Finale vs. Sibelius

This is not going to start an opinionated rant. This is not going to be a tangent in favor of heralding one over the other. I'm keeping that sort of thing off my blog. (Perhaps that's why I don't post very often.) But I am going to clarify something, once and for all.

Finale and Sibelius, long-standing rival softwares for music notation, are both prominent at my grad school, and both have cult followings. I, for one, "grew up" on Finale, though I have to fierce loyalties. I have used Sibelius. I have griped endlessly about both programs.

I know many converts to Sibelius. Come to think of it, I don't really know anyone who is predisposed against Sibelius. I do fully intend to buy Sibelius down the road. I intend to have and use both programs on my laptop studio.

Now, for the impetus behind this posting. My point, as it is. I have zero tolerance for the attitude going on. I am not some kind of sub-human because I don't use Sibelius. I am not ignorant of music technology. I am dead tired of people coming out of the blue and saying I need Sibelius, making predictions as to how long it will take me to never look back. I am no longer enduring the indignity of people giving me "advice" that I don't need. I am no longer patient for the Finale-Sibelius war.

Why? Because, as I said, I am not pro-Finale. I am not pro-anything. The only reason--the only reason--I don't own Sibelius is that I don't have another $300+ lying around. And yes, I am aware of the student discount. I'd be a fool not to be, considering I just bought a laptop. No, the next $300 I spend is going to have to be either on a printer or a pair of microphones. They are decidedly more pressing than another notational software. Finale is good enough for now.

I especially love how numerous people from my undergraduate (which was pretty much exclusively Finale-driven) turn to Sibelius and feel the need to preach all about it to me. It's pretty arrogant to assume that I don't know anything about it but they do. I am aware of the program, and I am well aware of the recent upgrade. I will buy it, but not for some time.

I don't enjoy checking my email to find inflammatory battle reports from the front lines of the war. In fact, at this point, I hate both programs. I don't enjoy having to defend myself when I answer a question regarding which software I use. Um, how about, both? How about, this isn't Republican vs. Liberal. How about, come off it already.

I will no longer tolerate disrespect over something as petty as software usage. Don't tell me what I need. Don't tell me what I should do. I'm not your little brother, people. There's a very fine line between giving unsolicited advice and being condescending.