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Huge improvement over the years; wouldn't use anything else
January 24, 2020

Huge improvement over the years; wouldn't use anything else

Jennifer Stirling | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with Sibelius

I was trained on Sibelius through Arizona State University and helped start the company, Lindseystomp Music, LLC, which is an affiliate of Lindsey Stirling (brand/personality). I have been using Sibelius to create .sib, mp3, and .pdf files for the sale of Lindsey's digital sheet music arrangements since 2005. I have also been able to work with musicnotes.com and HalLeonard.com using this software, which has been extremely convenient (both seem to prefer .sib files to .xml, .mus, or Finale files).
  • User Friendly
  • Compatible with other software/music programs
  • Cost
  • Customer Service
  • Digital files are easily distributed to customers/no shipping costs.
  • Collaboration with other sheet music retailers has been established and maintained.
I have not used Finale exclusively, but I know friends/colleagues who have. In the past, it was complicated to transfer and edit any of the music they created for me because it would not transfer to Sibelius. As a result, I would have to request the edits I wanted and ask them to make the changes themselves. If I wanted to make any changes later, it was extremely inconvenient to do so, and I often chose not to, as I did not want to bother anyone other than myself to do any edits after-the-fact. Though it is now possible to transfer Finale files to Sibelius through creating .xml files and then importing as .sib files, the files still do not entirely retain all of the integrity of the original composition (as completed in Finale). Sometimes text and markings are missing, microscopic, or shifted once opened in Sibelius. Text fonts must often be edited. When working with other major music publishers, it has been extremely convenient and helpful to have the same software.
Once Sibelius is purchased, the user is given one year of unlimited free customer service to help in using the product. After that first year, users can either pay to utilize customer service with questions or use online helps, which are very helpful. One of the bigger issues I had was getting the sounds to work properly because my Internet connection wasn't consistently working well enough to accommodate the large files, which were taking up to 10 hours to download. The download would fail, and then I'd have to start over. I wanted to get a CD sent to me but was told this would be very costly, and so I declined. I wasn't happy with the lack of customer service in that situation but was eventually able to get the files to download and the software working properly.

Do you think Sibelius delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Sibelius's feature set?

Yes

Did Sibelius live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of Sibelius go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Sibelius again?

Yes

Sibelius is an excellent tool for transcribing or composing music for students, personal use, ensembles of all kinds, and for online digital sale or music book production. The quality and appearance of the final products are professional and adaptable, as is user-preferences. Transposing an already-formatted piece of music takes seconds, and playback sound quality allows me to hear what I am writing and catch errors. When formatting between the music is too close, text lights up in red. I am a very "visual" person, so I appreciate this. Most commands can be done from the computer keyboard rather than by using a mouse, but a mouse can be used if preferred. Copying and pasting, adding or deleting bars/instruments/sections, and formatting the pages to look and appear the way the transcriber prefers are simple. Online forums and customer service representatives (for the first year after purchase) are beneficial in educating users on how to use the product and solve inquiries. I have also found Sibelius to be the preferred format among major music retailers such as Hal Leonard and Musicnotes.com, both of whom I have worked closely with to produce Lindsey Stirling books and covers/collaborations.