Entry Level Notation Software: Print Music and Sibelius Student Edition

Sibelius and MakeMusic, the two leaders in notation software, both provide entry level programs.  Targeted at students and users who don't need the full power of Sibelius or Finale, MakeMusic's entry level program is called Print Music and Sibelius offers the aptly named Sibelius Student Edition.  These student score writing programs share the same user interface as the full versions, but don't have as many features and are available at a lower price.

Notation software is designed to allow you to enter music, edit, arrange and print using traditional notation.  Unlike sequencing or multi-track recording programs, notation software won't allow you to record audio tracks from a microphone to burn a CD.  Instead, it is focused on helping you to enter music on staves using your mouse, a MIDI keyboard or a scanner, so that you can create, edit or arrange music.  You can print your music, including scores and parts, and you can also save your score as an audio file for burning to CD.

A good notation program can save you time and inspire your students to create and arrange their own music.  You can easily create worksheets, print exercises or transpose music for students with professional looking results.  Both programs can automatically transpose between different instruments, and Sibelius Student Edition will even warn you when music is out of range for a specific instrument.  In fact, this intelligence and automation is what allows your students to create and arrange their own music without having to worry about the "mechanics" of writing music.  Instead of spending their time ensuring that they don't get to the end of the staff before the end of the bar they are writing, your students can focus on the creative process. 

Both programs will allow students to play back their scores and Print Music will even create an audio file that you can burn to CD.  The ability to hear their music, no matter how complex, will inspire your students to self-assess their compositions.  The ease of making changes and immediately hearing the effect (along with the ability to "undo" any changes) ensure that students can experiment and refine their music.

Given the affordable prices of these entry level notation programs, both you and your students can benefit from the many uses they offer.  Fortunately, you don't require a powerful computer to run either program.  Sibelius Student Edition will work on Windows 98 or higher and if you use a Mac, it will run on OS 9.1 or OS X and only requires 128 MB of RAM.  Print Music will also run on Windows 98 or higher, but will only run on OS 10.2.8 or higher and requires 256 MB of RAM.  The easiest way to determine if software will run on your computer is to download the demo from our web site.  You can find the links to download the demos at the end of this article. Both programs will work with or without a MIDI keyboard, so if you have a keyboard with a MIDI output, connecting it to your computer can be a big time saver.

Both Print Music and Sibelius Student Edition have been designed for ease of use.  When starting Print Music, a "Launch Window" allows you to easily choose from a list of the most frequently used options.  It includes a "Create New Music" section that features the Setup Wizard which can step you through the process of setting up your music.  If you only need one staff on your page, and want to set up the key and time signatures later, you can quickly create a new score using the Default Document option.  The Templates button allows you to choose from a number of ensembles, such as bands, orchestras, worksheets and church music.  Finally, the "Create New Music" section offers a button for scanning music into Print Music.

If you want to work with existing Music, Print Music features three choices under the "Open Existing Music" section: Open, Open Recent File and Import File.  The Open Recent file list is handy, as it allows you to select from a recently used file.  The Import File option allows you to import standard MusicXML (which is a format slowly being adopted by other programs) or files from other programs, such as SmartScore and Encore.  For some reason, if you want to import a MIDI file, you actually use the Open option instead of the Import option.

The other area found in the Launch Window for Print Music is the Learning Center, which offers links to QuickStart videos, the User Manual and a Tutorial Guide.  The User Manual is the complete manual in PDF format, and you will need to access this on occasion, since the program doesn't come with a printed version of the manual.  However, you probably don't want to start off by reading the entire manual.  If you want to read, then the Tutorial Guide is a great place to start since it introduces you to the program by progressing through 6 different tutorials.  It is also in PDF format, which means you can easily print the 130 pages.  However, the easiest way to start learning the program is through the video tutorials.  Although the videos actually cover the entire Finale family, and aren't specifically for Print Music 2006, they will still teach you the basics of using the program. 

Sibelius Student Edition has a similar launch window, called "Quick Start", although it doesn't have as many options.  You can choose to open a recent file, open another file, open a MIDI file, or start a new score with the wizard.  Sibelius Student Edition doesn't include any videos, but it does include on-line help that can be accessed once you close the Quick Start launch menu.

Starting a new score or document is very easy in both Print Music and Sibelius Student Edition.  In both programs you choose the instruments that you want on your score.  The instruments are displayed according to family (brass, woodwind, etc.) and they are automatically added in score order.  You can adjust the order of instruments on your score if you prefer not to list your instruments in standard score order.  In addition to creating your own score, Sibelius offers 25 different ensembles to choose from, while Print Music offers 5.  You can start with any of the ensembles and add or remove instruments.  While Print Music allows you to add up to 24 staves, SSE limits you to 8 (keeping in mind that a piano uses two staves, this limit doesn't allow you to do anything beyond smaller ensembles.)

Although both programs allow you to use a standard or "hand written jazz" font, Sibelius also offers a number of other page layouts, including a handy "Larger Notes" template that automatically uses a larger staff and notes.  Choosing the key signature and time signature is also very easy.  In Print Music, a slider allows you to move from C major up to the sharp keys, or down to the flat keys.  In Sibelius, all of the keys are shown in a list.  Print Music is limited to common keys, whereas in SSE, you can create virtually any key signature, such as 7/8.  SSE also allows you to specify how notes should be beamed.  This is especially useful for complex time signatures, such as 7/8, where you want to beam the eighth notes in 2+2+3 for example.

Finally, both programs allow you to enter pick-up measures, tempos, and text such as titles and copyright notices before completing the wizard.  Once you've completed the wizard, both programs automatically create the score with all of the settings you selected.  In addition to the correct transpositions, each staff also has the correct instrument sound assigned, so entering notes or playing back will produce the correct sounds.

The easiest way to start entering notes in either program is to select the rhythmic value from the palette and click on the staff.  You can also use shortcut keys for selecting the rhythmic value, and you can type the pitch name instead of clicking on the staff.  If you have a MIDI keyboard connected to your computer, you can play the pitch instead of typing it.  In Print Music, the palette is a long strip of buttons that can be arrange horizontally or vertically.  In SSE, the rhythmic pitch palette is in the same shape as the numeric keypad on your computer keyboard - each button on the screen corresponds to the key on the keypad, making it very easy to remember short cuts since they are shown right on the computer screen!  In fact, SSE puts articulations, ties and other markings on the keypad, so everything is in one place, and easily viewable on the screen.  In Print Music, you have to press the * key and then choose the articulation you want from a new window.

To enter rests in SSE, you select the rhythmic value (either with the mouse or the numeric keypad) and then press the rest button.  In Print Music, there is a palette you can open to choose the rest you want to enter, or you can type 0 if you are using the computer keyboard to enter notes.

You can record music in "real-time" from a MIDI keyboard and both programs will do their best to notate exactly what you play.  Keep in mind that this can be a difficult task for anyone to perform, and the accuracy of the transcription depends on the accuracy of your performance!  It is important to follow the metronome as closely as possible, although SSE does feature "Flexi-Time" technology that allows you to speed up or slow down as you play and it will try to follow you.  To start recording in Print Music, you first select the "Quantization" level from the "Options" menu.  Here you select the shortest note value you plan on playing.  For example, if the music you are recording doesn't have sixteenth notes, tell the program to use eighth notes as the short value.  That ensures that it won't interpret short quarter notes as dotted eighth notes with sixteenth rests.  Even if I have a few sixteenth notes in the music I am playing, I will often set the quantization to eighth notes and then manually enter the sixteenths later.

In SSE, not only can you set the quantization before you record, but there are a few "intelligent" options you can select as well.  Found in the "Flexi-Time Options" under the "Notes" menu, SSE offers to listen for staccato and tenuto notes as well.  This means that instead of notating short quarter notes as a dotted eighth with a sixteenth rest, it might notate it as a staccato quarter note instead. 

In addition to using your mouse and recording from a MIDI keyboard, Print Music also includes a "light" version of SmartScore that allows you to scan music into the program.  Unfortunately, the light version is very limited and not nearly as useful or reliable as the full version of SmartScore.  In fact, unless you are very patient and working with fairly simple music, you will probably find that scanning music with SmartScore Lite is more frustrating than time saving!  However, the full version of SmartScore definitely is easier to use and much more reliable.  SmartScore can be purchased separately, and will save files in a format that Print Music can read.

Print Music includes one other way of entering notes not found in SSE.  The "Mic Notator" technology allows you to sing or play a monophonic melody into a microphone and it will try to notate what you've played.  It is most successful with simple melodies and requires consistent playing with strong, clear attacks.  Recorders and flutes work very well, with lower instruments being more difficult for the program to transcribe.  A microphone isn't included, but it seems that inexpensive "computer" microphones work the best, instead of high quality recording mics.  Recording chords or anything beyond a simple melody is not possible, and Mic Notator doesn't seem to work well with acoustic piano, so a MIDI keyboard is still the best way to enter piano music.

Once you enter notes into your music, you will want to make changes.  To edit notes in SSE, just click on the note you want to delete and press the delete key.  You can click and drag in Sibelius to select multiple notes by holding down the shift key, although you may find it is easier simply to click on the note or bar you want to start on and then shift click in the last bar.  Once you've made a selection, you can easily delete, change notes or toggle articulations on and off.  In Print Music, you need to use the eraser tool in the note entry palette to erase individual notes, or you can use the Mass Edit tool to select any number of bars and then press the delete key.

You can easily copy and paste music in both programs to avoid re-entering repetitive passages.  In SSE you simply select a passage and then either choose Copy and Paste from the Edit menu, or use the handy short cut - hold down the ALT key and click where you want the music to be copied to.  In Print Music, you select the Mass Edit tool and then drag to where you want the music to be pasted. 

At this point, the difference between the programs starts to become clear.  In Print Music, you first need to select the appropriate "tool" to accomplish a task.  To copy and paste, you need to have the Mass Edit tool.  Sibelius doesn't use the idea of "tools".  To copy and paste, you start by selecting the music using your mouse - no need for a tool.  To add lyrics to your score in Print Music, you use the lyrics tool.  In Sibelius, the "Create" menu contains all of the objects you would add to your score, including Lyrics.  Print Music also has a Chord and a Repeat tool, while in SSE, you go to the Create menu and choose Repeat from the "Barlines" section or Chords from the "Text" section.  To adjust the space between systems in Print Music, you must first activate the "Page Layout" tool and in SSE, you click and drag on the staves you want to move (just be sure not to click on a note instead!)

The two programs also offer different ways of moving around the page.  In Print Music, you can use the scroll bars to move around the page.  In SSE, you can move around your score by clicking on the page and dragging it, or by using the "Navigator" which is a miniaturized version of your score that you can drag to move around.  Longer scores are more easily navigated by typing in the page number or bar number you want to move to, and both programs offer this facility.

Both programs offer options to improve the realism when playing back your music.  For example, you can specify a type of swing, or in Sibelius, you can choose to allow for Rubato and Espressivo.  In Print Music, you can choose a style of music and it will adjust the playback accordingly.  Print Music also offers a built in "software synth" that offers better instrument sounds than those built into your computer.  Unfortunately SSE doesn't include the Kontakt Silver that is found in the full Sibelius for realistic instrument sounds.  However, SSE does allow you to specify how slurred and unslurred notes should be performed.  For example, you set unslurred notes to play back slightly detached by setting the value at 95%.  Mixers can also be used in both programs to adjust the volume and panning of each instrument.  The mixer in SSE has sliders and buttons in addition to the ability to type in numeric values.  In Print Music, you must type in a numeric value for volume.  (This can be tricky, since 100 is not the loudest!  Instead, when working with MIDI data, 127 is the loudest possible.)

While Print Music is truly a light version of Finale, designed to offer the basic features needed by any musician, Sibelius Student Edition, as the name implies is focused on meeting the needs of students.  In fact, in many ways, Sibelius Student Edition is best designed for students who have access to the full Sibelius in conjunction with a teacher.  No where does this become more obvious than when it comes to printing.  Although both programs allow you to print your score, Sibelius does not include any part extraction capabilities.  If you write for an ensemble in Print Music, you can print a separate part for each instrument.  In SSE, Sibelius expects you to save the file and open it in the full version of Sibelius to extract parts.  Alternatively, you could save a new copy of your file, and delete all but the instrument you want to print.  This can be time consuming, since you would have to repeat this procedure for each instrument.  In addition to printing your music, Print Music also offers the ability to easily create an audio track that you can burn to CD or convert to MP3.  Both programs offer the ability to publish your music on the Internet for others to view.

With many overlapping features, there are only a few major differences between the two programs.  Carefully consider the type of music you plan on creating with a notation program, and then determine if either one will meet those requirements.  For example, if you need to print parts from a score (such as for a band or orchestra), then Print Music is really the best option.  Before making a decision, be sure to download the demo for both programs and determine which one you find easiest to work with.

Keep in mind that Print Music and SSE are "light" versions of Finale and Sibelius.  If the limitations of Print Music and SSE are too restrictive you might want to consider the full Finale or Sibelius instead.  Although they are more expensive, there is academic pricing that makes it more affordable for music teachers and students.  Also keep in mind that Print Music and Sibelius Student Edition aren't the only entry level notation programs to consider.  Geniesoft's Scorewriter offers the unique ability to work with Virtual Instruments for the most realistic playback possible.  MusicTime Deluxe, from GVox is also well known to many educators as an easy to use, entry level notation program.  You can download demos of all of these programs from http://kellysmusic.ca/notationguide.asp

For additional information, demos and a buyer's guide, please visit the Kelly's Music & Computers web site:

Notation software guide (including comparisons) and demos: http://kellysmusic.ca/notationguide.asp

MIDI Keyboard buyer's guide and information: http://kellysmusic.ca/keyguide.asp

How to connect your keyboard to your computer: http://kellysmusic.ca/interguide.asp

Glossary of music technology terms: http://kellysmusic.ca/help.asp

About Kelly Demoline:

Kelly Demoline is a music educator, the President of Kelly's Music & Computers and the owner of K & A Creative.  He received his B.Mus/B.Ed (AD) from Brandon University where he was a trumpet major.  After his graduation, he was appointed as the Music Technology Coordinator for Brandon University.

Kelly has taught K-12 music in the Manitoba public school system.  He has

published a number of articles on music technology in various traditional and on-line publications, including the Canadian Music Educator.  He has developed Internet resources for music teachers at such sites as http://KellysmusicAndComputers.com and http://formusicteachers.com.  He has taught workshops and seminars for various organizations throughout North America and has helped teachers and students of all ages discover how technology can enhance musical learning.