I purchased Finale '98 [in '98], with the goal of doing basic notation/arranging on the computer. I've never been so frustrated with a program- even after an introductory class in music tech this summer, using a later version of Finale- I reinstalled '98 on my machine, thinking I was over the hump. Not so.

So I was ready to purchase Sibelius to go on a new machine in the next few months. S'posed to be much more user-friendly.

Today I got a card from the Finale folks, offering me an upgrade to their 2003 version for 89.95 plus s/h. Sibelius is going to cost nearly $300 even with educator discounts.

I would appreciate any insight y'all can offer. While I don't want to throw more money after bad, that's a pretty significant chunk of change.....thanks a bunch!