Sibelius vs. Harmony Assistant.

[Bilbo]

I was a couple of days away from pressing the button on a Sibelius subscription when someone drew my attention to Harmony Assistant which is a tenth of the price. They appear to be comparable in many areas of the software. It feels too good to be true. Anyone got any experience of HA?

Edited March 18, 2018 by Bilbo

[shamrock198804]

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Edited March 18, 2018 by shamrock198804

[Guest]

Interesting. My PrintMusic licence is now long dead since my journey back to playing as it is now Windows only. I recently discovered MuseScore - for freeware it’s actually quite good and offers more options than PrintMusic ever did (not surprising as it was basically a cut down Finale). The interface is a bit clunky but is quite versatile in terms of notation.

[paul_c2]

I've never heard of Harmony Assistant. 

I'd have thought a better question would be Sibelius vs Musescore. I've used both - I tried to learn Sibelius but found it tough going; I am more successful with Musescore and can do it reasonably well. It comes down to, do you need to share music with others? And do they use Sibelius? It is possible - via MusicXML - to save something in Musescore and load it into Sibelius, and I presume the other way round too. But I'd not 100% rely on it without a bit of further research into it. Regarding Musescore, its a bit simpler than Sibelius to get into, but its not quite so rich in features. I guess it depends what kind of things you're doing in it - if its an entire orchestra and professionals who will be reading the music, Sibelius might have features you need which Musescore doesn't have. Otherwise, and for simpler stuff, Musescore would do it.

And of course there's the cost - Musescore is free, Sibelius is quite expensive.

[ambient]

I've no experience of Harmony assist, but I've always hated Sibelius. We had to use it in my undergraduate course, it to me, wasn't at all intuitive.

[Grangur]

FWIW the only software I've used for scores is Musescore. It seems to do everything I want and the printed sheets look good and easy to read.

The newer version also does TAB for those who want that.

All the pages in the following thread were done in Musescore.

 

[paul_5]

Secret option C is Sibelius First; a scaled down version of Sibelius at a significantly reduced price. Obviously it doesn’t have all the whistles and bells of the full version but is still a really useful piece of software.

[Bilbo]

Sibelius First only allows for 16 instruments. Fine for many circumstances but I know I would be frustrated within weeks. 

[Higgie]

Sibelius is the one. It isn’t so intuitive at first but like any great software, once you suss it out, and get a few of your own hotkeys set up, your workflow improves greatly and it’s great. The level of control over every aspect of your score and parts is amazing. 

A big part of reading charts for me is not just the notes and the information, but how it is presented. Not just in terms of fonts, layout/geography of the chart, but literally down to the aesthetic appearance. If a chart looks ‘pleasing’ to the eye, paired with being well written, with good clear layout and geography, you will make a lot of musicians very happy.

[Bilbo]

My instinct is to agree with you,  Higgie. I have just pressed the button on Sibelius. It is the industry standard for a reason. 

[wulf]

Too late now for Bilbo's decision but I find Lilypond very useful for creating charts. Very customisable and fairly straightforward to use with an interface program like Frescobaldi. Mind you, I say fairly straightforward but I probably should qualify 'if you think like a computer programmer'. I've only watched people using Sibelius rather than working with it directly but my impression is that Lilypond can be abstruse in comparison!

However, if Sibelius is now on a subscription-model (ie. we can gouge your pockets every year and you'll thank us for the privilege), it wouldn't hurt to take the precaution of saving copies of your finished and parked projects in both PDF format for printing and MusicXML format, which Lilypond and others can open. MusicXML probably won't get all the details right if you really dig into using Sibelius for all it is worth (thus another reason for keeping a PDF on hand) but is a fairly competent interchange format.

Wulf

[Bilbo]

I convert everything to pdf already, Wolf. Always have. Good advice.

[Jarca]

I know it's too late to discuss the subject, but it might be useful for others to say that H.A. is the most complete music software available. None, by far, can compare. The flexibility is almost total. There is almost nothing that can't be done. But, it lacks the magnetism to automate the engraving of the layout. It's very handmade. But no software (neither Sibelius, nor Dorico, Musescore, or anyone else you look for, has so many capabilities. It can handle an infinite number of files, both in import and export. The list is endless. Plus, it's surrounded by satellite programs and utilities that complement it beautifully. Pdf to Music, Virtual-Real Singer, MyrSynth, Kooplet, MUSL (Myrweb) etc. It handles the tablatures like nobody else. It lacks a certain functional refinement and the necessary marketing to become better known. But it is really a masterpiece.

 

[paul_c2]

Welcome to the forum. Can't help thinking though....1st post, bumps up a 2 year old topic, looks like a sales pitch?

I am sure its my imagination running wild though. Welcome.

[Jarca]

Thank you very much for the welcome.
Oh, no. There's no intention of selling any. If there were, it wouldn't indicate H.A.'s clear shortcomings in magnetism and that he's very handy. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who is just trying to make a few simple scores, or that his job is that of copywriter-editor. That's why the market is much better. I myself am a user of Overture 5, by Sonic Scores. But I know H.A. very well and I know about its impressive capacity, which as I say, is a bit of a craft. But in any case: an all-rounder. Unrefined but very complete.
Surfing the internet I saw the comparison Sibelius vs Harmony Assistant and it caught my attention and I went in to read. I know that marketing works miracles, but an expensive product does not mean that it is good (or very good). And cheap doesn't mean bad. We tend to confuse it... and it jumps the gun.
I came across this fabulous forum (which I didn't know). I'm not a bassist, but I compose in an amateur way and obviously I have to shape the bass many times. Besides, it's always enriching to read very interesting opinions.
You will easily notice that I am not a native English speaker... nor studied. I can get by with the translator.
I will visit the forum many times.
Thank you.

 

[Bilbo]

You are very welcome, Jarca.