Sibelius 8

Work quickly with the brand-new, task-oriented user interface. Experience your scores in stunning clarity with the exclusive, professional-quality sound library. Collaborate more easily thanks to full MusicXML interchange support and other sharing options. With all these advancements and many more, Sibelius 7 is the fastest, smartest, easiest way to write music.

What is Sibelius?

Sibelius is the world’s best-selling music notation software, offering sophisticated, yet easy-to-use tools that are proven and trusted by composers, arrangers, publishers, educators, and students alike. And with the new Sibelius 8, you can access the software in more affordable ways than ever. Compose with a low-cost subscription. Own the software outright. Manage multiple copies with Sibelius network licensing. Or get started with Sibelius | First. The choice is yours. And with the integrated Annotate feature, multi-touch gestures, Surface Pro 3 pen support, and more, Sibelius enables you to express your creativity in brand new ways, whether composing for a live performance, movie, television, media entertainment.

New features

Get easy access to the world's best-selling music notation tool

In addition to Sibelius® being available to own and upgrade as before, users can now subscribe on a low-cost monthly or annual basis, enabling them to access the latest version of the software affordably at any time and pay only when they need it. And users will have access to all future Sibelius®updates and upgrades as soon as they're available through the included Avid upgrade plan, as well as to expert help.

Write music with a pen on a Surface Pro

Sibelius® has been optimized for the Microsoft Surface Pro 3 tablet, enabling users to add and edit notes quickly with just a tap of the pen, as well as play music in real time using the tablet's onscreen keyboard and fretboard. Use the Surface Pen's buttons to select, erase and edit the music. Users can even drag the score around and resize objects while inputting notes.

Add notes and comments directly on the score

With the new Annotate feature, users can create reminders for themselves about changes as they're composing, or communicate edits and feedback to others, streamlining collaboration and review. Draw directly on the score using a mouse, trackpad, USB tablet, or Surface Pro 3 Pen. Circle items and write or type comments or instructions to arrangers, players, or students. Because annotations are grouped intelligently and always attached to the bar they're added to, users needn't worry about losing their notes. Plus, annotations can be switched off so they don't appear when printing.

Interact with scores using multi-touch gestures

Whether users are working on a laptop with a trackpad or using a Surface Pro 3, they can quickly zoom in and out of their score by simply using a pinch-zoom gesture, making navigation and editing easier. Users can even set predefined zoom levels to zoom in and out with a quick double-tap.

Get up and running faster than ever

Avid has revamped and simplified the entire Sibelius® activation process so users can quickly start using the software and easily move to a different computer. No longer do users have to use a serial number, System ID, or Activation ID to activate, deactivate, and reactivate Sibelius®whenever they want to switch computers; now they can activate Sibelius® on any computer by simply signing in to the Avid Master Account. Plus, they will get access to support, downloads, and their Avid Marketplace account once they do.

Work quicker and see more detail on Windows

For Windows users, Sibelius® features an updated interface and new support for high-resolution displays, enabling users to see every detail of their score in stunning clarity. Plus, gain faster access to the features needed most with new and improved icons that appear in the ribbon and floating windows.

System requirements for Sibelius

Windows

• 64-bit Windows 7 (SP1 or later) or Windows 8.1 (not Windows RT)
• 1+ GB of RAM
• 1 GB hard disk space for Sibelius software only
• DVD-ROM drive (only for Media Pack)
• Internet connection required for software download and activation

Mac

• Mac OS X 10.9 or 10.10
• 1+ GB of RAM
• 1 GB hard disk space for Sibelius software only; 36 GB additional hard disk space for the Sibelius Sounds library (optional installation)
• DVD-ROM drive (only for Media Pack)
• Internet connection required for software download and activation

Recommendations for the Sibelius Sounds library*

• 4+ GB of RAM
• 36 GB hard disk space (SSD preferred)
• ASIO-compatible soundcard

Mac

• 4+ GB of RAM
• 36 GB hard disk space (SSD preferred)

Using external hardware MIDI playback devices with Sibelius

If you have an external hardware MIDI playback device that you wish to use, please check that a compatible sound set is available: see the list of sound sets supplied with Sibelius.

* You can use Sibelius Sounds if your computer doesn't meet the recommended requirements, but you may find that you cannot use as many sounds simultaneously, and that sounds take a long time to load.

What's included with Sibelius

Sibelius software license with download access to

• Sibelius software
• 36 GB Sibelius Sounds library
• AudioScore Lite audio transcribing software
• PhotoScore & NotateMe Lite music scanning and handwriting recognition software

Avid upgrade plan (includes all upgrades for 12 months with a perpetual license purchase, renewable annually, or throughout the duration of an active subscription)

Avid Standard Support for Sibelius

Sibelius is available as software download. An internet connection is required for software activation and for downloading the installers. A high-speed Internet connection is highly recommended for downloading Sibelius and the Sibeilus Sounds library.

Network licenses

Sibelius's network licenses operate on a client-server model. The Sibelius program itself is installed on the local hard drive of each of the client workstations, and a separate License Server program is installed on a single designated server or workstation. The License Server program is supplied with your copy of Sibelius and enables the designated number of licensed client copies to run on the network simultaneously. In conjunction with Sibelius's Classroom Control feature, the License Server also lets you send messages to users of the client copies, send and receive Sibelius files between client machines, and close copies down from the server machine.

License Server requirements

Sibelius requires a network using the TCP/IP and UDP protocols. (Your network may use other protocols in addition to TCP/IP and UDP, but TCP/IP and UDP must be present in order for the License Server to communicate fully with the client copies.)

The Sibelius License Server and the License Server Control Panel will run on Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2008 R2, Mac OS X 10.9 and later. It will also run on a virtual server running VMWare using a qualified Windows operating system, as listed above.

What License is right for me?