Music Software

[CoBrA b]

Okay, I've been using my trusty old Noteworthy Composer for several years, but I really think my skills and needs have outgrown it, now. I've been doing my research and looking at different forms of Notation Software, and, as far as I can tell, the two leading brands are Sibelius and Finale. I've looked at reviews of these programs, and it seems that they are of pretty much equal quality. So far, I think that I like Sibelius slightly better than Finale. Also, I've been looking at programs like EastWest Quantum Leap Symphonic Orchestra and Garritan Personal Orchestra. As I understand it, these programs are kind of meant as add-ons to music-making software, to increase the quality with high-quality instrument sounds. So, for anyone who has experience with any of these:

Which do you prefer, Sibelius or Finale? Why?

I think that I prefer EWQLSO, is there a reason I shouldn't purchase it (aside from the cost)? Is there a better reason for purchasing Garritan?

How does a program like EWQLSO integrate with a program like Sibelius? Is it as simple as making a MIDI file in Sibelius, importing it into EWQLSO, and configuring the instruments correctly, or does it have something to do with This?

It would be really great if I could get some of these before the end of the music contest. Feel free to answer any or all of these questions.

 

[WherewolfTherewolf]

I just looked, and both Programs offer free demo's. Why don't you try them out composing the same piece then see which one you prefer? The only problem is the Sibelius one wants you to fill in some of your information to try it, the Finale demo seems pretty hassle free.

Do you use a DAW? Sibelius can sync up to most DAW's making that a useful feature

Though Finale does have some built in sounds from Garritan, and I know they have some high end virtual instruments

 

[Waldbaer]

Sibelius advertisement from a Finale-user

Of course the solution of trying both Sibelius and Finale using the demos is the best one in the end.

I have Finale and know it more or less, but this is just because my father always had it and I didn't have to pay any cent to get a professional notation software.
I know Sibelius only very rough, so I'll tell you some of my experiences with Finale:
- You can do very much, but you have to know where to do it and that's not always easy to find, and -at least that's my feeling- often you can't do it very fast, even if you know where it is. Sibelius is easier to learn, at least from what I've heard.
- The Sounds integrated in Finale may be not bad, but this doesn't care very much, since it is completely controlled by automatic MIDI interpreting your written music notes. This is OK to make sure that you wrote the right notes, but it will always sound bad and you have very few chances to optimize the sound. Finale is a notation program, so it's just the wrong type of software to optimize sound. If you want to bring your music to a listenable form, use a sequenzer program. You won't be satisfied with the automated output of a notation program for long, I'm sure, and you should not try to find a program that really knows what you want it to sound like - you won't find that.
- Finale is upgraded EVERY YEAR. That means that you have to decide every year: Either you update for another 100$, or you keep the old version which won't be maintained+supported seriously any longer. If you skip an update, you have to pay 170$ for the upgrade, I think. This is much money and not at all a very nice thing, because most of the things that are added are things that you don't need and in the end you purchase it because of compatibility. Look carefully at Sibelius, maybe this is also done a nicer way there (don't know).