Not to be outdone by the recently announced Finale 2006, Sibelius has been updated to version 4 for Mac OS X. The new version has some excellent features, such as:
- Dynamic Parts – no more extracting parts from the score; it’s done automatically, and the parts are automatically updated whenever you make changes to the score. This all saves an extreme amount of time when it comes to printing and changing parts.
- Auto Layout makes things look better right from the start; space for the title, longer multirests, fixed number of bars per system, improved page breaks, and more
- Worksheet Creator provides a comprehensive range of ready-made teaching materials: projects, exercises, posters, poems to set to music, reference material, and more
- Video – this is a BIG one. You can now import video directly into your Sibelius score; Sibelius displays the video in a window (various sizes or full-screen) in sync with playback of the music. You can add hitpoints in the score; hit points automatically adjust if you alter tempo markings.
- Playback – there’s now a separate transport control window with a timeline that lets you skip around (both score playback and video playback).
- Copy & paste to Word – now you can simply copy and paste scores straight into Microsoft Word document – no more saving as a graphic file and importing.
- New Font – Sibelius includes the Helsinki music font, which provides a traditional plate engraved apppearance.
- New Symbols – new symbols in Sibelius include buzz rolls, improved chord symbols, and many new percussion symbols
- Optical Beams and Ties – Sibelius has sophisticated new algorithms for positioning beams and ties. New options include French beaming, beams across system and page breaks, extra-long ties, and individually and globally adjustable tie “shoulders.”
- New look and feel, extra toolbar buttons, enhanced zoom, and more sophisticated screen positioning.
- Over an hour of tutorial videos plus, the ability to display the entire Reference section of the manual onscreen.
- There are also 11 new plug-ins such as Copy Articulations and Slurs, Smarten Text Quotes, Add Simple Harmony, and eight more.
- Improved Finale file import
- Print-outs can now include date, time, and filename for keeping track of versions
- Support for Quartz under Mac OS X
- And much, much more!
Sibelius 4 is slated to begin shipping in August.