Avid Sibelius 3 Quick Start

Sibelius 3 Quick-Starts

Starting a Score in Sibelius .......................................................................... 2

Entering Notes............................................................................................... 3

Adding Text & Markings............................................................................. 4

Formatting and Layout of Your Score ...................................................... 7

Creating Worksheets, Hand-Outs and Tests............................................ 10

Music Scanning Tips and Hints.................................................................13

Downloading MIDI Files From The Web.................................................15

Basic Shortcuts............................................................................................ 17

Creating Scores for the Internet Using Scorch........................................ 19

Using Kontakt to burn CDs/rehearsal versions of your scores…………21

Robin Hodson, Eastern Region Manager, Sibelius USA [e-mail], or 201 370 0936

Contact me about free in-service training.

Starting a Score in Sibelius v3 (Mac shortcuts in italics)

1 Launch Sibelius, and click NEW to start a new score - follow the various steps in the set

up wizard to create a score

2 If you choose “Blank” as your choice of paper and click NEXT, Sibelius will ask you to

add instruments, and a list appears. Choose what instruments you want. You can choose
any number of instruments by selecting the FAMILY, then the INSTRUMENT, and then
clicking ADD. Keep choosing instruments until you have what you need, then click OK.
Follow the remaining pages to complete the score setup wizard.

3 Once your score appears on the screen, you can add more blank measures if you need, by

hitting Control + b (Command + b)

4 If you have forgotten to add a Time signature, Hit T to choose a time signature (4/4 is the

default already chosen). Click on the first measure of your score to add the time
signature.

5 If you have forgotten to add a Key signature, Hit K to add a key signature in the score (C

major is the default). Once you have a key signature, you can see your score as a
transposing score by clicking the ICON at the top of the screen with two flats on it. Click
the same icon again to revert to a non-transposing score.

6 If you have forgotten to add a Title or other kinds of text, you can find these in the

CREATE menu. Add a tempo marking by selecting the first measure of the score, typing
Control +Alt T (Command +Option T), then right clicking (Control +click) to get a sub­menu of all you need.

7 You can drag the score around by pressing and holding the mouse inside the gray box in

the BOTTOM LEFT of the computer screen (the NAVIGATOR). You can also press
and hold the mouse on any white space on the score itself to drag the paper around. Also
use the PAGE UP/PAGE DOWN/HOME/END keys

8 Also note: you can make the score get bigger or smaller at any time by hitting Control

and “+” key a few times (+ key is found near the P key) or Control and the “–“ key
(Command and “+” key or Command and the ”–“ key)

9 You can also add/delete or re-order the instruments in your existing score by hitting i on

your computer’s keyboard, and following the steps in the instruments box that appears

10 You can adjust the volume levels of each staff by hitting m (the Mixer). Each staff has

its own slider for volume. Hit m to close the mixer again.

11 To play back your score, hit the ESCAPE key twice, then hit p to play your score and

Escape to stop it playing. A tempo slider appears at the top of the screen ONLY when
the score is playing. Use your mouse to adjust the tempo of the score as it plays.

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Basic Note entry A (Click notes into your score with a mouse)

1 Hit escape key
2 Choose note value on keypad (box in bottom right of screen)
3 Click on any measure with mouse – keep clicking to add lots of notes
4 Use arrow keys to change pitches of any blue notes just added
5 Hit Control + z (Command + z) if you make a mistake
6 Hit escape key when done

Basic Note entry B (Type notes into your score using computer keys)

1 Hit escape key
2 Select empty measure with mouse
3 Choose note value on keypad (box in bottom right of screen)
4 Type a, b, c, d, e, f or g on computer keyboard (or hit spacebar for rests)
5 Use Control (Command) + arrow up or down to change octave of note
6 Hit escape key when done

Basic Note entry C (Step time entry with a MIDI keyboard)

1 Hit escape key
2 Select empty measure
3 Choose note value (on keypad on screen) with mouse – or use numeric keypad on right of

computer keyboard to select note value on screen

4 Play pitches on MIDI keyboard – hit spacebar for rests also
5 Hit escape key when done

Basic Note entry D (Live recording with a MIDI keyboard)

1 Check your recording options: go to Notes>Flexitime options
2 Hit escape key
3 Select empty measure
4 Hit round red Record button or Control+Shift + F (Command + Shift + F)
5 Play live, but listen carefully to the metronome
6 Hit escape to stop recording
7 Hit Control + Z (Command + Z) to undo recording

Extra hints

1 Use the r key to repeat selected notes/measures/passages
2 Use the numbers along the top of the computer’s keyboard to add pitches to selected

notes/measures/passages

3 To paste anything, select object, note, measure or passage, move mouse to destination

place, then hit Alt (option) + click with mouse to paste (or click both sides of mouse
(windows users only)

4 To change length of selected note(s), choose different value on keypad
5 Don’t forget that the keypad on the screen can also be accessed from the NUMERIC

KEYPAD on your computer’s keyboard

6 For Voice 2 notes, choose a note value on keypad, then hit 2, 3 or 4 at the bottom of the

keypad on screen, then enter notes: they will be GREEN. You can also select an existing
note or notes and change its voice the same way. Use Alt (Opt) + 2,3,4 on main
computer keyboard to choose voices too. All voices are color coded. Rarely use voices 3
and 4!!

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Brief Guidance on Adding Text & Markings using Sibelius

Mac shortcuts are given in italics on this sheet. For ALL steps in Sibelius, we recommend hitting
the ESCAPE key on the computer’s keyboard before and after every action detailed below.

1 Slurs: Select a note where you want to add a slur, then hit S. Use the spacebar to

extend the slur. Use shift+spacebar to reduce the length of the slur. Use X to flip a
selected slur (also works for notes). You can also drag the slur manually with your
mouse to reposition the arc.

2 Crescendos & Decrescendos (Hairpins): Select a note where you want the

crescendo (hairpin) to start, and hit H. Use the spacebar to extend the hairpin, and
shift+spacebar if you go too far. For decrescendos, use Shift + H as the shortcut
instead. Use your mouse or arrow keys to reposition the hairpin. They have
“handles” on either end which can also be adjusted, and you can adjust the “aperture”
of hairpins by hitting Control+Shift+E (Command + Shift +E), choose the “Lines”
tab and changing the options on the screen.

3 Accents, Staccatos and Tenutos: These can be recorded live using Flexitime, but if

you need to mark them into your score, select the note (or notes) where you want
them, and add them using the first keypad layout screen (the keypad usually lives in
the bottom right of your computer screen). They play back.

4 Ties: Don’t confuse them with slurs! As with step 3 above, select a note or notes,

and use the tie that’s on the first keypad layout screen. Triplets: add these by first
adding an eighth note in the score, then typing Control +3 (near the “w” key) or
Command +3. Then click or type/play in the remaining notes. Other tuplets like
quintuplets, type Control + 5 etc (Command + 5). For complex tuplets, (like 15 in the
time of 16), go to Create>Tuplet, and specify what you want there.

5 Re-beaming notes: Use the third keypad layout screen to change the beaming of

notes. Don’t forget to select the notes you wish to rebeam first.

6 String markings/Pauses/Fermatas: These can be found on the fourth keypad layout

screen. Follow the same steps as in 3, 4 or 5 above.

7 Trills: Select a note where you want a trill to appear, then hit L (Lines menu in

Sibelius). Choose a trill from the list that appears, then hit OK. Use the spacebar to
extend the length of the trill if you need. Use the properties box in Sibelius to alter
the playback of trills.

8 Ottavas, Glissandi and Pedal Markings, etc: These can all be found and added

using exactly the same method as in step 7 above.

9 Rits, Ralls, Accelerandos, etc: hit Escape key, then hit L (lines menu) and choose

what you need from the right hand column. Draw them into your score by pressing
and holding your mouse from left to right. Note that these markings appear at the top
of systems, not on individual staffs in your score.

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10 Repeat Bars, First & Second Time Bars and Rehearsal Marks: For repeat bars,

select barline, then go to Create>Barline and choose what you want. For first and
second time bars (as with step 9 above), use the Lines menu and draw the first/second
time bars into your score. For rehearsal marks, select a barline, then use Control + R
(Command + R). These can be copied in the normal way by Alt + Clicking them
(Option + click). You can adjust the style of rehearsal marks (letters or numbers etc),
by going to Control + Shift + E (Command + Shift + E) and choosing the Rehearsal
Marks tab.

11 Coloring sections of your score: Sibelius allows you to do this. Hit Escape key,

then select an object, note, passage (or anything in the score); choose the icon at the
top of the screen to the right of the “?” icon, and choose what color you’d like for
your objects. To delete the coloring, select the colored object, and choose
Layout>Reset Design (Control + Shift D or Command + Shift D).

12 Symbols & Pictures: you can also insert pictures of anything in your score. Hit Z

for the symbols menu, and choose/add them, or go to Create>Graphic, and insert a
TIFF file of any other image in your score. These are resizable once on the screen,
and we provide users with a folder called “Graphic Files” with many images already
created. Import your own TIFF files into Sibelius if you wish.

13 Dynamic markings and copying them: Select a note where you want the dynamic,

and hit Control + E (Command + E). Right click (Control + Click) to get a sub-menu
of what you need. Once on the screen, dynamics can be moved and copied into their
perfect position by using Shift + Alt + click (shift + option + click). You can also
copy a dynamic marking to multiple locations by selecting the dynamic to copy (so it
goes blue), hitting Control + C (Command + C), then putting a blue box around all
the notes where you want the dynamic copied. Finally hit Control + V (Command +
V) to multi-copy.

14 Regular Text: Select note and hit Control + T (Command + T). Start typing when

you see the flashing cursor (using Enter or Return for a second line of text like a
hymn verse). There is a sub menu also available (see step 13 above).

15 Lyrics: Select note and hit Control + L (Command + L). Start typing when you see

the flashing cursor. Use the hyphen key (minus key) to hyphenate words, and hit the
spacebar at the end of every word. If you want lots of notes on one syllable in the
middle of a word, hit the hyphen key multiple times. If you want lots of notes at the
end of a word, hit the spacebar multiple times.

16 Second verses of Lyrics, copying and editing lyrics: for second verses, select note,

hit Control + Alt + L (Command + Opt + L) and follow steps as in 15 above. To
copy lyrics from one staff to another, triple-click on the staff with lyrics in it, then
click on Edit>Filter>Lyrics. Lyrics will all be highlighted. Copy lyrics by Alt +
Clicking (Option + click), as you would with notes. To edit the position of lyrics on a
staff, select the passage with lyrics in it (Hint: triple click selects the whole staff),
then use Edit>Filter>Lyrics to find the lyrics (they should go blue), and use the up or
down arrows to adjust their position. To alter the font or size of lyrics (either
individually or globally) follow step 20 below.

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17 Chord symbols: Select a note and hit Control + K (Command + K). See step 13 for a

sub-menu if you need it. Type the chord you need, then use the spacebar to advance
to the next note, and repeat the steps. There is also a plug-in in Sibelius (Plug­ins>Text) that will automatically calculate chord symbols in your score, as long as
there are chords or multiple notes on the score itself. Use shift + K to add Chord

diagrams (Guitar frames) too.

18 Title, Composer Name, Lyricist Name etc: these can all be obtained by going to

Create>Text and choosing the appropriate text style.

19 Fingering Markings, Figured Bass etc: Go to Create>Text>Other Staff Text to find

what you need. There is a sub-menu for these too. See step 13 above.

20 Editing text, lines and symbols etc: There are various places where this is done. To

edit an individual piece of regular text, select it, then go to the Properties box (Go to
Window>Properties to open this box) and choose the tab that says TEXT to edit it.
To alter the GLOBAL positioning of text and lines in your score, (like lyrics), go to
House Style>Default Positions, and make changes you need. To alter the GLOBAL
look of all text in your score, go to House Style>Edit Text Styles. To alter the
GLOBAL look of any line in your score (Trills, slurs, crescendos etc), go to House
Style>Edit Lines. Use House Style>Edit Symbols to edit symbols etc. Finally, you
can also alter your whole score and change it to a hand-written look, by going to
House Style>Edit All Fonts, and changing the MUSIC FONT and the MUSIC TEXT
FONT to Inkpen2 and Inkpen 2 Text respectively.

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Formatting and Layout of Your Score

Mac shortcuts are given in italics on this sheet. For ALL steps in Sibelius, we recommend hitting
the ESCAPE key on the computer’s keyboard before and after every action detailed below.

1 Automatic Layout: Sibelius will always try to lay your score out nicely without you

having to intervene too much. This is great almost all of the time, but occasionally,
you’ll want to know how to make manual changes to scores, and also extracted parts.

2 Document set-up screen: hit Control + D (Command + D) to open this important

screen where you can make global changes to the paper size, orientation, margins and
size of your music. This is always a good place to start, and you can jump from page
to page on this screen to see the affect of any changes you make.

3 If you ever need to force a system or page break in your score (particularly for

extracted parts, but also occasionally for visual reasons), select the barline where you
want the system to change, and hit Enter (Return) for a system break and Control +
Enter (Command + Return) for a page break.

4 Locking the format entirely. Occasionally you might want to lock all the measures

in place. Do this by hitting Control + A (Command + A) to select the whole score,
then go to Plug-ins>Other, and choose “Make Layout Uniform”. You can then
choose exactly how many measures and systems will be on each page, but be careful
to choose wisely! To unlock the format, hit Control + A (Command +A), then
Control+Shift+U (Command + Shift+ U). This is commonly needed when you first
open a MIDI file, scanned image or Finale file in Sibelius.

5 Fitting all the music on a certain number of pages. Occasionally, you’ll be left

with a small amount of music “left over”. Follow step 2 to fix this. If you need to
force more measures into one system than Sibelius would like to do, select the
measures in question (so you get a blue box around all of them), then go to
Layout>Format>Make into System. You’ll also see other options for locking or
unlocking the format of your score.

6 Adding or deleting measures. To add measures to the end of your score, hit Control

+ B (Command + B). To add individual measures elsewhere, go to Create>Bar,
choose “single” or “other”, and follow the steps. To delete unwanted bars, Control
(Command) + click on the first measure you wish to delete (a double blue box will
appear around it), then shift + click on the final bar you need to delete (the double
blue box should be around everything). Then hit delete.

7 To hide measures on instruments when they are not playing, the manual way of

doing this is to double click on a staff where an instrument isn’t playing and hit
delete. This HIDES the staff for that particular line (and will reformat your score).
To do this far more globally, select the passage around which you’d like to hide
staffs, or hit Control + A (Command + A) to select the whole score, then go to
Layout>Hide Empty Staves. There’s also a shortcut listed on the menu. Do the same
to show empty staves, and Sibelius will ask you which ones you’d like to show.

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