Here are some ideas, folks

Place your wishlist here. Maybe the Sibelius developers will honor your requests.
julio
Posts: 7
Joined: Sat Jul 26, 2003 9:37 am

Post by julio » Sat Jul 26, 2003 11:05 am

Sorry, this is kinda long. :oops:

Let's get this ball rolling...

Well, I have four ideas off the top of my head:

:idea: 1. Improved MIDI capabilities - for example, control over note velocities (recording and playback) and various randomizations. (I know Sibelius's focus is on notation, but if more MIDI features were included I wouldn't have to use something like Finale or Sonar for recording/performing my Gigastudio stuff, and I find Sibelius a BILLION times easier to use :D ). Maybe even a graphical interface mode similar to ProTools' MIDI 'blue bars' 8) where one can rhythmically reposition notes and chords ever so slightly without the rigmarole of tying and untying hemidemisemiquavers (or 64th notes :wink: ) ?

:idea: 2. More fully automated layout - okay, it's improving noticeably in every version, but the two main standout omissions for me still are a) slurs, phrase marks etc. and b) lyrics.

Big phrase marks can require quite a lot of manual work to avoid hitting everything; it would be nice to have a kind of collision detection system to calculate the optimum arc for for a slur, not taking up too much space, but not crashing into every stem in its path.

The lyrics also tend to ride up into anything remotely poking down below the staff, especially low-register notes and articulation, and our old friends those slurs and phrase marks. It would be lovely to have the words automatically position themselves at a level low enough so that they would avoid all these sorts of collisions - it is very time-consuming to arrange and re-arrange these things when the music is always being reformatted, as is my wont.

As part of these two suggestions, getting Sibelius to move the staves around automatically (e.g. spread out or contract) would help to free up the necessary 'physical' page space for some of these processes (perhaps implemented with a toggle in preferences or only affecting unlocked passages).

:idea: 3. The ability to create bracketed cautionary accidentals automatically - there is a plugin by Danny Manners that puts accidentals in (with highlighting and/or text for good measure), but a bracketed version would be nice - perhaps just having the facility to put brackets around things more easily would be a start.

:idea: 4. Having a broader range of options in the playback dictionary. I love the idea of the dictionary, and I guess two main changes would be beneficial for me: a) supporting additional facets of playback and b) being able to pass parameters.

The additions would be things like various 'lines' simulations and partial overrides (you'll see what I mean soon). Octave displacement, in fact transposition of any size, would be a nice feature. In the Garritan Orchestral Strings sample library, among others, there are sets of instrument sounds with up- and down-bow samples, separated by, in this case, three octaves - if I had a dictionary option for instant transposition and could override the upbow marking, I could tell Sibelius to automatically play everything I mark upbow three octaves up. Even if I couldn't override the upbow marking, I could write a script to put in a technique line saying "UPBOW" everywhere there's a ^ (some imagination required here), but the overriding would be neater, in a way. In any case, I'd enjoy the freedom of more options there.

The option of parameters would be useful for some MIDI messages, where you want to send similar messages but with different associated numbers.

Sibelius is already outstanding, but with additions such as these, I think it would keep on improving in usefulness and productivity.

I'm looking forward to hearing everyone else's suggestions. :)

Julio


julio
Posts: 7
Joined: Sat Jul 26, 2003 9:37 am

Post by julio » Wed Jul 30, 2003 10:55 pm

My idea for the implementation of idea #1 is:

MIDI input (step- or flexitime) has a filter (cf ProTools, for example), which determines which MIDI information is heeded by Sibelius. The current state of play is that, basically, rhythm and pitch are recorded, but adding the possibility of velocity, mod wheel settings, pedals, other controllers ... would complete the MIDI recording side of things.

You could also (optionally) introduce a create dynamics from velocities feature, which would put in mfs and ps where appropriate.

I realise that MIDI velocity with 128 different values is hard to convert to eight or nine dynamic ranges, and that Sibelius probably doesn't store individual velocity settings for every note, but please could it do so in future. I guess you could toggle between velocities and dynamics somehow - that would be great, so you'd have a playable (and editable) version, and a printable one at the same time. This for me would be the MOST important feature for any update.

Many regards,

Julio

kyle

Post by kyle » Tue Jan 06, 2004 9:22 pm

If you are looking for MIDI programing, than niether Sibelius nor Finale will do. These programs were never designed to be sequencers. Also, Pro Tools, while a fantastic audio program, lacks some of the more advanced MIDI features that are included in Digital Performer, Nuendo, Cubase, or Logic. The process of recording and playing music (and real-time composition, for that matter) are totally separate from the process of music copying. Eventually a program might come along that incorporates both, but for now you are better off using one of the above mentioned programs for MIDI performance editing and transfering that (as a standard Midi file) into a music notation program.

Kyle Ford
Nashville, TN

PS - I have worked extensively in Pro Tools and I must say that while Pro Tools is an excellant audio program, few programers anywhere in the US use Pro Tools for Midi editing. I am not saying that no one does, but Logic, Digital Perfromer, and Nuendo are much more widely used (and in my opinion better) midi editing programs.

FLZapped
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu Aug 05, 2004 4:20 pm

Post by FLZapped » Thu Aug 05, 2004 4:45 pm

Kyle,

I have to disagree with you and agree with Julio on the Midi capability.

Here is why.

I write music for our church choir. Well, we dont' have but an organist. So I need something that will allow me to write good looking parts/scores and also be able to play the accompaniment for those pieces that require it.

As the industry has developed to date, I need two pieces of expensive software to get 100% compiance. As a volunteer, this is inefficient use of my time, plus the fact I must know the idosyncracies of two programs and not get them mixed up in my noggin.

There are plenty of people like me out there.

In fairmess to Sibelius though, it comes the closest. I have also looked at Igor, Finale, Mozart, Music Write, and other software and they are pretty disappointing by comparison.

So it is Sibelius for me, but it sure is a large chunk of change to expend for a music tool that falls short of my(and others) total requirements.

-Bruce
(We need a new Symphony: "The Marriage of the Threes" - Sonelius 3?)

kuku202
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Feb 10, 2015 4:51 am

Post by kuku202 » Tue Feb 10, 2015 5:01 am

I have Sibelius 7, computer has windows 7 home, keyboard is CVP 307, they are connected through USB = HOST. The piano contacts the computer perfectly but the computer does not playback the computer. In Sibelius playback the CVP 307 is present in grey colour but I cannot activate it. I have an instruction book but I am old and stupid and cannot understand it. Can any body please help in simple language? Many thanks, techmagzine.com
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Last edited by kuku202 on Fri Dec 17, 2021 5:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.

XiaoGong
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue May 19, 2015 4:37 am
Sibelius Version: sdds
Operating System: Mac

Post by XiaoGong » Tue May 19, 2015 4:40 am

kuku202 wrote:I have Sibelius 7, computer has windows 7 home, keyboard is CVP 307, they are connected through USB = HOST. The piano contacts the computer perfectly but the computer does not playback the computer. In Sibelius playback the CVP 307 is present in grey colour but I cannot activate it. I have an instruction book but I am old and stupid and cannot understand it. Can any body please help in simple language? Many thanks, Dave Chapman.
Yeah...nice idea...4rsgold agree with u.

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