SIP Newsletter #17

Brussels, July 10, 2004

Contents:
- SipSib - Sibelius to Score converter
- SipXML - MusicXML to Score converter

Dear Score user,

The long silence since the last Newsletter can be explained by a programming project in the banking industry which absorbed all my time. After a well deserved Canadian vacation during which I had the pleasure to meet with Score forum administrator Gordon Callon, SIP activity is back at its normal pace.
While the interest in Sibelius to Score conversion keeps constant, the new SipXML for the translation of Finale produced MusicXML to Score is not getting the market appeal that I had expected. There could be several reasons:
- FinalScore is good enough for many
- Finale is good enough, and there is no desire to convert to Score
- The tendency is to move away from Score
Of course the success of MusicXML largely defines the success of SipXML. Various changes have been made recently to accomodate the converter for SharpEye translation and possibilities look promising.
Just the other day I had a conversation with a Score/Sibelius engraver in The Netherlands who is so much in favor of Score's spacing algorithm and the fact that you have full control over things in Score where Sibelius shuffles around at will.

SipSib - Sibelius to Score converter

Recent updates have to do with small size notes. Before, small notes were assumed to be appoggiaturas and would receive a Par7 = 65. This would prevent passages of small size notes to be aligned by LJ. Since Build 056, passages are now recognized and the size and beams are made small by using the size parameters. The solution is not ideal as SipSib misses the intelligence to see if a small note is an appo or part of a passage. When users experience problems with this issue they can always pass the files for inspection and I will improve this.
Another change introduced was necessary for Sibelius 3. It has to with the dotted slur. Before, Sibelius would generate one EPS line per dot but this has been changed into three lines. As of Build 056, both ways are now supported.

SipXML - MusicXML to Score converter

It is important to know that the current user guide is version 1.06 in PDF format. Earlier versions do not properly document the page layout mechanism.

Long live SCORE!

Jan de Kloe