Sibelius

By god this is the most annoying app i have ever used in my god forsaken life. I try to write one simple note, to which it responds by placing another in a location i did not remotely put it in; i try to select a note to go back and edit it and it places another on top; and to top it all off, once i finally think i got the app to work, it randomly closes and loses my file. I finally got somewhere after about 2 hours of working through fits of screaming matches, and i go to click play and it refuses to play the one part i actually want to listen to. For the moments where it actually works (in between my mental breakdowns,) i like to remember that it does offer more than other apps for free, but then i remember how every time i think i have it figured out, something random like the page glitching out of my view or removing necessary pages/measures happens, and i then recall how much mental gymnastics this game has put me through. the only good thing about this app is the price of the free version. I can only sum up this app in one way and that would be as an emotionally abusive ex boyfriend whom gaslights you on the daily as if he were in one of sabrina carpenter's songs. if you have the patience of a saint and an extremely stable mental health, i recommend this to you. As for me, i will likely continue to use it despite my very public breakdown-esque review due to the fact that this causes slightly less breakdowns than other apps and i am too broke to pay for another.

I’d like to see the ability to save as musicxml in the ultimate version. Also would like to see better quality sounds. I like the way you can write using a mouse. It’s like what you do on a desktop. Makes it so much easier since I’m used to it. Still getting used to where everything is since it’s all hidden. I’m used to having everything on screen. If you can implement an option for everything to be visible that would be awesome. Also exporting as an audio recording would be great, but only if you add better quality sounds. 900mb sounds is not very good. But I could work around that if you bring the ability to export as music xml. But this is the closest thing I’ve found to writing music in a quality program outside the computer. For when I travel I can keep writing music. Sure I could go with staffpad but it doesn’t recognize my handwriting most of the time. So, if you brought the sound quality and ability to save as music xml you would have an awesome app on your hands. It’s definitely got potential and I’d like to see pro tools come to iPad next.

I have Sibelius on my iMac and MacBook Pro, and finally now on my iPad Pro. I was so excited about this app and the mobility of the Sibelius product on my iPad. I really like Sibelius, but… I was working on a Big Band piece for a couple of days while visiting the grandkids out of town. I was constantly saving my progress. On day 2, the app just shut down completely, with no sign of my work anywhere. I probably had about 7 hours of work invested in this piece. That is very frustrating when you know that you are constantly saving your work and it totally disappears to never be seen again! This is a major show stopper! If you don’t have the confidence that your work won’t be lost, then how can you invest time in this version of the app???? I do think the app has potential once the bugs are worked out. Don’t go spending days on charts without taking screenshots. I took one screenshot, and it was of only the first page of my work. I had complicated drum parts, guitar parts, and of course horn parts as well. So, 4 pages vaporized. Bummer!!!