Frequently Asked Questions

Questions about upgrading to Sibelius 6

Ordering an upgrade (English version)

Sibelius 6 in French/German/Japanese/Spanish/Italian

Other languages

Educational 5-packs and site licenses

Compatibility

Sound libraries

PhotoScore & AudioScore

Scorch & Sibelius Internet Edition

Ordering an upgrade (English version)

How do I find out more about the new features in Sibelius 6?

You can watch demo videos and download a free demo version from this website.

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How do I buy a Sibelius 6 upgrade?

North/South/Central America: buy online now from www.sibelius.com or call 888-474-2354 toll-free.

UK: buy online now from www.sibelius.com or call 0800 458 3111.

Australia: buy online now from www.sibelius.com or call 08 8277 1722.

Other countries: contact the distributor for your country.

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How much does the upgrade cost?

See separate price list/contact your distributor.

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I bought Sibelius 5 very recently - do I have to pay for the upgrade?

If you're entitled to a free upgrade, you should be able to order it yourself via our website, when you enter your serial number it should check that you are entitled to a free upgrade and place the order at no cost to you. You will be entitled to a free upgrade if (and only if) you first registered or upgraded the English-language version of Sibelius 5 on/after 6 April 2009.

If you have any problem with this or if you are not sure exactly when you first registered Sibelius, then please contact us.

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Can I buy an upgrade from a dealer?

No. Dealers sell new Sibelius 6 copies but not upgrades for existing users. You can buy an upgrade from Sibelius if you live in North/Central/South America, the UK or some other countries. In other countries with a Sibelius distributor you can buy an upgrade from your distributor.

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When can I order an upgrade?

If you live in North/Central/South America, UK or Australia, you can order it online right now here.

If you live in any other country, please contact your distributor.

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How long will it take for my upgrade to arrive?

Subject to payment being taken successfully it should be with you within 10-14 working days.

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What does the Sibelius 6 upgrade consist of?

A new DVD-ROM and a booklet listing all the new features. You can also buy an optional Reference book, PhotoScore Ultimate, AudioScore Professional and a range of sound libraries.

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Can I download the upgrade?

No - we are providing it on DVD-ROM.

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Will I have to register Sibelius again when I upgrade it?

Not usually, but if you have any problems, please contact technical support.

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My school/college/university wants to upgrade our 5-packs or site license but we're not sure exactly how many copies we have

Contact technical support who can look this up for you.

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I'm not sure what my serial number is

If you have Sibelius 3 or later installed you can find your serial number (4 letters + 15 digits) from the Sibelius program. This can be found as follows:-

  • Windows: choose Help from the About menu in Sibelius
  • Mac OS X: choose About Sibelius from the Sibelius menu in Sibelius
  • Mac OS 9: choose About Sibelius from the Apple menu in Sibelius

If you have Sibelius 2 or earlier, or if you don't have Sibelius installed, you can find your serial number on the back of your Sibelius CD-ROM case. If you have lost this for some reason, please contact technical help giving your name, address and when and where you bought Sibelius. We may also require proof of purchase.

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I'm a Sibelius user but I haven't yet received ordering details. How do I order?

North, Central & South America, UK, Australia: you can order at any time here or by phone.

Other countries: please contact your distributor.

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Sibelius 6 in French/German/Japanese/Spanish/
Italian

Is Sibelius 6 available in French, German, Japanese, Spanish and Italian?

Not yet, but Sibelius 6 will be available in these languages later this year. Please contact your distributor for more information.

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Other languages

I have a Sibelius manual in another language (not English, French, German, Japanese, Spanish or Italian) - will this manual be updated for Sibelius 6?

Contact your distributor for information about this.

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Educational 5-packs and site licenses

I have a 5-pack or site license. Can I buy an upgrade for just some of the copies?

You must upgrade all copies which have the same serial number. This means you can upgrade single copies (e.g. serial numbers starting SCEE/SWEE) separately from other copies, and you can update all copies of a 5-pack (SCEF/SWEF) at once. However you must upgrade all of a multi-pack (SCEM/SWEM) or a network license (SCEW/SWSW) at once.

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I have a 5-pack or site license (English language) and only registered some of the copies before the cut-off date for free upgrades. Can I pay for an upgrade for the ones I registered and get a free upgrade for the remaining copies?

Only if the remaining copies were purchased separately (with a separate serial number), on/after April 6, 2009.

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Compatibility

I use Sibelius on an old computer - will Sibelius 6 work on it?

See Sibelius 6's computer requirements.

Note you will need at least Windows XP SP 2 or Mac OS X 10.4. You may also need more RAM than for previous Sibelius versions.

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Does Sibelius 6 open files created in all previous versions of Sibelius for Windows/Mac?

Yes. It also opens files created in Sibelius First, Sibelius Student, Sibelius Instrumental Teacher Edition and G7.

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Can previous versions of Sibelius open Sibelius 6 files?

Sibelius 2, 3, 4 and 5 can (because you can save in Sibelius 2, 3, 4 and 5 format from Sibelius 6). Sibelius 1.x cannot open files created from Sibelius 2 or later. Sibelius 6 can also save in Sibelius Student, Sibelius Instrumental Teacher Edition and G7 format.

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Does Sibelius 6 open Finale files?

Yes, providing you save them in MusicXML format.

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Can I use my external hardware MIDI devices with Sibelius 5?

Yes, Sibelius 6 is compatible with all hardware MIDI devices. For best results, you should check that a sound set file is available for your specific device. (A sound set is a file that describes the specific capabilities of your playback device to Sibelius in order to best take advantage of its capabilities.) Please be aware that Sibelius 6-compatible sound set files are not available for all hardware MIDI devices for which sound sets were available in earlier versions of Sibelius. For a list of available sound sets, click here.

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Sound libraries

I currently have Sibelius 3 or Sibelius 4. Is there a new version of Kontakt Silver or Gold?

No, but Sibelius 6 now ships with Sibelius Sounds Essentials, a high-quality library of hundreds of sounds from leading providers including Garritan and Tapspace, which plays back through the built-in Sibelius Player.

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I currently have Sibelius 5. Is there a new version of Sibelius Sounds Essentials?

Yes! Sibelius Sounds Essentials for Sibelius 6 has been expanded with more orchestral, vocal, band, jazz and rock and pop sounds from Garritan, Tapspace and AIR, and sounds better than ever across a wide range of musical genres.

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I have Kontakt Gold or one of the Sibelius Sounds libraries (Choral, Rock and Pop Collection, World Music). Are there new versions of these libraries?

There is no new version of Kontakt Gold, Sibelius Sounds Rock and Pop Collection or Sibelius Sounds World Music. If you have the Kontakt Player 2 versions of these libraries, you can continue to use them with Sibelius 6.

If you already have Sibelius Sounds Choral, you can continue to use your existing version with Sibelius 6. A new version of Sibelius Sounds Choral is available that uses Sibelius 6's built-in Sibelius Player rather than Kontakt Player 2, but it has the same sounds, and your current version will continue to work just fine.

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Is Sibelius still compatible with Kontakt Player-based sound libraries?

Yes. Although Sibelius 6 no longer ships with Kontakt Player 2, it is fully compatible with Kontakt Player 2-based libraries, and still provides support for all VST and Audio Units virtual instruments and effects.

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Are extra sounds available for Sibelius Player?

Yes - see this page for compatible libraries.

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PhotoScore & AudioScore

Is there also a new version of PhotoScore Lite/Ultimate?

There is no new version of PhotoScore Lite or PhotoScore Ultimate (the current version is 5.5.1). New versions of PhotoScore will be available later in the year.

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I have PhotoScore Professional/Ultimate 5 or earlier. How will I get the upgrade to PhotoScore Ultimate 6?

When PhotoScore Ultimate 6 is available, you will be able to order your upgrade via Neuratron's web site.

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I don't already have PhotoScore Ultimate but can I get it along with a Sibelius 6 upgrade?

Yes - you can buy PhotoScore Ultimate at a special discount price with a Sibelius 6 upgrade. If you buy PhotoScore Ultimate 5 now, you will be eligible for a free upgrade to PhotoScore Ultimate 6 when it becomes available.

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Is there also a new version of AudioScore Professional?

There is no new version of AudioScore Professional (the current version is 3). A new version, called AudioScore Ultimate 6, will be available later in the year.

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I don't already have AudioScore Professional, but can I get it along with a Sibelius 6 upgrade?

Yes - you can buy AudioScore Professional 3 at a special discount price with a Sibelius 6 upgrade. If you buy AudioScore Professional 3 now, you will be eligible for a free upgrade to AudioScore Ultimate 6 when it becomes available.

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Scorch & Sibelius Internet Edition

Is there a Scorch version 6?

Yes - you can download it here.

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Is there a Sibelius Internet Edition 6?

Yes. We will contact Sibelius Internet Edition users about this.

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« Previous: Even more new features | Index page »

What's new

Overview
Magnetic Layout
Versions & Comments
Enhanced playback & sounds
Classroom Control
New chord symbols & diagrams
Live Tempo
Keyboard & Fretboard windows
ReWire
Jazz, modern & other notations
AudioScore Lite
Power tools
Even more new features
Upgrade FAQ

Quick links

Sibelius features »
What's new »
Sibelius FAQ »
Education case studies »
Download demo »
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