Price Models
1
Finale
Price: $600 Full price- $350 Academic - $139 Upgrade
Entry Version $119 (Printmusic)
Crossgrade $139
Academic Lab License (5-29 seats) $150 a seat
Better / Extra intergraded sounds - Various Garritan sound libraries - $149 and up
Cheaper single instruments packages
Sibelius
Price: $600 Full Price - $295 Academic
2
- $150 Upgrade
Entry Version Sibelius First -$119
Crossgrade $199
Academic Lab License ( -30 seats) $99 a seat not priced through Avid
Better / Extra intergraded sounds NotePerformer - $129 (not through Avid)
Noteflight
Price: $49 a year / $7.95 a month
Campus Accounts $30 per student within the campus community
No other sounds available
File Sharing
Finale
Now, with Finale 2014, forwards and backwards compatible with .mus file extension
Export/ import in .xml (xml is proprietary software for Makemusic)
No other sharing options available files would need to be sent back and forth then reopened. However
Finale Notepad is free and allows users to open .mus files and make small edits.
Publishable to EBook formats with EPUB
Sibelius
Open older files with .sib
Export/ Import .xml
Classroom control Sharing files over a secure network requires Sibelius network site license server
o Allows retrieving and sending of scores to students who are on the same network ex.
transcription class or music theory class
o Also allows the freezing of Sibelius on student computers
Noteflight
No notflight file extension. sharing is browser based
Export/ import to .xml Importing xml is still kinda clunky
Cloud based sharing through NF website HTML5 (viewable on cell phone web browsers and most things.)
1
Piices aie baseu on each manufactuiei's website not thiiu paity, unless stateu.
2
Incluues fiee complimentaiy upgiaues foi foui yeais.
System Requirements
Finale 2014
Windows
XP/Vista/Windows 7/Windows 8 (64-bit
compatible)
Intel Core 2 Duo or AMD Athlon, Intel i3 or
AMD Athlon II X2 and above recommended
2 GB of RAM, 4 GB or above recommended
800X600 minimum monitor resolution,
1366!768 and above recommended
Internet connection for download install or
DVD-ROM drive for DVD install
600MB hard drive space required for software
and user manual with an additional 2GB hard
drive space is required for Garritan Instruments
for Finale
Macintosh
OS X 10.7 10.9
Intel Core 2 Duo or better, Intel i3 and
above recommended
2 GB of RAM, 4 GB or above recommended
800X600 minimum monitor resolution,
1366!768 and above recommended
Internet connection for download install or
DVD-ROM drive for DVD install
700MB hard drive space required for software
and user manual with an additional 2GB hard
drive space is required for Garritan Instruments
for Finale
Sibelius 7
Windows
XP/Vista/Windows 7/Windows 8 (64-bit
compatible)
Intel Core 2 Duo (or equivalent) or better, 4
GB+ total physical RAM, 40 GB total hard disk
space (7200 rpm or faster drive recommended;
SSD preferable)
BvB-R0N uiive
750 MB hard disk space
Macintosh
OS X 10.6.7 10.8
Intel Core 2 Duo or better, 4 GB+ total physical
RAM, 40 GB total hard disk space (7200 rpm
or faster drive recommended; SSD preferable)
BvB-R0N uiive
750 MB hard disk space
Noteflight
Web Browsers Supported Minimum Version
Google Chrome version 21
Safari 5
Internet Explore 9
Firefox 14
Mobile Safari iOS 6
Android 2.3
Needs a CPU faster than 1.2GHz for audio Playback
Feature/Utility Finale Sibelius Noteflight
Interface
Very Menu, submenu, palette,
slider, and option based.
Certain actions are hidden
within these menus
Based around Sibelius Ribbon
toolbar
Described as editable PDF
Clicking and dragging
Mostly palette based, but has
some features hidden in toolbar
Keyboard
Shortcuts
Completely customizable and
the ability to create your own
for specific commands (You can
create and use Sibelius shortcuts
in Finale)
Predetermined shortcuts- with a
few different layout options
Predetermined shortcuts
Audio
Playback
Internal playback through
Garritans Aria player which
also functions as a stand alone
plug- in for other sequencing
programs.
Allows the use of VSTs Such
as Kontakt
2 GBs of sound files
Internal playback through
Sibelius The Rewire feature
allows you to synchronize
Sibelius with Pro Tools to have
them play at the same time.
Use of VSTs
38 GBs of sound files (While
much larger than Finale, the
sounds are still very similar if
not worse
Files are played through adobe
flash player.
Customer
Support
Free
After 90 days, Sibelius support
costs $99/year for individuals
and $249/year for institutions.
Only email based support
General Reflections
Finale
For the most part Finale continues to update and fix problems, however, one of the more
frustrating aspects of each update is the continual changing in locations for particular tools
within menus. (Tools have been known to move between various menus or receive unannounced
name changes.
Finale has more in-depth final editing features. However this is something more useful for
professional engravers. Way beyond a level of proficiency to use.
I feel a better option / value for student composers with the options to buy more sound files
Sibelius
Avid has recently let go off most of the developers and programmers behind Sibelius up to
version 7. So who knows what the future will hold for the program.
The Ribbon tool bar and the general clicking options can make it easier for a student to reach a
level of proficiency in Sibelius quicker than any other program.
Maybe more for educators (K-12) or University students
Nowadays why cant a $300 program be required for a music major?
Maybe incorporate engraving programs / music tech more throughout the curriculum to justify
the purchase.
Noteflight
While still relatively new, Noteflight offers a good product for the price; however, it is not quite
at the level the other two programs are. (Nor is it advertised to be.)
Due to the very different user interface, Noteflight can be very frustrating to a student who may
already be familiar with a given program from personal experience or another class. Having to
learn a new set of shortcuts and way of doing things can make the program seem very
cumbersome.
The most frustrating thing is trying to place text in a document, and having to attach it to specific
notes and then dragging it to the desired location.
I could see Noteflight used in a beginner composition course or a Music Theory course that is
entirely online, but for campus / lecture base class
A music student should continue to learn an engraving program throughout their education. So
starting with an entry version of Finale or Sibelius will help them more in the long run, whereas
using Noteflight in addition could confuse them
