Score yourself an orchestra

The days of posting bulky scores has long gone thanks to Sibelius, an innovative music publishing package, writes Derek Bourgeois

In the days of pen, ink and manuscript paper, a remote 12 years ago now, composers had to create their scores by hand. This was immensely time consuming as, while working down the page of a large orchestral score, all repetitions had to be written out again and again, but also in the process, any transposing instrument encountered, such as clarinet, horn or cor anglais had to be written out at its correct transposing pitch.

Indeed, if you were composing for brass band, the only two instruments that remained untransposed were the bass trombone and timpani. Furthermore, once the score was completed, every part for every player had then to be copied by hand from the full score. For a large symphonic work this could take months, and the likelihood of mistakes creeping into such a repetitive and mind-numbing process was so large that every part had to be carefully checked for errors.

With the invention of the first desktop music publishing packages, everything changed. Suddenly composers were able to do what writers had been able to do for some time and create and print their scores using a computer.

The earliest packages, such as Score and Finale, were very good at their job, but had a steep learning curve. Another breakthrough was the begin nings of the ability for composers to hear the notes they had written, as these packages implemented digital playback via musical instrument digital interface (Midi) and the computer's speakers. Part extraction was also built in to the packages and, although difficult and clumsy to implement, it was none the less a huge time saver, and the resultant parts were much easier for the performers to read.

Then, in the early 90s, everything changed again. Twin brothers, Ben and Jonathan Finn, still Oxbridge students, produced a brilliant new program that was written specifically for the Acorn Archimedes. The Archimedes was technically superior to the standard PC and had graphic capabilities in a different league, but ultimately it suffered from too small a user base to remain viable.

The Finns, for obvious reasons, called their program Sibelius, and it was perceived as a miracle by those who used it. Many composers bought an Archimedes simply to have access to the program. For the first time, composers had access to a music writer that was easy to use and totally intuitive. In fact, the newly fledged company's slogan was: "Manuscript paper that can think."

Another tremendous breakthrough was its ability to play back large scores with all the instruments sounding a very reasonable Midi approximation to the real thing. For the first time in musical history, it was possible to hear what an orchestral work sounded like before employing an orchestra and without the monumentally difficult task of reading the score in one's head - a gift given to very few.

However, the Archimedes reached a crisis point where only a relatively small number of users of Sibelius kept the machine alive, and it inevitably passed away. But by this time the PC's graphics had improved dramatically, and its Microsoft Windows interface enabled the Finns to start again and rethink the entire program not only for the PC, but also for the Apple Mac, which had always had a superior graphical interface.

With a stroke of genius, the programmers devised the means of creating a file format that was completely interchangeable between the two types of computer. Suddenly the whole world of composing and music publishing could be united in a way previously unattainable. This is not all, as the Sibelius team has managed to create utilities built into the program that can translate files written for both Score and Finale, its two main rivals.

What is it exactly about Sibelius that makes it so easy to use? The answer lies in its extremely clever and carefully thought-out user interface. The moment you load the program, you are confronted with a blank screen that looks like high quality paper.

Creating instruments on it is simply a matter of choosing them from a simple dialog box, and the program is intelligent enough, unless specifically instructed otherwise, to create the instrumental staves in the correct scoring order, placing the wind above the brass above the percussion above the chorus above the strings, all of them correctly labelled and bracketed.

Add a key signature from another dialog box and, if you have selected the score to be a transposing score (a simple toggle switch), all the instruments have the correct key signature for their individual transposition requirements.

It is impossible to describe the degree of satisfaction that creating the initial blank page gives to the user. It looks so good and beckons you to fill it with notes. Thereafter every operation retains this simplicity and functionality. You can play the music in from a Midi keyboard, or use the computer's keyboard by simply typing the note names, or you can click on the screen with the mouse.

You can cut and paste music from one place to another and, if you copy a passage from, say, a flute to a clarinet then the transposition is done for you instantaneously. You can play back individual instruments, selected groups of instruments or the whole score starting from any position. Furthermore, you can select any note anywhere to find out exactly how long your piece lasts up to this point. Part extraction is a dream and is near instantaneous.

I could eulogise for hours about just how fulfilling Sibelius is to use. Watching the excitement of my pupils when they use it for the first time is proof enough of its outstanding qualities. There is even better news for existing users as an entirely rewritten version of the program has just been released.

It is called Sibelius 2 and has a wealth of fantastic new features, including the ability to make instant arrangements and orchestrations in a variety of styles. Those who have been using the earlier version of the program should upgrade to take advantage of what is an even greater achievement. The files are very small and can be emailed to publishers. What a difference to posting bulky scores via snail-mail with the forlorn hope that some day they might be returned.

The crowning inspiration is a new website, www. , at which all Sibelius users can deposit their scores to be seen and played by visitors all over the world once they have downloaded a simple plug-in called Scorch. The piece can be bought online like any other commodity, and the purchase will license the buyer to print a copy of the music and the parts if available. Sibelius will then pass on most of the purchase price to the composer who uploaded the score.

There are already thousands of pieces on the site, which has excellent search and browse facilities. Never has there been a time when one's music could be appreciated and evaluated immediately by anyone in the world with internet access. Thanks to Sibelius, the world of composing and publishing has changed for ever, and much for the better.

· Sibelius costs £595 (inc VAT) professional price, and £339 (exc VAT) educational price