Sibelius First Software

I bought Sibelius First through Amazon.com a few months ago to help me create piano music and just love how quickly I can enter the notes in, copy blocks of measures to another location, and add dynamics, lyrics, and other text to come up with a song. You can also print the music out in a variety of fonts. It's easy to play back your results, listen to it at different tempos, select your preferred tempo and create a MIDI file to send to friends. You can also, create music that has multiple parts although I've not tried this out yet.I find the easiest way to compose is to use the keyboard to enter letters for each note and use the keyboard short cuts and sometime the mouse to designate the type of note (e.g., quarter, half, etc.)along with dynamics. You can optionally use a musical keyboard on the screen to enter in the notes or can use your mouse to place a note on a staff line but I find it's faster to just hit a key. For example, hitting the D key on the PC keyboard puts the note D in the current measure and you can hit <Ctrl> <down arrow> to put the note down an octave and <Ctrl> <Up Arrow> to put the note up an octave.I've also imported a PDF file into the software, cleaned up anything that did not import correctly, and rearranged it to my liking.I feel the software's price is fair for everything you get and the Amazon price was the lowest that I found. Also, at the time I bought it, the company, that provided the software, gave me free shipping even though it didn't say free super saver shipping from Amazon. The latest upgrade of Sibelius First around June 2011 (which was the one I purchased) gave it more functionality and so far I've been able to do everything I want. There are other versions of Sibelius that are more powerful and quite a bit more expensive but as music is a hobby for me and not a profession, I didn't feel I needed all the bells and whistles of the more expensive versions.This software is very stable on my Windows 7 PC and I've had absolutely no crashes. Congrats to Avid Technology/Sibelius for a great product!

My daughter enjoys composing and has used this program to do so. Easy to use, very user friendly. I feel it has helped her to understand music,reading,rhythm, ect better..

This may not be the best review, but my 15 y/o son uses it all the time. He has no training on composition writing, but he was able to compose a 3-4 minute piano piece for his History finals project (everyone else in his class built something) and not only perform it in class but also more importantly hand in the composition that was transcribed by the software. and, yes, he got an A for the project and an A for the class.

I think this Sibelius program is a "gimmick" to force people to buy the very expensive program or an update to it. It is extremely hard to work through it....even the scan and edit feature isn't fool proof! I suppose I'll eventually learn how to override the problem areas because to me it sure isn't a good advertisement even for the "finer" and more expensive program!

I gave Sibelius First a Four instead of a Five because I think there is not sufficient clarity when it comes to marketing this software. Consequently, people who do not understand what they are buying will be disappointed if they are looking for a program to not only compose a symphony but play back sounding like a symphony. So, I'm writing this review to clarify what this protect does and who it is for.This product is a NOTATION Software with the capability of playing back what you have written. Keep in mind the capital Notation; that is what this product does and what it is intended for. The playback feature exists only to verify what is in your head and what you have written coincide. In this regard, the playback feature is perfect because it will give you an accurate playback of your written work.This program works best for those who play Piano and Guitar. The Piano and Guitar features in this program includes a keyboard and guitar neck from which you can easily create chords or notes. This is especially good for people who can read music but do not want to be bothered with putting down notes when it is easier for them to visualize what they are playing. I can do both, write notes or use the keyboard and neck feature. For me, the keyboard and neck feature just make things quicker and easier.The woodwind and brass features work well as well. In all honesty, woodwind and brass do not need anything special like a keyboard or guitar neck because really if you know woodwinds you the notation is limited and simple. (I play Clarinet and Alto/Tenor Saxophone. I am basing my opinion on those two instruments, which to make perfect sense)What this product is NOT: This product will not compose a compose a symphony for you if you do not know how to compose a symphony. If you do know how to compose a symphony, this product will only allow you to compose a symphony. However, it will not be a substitute for having real players play your symphony.This is a Notation program. This is the most cost-effective and user friendly composing program out there. The play back feature is a nice add-on to verify what is on paper is what is in your head, but that is all it is good for.There are products out there which basically compose the music for you and play back as if real players with real instruments were playing it. If that is the program you are looking for, you probably want to look at what Mac has to offer. However, personally, I think programs like that are for people who pretending to be composers but are not actually composers.Conclusion:If you are looking for software to notate your music for real people to play, with the added benefit of being able to playback to verify correct notation, this program is the most cost-effective, user friendly product out there.If you are looking for a program that writes the music, plays the music, and allows you to put your name on it as if you are the composer, then this product is not for you.

The software can only be installed on one computer. I was unable toinstall it on my laptop after installing it on my desktop. The replyI received was there is only a one install option. There suggestionwas to uninstall Silebius from my desktop and reinstall it on the laptop.There is no mention of this in the sales literature.