NotePerformer vs Sibelius Sounds: Is it Worth the Money? (review)

You may have seen NotePerformer lurking around the virtual instrument world and wondered if it’s worth the price tag.

Short answer: Yes, it is. It sounds pretty amazing quite easily and it can take that grubby MIDI playback and breathe some serious life into it.

Do you already own NotePerformer and have your own opinion? Let me know in the comments below the video and let’s discuss!

I’d also love to know what you thought about the live video earlier this week :)

Thanks so much for being here.

Beginning Animation: Alan Špiljak

Playlists:

[emmanuelcanazares]

Just like the cello gliss, this review is "on point", Thanks!

Amazing compositions, too.

[aceplayerMusic]

I totally agree
It's definitely worth it.
Cant wait for it to be compatible with musescore too!

[rowdyrobd]

Thank you very much for this very informative video!

Your musical style (in the examples you demonstrated) seems to be more avant-garde, which makes expressions and accuracy all the more critical. Sibelius stock sounds made some of your pieces sound like one of those random note generator programs! NotePerformer made a very critical difference. I'm very impressed!

[hotdrumman]

Short answer. yes, it's worth it.. Rent it to buy interest free!!

[amir.nouroozi.composer]

This is JUST what I was looking for, Thanks for this awesome video.

[IanHollis]

I *LOVE* NotePerformer, particularly as it reads the score so accurately and effortlessly. For Sibelius to do the same thing I often found myself having to go 'under the hood' to tweak midi messages so the score sounded the way I wanted it to sound. No such problem with NotePerformer. I just hit "Play" and the score sounds (mostly) as expected.

[AKhajavi]

Thanks for analyzing these two. You are sure. Also is very different with finale notation.

[sir_pattington]

Informative and entertaining throughout. Pretty rare a neanderthal like me can sit through 17 minutes of a product review but this had so much info packed in and was very well delivered.

[stevanjocic]

Hi, amazing video. I do have a question does sibelius sounds come with sibelius ultimate or you need to purchase them separately? And if so, how to do that? I'm quite confused with the avid things and app that is on my computer. Thank you.

[PiergiorgioPirro]

I would be curious of your thoughts about how composing on the computer is influencing the present-day practice and style of composers.

[davidbrown]

Thanks for this informative video, which proves that NotePerformer is much better. Did you load NotePerformer on its own, or combined with Sibelius? - I am guessing on its own.

[rudidegroote]

Great video and review…. I work with Sibelius and logic mostly and to be honest, nothing does legato like sib and NP together! I can achieve most of what I need using these two programmes. Buying ‘legato’ samples is a gigantic waste of money!
Thanks for the vid! Although I do wish you could say what you ‘really’ think!
Thanks again…
R😊

[alexandertimofeev]

nice job on the comparison - in noteperformer you could also easily vary the amount of strings vibrato (the depth and rate) for specific notes or sections

[Mythansar]

Great video friend! :) Keep doing it! Apologies to ask such questions as I'm still learning some little things in music theory, I was wondering If the music at 9:58 is considered as atonal music ? Thanks :)

[matthewwhitaker]

Hi. Thanks so much for doing this video. Could you do a comparison with jazz examples? Would love to see / hear how Sibelius Sounds and the one's from NotePerformer sound compared.
Thank you

[HrHTeam]

What about comparing the default NotePerformer to NotePerformer Playback Engine?

[tspoh]

excellent presentation ! I respect your very high level of listening skill !!! yes note performer is great !!! may you be happy, healthy, prosperous and peaceful always

[MichaelSmith-onig]

I’m curious what do you think about MuseScore 4 sounds.

[Cookiedgrs]

How about percussion sounds? Drumline sounds? Do you have any comments on this?

[StefanGraz]

Just one question: is NotePerformer a collection of sound samples or is it only an AI engine for playback. Do I need my own sounds (e.g. from Native Instruments, VSL or the notation software itself) or does NotePerformer come with the sounds I need?