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Could anybody please explain to me why somebody thinks Sibelius is a great songwriting programme? I thought it was better suited to classical music score. Please correct me. Thanks
Follow That Dream Sam Karaoke King -------------------- Turning that corner again - I have to keep following that dream, no matter what
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G'day Sam,
I have no opinion other than Sib, like Finale, Noteworthy Composer and innumerable others is a notation program - it is designed for creating musical notation.
How that might or might not fit into your songwriting process is up to you.
For myself, I find that Noteworthy's ability to be quite freeform to be a great aid in "noodling" on the computer.
I am not, and probably never will be, a song writer, but I do write arrangements for stuff we do at church and I find NoteWorthy to be a very useful aid. I think it would be equally useful if I were a songwriter. I imagine those familiar with Sib. (could) do much the same thing.
--=-- My credo: If it's worth doing, it's worth overdoing - just ask my missus, she'll tell ya  --=--You're only paranoid if you're wrong!
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Yes, that's what I thought. I would see it as a notation programme. It is certainly not IMHO a real songwriting programme like we have with BIAB and RB. Or am I still missing something?
Follow That Dream Sam Karaoke King -------------------- Turning that corner again - I have to keep following that dream, no matter what
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Hi Sam. As said, Sibelius is a notation program. That might be all a songwriter needs; it depends on who is using it and how they prefer to work. But it certainly is not an accompaniment generating program in the sense BIAB is.
I don't find Sibelius particularly easy to use, and prefer a few other notation programs, but many professional musicians like Sibelius very much. Sometimes it all comes down to which one you learned first.
Also, if you are planning on purchasing Sibelius, be aware all the programmers were recently fired in the takeover and its future is in question.
BIAB 2025 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 7 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Presonus 192 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Slate VSX, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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Sibelius is great for jazz as well as classical.
Especially for the bigband composer/arranger.
--Mac
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Its just that I have finally formed a band and my keys player was studying composition at Vienna University. I mentioned PG but she didn't seem to know it and said she used Sibelius. I said I believed that to be for classical notation but she said it was for songwriting... I wouldn't even attempt to consider it myself but maybe it is what the university recommends
Follow That Dream Sam Karaoke King -------------------- Turning that corner again - I have to keep following that dream, no matter what
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I somehow doubt she has any idea what PG products do... Sib would be her tool of choice for notating what she writes. Kinda like a word processor for writing a book.
--=-- My credo: If it's worth doing, it's worth overdoing - just ask my missus, she'll tell ya --=--You're only paranoid if you're wrong!
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That's what I thought. Thanks, All
Follow That Dream Sam Karaoke King -------------------- Turning that corner again - I have to keep following that dream, no matter what
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I'm not a decent note reader but I have used BIAB's Notation Window and Piano Roll Window to drag those little fly specks around to where they sounded better. Trial and error, in computer programming and music composition, is permissible and, in my case, preferable.
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If you are interested in Sibelius and are concerned about being able to read her files, there is always Sibelius First, which is to Sibelius what Finale PrintMusic is to Finale. Costs a whole lot less, but you can open and edit .SIB files. Here is a comparison between the two products.
John Laptop-HP Omen I7 Win11Pro 32GB 8TB SSD Desktop-ASUS-I7 Win10Pro 32GB 11TB SATA BB2026/UMC204HD&404HD/Casios/Cakewalk/Reaper/Studio One/Notion/Dorico/Noteworthy/NI/Halion/IK http://www.sus4chord.com (under rehosting and construction)
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Thanks, John. Seems both can export MIDI...
Follow That Dream Sam Karaoke King -------------------- Turning that corner again - I have to keep following that dream, no matter what
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Any music notation program should be able to import and export MIDI. That's the common language of the tool.
Reading the native Sibelius files is another matter.
Remember, chord symbols will not transfer in MIDI, and sometimes other miscellaneous data is omitted or mangled.
BIAB 2025 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 7 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Presonus 192 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Slate VSX, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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I head Sibelius would take a simple tune, and then arrange it for differing uses.
Like input Mama's little baby likes ...and have an arrangement for Brass Band so it knows which instruments to make lines for, ie. there are no violins in a brass band. As to writing for some 5 man electrical countryfied band, well, maybe not so much.
But any arranger spends hours on a single bar, if not days, so there is no real shortcut, unless you are one guy and his guitar and sit and strum on the park bench by the bus stop in Tumbleweed West Texas.
I think someone should arrange these words to a country waltz version, Mein Herz und mein Sinn...
Sorry, I love that waltz...but I want a pretty alto to sing it to me with violas and oboe d'amore's and scented roses under...
dort wo die alten Häuser stehn
dort wo die lieblichen Mädchen gehn,
Wien, Wien, nur du allein...
Oh could I just waltz again with strong legs, going until dawn....but it is, what it is, I'll just watch, not too soon from above...
John Conley
Musica est vita
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Matt, would it export a melody in bar form with the full notation? That is a major question for me. The chords are irrelevant as I will arrange the melody myself John, I think you have had too much of the Wieno (sic) 
Follow That Dream Sam Karaoke King -------------------- Turning that corner again - I have to keep following that dream, no matter what
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Yes, John has it basically right.
Sibelius has its own built in "arranger'.
You can create a basic Fake Chart of Melody Line plus chordnames and then with one mouseclick you can have Sibelius make a full arrangement for a number of different types of ensembles, String Quartet, Brass Choir, Full Orchestra, Choir, smaller vocal singing group, etc. on the Classical side of things, and for the Bigband arranger, you can instantly make it into say a Basie arrangment or a Sammy Nestico or a Duke arrangement, etc.
Sibelius knows how to break that Melody and Chords out into parts for all the instruments involved in the chosen style and presents you with the full score of the work, all automatically. You can then just accept that, or you can go in there and Edit if you like.
And Sibelius does this so fast that it is always a bit disconcerting to me, even after all these years.
--Mac
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Well sorry Sam but at the drop of the hat the anthem of Vienna,
Wein, Wein just comes into my brain.
I think I sang it for my wife when were were there a few years ago.
The melody just stays, and I wonder if anyone ever county -fied it.
John Conley
Musica est vita
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I had the student version of Sibelius for a number of years. When I got a new desktop, it would no longer let me register it. Then, I read they are going out of business so I bought PrintMusic. For what I do, I can't see paying for the full version of Finale or Sibelius. There are some things I like better with PrintMusic than Sibelius and vice versa. I mostly just use it for melody for a couple of instruments. Whatever "arranging" I do is very minimal. I still struggle with BIAB notation but I do use it for a few bars once in awhile. The wizard is pretty good if you are also good at keeping an even tempo as you tap the keys. Of course you also have to be able to count well. My wife says that I'm the CPA who can't count. There's little I can say to contradict her.  . Stan
Cornet Curmudgeon
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Here’s just a small sampling of what you can look forward to in XPro Styles PAK 10: Soft indie folk worship songs, bumpin’ country boogies, gospel praise breaks, hard rockin’ pop, funky disco grooves, smooth Latin jazz pop, bossa nova fusion, western swing, alternative hip-hop, cool country funk, and much more!
Special offers until December 31st, 2025!
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XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2025 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.
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Xtra Styles PAK 21 for Mac & Windows Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) is here with 200 brand new RealStyles!
We're excited to bring you our latest Xtra Styles PAK installment—the all new Xtra Styles PAK 21 for Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher)!
Rejoice, one and all, for Xtra Styles PAK 21 for Band-in-a-Box® is here! We’re serving up 200 brand spankin’ new styles to delight your musical taste buds! The first three courses are the classics you’ve come to know and love, including offerings from the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres, but, not to be outdone, this year’s fourth course is bro country! A wide ranging genre, you can find everything from hip-hop, uptempo outlaw country, hard hitting rock, funk, and even electronica, all with that familiar bro country flair. The dinner bell has been rung, pickup up Xtra Styles PAK 21 today!
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Special offers until December 31st, 2025!
All the Xtra Styles PAKs 1 - 21 are on special for only $29 each (reg $49), or get all 21 PAKs for $199 (reg $399)! Order now!
Learn more and listen to demos of the Xtra Styles PAK 21.
Video: Xtra Styles PAK 21 Overview & Styles Demos: Watch now!
Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 21 requires the 2025 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version because they need the RealTracks from the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.
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