# Sibelius as a learning tool



## Allegro (Feb 23, 2015)

Hey guys!
As a long time MIDI warrior and someone who likes composing by ear, I have been doing pretty okay with writing new music in different genres but I really want to expand my vocabulary, dissect all these boring scores, get a good grasp of music theory, jazz and counterpoint etc the old way. For that, I know some great books but around 70% of their content consists of leeches stuck on guitar strings. I do have all the basic understanding of theory and notation though. Now here is my question:

*tldr:* how good is sibelius or finale as an educational tool, for dissecting scores and for learning notation in general?


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## JT (Feb 24, 2015)

Hi Allegro,

I don't see either Sib or Fin as a tool to use for dissecting scores. Your brain is the tool to use for that. Now you can take a notation program, or even pencil and paper, analyze a full score and create a piano reduction of it. But the purpose of both programs is to create sheet music, not teach harmony/orchestration/counterpoint/etc...

As far as learning notation, both programs have defaults which follow standard "rules". That being said, I've seen files from both programs where the user didn't know what he/she was doing and made something that was simply a mess.

I'd suggest getting an orchestration book/course and do some self study. There are notation books also if you're interested, but by studying scores you'll also expose yourself to various notations which you can learn from.

JT


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## windshore (Feb 24, 2015)

Agreed. What JT said.

Sibelius can be helpful for score analysis, but only if you have scores already in Sib to study... or you are advanced enough and patient enough to enter a score into it. 

Piano reductions, theory, composition books etc. will be more helpful to you at this point.


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## Allegro (Feb 25, 2015)

Thanks. This is exactly what I meant.
I am definitely not expecting a notation program to teach me counterpoint. :lol: 
But as I mentioned above, I do have some very good books that I am looking forward to read


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