Sibelius in PT 12

[cjl]

Hi, I've had to transcibe (and notate) an old sax solo and I thought the quickest and easiest way to do it (for me) would be to play it on a keyboard so that I had a 'perfect' MIDI file and then print out the score from Score Editor using the Sibelius that is in PT 12.4

Although I've adjusted the notes so that the lengths and rhythm are correct, and everything plays back sounding right, Sibelius doesn't seem able to 'read' the notes accurately....

The solo starts off with a three and a half beat rest, a pair of 1/16 notes on the 'and of 3', and then two 1/16 notes and an ⅛ note on '4'.... Sibelius wrote these as an ⅛ note with two notes on it (either side of the stem) and something similar on the other grouping ....

I've tried to edit the score but I don't see how to do it? ... I've seen the 'keypad' on YT vids but I don't see where it is on the PT Sibelius...

I'm sure I'm missing something simple, so some guidance would be appreciated..... thanks!

[panamajack]

. . . Sibelius doesn't seem able to 'read' the notes accurately. . .

The score editor within Pro Tools is a derivative of the standalone Sibelius. I have Sibelius 8.5.1 and it has more capabilities than the Pro Tools score editor.

Pro Tools can display a MIDI file in its score editor, but the extensive editing features of Sibelius are not included.

If you want to stick to the "limited" score editor in Pro Tools itself, I think you will need to get a handle on the MIDI editor. Once you play in your riff, you will probably have to edit the MIDI to get it to display in the score editor the way you expect.

Most MIDI editors have a feature called "quantize" which will snap notes into place while you are recording. Some can add swing and other enhancements.

[JFreak]

Yep, I don't think you can edit the score, it's just a visualisation of what MIDI stuff you have. Sure, it's a "Sibelius engine" but if you need to create proper scores, you need to have full Sibelius, which you can insert as a plugin to your midi track and have your perfectly edited score in there.

[JFreak]

By the way, Sibelius 8.6.0 just released... ;)

[panamajack]

By the way, Sibelius 8.6.0 just released... ;)
D'oh!

[cjl]

Thanks for the replies, as I said, I did correct the notes in the MIDI editor, but Score wouldn't show the 1/16th notes as semi-quavers, only two notes on a quaver ....

At least I now know that it's a very limited version of Sibelius and there's nothing I can do to edit it ..... I can't justify the cost of buying Sibelius so I'll be using a pen and a bit of manuscript paper in future!

Thanks again ...

[JFreak]

Have you taken a look at Sibelius|First which is of course limited, but it's cheap... You can test it with a one-month subscription (5.99) before committing to buy (119)

[The Weed]

How about this (http://www.staffpad.net/)?

[panamajack]

Great marketing demo for StaffPad...but the reviews sound like it is kind of "wonky." Plus, it runs on Windoze hardware.

[cjl]

Thanks for the tips, I'll look into them ....

[Vilming]

Hi cjl,

Assuming your piece starts with 2 and a half beats of pause, and creating a MIDI track with what I understand is your case, I get the same erroneous output in the Score Editor (see attached pic). When exporting MIDI to Sibelius it looks better. Seems like the Score editor has a bug. (The E note doesn't tie over to become an 8th.)

[panamajack]

Slide the "e" eighth note over to the upbeat of beat four and see what displays.

[Vilming]

Hi panamajack,

I tried your suggestion. Same kind of problem. I even extended the "e" to the whole bar (see attachment), and PT Score Editor only registers the duration of that note until the next begins. Export to Sibelius gives a similar picture in Sibelius. However, when I export MIDI, and import that into Sibelius I get the full duration (see other attachment), although it is transposed down an octave.

[panamajack]

I corrected my previous post. I understood the OP to mean something different, and I meant to suggest sliding the "e" eighth note, but erroneously wrote "e" half note. It appears there is an issue with MIDI "note-on" and "note-off."

Anyway, it does not surprise me there is a quirk, or a shortcoming of some sort.

When is comes to MIDI, I have spent a lot more time in Logic than Pro Tools. There are a few things I like about Pro Tools MIDI editing (like the amplitude feature), but I have used Finale and Sibelius in addition to Logic, so I pick a program based on what I want to accomplish.

To get fancy with notation, you must separate the voices, and be able to control the direction of stems and placement of rests. Notation software is fussy, so there is a learning curve. A pencil and staff paper is much faster for small informal projects.

Not really trying to make a case for one product or another, but the purpose of the project should dictate what someone picks.

Sibelius does a great job of adding fingering (and neck position markings) for stringed instruments. That means a lot if you are playing live and the complexity of the music requires it must be sight read.