Level One

As a level-one user, you’ll want to start by installing Sibelius Sounds Essentials, which is the sample library supplied with Sibelius 6; learning about which elements contribute to good playback performance on your computer; learning to adjust sounds and balance in the Mixer; learning about which elements will play back in your score; and adjusting the Performance settings so that Sibelius plays back as realistically as possible. You may or may not have much experience with audio (either in a studio or in a computer), and you may or may not have used a sequencing program in the past. In short, you want things to work without a lot of fuss!

Sibelius Sounds Essentials

Sibelius Sounds Essentials is a set of sounds that ships for free with Sibelius 6. To install this set, follow the instructions in your Sibelius 6 handbook or in the “Upgrading to Sibelius” booklet that you received with your copy of Sibelius. The samples in Essentials are large, and it might take quite a while to install them, so be patient. When they are installed, you need to launch Sibelius and navigate to Play > Playback Devices, as shown in Figure 12.1.