Anyone any idea how to enter text on blank pages without having an instrument staff in the file somewhere? I searched the reference guide, followed the instructions, but it just wouldn't let me enter text without an instrument staff. Any help would be gratefully received.
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MacBook Air 1.6 Ghz Intel Core i5. OS 10.11.2 Sibelius 8.5.1
http://ibegin.info
I could not enter text on a blank page without a staff being present in the file, so in the end, I gave up and inserted a staff, which cured my problems. I didn't see any greyed-out "Full Score" marks at the top of the page, so it appeared to me that I must have created a blank page. It would be nice to have a clearer indication of which pages are blank and which are music, by the presence of a greyed-out, non-printing "B" for blank pages and "M" for music pages, placed out of the way in a corner, or maybe as a "Page Type" in the ribbon somewhere? I agree that Sibelius is, primarily, an engraving program, and that I'm using Sibelius for a purpose for which it wasn't designed, but from an educational point of view, an interactive file is of much more use than plain text with graphics.
I was definitely using blank page text styles, having read it up in the reference manual and also having used them before.
I also attempted to create a worksheet, but failed to create my own because the program was asking me to use provided templates. If there's a way of creating my own, perhaps that might be the way forward.
I am able to write blank page text on all three blank pages in your attached score. I know they are blank pages because you cannot use blank page text on a music page.
Oh, I see. You are saying that Sibelius requires a Blank Page to be an adjunct to a page of notation. A score cannot contain ONLY Blank Pages.
Yes, this is so. In the (unlikely?) case of you wanting to use Sibelius as a really rubbish word processer, to make a score containing no musical content at all, I suppose you could create a dummy page of notation and simply refrain from printing it. Otherwise, compose your Blank Pages AFTER at least setting up the notation part of your score.
There's nothing special about a 'Worksheet'. It's just a score laid out in a particular way. If you can't get what you want from modifing one of the supplied examples, yes, you'll have to start from scratch. If you save your layout as a Manuscript Paper, you can call it a 'Worksheet' if you like.
Thank you for the explanation. After I inserted a staff, everything worked as it should. I just didn't want to insert a staff before I'd finished the text and graphics part of things.Ill know better in future.
Thanks, Adrian. Interesting that the pages disappear as well. I'll bear that in mind and be circumspect about staff deletion. Very grateful to you. The reference manual presumes that there's a staff in the file. In my case, I wanted to get the text and graphics done before I inserted a staff, but, no matter. Everything works as it should. I'll repurpose the staff, rather than deletibg it!
Posted by Laurence Payne - 23 May 12:00 (edited 23 May 12:07)
Yes, this is so. In the (unlikely?) case of you wanting to use Sibelius as a really rubbish word processer,
It might not be the best of word processors, Laurence, but I find it excellent as a document processor for music & text, with examples that play, and no need for export or import.
BTW., you spelt processor wrong ;-) Actually, one thing I miss in Sib is a spell checker.
I sometimes wonder what people want from software that was intended to process music. You already have word processing software that does a tremendous job of processing words. Sibelius is notation softwre that has the ability to do some fairly basic word entry and processing tasks but it is a MUSIC processor. It will do many things that normal people want to do with notes and staves and clefs and key signs etc. That is its purpose. it is very good at it.
If you are creating worksheets, then the best thing is to keep the words to a minimum. If you want to play the extracts of music, then do it all in sib. If you are inserting examples into a book or a worksheet that you don't need to have played, use a WP. I have made many many worksheets for children from age 11-18 to use with great success, both in and out of sibeliusI think if you try to make it the Jack of all trades, it will no longer be master of any - especially given the proven ability of the current developers to break things.
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Win 10 Pro x64, 1.6GHz Intel i7 Quad core, 8GB,7TB 7200rpm HDD, Scarlett 6i6, Sib 6.2,7.5, 8.5 NotePerformer, Miroslav Phil, Harmony Asst, GPO4 & 5, COMB2, EWQLSO Plat, EWQLSC,
Si me castigare vis, necesse est me intellexisse.
Interesting that Bob Hayden-Gilbert's initial query stated the issue perfectly clearly, but it took us a long time to embrace the idea of a score with ONLY blank pages, at least in the early stages of construction. Sorted now though, I think?
I agree, Mike, and I did say, "I agree that Sibelius is, primarily, an engraving program, and that I'm using Sibelius for a purpose for which it wasn't designed, but from an educational point of view, an interactive file is of much more use than plain text with graphics."
So these worksheets ARE going to be used on computers running Sibelius, and playback is required? This affects our advice to your other query of course.
Where a publishing job including music notation CAN be handled by Sibelius' rudimentary WP functions, I'd advise staying in Sibelius. Facilities are limited, but if all you need is a block of text it does it just as well as Word or InDesign. (Well, maybe not the advanced kerning and tracking offered by InDesign.) It isn't trivial to make imported music graphics look consistent when imported to a WP.
I first started writing illustrated, interactive Sibelius-based tutorials for beginning wind instrumentalists way back in Sibelius 2 or 3, when graphics weren't importable and text handling was rudimentary. My solution was to put text, graphics and sound bites into a PDF with links to call Sibelius. Hundreds of children used this method to learn their instruments.
The more recent versions of Sibelius allow for more advanced text handling and the import of graphics. Layout is not easy, but if Sibelius had hyperlinks, something that was high on Daniel's list to include, then it would be perfectly possible to put single stave exercises in one score in Sibelius which could call out to a complete wind or orchestral score for technical and musical literacy practice, with a corresponding link back to the tutorial. Hyperlinks could revolutionise music education, especially for harmony and analysis.
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*iBegin® Flute 8.5.1.sib