Avid Sibelius 7 First (Digital Download) Reviews

4.3/5.0 based on 4 customer reviews

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Customer Reviews

jerry thomas
from lousiana
February 19, 2013Music Background:
retired hobbist

my thoughts on sibelius 7

this is a fantastic program even if you are not a studied pianoist it just fun to play around with and I have found that I am learning to read notes. still a longer way form the stage performance but it`s work all that you pay for it. buy and have fun learning. thanks for reading jerry thomas

Bradley Olinger
from Virginia, USa
November 15, 2012Music Background:
Singer, Recording Producer(Home Studio), Lyricist

Great Beginner or Singer/Songwriter Software

I found it to be more than capable for my needs. Since most of the music I write is within it's limits, there is little need for me to upgrade. I am still getting used to it, but I have have found it is excellent software. I also have been using it, in addition to working on my own ideas, for putting together audition cuts for my musical theater repertoire as well.

Michael Pearce
from Imperial, MO
April 23, 2013Music Background:
Beginning Musician

Very Powerful for the Money

"First" is a budget-minded version of Sibelius with the more advanced features stripped out. All of the commonly-used features are there. So far, I have only run into one or two features I wish were included, but they weren't critical. On Avid's web site, there is a detailed feature comparison matrix that shows which features were included or left out of First.

I am a Pro Tools user, which has a very basic score editor that can't do a lot of the things I needed (like tablature, repeats, etc). Sibelius First does those. However, I am disappointed in the lack of integration with Pro Tools. Pro Tools has a "Send to Sibelius" function, but with Sibelius First installed, Pro Tools doesn't recognize it. I can't even cut-and-paste. I have to export and import MIDI files.

I was pleasantly surprised with the ability to enter notes from a MIDI controller and to play the score on my audio interface. It just works, without any complicated setup at all.

Sibelius First comes with a piece of software to scan printed sheet music and build a score from it. I tried it once, and it was very inaccurate, so don't buy it for this feature.

Sibelius is a powerful program, and the learning curve is rather steep. Though it does a lot of things for you, learning how to do things differently can be a challenge. I have had to rely on 3rd-party training videos, but I'm getting there.

Paul
from
January 14, 2013

Great Sharing Ability

I like Sibelius for sharing, but there are certain things I don't like. The work flow is great, but does have a clunky feel to it every now and again. Because it is so easy to add/make changes/edit, it is also that much easy to make changes you didn't intend on. I keep having to retrace my steps as I go. Also, the transport (the tool that controls playback and tempo) could be better. The controls on it are set in such away that it is almost impossible to control tempo, and I always have to specify what part to playback.

I love this app for sharing, but the video share feature could be better. There's an option to upload your compositions to Facebook as a scrolling video, which is really cool, but the playback looks very cheap and is often out of sync with the music.

The keyboard input isn't very reliable. If I use it, it's only the get a better idea of what I'm playing rhythm wise. But that's it. When I record my playing, the notes always come out a little messy on the staves.

However, where this program really sells itself to me is the quickness in which I am able to compose. Since my purchase I've been cranking the compositions out. Regardless of its faults, I think that's the most important aspect -- to get music out as quickly and as accurately as possible.