Music Technology in Education

Avid has announced the launch of the much anticipated student version of Sibelius 6 this week. This software is he perfect solution for those music educators who would like to use Sibelius with their students in a music technology or computer lab, but don’t have the budget to get it on every computer. Perfect for use with elementary and middle school students, the student version of Sibelius has always had some powerful features that give students a lot of room for creativity. With the release last summer of Sibelius 6, many educators have been waiting for Sibelius to upgrade the student version to take advantage of the incredible new features in Sibelius 6, most notably the Magnetic Layout feature. Here is what you get with the student version:

• Up to 12 staves
• Input notes via mouse, MIDI or computer keyboard
• Play back, transpose and print scores
• Exchange files with full Sibelius
• Export MIDI files
• Panorama view for flowing creativity
• Write for Video
• Easily add lyrics, titles, other text and graphics
• 250+ musical ideas covering all genres
• Open MusicXML and MIDI files
• Share and sell scores worldwide on SibeliusMusic.com
• Email your score instantly from inside the software

With all of those features, you can certainly get by though you miss out on some of the other great features of Sibelius 6, including the Classroom Control feature, which I believe is one of the best new features of Sibelius 6. Another disadvantage of the student version is that you cannot get a discounted upgrade from the student version to the full version, so if you are planning on eventually getting the full version for each of your students, you might be better off saving up to get a site license, which can offer a very affordable option. Sibelius Student is really intended for students (as the title implies), so it is a great gift to an aspiring composer who’d like to use Sibelius at home.

The suggested retail price on Sibelius 6 Student Version is $99.00. If you want to upgrade from a previous version of Sibelius Student, your price is only $39.00. If you are interested in getting a quote for competitive educational pricing on these products, just contact your local SoundTree representative. If you’d like to take Sibelius 6 Student Version for a test drive, simply download the demo - something that Sibelius has not offered in the past.