Music Making Made Easy With Sibelius Student Edition

WALNUT CREEK, Calif.—To many first-time musicians, composition and music theory homework assignments are a creative headache and tedious process. But with the new Sibelius Student Edition software, composing music just became as easy as playing a scale.

Created specifically for students in fourth grade through college, the Sibelius Student Edition eliminates the handwritten process completely. All notes, rests, accidentals, articulations, triplets and staves are provided for the user. With the click of a mouse, children can add notes and play them back to see how they work. By using the playback function, young musicians can develop an understanding of how different notes sound and interact with one another. This process enhances ear training and helps students refine their work, ultimately making them stronger musicians.

The Student Edition is the perfect tool for beginning musicians because it is individualized. Musicians can teach themselves how to write their own pieces at home, rather than having to wait in class for a turn on the computer or be held back by the learning styles of their peers.

For those already familiar with Sibelius products, the Student Edition allows the user to open and save documents created on Sibelius 2 and 3, as well as other MIDI files. In addition, the program automatically saves work and creates backup files.

Sibelius has supplied the dynamics, slurs, trills, lyrics and text that lets students create their own style and form with the Student Edition. Additionally, there is a handwritten font for traditionalists who like the look of a traditional manuscript but don’t have the time to go through the tedious process.

“The release of the Student Edition demonstrates Sibelius’ continued dedication to music education,” says Bill Reilly, President, Sibelius USA, Inc. “The most important elements in the program’s development were the comments and suggestions we received from educators. Sibelius will continue to listen to their input and create tools to help make them even more successful.”

The Sibelius Student Edition gives young musicians the opportunity to publish their work for free on the Internet at the Sibelius website: www.SibeliusMusic.com. By posting compositions on the web, musicians can share their work with other students and working professionals and receive feedback from them.

The package is priced to fit the student budget, starting at $99, and is currently available.

To date, there are more than 100,000 Sibelius users worldwide, including television composer Alf Clausen, musician Pat Metheny, composer Sammy Nestico, choral composer John Rutter, guitarist Andy Summers and conductor Michael Tilson-Thomas.

Notes to editors

About Sibelius

Sibelius Software Ltd. is based in London , England . Its U.S. subsidiary, Sibelius USA, Inc., is located at 1407 Oakland Boulevard, Suite 103 , Walnut Creek , CA 94596 , and has offices in Baltimore , Cleveland , Dallas and Nashville . Sibelius products are available worldwide in more than 100 countries. For more information, contact Sibelius USA at phone (925) 280-0600; fax (925) 280-0008; on the Web at www.sibelius.com; or via e-mail at infoUSA@sibelius.com.