Okay, I couldn't resist a picture of a bowl of 3-way Cincinnati chili (spaghetti, chili, cheese), but I'm using the above graphic to set us up for "3 reasons I instantly like Sibelius 6." (You can stop groaning now).
REASON #1: SIBELIUS 6 DOES SUPER-SWEET SCHENKER SLURS
Not that I'm going to be doing Schenker graphs on my computer anytime soon, but this demonstrates how much control you have over your slurs. Why am I not graphing, you ask? Because I'm not a theorist.
(N.B. When doing Schenker graphs or any kind of non-traditional type of score, you MUST turn off Magnetic Layout, or you will go crazy. It's like saying, "Hold the onions, please.")
REASON #2: FEATHERED BEAMING = SO MUCH EASIER
Here is a before pic:
And after:
The only caveat is that the playback will not be rhythmically accurate. However, this sure beats adding triplet upon triplet upon triplet, hiding brackets and "3s", and adding two or three additional beams to the original flag (AND hoping they would stay there).
REASON #3: STEMLETS ROCK
With this pic, I tried to do a "compare and contrast" with the two violin parts. The one above doesn't have stemlets; the one below does. I *think* this might help the violinists group the sixteenth notes together.
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There you have it. Composers, if you have Sibelius 6, please drop a line and let me know what what you like.
[N.B. The 3-way picture above was taken from The Alchemist Pub and Brewery in Waterbury, VT. If you are in the town of Ben & Jerry's, you really should stop by. Their food is amazing and they have a great selection of beer. Further random note: I had no idea the cook was from Cincinnati until he entered a Chili Cook-off at the Waterbury Congregational Church, and he won with his Cincinnati chili. (Texans who have tried Cincinnati chili would probably be shaking their head right now.)]
UPDATE: Daniel Spreadbury mentioned this post on the Sibelius Blog in his post
Reviewing the reviews, part 3. He explains in a little more detail how to achieve the features I am talking about.