For a current and complete list of Avid trademarks visit: www.avid.com/legal/trademarks-and-other-notices
Bonjour, the Bonjour logo, and the Bonjour symbol are trademarks of Apple Comput er, Inc.
Thunderbolt and the Thunderbolt logo are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries.
This product may be protected by one or more U.S. and non-U.S. patents. Details are available at www.avid.com/patents.
Product features, specifications, system requirements, and availability are subject to change without notice.
This Reference Guide is a comprehensive guide to all of the features of Sibelius® music notation software by Avid®. The Sibelius software product line consists of three tiers of feature
functionality ranging from beginner to professional: Sibelius | First (perfect for beginners),
Sibelius (great for students and skilled amateurs), and Sibelius | Ultimate (a must for professionals). Throughout this Reference Guide, “Sibelius” generally refers to all three—
Sibelius | First, Sibelius, and Sibelius | Ultimate—for the sake of readability. Features that are
only supported in Sibelius | Ultimate are identified where they are covered in this guide. Features that are limited or are unavailable in Sibelius | First are likewise noted throughout this
guide and are also specifically listed in Sibelius | First.
To learn how to use Sibelius quickly, take the necessary time to work through the SibeliusTutorial.pdf (which is available under File > Help within the program). After just the first few
projects in the tutorial and you will be ready to create your own scores in Sibelius with confidence and ease.
Sibelius | First, Sibelius, and Sibelius Ultimate
The Sibelius software product line consists of three tiers of feature functionality ran ging from
beginner to professional: Sibelius | First (perfect for beginners), Sibelius (great for students
and skilled amateurs), and Sibelius | Ultimate (a must for professionals). Sibelius software is
installed using a single installer and runs the same application regardless of which tier is
authorized. Your software license determines which tier of Sibelius software functionality is
authorized to run on your computer.
Sibelius | First: Runs when no license for either Sibelius or Sibelius | Ultimate is activated on
your computer.
Sibelius: Only runs when a Sibelius license is activated on your computer.
Sibelius | Ultimate: Only runs when a Sibelius | Ultimate license is activated on your com-
puter.
On Mac OS X, Sibelius is installed in /Applications/Sibelius.app
On Windows, Sibelius is installed in C:\Program Files\Avid\Sibelius\Sibelius.exe
System Requirements and Compatibility Information
A vid can only assure compatibility and provide support for hardware and software it has tested
and approved. For complete system requirements and a list of qualified computers, operating
systems, hard drives, and third-party devices, visit: www.avid.com/compatibility
Avid Master Account
Your Avid Master Account simplifies access to all of your user accounts and entitlements at
my.avid.com. To sign up, go to www.avid.com and click on “Sign In.”
Fill in the required fields located under the “Create Avid Master Account.”
The Master Account is divided into sections. Notice t hat the Avid Support Center, Download
Center, and Avid Community need to be linked. Choose “Link this account” if you already
have an account or choose “Create Account,” fill in the required fields and click Submit.
3
Avid Link
Avid Link is a free application for anyone wanting to connect with other artists, producers,
mixers, composers, editors, videographers, movie-makers, and graphic designers—and to the
Avid Marketplace—to expand your creative capabilities and possibilities. A desktop version is
available for macOS and Windows; a mobile version is available for iOS; it’s available online
using any browser; and it’s integrated within Sibelius. Avid Link replaces the Avid Application
Manager.
Use Avid Link to manage your Avid account, licensing and subscriptions, as well as integrate a
number of other services. Your account login from Application Manager (which preceded
A vid Link) or the Avid Link application will be picked up by Sibelius when you start up, much
like the Cloud Sharing Dashboard. However, if you aren't logged in, you will be asked to log
into those pages you visit.
Join the Avid Artist Community
Once you are online and up and running with Sibelius, join the Avid Artist Community. The
Avid Artist Community lets you connect with an extensive network of artists, musicians, producers, and media professionals to share your work and your services, find collaborators, and
expand your music and audio opportunities. Visit www.avid.com/artistcommunity.
On-screen reference
To start the on-screen Reference Guide, click the button at the right-hand end of the
ribbon tab bar, shown on the right, find it within
cut
F1or?.
Help in the File tab, or type the short-
Whichever application your computer uses to view PDF files will open—on Windows this is
normally Adobe Reader, and on Mac it is normally Preview—and the on-screen Reference
Guide will appear. To navigate the on-screen Reference Guide, you can use the bookmarks and
Edit Find features built in to Adobe Reader and Preview.
Bookmarks are like a table of contents that you can have open beside the document you’re
reading, allowing you to jump to any chapter, topic, or even sub-heading in the Reference
Guide. To show bookmarks:
In Adobe Reader, choose View Navigation Panels Bookmarks; a panel like that shown
below left will appear at the left of your screen.
In Preview on Mac, choose View Sidebar Show Sidebar; a panel like that shown below
right will slide out of the right-hand side of the window.
4
Welcome to Sibelius
To search within the on-screen Reference Guide, use the
In Adobe Reader, you can simply type into the Find box on the toolbar shown below left,
Edit Find feature, or alternatively:
then use the next and previous result buttons to skip forwards and backwards
In Preview on Mac, you can type into the Search box in the drawer, shown below right, then
click in the list of results to skip forwards and backwards.
Typography and cross-references
Names of computer keys, menus and dialogs are written
like this.
The main way in which you find commands in Sibelius is via the ribbon, a wide band of
command buttons that appear at the top of the screen when you click a tab like
Each tab describes a related set of commands (
Note Input, Notations, Text, Layout, etc.); when
File or Home.
you click a tab, the ribbon changes to show the buttons that let you use those commands. Each
ribbon tab contains a number of groups of related commands.
As a quick way of describing how to access a particular command, this Reference Guide uses
the following format: “choose
Home Instruments Add or Remove ” means “click the Home
tab, look for the Instruments group, and click the Add or Remove button.”
The ribbon is explained in greater detail on the following pages, so if this all sounds m ysteri-
ous to you, don’t worry.
9.1Working with parts means “see the Working with parts topic at the start of chapter 9 of
the Reference Guide.”
5
Basic terminology
Most of the computer terminology used in this Reference Guide will be understood b y almost
all readers, but has been included in case one or two of the terms are unfamiliar:
Some keys are labeled differently on different keyboards, particularly on Mac. For the pur-
poses of this Reference Guide, these are the conventions:
Mac symbolMac nameWindows equivalent
CommandCtrl (“Control”)
^CtrlNone
ShiftShift
OptionAlt
ReturnReturn
EnterEnter (on numeric keypad)
Notice how, somewhat confusingly, the key labeled
on the model of your keyboard) on Mac is not the same as the key labeled
Mac shortcuts using
using the symbol
Ctrl are very rare in Sibelius, but where they appear, they are written
^ (as it appears in menus etc. on Mac) to avoid confusion for Windows
(on main keyboard)
Ctrl (or sometimes Control, depending
Ctrl on Windows.
users.
Sibelius is almost identical on Windows and Mac, but where there are differences, mainly in
keyboard shortcuts, the Windows convention is listed first. For more information on the
differences between Mac and Windows keyboard shortcuts,
Keyboard shortcuts at the
end of this Reference Guide, which lists all keyboard shortcuts available.
“Type Ctrl+Aor A” means hold down the Ctrl (Windows) or (Mac) key and type A.
Even though
Similarly, for standard shortcuts like
you actually type
Similarly, “Alt+click or -click” means hold down the Alt (Windows) or (Mac) key and
A is written as a capital letter, don’t type Shift unless explicitly told to do so.
Ctrl+?or? where both / and ? exist on the same key,
Ctrl+/or/ without using Shift.
click.
To click something means to move the mouse arrow over it and click the left mouse button.
To right-click something means to point at it with the mouse and click the right mouse button. If you are using a MacBook or other portable Mac, to achieve the equivalent of a rightclick, hold the
To drag something means to point at it with the mouse, and then click and hold the left
Ctrl key and click the trackpad.
mouse button while moving the mouse. To finish dragging, just let go of the mouse button.
A dialog is a window with buttons on. Some dialogs are divided into several pages and have
labeled tabs at the top, or a list box at the left-hand side, which you can click to switch
between pages of the dialog.
The numeric keypad is the rectangle of numbers and other characters at the very right-hand
side of your computer keyboard. (Notebook (laptop) computers usually don’t have a separate numeric keypad—
“Return” is the large key to the right of the letter keys. On some keyboards it is labeled with
“
Enter” or a special arrow symbol, but we always call it Return.
“Enter” is the large key at the bottom right of the numeric keypad. On some keyboards it is
unlabeled, but it still means
Less well-known terminology is in the
Keyboard shortcuts for more information.)
Enter.
Glossary at the end of this book.
6
Welcome to Sibelius
Resources
The Avid website (www.avid.com) is your best online source for information to help you get
the most out of Sibelius.
Account Activation and Product Registration: Activate your product to access downloads
in your Avid account (or quickly create an account if you do not have one). Register your
purchase online, download software, updates, documentation, and other resources at
www.avid.com/account.
Support and Downloads: Contact Avid Customer Success (technical support), download
software updates and the latest online manuals, browse the Compatibility documents for system requirements, search the online Knowledge Base or join the worldwide Avid user community on the User Conference at www .avid.com/support.
Training and Education: Study on your own using courses available online, find out how you
can learn in a classroom setting at an Avid-certified training center, or view video tutorials
and webinars www.avid.com/education.
Products and Developers: Learn about Avid products, download demo software, or learn
about our Development Partners and their plug-ins, applications, and hardware at
www.avid.com/products.
7
8
Sibelius | First, Sibelius, and Sibelius |Ultimate
Sibelius | First, Sibelius, and
Sibelius |Ultimate
This topic identifies differences in features and functionality between Sibelius | First,
Sibelius, and Sibelius | Ultimate.
Sibelius | First is a great introduction to working with the Sibelius software line. It supports up
to four staves in a score and provides sufficient capabilities for most of your basic music notation needs. If you need more fully featured functionality, you can upgrade to Sibelius or
Sibelius | Ultimate anytime through your Avid Master Account.
Sibelius is great for students and skilled amateurs. It supports up to 16 staves and provides all
the tools you need to create professional looking scores for music a moderate complexity.
Sibelius | Ultimate is a must for professionals and educators. It lets you create as many staves
as the music demands; and it is extensively customizable, so you can make even the most complex music look perfect. There are also easy to use classroom tools for creating, sharing, and
reviewing music worksheets and hand-outs.
General
Lets you...
Availability
Number of computers a single copy
can be installed on
Software updates
and support
AudioScore and
PhotoScore
Notation
Sibelius | FirstSibeliusSibelius | Ultimate
Create simple scores with up
to 4 staves—can open scores
with more than 4 staves for
review, but are be read only
Register at for free downloadSubscribe monthly or annu-
N/A2, but for use by one person only (so you can run a copy on your
Download the latest update as
it becomes available
Includes Audio Score First
and PhotoScore First
Sibelius | FirstSibeliusSibelius | Ultimate
Create professional-quality
scores and compose simple to
moderate music—up to 16
staves; and can open scores
with more than 16 staves for
review, but they are read only
ally, or purchase and own a
perpetual license
desktop and onther on your laptop or surface.
Access all new releases and Standard support through a
subscription or renewable 1-Year Software Updates + Support
Plan (included with a new perpetual license)
Includes AudioScore Lite and PhotoScore Lite
Compose, arrange, and
publish professional-quality
scores and parts of any size
and complexity with as many
staves as you need; create
notation worksheets and exer-
cises for education; and more
Subscribe monthly or annu-
ally, purchase and own a per-
petual license (educational
discount available), trade-up
from other notation software,
or get network licensing
Accidentals
Metadata
Bar numbers
Normal and double onlyNormal and double only
bracketed
Common ones onlyFull set
LimitedFull range of formats
Normal, double, quarter-tones,
bracketed
9
Notation
Sibelius | FirstSibeliusSibelius | Ultimate
Barline types
Bars, irregular
Cross-staff beams
(keyboard music)
Beam/rest groupings
Brackets and braces
Change transposition of
transposing instruments
Chord symbols appearance and MIDI/text input
Cues
Dotted notes:
single, double, triple
Guitar chord diagrams
Guitar scale diagrams
Guitar tab
Instruments
Jazz articulations: falls,
scoops, doits, and plops
Single, double, repeat onlySingle, double, repeat, dotted,
NoNo, except pick-up barsYes
NoYes
FixedCustomizable
FixedCustomizable
NoYes
Limited preset optionsFully customizable
NoYes
Single dottedYes
LimitedYes
NoYes
Basic onlyFull
Common onlyCommon, jazz, and world
NoYes
instruments only, with fixed
number of staves
early music
Full customizable range
Custom lines
Rhythmic note values:
512th note (7 beams) to
double breve (4 times
duration of whole note)
Custom Noteheads
Ossia staves
Page numbers
Special symbols
Split multirests in parts
Staves
Stemlets (half-stems)
and feathered beams
Tuplets
10
NoYes
32nd note to breve (twice
duration of whole note)
NoYes
NoYes
AutomaticCustomizable
NoYes
NoYes
Up to 4Up to 16 per systemUnlimited
NoYes
Duplets (2:3) to
sextuplets (6:4)
Duplets (2:3) to
nonuplets (9:8)
All
Any (such as 2, 7, 44:31, and
even nested tuplets)
Sibelius | First, Sibelius, and Sibelius |Ultimate
Playback
Advanced notation
interpretation
Edit MIDI data
Includes Sibelius
Sound Libraries
Loop playback
Half-speed playback
Espressivo 2.0
Live Tempo (tap tempo)
Playback markings on
specified repeats
Playback of hairpins
Playback of ritardandi
and accelerandi
Playback fermatas
Words that affect playback (such as legato)
Sibelius | FirstSibeliusSibelius | Ultimate
NoYes
NoYes
NoSibelius Sounds
NoPresets onlyCustomizable rhythmic feel
Limited—playback onlyRecord, edit, clear, and play
(10 GB library) provides
high-quality samples for most
common instruments
NoYes
NoYes
NoYes
FixedAdjustable
FixedAdjustable
FixedAdjustable
FixedEditable
Sibelius | Ultimate Sounds
(36 GB library) provides a full
range of professional-quality
orchestral, jazz, pop, marching
band, and percussion
back Live Tempo
Notation
Accidentals
Metadata
Bar numbers
Barline types
Bars, irregular
Cross-staff beams
(keyboard music)
Beam/rest groupings
Brackets and braces
Change transposition of
transposing instruments
Sibelius | FirstSibeliusSibelius | Ultimate
Normal and double onlyNormal and double only
Common ones onlyFull set
LimitedFull range of formats
Single, double, repeat onlySingle, double, repeat, dotted,
NoNo, except pick-up barsYes
NoYes
FixedCustomizable
FixedCustomizable
NoYes
bracketed
Normal, double, quarter-tones,
bracketed
early music
11
Notation
Sibelius | FirstSibeliusSibelius | Ultimate
Chord symbols appearance and MIDI/text input
Cues
Dotted notes:
single, double, triple
Guitar chord diagrams
Guitar scale diagrams
Guitar tab
Instruments
Jazz articulations: falls,
scoops, doits, and plops
Custom lines
Rhythmic note values:
512th note (7 beams) to
double breve (4 times
duration of whole note)
Custom Noteheads
Ossia staves
Limited preset optionsFully customizable
NoYes
Single dottedYes
LimitedYes
NoYes
Basic onlyFull
Common onlyCommon, jazz, and world
NoYes
32nd note to breve (twice
duration of whole note)
instruments only, with fixed
number of staves
NoYes
NoYes
NoYes
Full customizable range
All
Page numbers
Special symbols
Split multirests in parts
Staves
Stemlets (half-stems)
and feathered beams
Tuplets
Utilities
Annotate
Arrange: automatic arranging
and orchestration
Comments (sticky notes)
Compare different scores or
versions
AutomaticCustomizable
NoYes
NoYes
Up to 4Up to 16 per systemUnlimited
NoYes
Duplets (2:3) to
sextuplets (6:4)
Duplets (2:3) to
nonuplets (9:8)
Any (such as 2, 7, 44:31, and
even nested tuplets)
Sibelius | FirstSibeliusSibelius | Ultimate
Yes
NoYes
Yes
NoYes
12
Sibelius | First, Sibelius, and Sibelius |Ultimate
Utilities
Copy and paste to Word and
other programs
Display timecode
Edit Dynamic Parts
Edit word menus
Export a log of changes to a
score
Export lyrics as text file
Filters for editing similar
objects
Find
Focus on staves
Graphics export (for creating
worksheets and other content)
Highlight music
Ideas Hub
Import MusicXML files
Sibelius | FirstSibeliusSibelius | Ultimate
NoLow resolution (96 dpi) onlyYes
NoSingle formatCustomizable format
NoLimitedFull
NoYes
NoYes
NoYes
NoQuick filters onlyYes
NoYes
NoYes
NoYes
Yes
No300 library ideas included
and lets you capture your own
ideas (editing not supported)
Yes
2,000+ library ideas included,
and lets you capture and edit
your own ideas and add to a
score and/or the library
Instrument changes
Join scores together
Keyboard shortcuts
Lyric verses allowed
Lyrics from text file
Note input options
Panorama scroll view
Paper and desk textures
Part extraction
Paste as CueNoYes
Plug-ins
Inspector window to edit individual objects
Rehearsal marks
Repeat structures
Rulers
25Unlimited
FixedLimitedFull
None38 includedOver 140 included
NoDefault onlyFully customizable
FixedCustomizableFully customizable
NoYes
NoYes
FixedCustomizable
NoYes
Yes
40Over 60
NoYes
NoFull
NoYes
13
Utilities
Sibelius | FirstSibeliusSibelius | Ultimate
Score Starter: (40 genre-specific templates)
Slide notes and rests
Special page breaks
Timeline window
Swap voices
Versions
Video, including timecode and
hit points
Viewing options for Magnetic
Layout, page margins, note
colors, full screen, and more
Worksheet Creator
Publishing
Advanced layout
features
Auto Layout options
NoYes
NoYes
NoYes
NoYes
NoYes
Latest (head) version onlySave, view, and print onlyYes
NoAdd video, add/edit hit pointsYes
NoYes
NoYes
Sibelius | FirstSibeliusSibelius | Ultimate
NoYes
NoYes
Edit fonts
Edit staff types
Edit text styles
Engraving rules
(hundreds to edit)
Headers/footers
House Style
import/export
Intelligent Rests
Magnetic Layout
Manage Dynamic Parts
Manuscript papers
(preset score layouts)
Multiple staff size
Note spacing rules
Reset position/design
of objects
NoLimitedFull
NoYes
NoYes
NoYes
NoYes
NoImport onlyYes
NoYes
NoFixedFully customizable
NoYes
Includes a few, but you cannot create your ownIncludes many, and you can
FixedFully customizable
FixedFully customizable
LimitedYes
create your own
14
Sibelius | First, Sibelius, and Sibelius |Ultimate
Publishing
Set default object
positions
Staff spacing
Export and Share
Audio recording export
Avid Scorch optimized
export (app available on
the iTunes App Store)
Email score as .sib
or .pdf
Graphics file export
MIDI file export—Type 0
and Type 1 any device
MusicXML file export
(compressed or uncompressed)
Sibelius | FirstSibeliusSibelius | Ultimate
NoYes
FixedManual adjustment onlyYes
Sibelius | FirstSibeliusSibelius | Ultimate
N/AWAV, AIFF, and MP3
NoYes
NoYes
NoPDF export onlyStandard bitmap and vector
NoYes
NoYes
formats (SVG, PNG, JPG,
BMP, TIFF, GIF, and PDF)
Previous version export
Publish directly to
ScoreExchange.com
Scorch (browser plugin) web page export
Share to YouTube,
Facebook, SoundCloud
Sibelius | Cloud Sharing
Video file
(Export score as)
NoYes
NoYes
NoYes
NoYes
10 scores20 scoresUnlimited (up to 1 GB stor-
NoYes
age)
Keypad in Sibelius | First, Sibelius, and Sibelius | Ultimate
Sibelius | First, Sibelius, and Sibelius | Ultimate each provide six Keypad layouts: Common
notes (F7), More notes (F8), Beams/Tremolos (F9), Articulation (F10), Jazz articulations
(F11), and Accidentals (F12). However, not all options available with Sibelius | Ultimate are
available Sibelius and Sibelius | First (see
Sibelius | First, Sibelius, and Sibelius |Ultimate).
The Keypad also lets you select which voice in a staff you want to add or edit notes. While
Sibelius and Sibelius | Ultimate let you work with up to four voices on a staff, you are limited
to two voices with Sibelius | First. For more information about the Keypad, see
3.2 Keypad.
15
Sibelius | First, Sibelius, and Sibelius | Ultimate and the Ribbon
The contents of the Ribbon differ between Sibelius | First, Sibelius, and Sibelius | Ultimate.
For instance, the Parts tab is only available in Sibelius | Ultimate. Similarly, Sibelius | First and
Sibelius provide fewer options in each tab than Sibelius | Ultimate. For more information
about the Ribbon, see
Working with the ribbon.
16
Working with the ribbon
The ribbon
Ribbon tabs
Help button
Open new tab
Switch tab
Status barZoom controlsDocument view
buttons
Information
read-outs
Title bar
Minimize
ribbon
Window buttons
(at top left on Mac)
Document tabs
Quick Access Toolbar
(Windows only)
Find box
Working with the ribbon
The ribbon is the w ide band of command buttons that appears at the top of the Sibel ius window, housing all of the features of the program, organized according to task. In addition to the
ribbon, every Sibelius document window also contains other useful controls. Si belius | First
and Sibelius provide 10 tabs in the ribbon: File, Home, Note Input, Notations, Text, Play, Layout, Appearance, Review, and View. Sibelius | Ultimate has these and also includes the Parts
tab. Most images of the ribbon in this guide show Sibelius | Ultimate. However, not all of the
options included Sibelius | Ultimate are available with Sibelius and Sibelius | First, so depending on which of these you are running, you may not see all of the options in your software that
you see in this guide. For example, the Home tab in Sibelius | Ultimate provides access to the
Inspector and Plug-ins, while in Sibelius, only Plug-ins are available and in Sibelius | First neither of these options are available. For more information about what is or is not supported with
Sibelius or Sibelius | First, see
The Sibelius window
The picture below shows a typical Sibelius window, so you can see where the ribbon is, and
several other useful controls at the top and bottom of the window:
Sibelius | First, Sibelius, and Sibelius |Ultimate
Here’s a quick guided tour to the Sibelius window, startin g at the top and working our way
down:
Quick Access Toolbar (Windows only): this has three important buttons: Save, Undo and
Title bar: this shows the filename of the document, and the name of the current dynamic part
Redo. The Undo and Redo buttons also have menus attached to them, allowing you to
quickly undo or redo to any point since you opened the score. (On Mac, these options are
found in the
or version being viewed (if applicable). On Windows, you will see an asterisk (
File and Edit menus respectively.)
*) after the
17
filename if the score has unsaved changes. (On Mac, you will instead see a black dot inside
the red close button at the top left-hand corner of the window.)
Window buttons: the title bar contains a set of buttons for working with the current window.
On Windows, these buttons appear at the top right-hand corner, while on Mac, they appear at
the top left-hand corner.
Minimize is the first of the three buttons on Windows, and the middle of the three on Mac.
Click this to make your score window disappear from the screen without closing the file.
Restore down/Maximize (called Zoom on Mac) is the second of the three buttons on
Windows, and is the third of the three buttons on Mac. This button resizes the document
window. Clicking this button toggles your window between maximum size or its previous
size.
Close is the third of the three buttons on Windows, and the first on the Mac. As the name
suggests, clicking this button closes the current window.
Find box: type one or more keywords into this box to see a list of suggested controls on any
of the ribbon tabs; very useful for finding something if you can’t remember exactly where it
is. As you type, Sibelius shows a list of matching controls: use
need, then hit
Return to be taken there. Sibelius helpfully highlights the control for you.
/ to choose the one you
Sibelius also provides a customizable keyboard shortcut to search for any command in the
Ribbon and then press Return (Mac) or Enter (Windows) to execute the command immediately. This lets you quickly execute common commands while the Ribbon is hidden. Press
“,” (Comma) to enter the Find in Ribbon Search field (you can define your ow n keyboard
shortcuts for entering the Find in Ribbon Search field in File > Preferences > Keyboard
Shortcuts > Other > Activate Find in Ribbon).
Minimize Ribbon: the ribbon (described below) takes up a reasonable amount of vertical
space. If you want to see more of your score as you work on it, click the Minimize Ribbon
button. When you do, the ribbon disappears, leaving only the ribbon tabs across the top of
the screen. To make the ribbon reappear, click the button again to make the ribbon reapp ear
permanently, or simply click whichever tab you want to use to make the ribbon reappear
until you have finished making a choice from it, at which point it disappears again.
Help: click the ? button to open this Reference Guide in its on-screen form. You can find
further help in the
The ribbon: discussed in more detail below.
Document tabs: you can open multiple different views of the same document—e.g. a full score
File tab of the ribbon.
and individual instruments’ parts—inside a single window, and switch between them using
these tabs. When you start a new score, only one tab will be shown, labeled
open new tabs using the
options that switch the view (e.g. hitting
+ button at the right-hand side of the document tab bar , or through other
W switches between the full score and the dynamic part
Full Score. You can
corresponding to the current selection). You can re-order tabs simply by dragging them, and you
can “tear off” a tab to open the score or part currently being viewed in that tab in a new window
of its own: click and hold a tab, and drag it up or down; a Sibelius score icon appears under the
mouse pointer. Release the mouse button, and the a new window is created where you dropped
the Sibelius score icon.
Open new tab: this + button shows a menu that allows you to open a new tab containing a differ -
ent view from the current score, including dynamic parts and saved versions. You can also
choose
New Window, which opens the current tab in a new window. You don’t have to click the
button itself to open the menu: simply right-click anywhere along the document tab bar to do the
same thing.
18
Working with the ribbon
Switch tabs: if you have many tabs open at once, you may not be able to see all of the names
of the tabs clearly across the width of the tab bar. Click this button to show a menu listing all
of the open tabs in the current window, allowing you to quickly switch to any of them.
Status bar: the status bar runs along the bottom of the window, which gives you information
about the current document and has some useful buttons for quick access.
Information read-outs: at the left-hand of the status bar is a series of useful read-outs. From
left to right: the current page and the total number of pages; the total number of bars; th e
instrument on which the current selection resides, if there is one; the range of the current
selection, if there is one; the timecode of the current selection; the pitches of the selected
notes (or the first note or chord of a passage if you have a range of music selected); the harmony of the chord made up by all of the selected notes at the start of the selection, displayed
as a chord symbol; a description of the current operation (e.g.
Edit Passage or Edit Text);
whether or not the current view is currently displayed at concert (sounding) pitch or transposing (written) pitch; whether
Layout Hiding Staves Focus on Staves is switched on;
whether or not Magnetic Layout is enabled or disabled for the selected objects; and/or the
font and point size of the selected text object.
Zoom controls: at the right-hand end of the status bar is a slider with—and + buttons at either
end that allow you to change the zoom level of the current view quickly and easily. To the
left of the slider is a read-out of the current zoom level, expressed as a percentage.
Document view buttons: to the left of the zoom controls is a set of buttons that allow you to
switch between different types of view quickly, for example between showing the pages of
your score laid out horizontally and Panorama view. These buttons are also found on the
View tab of the ribbon.
The ribbon tabs
The ribbon itself is split into 11 tabs with Sibelius | Ultimate (the Parts tab is not available in
Sibelius or Sibelius | First). The first tab,
File, is unlike the other tabs: clicking it hides the
score altogether and instead shows you a special view called Backstage, which contains everything you might want to do with a file (as opposed to what you might do to a file, which is
what the other 10 tabs are for). From the
File tab you can create, open, save and close files,
import and export them in different formats, print music out, access special learning and teaching features, get detailed help, and more. (The first chapter of this book is devoted to the operations you can perform from the
File tab.)
The other 10 tabs are ordered roughly according to the order in which you typically perform
tasks while working on a score, so as you make your way from the start of a project towards its
end, you will typically work your way through most of the tabs of the ribbon from left to right.
(This book is likewise ordered according to the order of the tabs.)
These 10 tabs contain the following kinds of commands:
Home: basic score setup, like adding or removing instruments and b ars, plus key editing
operations, including clipboard operations and Sibelius’s powerful filters.
Note Input: commands relating to alphabetic, step-time and Flexi-time input, plus not e edit-
ing operations, compositional tools such as explode/reduce, and transformations such as retrograde, inversion, and so on.
Notations: all of the basic markings other than notes, rests and t ext, including cl efs, key and
time signatures, special barlines, lines, symbols, notehead types, etc.
Text: font style and size controls, choice of text styles, plus lyrics, chord symbols, rehearsal
marks, and bar and page numbering options.
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Play: choice of playback configuration, mixer, transport (playback) controls, Live Tempo,
Live Playback, options for how Sibelius should interpret your score duri ng playback, and
features for writing music to video.
Layout: document setup options such as page and staff size, staff spacing, hiding staves,
Magnetic Layout options, plus formatting controls.
Appearance: options that affect the visual appearance of your score, including choice of
house style, note spacing and instrument name format, plus commands to reset or change the
design or position of the objects in your score.
Parts (Sibelius | Ultimate Only): options relating to instrumental parts.
Review: add annotations, add and review sticky note comments, create and manage multiple
versions of the same score, compare revisions, and access various proof-reading plug-ins.
View: change the layout and size of the music on the screen, show or hide various “invisi-
bles” and other helpful markings that provide useful information about your score, h ide or
show extra panels for advanced operation, and arrange or switch between the open document windows.
Groups and controls
Each ribbon tab contains a number of groups, which organize related commands together. The
name of each group is shown below the names of the individual commands in gray text, and
groups are separated from each other by a vertical line:
The picture above shows the
Common, Lines and Symbols groups from the Notations tab.
Each group contains one or more controls of various types, including buttons, buttons that
open menus, split buttons (where half the button is a regular button and the other half opens a
menu), checkboxes, combo boxes and galleries, which are menus with special features. Galleries come in two flavors:
Drop-down galleries: these may look a lot like normal menus, displaying their contents as
text, or they may display their contents graphically. Unlike regular menus, galleries typically
list options organized by category, which can then be filtered (see below). An example of a
textual gallery is
Home Select Filters. All of the buttons in the Notations Common group
shown in the picture above use drop-down graphical galleri es.
In-ribbon galleries: these galleries are embedded directly in the ribbon, allowing you to see
the first few items in the gallery without opening it. In-ribbon galleries allow you to scroll up
and down the list using the scroll arrow buttons at the right-hand end, or to open the gallery,
making it appear like a drop-down gallery.
Notations Lines and Notations Symbols both
contain in-ribbon galleries, shown in the picture above.
Many galleries in Sibelius contain category filters, which allow you to show only one kin d of
thing at a time in a gallery. Category filters are found at the very top of an open gallery; by
default, there is no filter (so the filter reads
All), but you can click the filter name to show a
menu in which all the categories are listed. Choose one category and all of the other categories
are filtered out.
Depending on the width of the window, the ribbon will do its best to display as many as possible of the controls in all of the groups on the current tab. Some controls may be stacked vertically to save space, or perhaps even hide their textual description. If space gets very tight,
20
Working with the ribbon
some groups may end up collapsed, which means that instead of showing each of its controls
directly on the ribbon, all of the controls are collapsed behind a single button, which shows the
whole contents of the group below the ribbon when clicked, like this:
In the picture above, several of the groups on the
ing
group has been opened by clicking the button that represents the collapsed group.
Layout tab are collapsed, and the Staff Spac-
Sibelius has so many commands that in order to ensure every group on every tab is not sh own
collapsed, your screen display has to be at least 1920 pixels wide!
Keyboard access
The ribbon includes a number of time-saving features to help you to learn and get around the
program quickly, chief among them the ability to access every command via the keyboard
using key tips. Key tips are special shortcuts that take you straight to a command, whichever
ribbon tab it is on.
To show key tips, simply hit
Alt (Windows) or Ctrl (Mac): you don’t need to hold the key
down. A small overlay appears below each tab’s name:
T o access a tab, simply type the key tip shown for that tab. For example, type
Layout tab:
L to switch to the
Now type the key tip shown (usually two letters) for the command you want to use.
Once you have set the focus into the ribbon by hitting
also navigate around the tabs and the controls in each tab using the arrow keys or
Shift-Tab, then use either Space, Return or Enter to activate the button or ot her control that is
Alt (Windows) or Ctrl (Mac), you can
Tab and
currently in focus.
21
Screen tips
Closes the window
Closes the tab
Every command in the ribbon also has an extended text
description, which appears if you hover your mouse over
it for a moment. These descriptions are called screen tips,
and they provide useful additional context on each command.
On the right, you can see the screen tip for
Clipboard
Select G raphic. Notice how a keyboard short-
Home
cut is shown in parentheses after the name of the command. Unlike key tips, which can only be used in
sequence after hitting
Alt (Windows) or Ctrl (Mac), this
kind of keyboard shortcut can be used from anywhere,
and furthermore you can customize them if you want to.
Launching related dialogs
Some groups in the ribbon have a small extra button in the
bottom right-hand corner called a dialog launcher button,
which when clicked, you will be surprised to learn, l aunches
a dialog containing further options relating to the co mmands
in that group.
In the picture above, the mouse pointer is over the dialog launcher button in
Setup
, which launches the Document Setup dialog, in which you can change the page size,
Layout Document
orientation and margins with additional options over and above those on the ribbon.
Single document interface
Sibelius uses a single document interface, which means that each score opens in its own window, complete with its own ribbon and all of the tools you need to work with that score. As
you open new parts or versions, they open by defaul t in new tabs within the same window
(which you can re-order by dragging, or tear off to open the view in a new window).
To close a score, close the whole window by clicking the close icon at the top right-hand corner (Windows) or top left-hand corner (Mac). By default, when you close the last document
window, the Quick Start window opens again, to allow you to open a recent score or create a
new one. This also prevents Sibelius from quitting on Windows, because once there are no
windows open, the application will quit.
If you don’t want to show the Quick Start again after closing the last score, you can close the
last score by clicking the close icon on the last document tab instead, which will clo se the
score but leave the window open.
Once you close the last tab in the last window, all of the controls on the ribbon are disabled, but
you can now click the
File tab, which now opens by de fault at the Recent page so that you can
22
Working with the ribbon
open a recent score, or you can click
Open to open another existing score, or New to start a new
one.
If you work in this way, you can switch off the option
score
(either on the Quick Start window itself, or on the Other page of File Preferences),
Show Quick Start again after closing last
though beware that once you close the empty document window that is left behind after closing the last tab on the last score, Sibelius will still quit on Windows.
On Mac, applications can still run when they have no win dows, so Sibelius remains running
until you explicitly quit. If you click the Sibelius icon on the Dock when Sibeli us is running
but with no windows open, the Quick Start window opens automatically to help you get started
again.
Saving your working environment
Sibelius automatically keeps track of the arrangement of windows and tabs while you are
working on your score, so that it can restore them the next time you open it. When you re-open
a score you have worked on before, Sibelius will:
Open the document window to the same size and position you had used when you last closed
it
Open all the tabs that were open when you last closed it, and bring the last-used tab into
focus
Set the zoom level and type of view to the same as those used when you last closed it
Restore the settings on the View tab of the rib bon for which “invisibles” (useful things that
display on the screen but are not normally printed out) should be shown
Open the panels (such as the Mixer, Ideas panel, etc.) that were open when you last closed it.
You can, of course, tell Sibelius which of the above things you want it to do for you, via the
Display and Files pages of File Preferences— 1.27 Display settings.
Notes for upgraders
If you have upgraded from Sibelius 6 or earlier, you may be a little disorientated when you
first run your new version of Sibelius and see that the old menus and toolbar have been
replaced by the ribbon. But don’t worry: you’ll soon get used to it, and before long you’ll find
it much clearer than before. The
Find in ribbon box at the top right-hand corner of the ribbon is
an invaluable tool in searching for features that you have temporarily mislaid.
Here, broadly speaking, is how to find things in the ribbon according to the menus used in ear-
lier versions of Sibelius:
File menu items are now found in the File tab
Edit menu items are split between the Quick Access Toolbar (for undo and redo), Home tab
(for selecting, filtering, coloring and navigating) and the
out and Order settings). You can still access a cut-down version of the
Appearance tab (for Magnetic Lay-
Edit menu by right-
clicking on a selection in your score, just as in previous versions of Sibelius.
View menu items are found in the View tab
Notes menu items are split between the Appearance tab (for resetting beam groups and
positions, stems and tab fingering) and the
Create menu items are split between the Notations and Text tabs. You can still access the
Create menu by right-clicking on the score window with nothing selected, just as in previous
Note Input tab (for everything else).
versions of Sibelius.
Play menu items are found in the Play tab
Layout menu items are found in the Layout tab, except for Reset Desi gn and Reset Position,
which are on the
Appearance tab
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House Style menu items appear in many tabs: the various Edit... d ialogs are now found by
clicking the dialog launcher arrow in the appropriate ribbon group (e.g.
opened by clicking the dialog launcher arrow in the
features (including
Engraving Rules and house style import/export) are on the Appearance
Notations Noteheads group); the other
Edit Noteheads is
tab.
Plug-ins: the most useful ones appear individually on the ribbon next to related features of
the program. Several tabs also have dedicated
Plug-ins galleries, e.g. the Text tab has a gal-
lery of all plug-ins to do with text and chord symbols. Also, any custom folders of plug-ins
you have added will appear in the
Window menu items are found on the View tab
Help menu items are found in the File tab, in the Help pane.
Home Plug-ins gallery.
As far as possible, keyboard shortcuts are the same as in previous versions of Sibelius, so
power users who have memorized a lot of shortcuts should feel right at home.
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