What’s New in Sibelius
From concert halls and scoring stages to sheet music stores and classrooms, more composers, arrangers, publishers, and educators use Sibelius—the world’s best-selling notation software—than any other. With its sophisticated yet easy-to-use tools and Sibelius Cloud Sharing features, Sibelius makes it easy to create, arrange, print, and share your compositions. And now it’s available for desktop and iPad/iPhone, Android phone/tablets and chromebooks in three tiers to meet every need—Sibelius Ultimate for professional music composition and education, Sibelius Artist for aspiring composers and hobbyists, and the free Sibelius First for those new to music notation.
Every new Sibelius license comes with access to the latest software updates included for a period of time. Some of the benefits of staying current include:
- Access to the latest features, bug fixes, and compatibility
- The ability to unlock features in our FREE mobile apps, so you can compose and review scores on the go
- The ability to share music online using Sibelius Cloud Sharing
- Access to online technical help (Sibelius Ultimate only)
Sibelius is always getting better with new features and improvements—here's an overview of the features we've introduced over the past few years:
What’s New in Sibelius October 2024
We’re excited to announce the immediate availability of our October 2024 release of Sibelius across Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android. These updates focused on supporting the transition to Sibelius from Finale, the next in a series of licensing improvements, and much more.
Here’s a quick look at what’s in this release.
MusicXML Import improvements
Bringing a score from another music notation application, such as Finale, Dorico, or Musescore, is now easier than ever, and creates a much more faithful representation of the layout of the original score.
We’ve also added the ability to import .mxl files in the advanced File > Import workflows, allowing you to import any MusicXML file into your existing Sibelius template. Since MakeMusic announced the end of Finale in August, we’ve had thousands of Finale users be interested in switching to Sibelius and we’re working to support the transition as we hear from uesrs.
Other updates in 2024.10 include:
- Licensing improvements: users will see fewer licensing errors and more stable everyday use
- Notate Glissando: Quickly notate glissandi lines in Diatonic and Chromatic modes from the Note Input tab
- Tuplets remain selected after changing voice: When changing the voice of a tuplet, the notes and the tuplet number will stay selected, allowing you to perform further editing. Previously, these were deselected, which was inconsistent with other similar editing actions.
- MacOS Sequioa Support: full compatibility with macOS 15 Sequoia, Apple’s latest version of their operating system
There are a host of other improvements as well. Check them out in more detail
AUGUST 2024
We’re pleased to announce the immediate release and availability of our August 2024 releases for both Sibelius for mobile and our Sibelius Cloud Sharing and Publishing viewers.
- Record music using a MIDI keyboard in real-time using Flexi-time on your mobile device
- Loop playback to enhance practice
- Toggle a metronome click during playback
- Control and scale the tempo
- AI harmonization features come to Android devices and Chromebooks
- View sheet music on the web in the brand new viewers for Sibelius Cloud Sharing and Publishing
- Transposition comes to Cloud Sharing, with expanded capabilities for Cloud Publishers
- View pages horizontally or vertically and drag around just like in Sibelius
- New share functionality with deep linking support for playback and transposition
Sibelius for mobile 2024.8 also includes several improvements across the apps.
Download the latest update in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
JUNE 2024
Sibelius is now qualified for Apple silicon processors! Load times and startup times for customers running Apple silicon will see a marked improvement in performance.
If you’re running silicon natively, you’ll see improvements in the following areas:
- Startup time is up to 30% faster
- Editing large scores is up to 50% faster
Sibelius 2024.6 also includes several improvements to copying MIDI to and from Pro Tools.Learn more about this release.
Download the latest update in your account.
MAY 2024
We’re pleased to announce the availability of Sibelius on Android phones, tablets and Chromebooks
- Work from anywhere- create new music, edit existing scores and review on the go
- Unlock features using your existing Avid Account
- Use innovative multi-touch and stylus features to enter and edit music
- Feel right at home with same shortcuts found on Sibelius on desktop
- Streamlined interface provides intuitive yet familiar workflows
For complete details, please check out the blog.
MARCH 2024
We’re pleased to let you know that a new version of Sibelius for desktop and mobile is now available in your Avid account. The Sibelius 2024.3 update includes the following new features and enhancements:
- MIDI workflow breakthrough: Seamlessly copy and paste MIDI data between Sibelius and Pro Tools
- The Keypad is resizable, enhancing visibility and usability, especially when working on a separate display
- Introducing Sibelius Connect, a powerful tool for workflow automation
- Custom articulations are now displayed on the fourth Keypad layout
For complete details, please check out the blog.
To get the latest update, download your Sibelius software from your Avid Account now!
NOVEMBER 2023
- Introducing new AI-powered Chord Symbols on mobile
- New UI comes to the Keypad, helped with a new Keypad button to aid discoverability
- Add more System Object Positions to your larger scores
- Sibelius for mobile is now in Italian. Ciao!
AUGUST 2023
We’re pleased to let you know that a new version of Sibelius for desktop and mobile is now available in your Avid account. The Sibelius 2023.8 update includes the following new features and enhancements:
- Enhanced Redo now lets you repeat the last action, saving you time navigating menus and dialogs
- Chord Symbols now use a hybrid AI model for better harmonic analysis
- Several improvements and bug fixes across the program
- For complete details, please check out the blog.
To get the latest update, download your Sibelius software from your Avid Account now!
JUNE 2023
We’re pleased to let you know that a new version of Sibelius for desktop is now available in your Avid account. The Sibelius 2023.6 update includes the following new features and enhancements:
- Brand new AI powered data-driven workflows for harmonic analysis to assist chord symbol entry
- Chord symbols are now suggested in real-time based on our brand new AI model
- Use your familiar shortcuts to enter chord symbols and remain in complete control
- And take advantage of many enhancements, improvements, and fixes across the app
For complete details, please check out the blog.
To get the latest update, download your Sibelius software from your Avid Account now!
MAY 2023
- Independent Dynamic Parts—Produce parts for individual players from a combined staff in a score
- Keyboard shortcuts export—Search your shortcuts and export all of them in a handy HTML file for easy reference
- Plus, get many other enhancements, improvements, and fixes across the app
FEBRUARY 2023
- Work with large scores more easily - independent layout marks and note spacing within each Score Subset
- Move objects on one stave without affecting the other when using Dynamic Guitar Staves
- And take advantage of many enhancements, improvements, and fixes across the app
DECEMBER 2022
- Score Subsets—Create a new score view with a subset of instruments
- New barlines—Add triple, thick, and dotted barlines to your score together with new repeat bar properties in Engraving Rules
- macOS Ventura Support—Work with Sibelius on any Mac running Apple’s latest OS
NOVEMBER 2022
MusicXML Import—bring your MusicXML files from other music notation apps to continue your music creation in Sibelius
SEPTEMBER 2022
- New staff names—add player and section numbers to each staff in your score, and get complete control over the instrument and staff names with a new text style and Magnetic Layout options
- Select next object—get enhancements that allow you to navigate to the next object of the same type in your score
- Over 20 improvements and bug fixes—work faster and more easily across Windows, Mac, iPhone, and iPad
JULY 2022
- Dynamic Guitar Staves—write music in either notation or guitar tab, and all input and changes will be auto-applied to the other
- New instruments—Add suspended cymbals, horn transpositions, bass clarinet in A, a solo tuning double bass, and more to your orchestrations
- Access all available instruments for your Sibelius tier in the mobile app to create fully on the go
MAY 2022
- Add new headers—create separate text on different pages using the Section End command
- Create pedal markings more easily—pedal lines are no longer too long
- New selection extension commands—Speed up your workflow
APRIL 2022
- Transposition on mobile—You can find the new Transposition feature within the More (...) dropdown menu
- Notation improvements—New manuscript papers and pedal line positioning
- Support for Spanish—Sibelius for mobile is now in Spanish. ¡Hola!
MARCH 2022
- A new look and feel-Sibelius now has a flat and modern look across its Quick Start, Ribbon tabs, and File menu
- Engraving improvements-Compose with all-new Manuscript Paper templates, which offer better defaults
- Official macOS Monterey and Windows 11 support-Run Sibelius on the latest computer hardware
JANUARY 2022
- Dynamic Parts—Generate and update instrumental parts from your score automatically, with an experience optimized for mobile
- Moveable Keypad—Move the floating Keypad anywhere you want
- Better search—Find commands and features more easily, without having to know the exact names
DECEMBER 2021
- New cloud licensing system that enables easy activation and the moving of licenses from one computer to another
- Percussion note input gestures to quickly enter notes on percussion staves
- New command for pickup/upbeat and irregular bars to easily create bars of any length (desktop only)
NOVEMBER 2021
- Step-time note input on iPad and iPhones using wired and wireless MIDI keyboards
- New bar transformation tool for pickup/upbeat and irregular bars on iPad and iPhones
- Improved keyboard integration with touch and Apple Pencil through standard modifier keys on iPad and iPhones
OCTOBER 2021
- Sibelius for mobile app is now available for iPhone so you can carry your entire music portfolio in your pocket
- View a score on iPad or iPhone in Panorama View, enabling you to scroll through the music horizontally as a single system instead of viewing multiple pages on the screen
- Effortlessly download entire scores with the new Sibelius | Cloud Sharing download feature
SEPTEMBER 2021
- Multidimensional gesture support to enter notes on the score directly using just the Keypad
- Pitch Correction and Chord Input Tools have been added to the Keypad that make adding and editing notes in chords easier
- Search Galleries and Plugins by name in the appropriate Ribbon Tab and sort the results by category
- ManuScript Access to Style Commands (Sibelius | Ultimate only)
JULY 2021
- Introducing Sibelius for mobile on iPad
- Work on music scores anywhere
- Advanced Apple Pencil and iPad touch workflows
- Seamlessly move from desktop to tablet and back without any interruption
FEBRUARY 2021
- “Command Search” replaces “Find in Ribbon” to find any command in Sibelius and instantly execute it
- New Commands gallery on the Home tab of the Ribbon lists all commands in Sibelius
- Hundreds of new ManuScript commands to create scripted plugins to execute any sequence of commands (Sibelius | Ultimate only)
DECEMBER 2020
- Intelligent Sibelius Import enables you to combine several Sibelius scores together by simply importing them into an open score with complete control over what is imported
SEPTEMBER 2020
- Focus on Staves enhancements so you can use both “Hide Empty Staves” and “Focus and Staves” at the same time, unlocking new score layout capabilities
- Accessibility improvements for screen readers, adding the ability for text to be readable as it is being edited
JUNE 2020
- Customize the color of the four voice colors, notes out of range, and the color of the Staff and System selections to help whole range of sight loss
- Accessibility improvements for screen readers, including names of range-selected staves, navigating the menus, and the Inspector is now screen reader accessible
- MusicXML file import straight into your template or existing score, and have the musical structure preserved
JANUARY 2020
- Auto-Optimize automatically adjusts the space between staves, making sure your music always looks perfect
- New Accessibility preferences to control verbosity
- Film Score Time Signatures are available in Engraving Rules
- New Tie Styles: dashed, dotted, and tie into repeat structures
- Revamped Manuscript Papers to produce great looking scores
- Improved Import House Style features for better control of the layout of the score
- Wildcards are included in all system text right-click word menus
- System Object navigation via keyboard shortcuts
DECEMBER 2019
- Greater accessibility and contextual detail
- Improved Printing and PDF Export
MAY 2019
- Playback & Loop enhancements including built-in latency compensation when looping
APRIL 2019
- Annotate, Comment and Highlight while in Review mode, making marking up your score easier and faster than ever before
- Scrub offers you a new way to audition notes and chords in your score
- Streamlined sound-loading for the Sibelius Player
JANUARY 2019
- Review mode offers you a brand new way to navigate your score without making any unintended changes to text, staff spacing or any other part of the musical notation
- Half Speed playback—particularly useful for composing, arranging and teaching with Sibelius
NOVEMBER 2018
- Sibelius UI optimized to support higher-resolution displays
- Updated video playback engines to sync a video (or audio file) to a score
- Accessibility improvements to how screen readers read and describe what’s happening on the screen
APRIL 2018
- Multi-edit workflows: adding text to multiple notes or passages at once
- Complete overhaul of note spacing, especially when writing in multiple voices or when adding and deleting objects
JANUARY 2018
- Multi-edit workflows: marking up your score with slurs, ties and other lines at once
NOVEMBER 2017
- Improved key signatures and instrument changes
SEPTEMBER 2017
- Sibelius | Cloud Sharing enables you to send Sibelius scores to the cloud for rendering that can be displayed in any web browser, posted on social media, and embedded in webpages and blogs
Sam Butler
As director of audio software at Avid, and a keen musician, Sam works with all the departments in Avid to produce the future of the Pro Tools and Sibelius products and solutions.