General Features
Sibelius | First |
Sibelius |
Sibelius | Ultimate |
|
| Ideal for… | Composing simple scores with up to 4 instrument parts (staves) |
Simple/moderate music of up to 16 staves |
Scores and parts of any size or complexity; worksheets and exercises |
| Availability | Available for free for anyone to download and use | Subscribe annually or purchase and own a perpetual licence | Subscribe annually or purchase and own a perpetual licence (educational discount available), trade-up from other notation software, or get network licensing |
| Number of computers you can install a single copy on |
N/A | 1 | 2 (for use by same person, e.g. desktop + laptop) |
| Software updates and support | Download the latest software as it becomes available | Access all new releases and Standard support through a subscription or renewable 1-year Software Updates + Support Plan (included with new perpetual licences) | |
Notation
Notation |
Sibelius | First |
Sibelius |
Sibelius | Ultimate |
| Accidentals | Composing simple scores with up to 4 instrument parts (staves) |
Normal and double only, bracketed |
Normal, double, quarter-tones, bracketed |
| Articulations | – | Common ones only | Full set |
| Bar numbers | Composing simple scores | Limited | Full range of formats |
| Barline types | Single, double, repeat only | Single, double, repeat only | Single, double, repeat, dotted, early music |
| Bars, irregular | – | No, except pick-up bars |  |
| Beams, cross-staff (in keyboard music) | – | – | |
| Beam/rest groupings | Fixed | Fixed | Customizable |
| Brackets & braces | Fixed | Fixed | Customizable |
| Change transposition of tranposing instruments | – | – | |
| Chord symbols (appearance and MIDI/text input) | Limited Preset Options | Limited preset options | Fully customizable |
| Cue (small) notes | – | – | |
| Dotted notes | Limited | Single / double / triple dotted | Single / double / triple dotted |
| Guitar chord diagrams | Limited | Limited | |
| Guitar scale diagrams | – | – | |
| Guitar tab | Basic Only | Basic only | Full |
| Instruments | Common only | Common, jazz and world instruments only, with fixed number of staves |
Full customizable range |
| Jazz articulations | – | Scoops, falls, doits and plops | Scoops, falls, doits and plops |
| Lines, custom | – | – | |
| Note values | 32nd note to breve | 512th note (7 beams) to “long” (double breve) |
512th note (7 beams) to “long” (double breve) |
| Noteheads, custom | – | – | |
| Ossia staves | – | – | |
| Page numbers | Automatic | Automatic | Customizable |
| Special symbols | – | – | |
| Split multirests (in parts) | – | – | |
| Staves | Up to 4 | Up to 16 per system | Unlimited number |
| Stemlets (half-stems) and ‘feathered’ beams | – | – | |
| Tuplets | Duplets (2:3) to sextuplets (6:4) | Duplets (2:3) to nontuplets (9:8) |
Any (e.g. 2, 7, 44:31, nested tuplets) |
Playback
Accordion pane 2 content
