A debate over Sibelius vs Finale is just as old as the one discussing Sonar vs Protools. The article from the Disc Maker's blog below has a more practical and non-religious approach. As usual, Disc Maker's blog entries read more like conversations, and less like articles; hence they are so easy to follow for an average musician.

For a songwriter getting ready to work with a back up band or go into the studio with session musicians, having an accurate lead sheet of your songs is a great way to save time and money. Rather than asking musicians to follow along by ear as you play your original song while they learn it, having lead sheets to pass out will speed up the process of getting the musicians familiar with your songs and help them to start to add their own enhancements much more quickly than simply working by ear. 

With that in mind, I met up with a local songwriter and percussionist, Dan Faughnder, and we tried out two of the most popular software packages for creating lead sheets: Sibelius and Finale Songwriter. For our test, we chose one of Dan’s songs with a simple chord progression. Being as this is my first attempt to use a notation program, I figured Dan and I might be in for an “all nighter.” However, I’m pleased to report that both programs are very user-friendly to the point that in about 1 ½ to 2 hours with each program, we were able to come up with a decent-looking lead sheet for Dan’s song.

Read more about Lead Sheet Software Compared