Sibelius 6 adds several innovative and useful features to its already solid foundation in this latest version.  The most intriguing features for music educators being the magnetic layouts as well as commenting, version control, and lab classroom controls.  Is the upgrade to this professional level music writing software program worth the cost?  The following review makes note of the newest features found in Sibelius 6.

• Magnetic Layout - dynamic markings, accents, and even lyrics move automatically to avoid collisions.  Manually moving one marking to a specific place causes other markings to adjust themselves accordingly.  Can also be manually controlled if the automatic system does not produce acceptable results.
• Version Tracking - Changes to scores are saved as separate versions, allowing the user to go back in time to a specific version if something goes wrong.
• Commenting - Like little post-it notes, users (or teachers) can leave comments tacked on to specific parts of the music to draw attention or to ask for revisions.
• Classroom Controls - Sibelius 6 is fully lab capable, allowing a set of computers with the software installed on them to be controlled by one teacher computer.
• Live Tempo - Rather than sticking with a perfect computer generated tempo, tapping a control button or foot pedal will allow the user to control the playback tempo in real time.
• ReWire - Integrates with other software tools such as ProTools, Garage Band, and Logic to allow compositions to be synced up with audio files created elsewhere.

A free Sibelius download of this most recent version is available through the Sibelius web site.  Please note that this downloadble demo version does not allow the user to save files.

{pgomakase}