How to Convert Sibelius Files to Finale Files

With Recordare's release of the Dolet 5 for Sibelius plug-in, we have updated our video on "How to Convert Sibelius Files to Finale Files" to use Sibelius 6, Dolet 5 for Sibelius, and Finale 2010. The video compares the results of transferring files from Sibelius to Finale using Standard MIDI files - your only choice out of the box in Sibelius 6 - and using MusicXML files created by Dolet 5 for Sibelius. You can see also watch a higher-definition version on our site. Here's the version on YouTube:

Dolet 5 for Sibelius Now Available

Dolet 5 for Sibelius, Recordare's plug-in for converting Sibelius files into MusicXML files, is now available. While it has over 30 improvements for Sibelius 5 users - including running about 20% faster - the big news is for Sibelius 6 users. Sibelius 6 added many new features to the ManuScript language, allowing us to export more of a Sibelius score than was possible in earlier versions.

The star feature of this release is exporting transpositions. This has been our most requested Dolet for Sibelius feature for years now. The Sibelius 5 point releases added more of the plug-in features needed to export transpositions, but not quite everything. Sibelius 6 filled in the missing pieces, so we are happy to now be able to export transposed scores at written pitch rather than concert pitch.

This is especially important for people converting band and orchestra scores from Sibelius to Finale and other programs. But it also helps choral and vocal music, as the octave-transposing treble clef used by tenors is now exported with full musical accuracy. As a tenor I'm especially happy to see this working. Octave-transposing clefs even work for Sibelius 5 users when they appear at the start of the score.

Beyond transpositions, some of the other new Dolet 5 features for Sibelius 6 users are:

• Hidden staves on systems
• System and page breaks are exported even without the layout being locked first
• Fermatas over bar rests
• Color of notes and other bar objects
• Buzz roll "z" that appears on a stem
• MusicXML encoding date
• Jazz articulations
• Comments.
• Feathered beams
• Note-attached arpeggios
• Greater accuracy in exporting Sibelius 6 chord symbols
• Export of chord symbols in German, Solfege, and Scandinavian styles

New Dolet 5 for Sibelius licenses for Windows and Mac are available for US $199.95. Upgrades from Dolet 4 for Sibelius are available for $129.95. It is available now from the Recordare Online Store.

Coming Up: The Marriage of Figaro

If you are in the East Bay this weekend, here's the best music deal of the year. Come to see Open Opera's free performances of Mozart's masterpiece Le nozze di Figaro at the John Hinkel Park amphitheater in Berkeley. Performances are Saturday, July 25 and Sunday, July 26 and 3:00 pm.

The cast is wonderful, including Julian Arsenault as Figaro, Aimée Puentes as Susanna, Nicolai Janitsky as Count Almaviva, Adrien Roberts as the Countess, and Elizabeth Baker as Cherubino. The production is directed by Olivia Stapp and conducted by Jonathan Khuner. I will be singing and dancing in the chorus. And yes, there will be an orchestra and supertitles.

Come enjoy Mozart's funny, poignant, and beautiful masterwork in a lovely park setting. The amphitheater is right off the end of Somerset Place in Berkeley. And did I mention it was free?