Sibelius 4

Teachers will delight in the Worksheet Creator, a collection of more than 1,700 teaching aids including notation and music theory tests, creative exercises and worksheets specifically designed for UK Key Stage 3 and GCSE students. Answer sheets are available where applicable, some of the worksheets have randomly generated questions and they're all editable with Sibelius' usual score-writing tools.

Also new is video playback for scoring to picture. The video preview is synchronised with the MIDI playback, and dragging the playback locator scrubs through the video. Hitpoints can be added at specific timecode points to assist in lining up audio cues with visual ones. It's a shame there's no facility to adjust the tempo automatically to line a hitpoint up with a specific beat, though - at the moment, trial and error is the quickest method. The video soundtrack can be mixed with the built-in Native Instruments synth, which does a good job of playing back scores.

Sibelius' depth means it can take months to master, but the excellent Flash tutorials mean beginners will be up and running within a day. The software is predictably expensive for a specialist product of this calibre, and education, site licences and cross-grade discounts are available. If you're serious about score production, it's well worth the investment.

Author: Ben Pitt