Hi there. I’d love some advice. I’d like to buy Sibelius principally to play parts in on a midi keyboard and print off resulting sheet music. I will be composing for piano with some pieces for multiple instruments. I’ve got a few questions.
1) which Sibelius should I buy? I’m guessing I don’t need ultimate.
2) I plan to buy a laptop for this, probably an HP or Dell. what specs would I need so it would run fine and future proof for a few years? I got a bit lost on what ASIO/sound card requirements are!
3) Any recommendations for a midi keyboard? I’d prefer something with at least a few octaves.
Many thanks! C
Which laptop?
If you don't want to buy Ultimate, get Musescore 4, which is more powerful and feature rich than either of the two lower tiers of Sibelius. And it's free. Not entirely bug-free yet, but getting there fast, with free updates of course. But your signature says you already have Sib 8. If so, use that.
I'd get a refurbished Windows laptop. I have an HP and a Dell, both refurbs, both great. You'll want as much RAM as possible, 8GB should suffice. Decent processor, an i5 will be OK. Good sized SSD, 250GB or larger. Finding a refurb with a large SSD may be tricky, you may have to install a larger one. Ideally, you'll want a laptop with a numeric keypad, but if it doesn't have one, budget for an additional USB or wireless keyboard that has one, or get a USB numeric keypad.
As for a MIDI keyboard, for simple note input, almost anything will do. I have a Roland controller keyboard with loads of knobs and sliders, but that's really for use with Cubase, I've not used anything other than the keys with Sibelius! You will want something with a USB connection or you'll have to get a MIDI to USB adaptor.
I'd get a refurbished Windows laptop. I have an HP and a Dell, both refurbs, both great. You'll want as much RAM as possible, 8GB should suffice. Decent processor, an i5 will be OK. Good sized SSD, 250GB or larger. Finding a refurb with a large SSD may be tricky, you may have to install a larger one. Ideally, you'll want a laptop with a numeric keypad, but if it doesn't have one, budget for an additional USB or wireless keyboard that has one, or get a USB numeric keypad.
As for a MIDI keyboard, for simple note input, almost anything will do. I have a Roland controller keyboard with loads of knobs and sliders, but that's really for use with Cubase, I've not used anything other than the keys with Sibelius! You will want something with a USB connection or you'll have to get a MIDI to USB adaptor.
