Making the Most of Notation Software

This week I presented two sessions at the TI:ME/TMEA conference in San Antonio on Sibelius Worksheets. My handout is posted at www.tomrudolph.com/handouts.htm. Many people I meet in Sibelius workshops have no idea that these Worksheets are lurking on their hard drive. If you are a Finale user, you might want to purchase a copy of Sibelius just to have access to these worksheets. Finale has a few helpful worksheets, but I think Sibelius has enough to make it worth the cost of the software for the worksheets alone.

Sibelius 4 or 5 Required
If you own Sibelius 4 or 5 then you have access to more than 1700 worksheets and templates. Here is how to get there: open Sibelius. From the File menu, choose Worksheet Creator. There are two options:
Teaching and Learning Materials and Templates

The Teaching and learning materials have a host of options that include, and go far beyond, teaching and learning materials.

Loading Worksheets
The first time you go access the Worksheets it may take as long as 5 minutes to load. Subsequently, the search will take a minute or less. Choose File > Worksheet Creator.

How Worksheets are Organized
Worksheets are organized into six major categories

Each category has many sub categories. Some of my favorite worksheets include:

1. Circle of 5ths:
01 Elements of Music > 06 Scales and Key Signatures > 02 Key Signatures >
02 Complete Circle of Fifths

2. Composition Exercises: 02 Writing and Creating Music (117 files)

3. United Kingdom curriculum materials are available. Check it out at 06 UK KS3 and GCSE Projects (33 of 33)

Repertoire
Check out the materials in the repertoire section. It includes an amazing number of compete compositions. Included are works by Bach, piano and instrumental pieces and even poetry to use for composition.

The 265 songs for teaching are complete with melody and lyrics. Of course, the files can be transposed in Sibelius and manipulated as you would any other file or used as a basis for an arrangement. Open a song, press the letter I to add new staves. Then, compose your own arrangement of the piece. All the repertoire is in public domain and free to use, print and manipulate.

Reference
The reference section is chock full of useful materials.

There are some excellent materials on orchestration. These include 04 Reference > Instrumental and Vocal ranges.

Worksheets are Sibelius Files
The cool thing is every one of these worksheets is a Sibelius file so it can be edited and adjusted as needed. You can save your customized worksheets by choosing File > Add to Worksheet Creator.

For more information on worksheets, check out:

1. The Sibelius 5 Tutorial Video #15 Worksheets (Help > Tutorial Videos)

2. Read about Worksheets in the Sibelius Reference (Help > Reference)

3. My lesson plan at www.soundtree.com – click on lesson plans and then search for “Composing with Sibelius Worksheets.”

4. Visit: www.sibeliuseducation.com for more free worksheets that users have uploaded to the Sibelius site.

5. Chapter 15 Worksheets, from the book Mastering Sibelius 5 by Marc Schonbrun

6. Worksheets for purchase are available from Mary Elizabeth at http://stores.lulu.com/patternsforlearning

So, do check out Sibelius worksheets. What Worksheets do you find most useful?