulers |
+ |
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Score Starter: (40 genre-specific templates) |
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Slide notes and rests |
+ |
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Special page breaks |
+ |
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Timeline window |
+ |
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Swap voices |
+ |
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Versions | Latest (head) version only | Save, view, and print only |
+ |
Video, including timecode and hit points |
Add video, add/edit hit points |
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Viewing options for Magnetic Layout, page margins, note colors, full screen, and more |
+ |
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Worksheet Creator |
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Sibelius | First
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Sibelius
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Sibelius | Ultimate
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Publishing |
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Advanced layout features |
+ |
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Auto Layout options |
+ |
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Edit fonts | Limited | Full | |
Edit staff types |
+ |
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Edit text styles |
+ |
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Engraving rules (edit hundreds of) |
+ |
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Headers/footers |
+ |
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House Style import/export | Import only |
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Intelligent Rests |
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Magnetic Layout | Fixed | Fixed | Fully customizable |
Manage Dynamic Parts |
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Manuscript papers (preset score layouts) | Includes a few; can't create your own | Includes a few; can't create your own | Includes many; can create your own |
Multiple staff size | Fixed | Fixed | Fully customizable |
Note spacing rules | Fixed | Fixed | Customizable |
Reset position/design of objects | Limited | Limited |
+ |
Set default object positions |
+ |
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Staff spacing | Fixed | Manual adjustment only |
+ |
Sibelius | First
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Sibelius
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Sibelius | Ultimate
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Exporting and Sharing |
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Audio recording export | WAV, AIFF, and MP3 | WAV, AIFF, and MP3 | |
Avid Scorch optimized export (app available on the iTunes App Store) |
+ |
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Email score as .sib or .pdf |
+ |
+ |
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Graphics file export | PDF export only | Standard bitmap and vector formats (SVG, EPS, PNG, JPG, BMP, TIFF, GIF, and PDF) | |
MIDI file export—Type 0 and Type 1 for any device |
+ |
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MusicXML file export (compressed or uncompressed) |
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Previous version export |
+ |
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Publish directly to ScoreExchange.com |
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Scorch (browser plug-in) web page export |
+ |
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Share to YouTube, Facebook, SoundCloud |
+ |
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Sibelius | Cloud Sharing | 10 scores | 20 scores | Unlimited (up to 1 GB storage) |
Video file (export your score as) |
+ |
+ |
Sibelius | First
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Sibelius
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Sibelius | Ultimate
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System requirements* |
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Minimum requirements | Avid-qualified Mac or Windows-based computer (get the details) | Avid-qualified Mac or Windows-based computer (get the details); the 10 GB Sibelius Sounds library is an optional installation | Avid-qualified Mac or Windows-based computer (get the details); the 36 GB Sibelius | Ultimate Sounds library is an optional installation |
Other | Internet connection required for software download and activation | Internet connection required for software download and activation; ASIO-compatible soundcard required for Sibelius Sounds (Windows requirement only) | Internet connection required for software download and activation; ASIO-compatible soundcard required for Sibelius | Ultimate Sounds (Windows requirement only) |
* If you have an external hardware MIDI playback device, please check to ensure a compatible sound set is available—see the list of sound sets supplied with Sibelius | Ultimate.
** Please note that if your computer doesn't meet the recommended requirements for Sibelius | Ultimate or Sibelius Sounds, you can still use the library, but may find that you can’t use as many sounds simultaneously and that sounds may take a long time to load.