NotePerformer

Last updated January 16, 2017

Copyright © 2013-2017 by Wallander Instruments AB.

Windows® is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation. Mac®, Apple® and Mac OS® are trademarks of
Apple Computer Inc. Sibelius® is a trademark of Avid Technology, Inc. Intel Core™ is a trademark of
Intel Corporation.

2
 Contents

Contents
Getting Started.......................................................................................................... 5
Installing NotePerformer on Mac OS X.............................................................................................................. 6
Installing NotePerformer on PC...........................................................................................................................7
Switching to NotePerformer playback in Sibelius............................................................................................ 9

Support Topics.........................................................................................................10
Getting new download links.............................................................................................................................. 11
Required host program....................................................................................................................................... 11
Cannot open installer (Mac only)...................................................................................................................... 12
Installed but nothing seems to work................................................................................................................. 13
I only get trumpet sounds/the wrong sounds................................................................................................ 14
Unable to do live recording................................................................................................................................ 15
Rewire – problems with timing..........................................................................................................................15
Instruments being too loud/low in volume.....................................................................................................16
Changing the global reverb level....................................................................................................................... 17
Notes are uneven in dynamics........................................................................................................................... 18
Audio is stuttering/crackling.............................................................................................................................19
Accent/marcato/tenuto not working as expected..........................................................................................20
Overlapping/nested slurs not playing back legato........................................................................................ 21

Included Sounds...................................................................................................... 22
Introduction to sounds in NotePerformer........................................................................................................23
Woodwinds........................................................................................................................................................... 27
Brass....................................................................................................................................................................... 29
Strings.................................................................................................................................................................... 31
Miscellaneous........................................................................................................................................................33

MIDI Controllers.................................................................................................... 36
Using MIDI CC values for advanced features................................................................................................. 37

System Requirements.............................................................................................. 43
Minimum requirements...................................................................................................................................... 44

3
 Contents

Recommendations................................................................................................................................................44

Files and Folders...................................................................................................... 45

The NotePerformer plug-in file on PC.............................................................................................................. 46
The NotePerformer plug-in file on Mac............................................................................................................48
Sound Set and Playback Configuration............................................................................................................ 49

4
 Contents

Getting Started
Getting started with NotePerformer

5
 Getting Started

Installing NotePerformer on Mac OS X

Double-click the .dmg file (disk image) that you have previously downloaded from the Internet. This
will open a folder with the installer found inside. Double-click the installer file to begin installation.

If you are unable to open the installer because “it is from an unidentified developer” please right-click
(or Ctrl+click) the file and select “Open“ from the popup menu. This will allow you to run the
installer.

Please follow on-screen instructions. NotePerformer must be installed on your main drive, so there are
no settings or choices to be made during installation.

You can at any time run the NotePerformer installer again, in case you need to repair the installation.

File locations on Mac OS X (for reference only)

NotePerformer's main plug-in file is stored in your systems' VST folder:

/Macintosh HD/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST/

Additionally, there is a NotePerformer “Sound Set“ file located in your user's library folder:

*username*/Library/Application Support/Avid/Sibelius 7.5/Sounds/

and a NotePerformer “Playback Configuration“ file in:

*username*/Library/Application Support/Avid/Sibelius 7.5/Playback

Configurations/

Sound Set and Playback Configuration locations are unique to each version of Sibelius, so the folders
above only serve as an example. But NotePerformer automatically creates/recreates these files in the
appropriate folders for different Sibelius versions, on first launch.

For technical support purposes, NotePerformer also logs its progress to the files NotePerformer32.log
and NotePerformer64.log located in your user's Log folder:

*username*/Library/Logs/

6
 Getting Started

Installing NotePerformer on PC
Double-click the .exe file (disk image) that you have previously downloaded from the Internet. This
will begin installation.

You can at any time run the NotePerformer installer again, in case you need to repair the installation.

If installation fails (using Sibelius 7 or higher) please make sure that Avid's VstPlugins folder exists on
your main drive, prior to installation:

C:\Program Files\Avid\VstPlugins

For Sibelius 6, the equivalent folder is

C:\Program Files\Sibelius Software\VstPlugins

The NotePerformer installer checks if these folders exists, and then installs NotePerformer for the
appropriate Sibelius versions.

Please also make sure that the correct folder is set to be used for plug-ins in Sibelius
(Audio Engine Options dialog, which is opened from the Playback Devices dialog).

If you are using a 32-bit version of Sibelius (such as Sibelius 6) on a 64-bit operating system, all 32-bit
files go into the “Program Files (x86)“ folder.

File locations on Windows PC (for reference only)

Apart from the VstPlugins folders mentioned above, NotePerformer also stores resource files into
your 32-bit Program Files folder:

C:\Program Files (x86)\NotePerformer\

Additionally, there is a NotePerformer “Sound Set“ file located in your user's Application Data folder:

%appdata%\Avid\Sibelius 7.5\Sounds\

and a NotePerformer “Playback Configuration“ file in:

%appdata%\Avid\Sibelius 7.5\Playback Configurations\

Sound Set and Playback Configuration locations are unique to each version of Sibelius, so the folders

7
 Getting Started

above only serve as an example. But NotePerformer automatically creates/recreates these files in the
appropriate folders for different Sibelius versions, on first launch.

The Application Data folder in Windows is normally hidden. The easiest way to access this folder is to
open Windows File Explorer and enter %appdata% into the search field. That will automatically take
you to the correction location on disk.

For technical support purposes, NotePerformer also logs its progress to the files NotePerformer32.log
and NotePerformer64.log located in your system's temporary folder:

%temp%

To access the temporary folder, please to open Windows File Explorer and enter %temp% into the
search field. That will automatically take you to the correction location on disk.

8
 Getting Started

Switching to NotePerformer playback in Sibelius

Use the “NotePerformer“ Playback Configuration
Sibelius 7 or higher: open any score and go to the “Play“ tab on the ribbon. The first item in this panel
(all the way to the left) is named “Configuration”.

Click on the “Configuration“ icon. You will be asked to select what Playback Configuration to use. If
all has gone well with the NotePerformer installation, you should see an option named
“NotePerformer”.

Select the “NotePerformer“ Playback Configuration, wait for the library to load, and you are good to
go.

Sibelius 6: you switch Playback Configuration from the Playback Devices dialog, found on the “Play“
drop-down menu.

Different versions of Sibelius may have different ways of switching Playback Configuration. For
detailed information, please see the documentation for your Sibelius software.

9
 Support Topics

Support Topics
Frequently asked questions on how to use NotePerformer
As a NotePerformer user, we recommend you to read through this full chapter. It will take only a few
minutes, and you will learn how to get the highest quality playback possible.

10
 Support Topics

Getting new download links

How do I get new download links for my second computer?
If you have lost your installer, please go to the support section of the NotePerformer website. You will
find a link to a page where you can get new download links by entering your e-mail address.

If you have saved your previously downloaded installer, you can simply run the same installer on
your second computer. Our personal license allows you to use NotePerformer on up to three
computers.

Required host program

NotePerformer requires Sibelius 6 or higher
In order to use NotePerformer, you must own a copy of Sibelius 6 or
higher.

There is no other way to access the sounds but through Sibelius.

You cannot use NotePerformer with a VST or AU sequencer music
program.

If you use Sibelius 7.0.0, you normally need to update to the latest
version (7.1.3) in order to use NotePerformer.

Earlier versions of Sibelius cannot run NotePerformer. If you are using Sibelius 5 or earlier and want
to use NotePerformer, you must purchase an upgrade from Avid to the latest version of Sibelius.

As for now, no other notation programs are compatible with NotePerformer.

11
 Support Topics

Cannot open installer (Mac only)

How to install NotePerformer on OS X Mountain Lion or higher
When installing NotePerformer on Mountain
Lion, you may encounter an error message
saying the installer cannot be opened
because “it is from an unidentified
developer“, or because “it was not
downloaded from the Mac App Store“.

This is because you are using Gatekeeper, a

feature in OS X Mountain Lion protecting
you from installing unwanted programs by mistake.

To get around this restriction, right-click (or ctrl + click) on the installer and select “Open“. You will
then be offered to open the NotePerformer installer even though Gatekeeper is active.

12
 Support Topics

Installed but nothing seems to work

Make sure that NotePerformer is listed under “Available devices“
Please open the “Playback Devices“ panel. In Sibelius 7 this is accessed by clicking the small arrow
shown to the bottom right in the image below. This is located on the ribbon, on the “Play“ panel, to
the far left.

Clicking that arrow should bring up a new window, looking like the one in the image below.

When all is working it should look similar to the image above. In the left the left column, the one
labeled “Available devices“, there is an entry named “NotePerformer“, of type “VST“. This means
that Sibelius has identified an audio plugin called NotePerformer, and the plugin communicates with
Sibelius through a format known as VST.

If there is no “NotePerformer“ entry in the left column, this means Sibelius is unable to load
NotePerformer.

The most common cause for this is on Mac when using an early release of Sibelius 7, such as Sibelius
7.0.0, which doesn't work with VST plugins but only AU plugins, due to a bug in Sibelius which was
fixed in a free update. Sometimes switching to 32-bit mode helps, but normally this can only be
resolved by downloading the latest free Sibelius 7 update, which is 7.1.3.

13
 Support Topics

I only get trumpet sounds/the wrong sounds

You have deactivated “Send program changes“ in Sibelius Playback Preferences
NotePerformer relies on MIDI messages to assign instruments and sounds.

Go to Preferences->Playback in Sibelius, and make sure that the option “Send program changes“ is
selected.

14
 Support Topics

Unable to do live recording

Real-time record is not compatible with NotePerformer
There is no latency with NotePerformer when editing your score and playback is stopped.

But in order to read ahead and analyze your

score, NotePerformer adds one second of
latency (delay) during playback. This latency is
unavoidably added also during recording.

This makes real-time recording impractical to use when NotePerformer is the current playback device.

If you need to do live recording with Sibelius, you can temporarily switch over to another Playback
Configuration, such as General MIDI, and then switch back when you've finished recording.

Rewire – problems with timing

No known workaround.
You may experience severe timing problems using NotePerformer inside Sibelius in Rewire mode.

This is because NotePerformer requires considerable latency compensation in order to read-ahead in

your score.

Unfortunately, automatic latency compensation does not seem to work with any of the Rewire
configurations we've tried with Sibelius.

15
 Support Topics

Instruments being too loud/low in volume.

Reset all mixer levels.
Make sure your mixer levels in Sibelius are reset. Open the mixer in Sibelius, and double-click all the
volume sliders, one-by-one, to reset them to a common value of 95.

When creating a new score in Sibelius, the mixer levels are always scrambled. This is because the
instrument definitions in Sibelius do not specify the same default volume. So we recommend doing
this every time you begin a new score.

With NotePerformer you should use the same volume for all instruments in the mixer, as a starting
point.

Typical default instrument volumes in Sibelius 7. Double-click all sliders to reset to 95.

16
 Support Topics

Changing the global reverb level.

Found under “Performance“ settings in Sibelius.
To change the global reverb level, open Performance settings in Sibelius.

The checkbox labeled “Use reverb“ should always be ticked even if you do not want reverb. If you
untick this checkbox it only results in you being unable to change NotePerformer's reverb level at all.

Next to the checkbox you can change the global reverb level, ranging from dry to cathedral, where
cathedral is the highest possible setting. By increasing this setting the orchestra will sound like it's
further away from you.

Performance settings in Sibelius 7.

17
 Support Topics

Notes are uneven in dynamics.

Turn off Live Playback and Espressivo.
Turn off Live Playback in Sibelius. This is done either from the Sibelius ribbon, or the transport.

Also, open Performance settings and change the “Espressivo“ setting to Meccanico.

Both these features make Sibelius add its own pass of expression, but do not work so well with
NotePerformer. By turning them off you usually get a smoother and more balanced performance
using NotePerformer. So we recommend turning these features off, as a starting point, to make sure
that the dynamics you hear is also the dynamics you write.

In more recent versions of Sibelius you also have the option to use “Espressivo 2“, which is a much
improved algorithm. Although the our recommendation would still be to turn this off for orchestral
works, or for proof-listening dynamics, it can improve overall playback of small ensemble works such
as string quartets.

18
 Support Topics

Audio is stuttering/crackling.
Look into your soundcard, drivers and audio buffer size.
At the core of NotePerformer there is an
advanced audio software that requires a fair bit
of CPU. But with that said, a modern system
should be able to playback complex
orchestrations in real-time with a high enough
audio buffer size.

You may be able to solve problems with

stuttering audio simply by increasing your
audio buffer size, found underAudio Engine
Options in Sibelius. This should always be your
first step.

A larger buffer size will be much easier on your

computer. However, when you enter notes there
will be a longer delay between pressing the key
and hearing the sound (latency).

Since NotePerformer is not suitable for live performance or recording anyway (see “Unable to do live
recording“) the recommendation is to use as large buffer size as you are comfortable with. 2048
samples or higher will make things easier for your computer, if you are fine with that latency.

You may also want to look into what your sample rate setting is. A sample rate of either 44100 Hz (CD
quality) or 48000 Hz (film quality) is advisable

Audio Engine Options is found in Sibelius 7 under Play → Setup → Audio Engine Options.

On PC, if you use your computer's built-in soundcard you may be able to improve performance by
installingASIO4ALL, a popular and free soundcard driver optimized for music computers. It shows
up as a new “Interface“ (see image) in Sibelius, once installed. Having a good soundcard with proper
ASIO drivers may additionally help improving audio performance.

For more detailed instructions, please follow Avid's guidelines for improving Sibelius' audio
performance. Please note that this is an issue only related to real-time audio playback in Sibelius. You
can always export your music as an audio file to your harddrive, even on slower computers, allowing
you to hear your music without stutters.

19
 Support Topics

Accent/marcato/tenuto not working as expected.

Add dictionary entries for +accent, +marcato and +tenuto.
In some of Sibelius's included House Styles – in particular the House Styles from Sibelius 6 – there are
no +accent and/or +marcato sound ID dictionary entries added for accent and marcato articulations.
When the entries are missing, the entire note's dynamics is changed, not just the attack.

If that is the case for your project, you may need to add these entries manually to your dictionary. You
could also load a newer House Style including these entries, but it may be just as easy to add them
manually.

The accent and marcato dictionary entries are found in the “dictionary“ in Sibelius, under
“articulations“. Add +accent and +marcato to the “Sound ID change“ field of these two articulations,
respectively.

Please note that when writing for unpitched percussion, Sibelius ignores the Sound ID field for
accents and marcato. Instead it uses the values specified for changing the entire note's dynamics. So if
you want to change the impact accents and marcato have on percussion dynamics, you must tweak
the values below for “Adjust dynamic, attack and/or duration“. The “attack“ controller is not used by
NotePerformer and can be ignored. Only the “dynamic“ controller is used.

20
 Support Topics

Overlapping/nested slurs not playing back legato.

Currently unsupported by Sibelius
If you end a slur on a note and immediately begin a
new slur from the same note, Sibelius may choose to
ignore the second slur in playback.

Similar problems can occur when you put a

slur inside another slur.

The solution is to avoid notating this way if you

need accurate legato playback. Use a single
continuous slur to indicate legato.

21
 Included Sounds

Included Sounds
List of instruments and techniques supported by NotePerformer

22
 Included Sounds

Introduction to sounds in NotePerformer

How instruments are assigned
Most instruments in NotePerformer are assigned completely automatically.

However, there are a few exceptions, as some instruments currently lack an instrument definition in
Sibelius. These sounds that can be assigned either from the mixer, or by changing the sound settings
in the instrument definition yourself.

Assigning instruments from the mixer

Press “M“ on your keyboard to open the mixer.

It's recommended that you learn to find your way around the mixer. Try clicking the buttons, as you
will need to click a few buttons to fully expand the mixer, and reveal the options for assigning
instruments.

With the mixer properly expanded, you should be able to see a field where the instrument name is
displayed for each staff. If you click this field, you should be presented with a list of all the
instruments in NotePerformer (unpitched percussion excluded). Please select the instrument of your
choice.

If you have a very large score, switching instruments from the mixer can sometimes provide you with
the wrong sound...

When that happens, locate the other text fields next to the name (they will often say “Ch. 2“ and
“(N. 1-16)“ or similar) and set both these fields to “(auto)“. That should resolve it.

The technical reason why this happens is that manually selected sounds in Sibelius will automatically
be assigned to one of the first 16 MIDI channels, but these could already be occupied by your other
staves.

Switching between unmapped sounds in the middle of a score

You may want to switch between organ stops or unmapped sounds/articulations (such as
bowed percussion) in the middle of a score, in which case assigning instruments from the mixer will
not work.

To resolve this, you must make your own instrument definition/staff in Sibelius (select a suitable
built-in instrument and click “New instrument“ to make a copy of it) and then override the default
sound. When done correctly, you will end up with multiple instrument types (e.g. Pipe Organ [Full]

23
 Included Sounds

and Pipe Organ [Gedackt 8']) that each have a different default sound assigned. You can now reliably
switch between these sounds/registrations in the middle of a score, by using “Instrument change“.

This technique is appropriate for switching not just between organ stops in the middle of a score, but
also between bowed/mallet percussion, accordion stops or other unmapped sounds.

General notes on using NotePerformer's sounds

There are a few things you want to be aware of, in order to fully utilize NotePerformer:

• Occasionally you may find that Sibelius is not assigning the right sound for a staff. First step of
action should always be to open and expand the mixer, locate the instrument staff, and reset the
instrument by manually selecting the value “(auto)“ for Plug-in (e.g “NotePerformer 1-16“),
MIDI channel, and Instrument. The next time you start playback Sibelius will repopulate that
instrument.

• To get the drum set with sticks, you must use the “Drum Set (Jazz)“ staff.

• To get the drum set with brushes, you must use the “Drum Set (Brushes)“ staff.

• If the drum set is not mapped properly (e.g. the snare drum may sound like a side stick) there are
two things you must consider. Firstly, if you are working with an older score, please make sure
that you are using an up-to-date House Style in Sibelius with the appropriate drum set mapping.
Secondly, locate the drum set staff in the mixer, click the instrument name and manually assign it
to (auto).

• If you use any other drum set type, it will be mapped to orchestral percussion sounds.

• Organ stops must be assigned manually from the mixer, or by using the instrument definition
technique described earlier for switching stops in the middle of a score. Unfortunately there's no
way to make your own combinations of stops for the time being.

• Accordion is assigned the same way as the organ (see above). It contains multiple stops, as well
as a separate left/right hand instrument for both the accordion and the bandoneon.

• Bowed percussion must be assigned from the mixer, or using custom instrument definitions for
real-time change between bow and mallets. The “arco“ keyword will unfortunately not work, as
this Sound ID is reserved exclusively for going back from +pizz for strings.

• There are two types of theremins included: a modern theremin (sine wave) and a more classical
theremin (tube type, having more overtones). By default the modern theremin is used, but the
classical one can be assigned from the mixer.

• Eb clarinet and Basset-horn are by default assigned to the regular Bb clarinet sound. This can be

24
 Included Sounds

overridden from the mixer to get a proper Eb clarinet or Basset-horn sound.

• There are several unpitched percussion instruments in NotePerformer that are not mapped to
any percussion staff in Sibelius, for example opera gongs and wind gong. If you want to use an
unpitched percussion instrument which isn't mapped, you must create your own instrument
definition (or override/expand on an existing one) and map the sound by hand to the
note/notehead of your choice, from the menu Edit Instrument->Edit Staff Type in Sibelius.

• NotePerformer's string orchestra has the size 8-8-6-6-4 (see divisi technology, below).

• When splitting a string section over two staves, there are dedicated 1/2 section instruments in
NotePerformer which can be assigned from the mixer. By using these instruments, half the
section will play on the upper staff, and the other half on the lower staff. For example, the cello
section consists of 6 players, and using the split staff technique with 1/2 section sounds you will
have 3 players on the upper staff and 3 players on the lower staff, without phasing problems.

Section strings divisi technology

Starting from version 1.4.0 of NotePerformer, the section strings sounds are created from stacking solo
players in real-time. So when adding a Violins staff, there are actually 8 different samples sounding at
the same time, corresponding to the different players of the section.

In order to make this technology manageable for a home computer's CPU, NotePerformer uses a
small/medium sized string setup of 8-8-6-6-4 players, where chords are automatically played divisi.
Various section sizes were tested extensively during development, and it was found that increasing
the section sizes additionally did not have any significant impact on the timbre.

Solo strings
Starting from version 1.5.0, NotePerformer contains both “soloist“ and “section member“ solo strings.
The soloists have a dynamic range and volume more appropriate for soloists or string quartet works,
while the section members should be used if you want to do string section building with a separate
staff for each player. Besides these differences in volume and dynamic range, the instruments are the
same.

There are two reasons for NotePerformer containing separate versions of the same solo string
instruments. The first reason is that a soloist or string quartet is usually seated in a position which is
more audible to the audience, and have thus been given a slightly higher volume. The second reason
is that a section member must play with a force considerably lower than a soloist in order for a section
to jointly produce a soft dynamic such as pp or ppp, as each player's volume is added up.
Approaching it from the opposite direction, a soloist or quartet player would compensate for being in
his or her own, by playing the lower dynamics a with greater force, in order to be heard on an
orchestral setting. To sum it up, the section member instruments in NotePerformer have a greater

25
 Included Sounds

dynamic range, or more specifically they play the lower dynamics much more softly, than
NotePerformer's soloist instruments.

The solo string sounds in NotePerformer uses the exact same players as the sections. So adding eight
“section member“ violin staves can be used for building a violin section where you control each
individual player.

26
 Included Sounds

Woodwinds
Flutes
Flute
Piccolo flute
Alto flute
Bass flute

Oboes
Oboe
English horn
Oboe d'amore

Clarinets
Clarinet
Bass clarinet
Eb-clarinet
Contrabass clarinet
Basset-horn

Bassoons
Bassoon
Contrabassoon

Saxophones
Sopranino saxophone
Soprano saxophone
Alto saxophone
Tenor saxophone
Baritone saxophone
Bass saxophone

Recorders
Garklein recorder
Sopranino recorder
Soprano recorder
Alto recorder
Tenor recorder

27
 Included Sounds

Bass recorder
Great bass recorder
Contrabass recorder

Woodwinds techniques
+ legato
+ staccato
+ staccatissimo
+ vibrato
+ vibrato.heavy
+ non vibrato
+ accent
+ marcato
+ tenuto
+ flutter-tongue
+ mezzo-staccato (tenuto+staccato)
+ portato (tenuto+legato)

28
 Included Sounds

Brass
Trumpets
Trumpet
Piccolo trumpet
Bass trumpet
Cornet
Soprano cornet
Flugelhorn

Trombones
Trombone
Bass trombone
Alto trombone
Cimbasso

Horns
French horn
Wagner tuba

Tubas
Tuba
Euphonium
Alto horn/Tenor horn
Baritone horn

29
 Included Sounds

Brass techniques
+ legato
+ staccato
+ staccatissimo
+ vibrato
+ vibrato.heavy
+ non vibrato
+ accent
+ marcato
+ tenuto
+ flutter-tongue
+ mezzo-staccato (tenuto+staccato)
+ portato (tenuto+legato)
+ mute.straight
+ mute.cup
+ mute.bucket
+ mute.harmon
+ mute.plunger

French horns only

+ mute (stopped)

30
 Included Sounds

Strings
Violins
Violin section (auto-divisi)
Violins 1/2 section (auto-divisi)
Solo violin

Violas
Viola section (auto-divisi)
Violas 1/2 section (auto-divisi)
Solo viola

Cellos
Cello section (auto-divisi)
Cellos 1/2 section (auto-divisi)
Solo cello

Contrabasses
Contrabass section (auto-divisi)
Contrabasses 1/2 section (auto-divisi)
Solo contrabass

Plucked strings
Harp

Guitars
Classical guitar
Steel-string guitar
Mandolin
Banjo
Ukulele
Electric guitar
Basses
Electric bass
Upright bass

31
 Included Sounds

Bowed strings techniques

+ pizzicato
+ snap pizzicato
+ col legno
+ mute
+ sul tasto
+ legato
+ staccato
+ staccatissimo
+ vibrato
+ vibrato.heavy
+ non vibrato
+ accent
+ marcato
+ tenuto
+ mezzo-staccato (tenuto+staccato)
+ portato (tenuto+legato)
+ spiccato (staccato+legato)
+ harmonic

Guitar & electric bass effects

+ pizzicato
+ fuzz
+ overdrive
+ distortion
+ metal
+ chorus
+ flange
+ phase
+ wah-wah
+ harmonic

Bass special techniques

+ slap

32
 Included Sounds

Miscellaneous
Keyboards
Piano
Harpsichord
Celesta
Pipe Organ

Vocals (ah, oh)

Sopranos
Altos
Tenors
Basses
Solo soprano
Solo alto
Solo tenor
Solo bass

Miscellaneous
Accordion
Bandoneon
Harmonica
Theremin (modern)

Theremin (tube)Drum percussion

Timpani
Taiko

Metal percussion
Glockenspiel
Glockenspiel (bowed)
Chimes
Chimes (bowed)
Crotales
Crotales (bowed)
Vibraphone
Vibraphone (bowed)

33
 Included Sounds

Wood percussion
Xylophone
Xylophone (bowed)
Marimba
Marimba (bowed)

Drum kit (jazz kit and brushes kit)

Kick drum
China cymbal
Cowbell
Crash cymbal (suspended)
Hi-hat
Ride cymbal
Splash cymbal
Snare drum
Tom-toms

Unpitched percussion
Agogo bells
Anvil
Bass drum
Bongos
Cabasa
Castanets
China cymbal
Clash cymbals (medium)
Clash cymbals (small)
Claves
Congas
Cowbells
Crash cymbal (suspended)
Egg shaker
Finger cymbals
Guiro
Hi-hat
Maracas
Opera gongs
Ratchet

34
 Included Sounds

Ride cymbal
Sleigh bells
Splash cymbal
Snare drum
Tam-tam (large)
Tam-tam (medium, 18“)
Tambourine
Tom-toms
Triangle
Timbales
Vibraslap (Jawbone)
Wind chimes (Mark tree)
Wind gong
Wood block
Whip
Whistle

35
 MIDI Controllers

MIDI Controllers
Using MIDI CC controllers for further controlling playback (advanced)

36
 MIDI Controllers

Using MIDI CC values for advanced features

Introduction
This chapter describes the advanced topic of using MIDI CC values to access some special features of
NotePerformer, which cannot be controlled directly from the notation program or score. If you need
help using CC values in Sibelius, beyond what is covered in this document, please consult the Sibelius
documentation (“Play” chapter) or contact Sibelius support.

The MIDI CC features of NotePerformer are highly experimental. They may be subject to change in
the future, and should not be heavily relied upon. These settings are only provided as an experimental
means to access certain power features which are not yet readily available from Sibelius. Only if you
know how MIDI messages works should you attempt to use these features, as MIDI messages in a
score can also have adverse effects on playback.

You are strongly advised NOT to use other CC messages in the score, as this may negatively impact
articulation switching and/or override settings made in the Sibelius mixer without you knowing it.

MIDI messages in Sibelius

In Sibelius, a ~C technique stands for CC value. To send a MIDI message to the current playback
device, you would add the technique text ~C followed by the MIDI CC number, and the MIDI CC
value, comma separated.

So if you for example wanted to send the value 58 to MIDI CC controller 104 somewhere in your
score, you would add the technique text ~C104,58. MIDI CC messages are also staff dependent,
meaning they must be attached to the correct staff just like dynamics or regular text techniques.

Special controllers in NotePerformer use the range MIDI CC 102-119 (which are undefined by the
MIDI standard).

As for now, there are only four special controllers which can be accessed using MIDI messages:

• CC 102: Global tuning (e.g. 440 Hz).

• CC 103: Pipe organ/accordion registration.

• CC 104: Unisons, or section size (e.g. a2, a3, ...).

• CC 105: Vibrato amount.

37
 MIDI Controllers

MIDI CC 102: Global tuning

CC 102 can be used to override the global tuning of NotePerformer. By default the global tuning is
440 Hz.

Please note that this is a global setting which is resistant even to switching scores. So if you have a
score which sets NotePerformer's tuning to 443 Hz, the tuning will stay at 443 Hz until you change it
back. This means, even if you close the current score and open another score. If you restart Sibelius,
however, the tuning will go back to the default 440 Hz.

The value of this message specifies the number cents the tuning should deviate from 440 Hz, where a
CC value of 64 is the center/zero value. The only exception is the value 0, which also resets the tuning
to 440 Hz. So both the value ~C102,64 and the value ~C102,0 will set the tuning to 440 Hz.

To calculate what CC value to use for a tuning, one can use the formula:

12*log2(X/440)*100 + 64

where X is the sought after tuning in Hz. But for reference, here is a list of CC values and their
corresponding tuning:

• 445 Hz: ~C102,84

• 444 Hz: ~C102,80

• 443 Hz: ~C102,76

• 442 Hz: ~C102,72

• 441 Hz: ~C102,68

• 440 Hz: ~C102,64

• 439 Hz: ~C102,60

• 438 Hz: ~C102,56

• 437 Hz: ~C102,52

• 436 Hz: ~C102,48

• 435 Hz: ~C102,44

38
 MIDI Controllers

MIDI CC 103: Pipe organ/accordion registration

Pipe organs and most types of accordions have multiple registrations, which you can switch on/off to
control the timbre.

Because NotePerformer reproduces these sounds in a similar manner, with individually sampled
registers, one can also turn on/off the individual stops in NotePerformer. This can be done
programmatically from the score using MIDI messages.

Please note that this is an advanced topic, and you should know how MIDI messages and MIDI CC
(Continuous Controllers) work before attempting it.

To turn registrations on or off, one uses MIDI CC 103 to specify exactly which registers are to be active
from a given point in the score (for those familiar with bytes and bits, the seven bits in the CC value
controls the registers in the instrument).

To determine which CC value to use to achieve a certain combination of registers, each register must
be given a “register value”. In order to explain how this works, lets have a look at the register table for
“Pipe organ (great)“:

Pipe organ - Great Value

Principal 8' 1
Gedackt 8' 2
Trumpet 8' 4
Viola da gamba 8' 8
Octave 4' 16
Chimney flute 4' 32
Octave 2' 64

When entering a registration, you first decide which registers are to be used. Then, locate these
registers in the table above and add together their values to get the appropriate CC value. So the CC
value to send to MIDI CC 103 is the sum of the values of the register you want to use.

For example, you want a sound with the registers Principal 8', Trumpet 8' and Octave 2' (but no other
registers). Looking at the table, their values are 1, 4 and 64, respectively. Adding these values together
gives us 1+4+64=69. So the MIDI CC value for this registration is 69. If you want this combination of
registers, you add the technique text ~C103,69 to the score.

39
 MIDI Controllers

To reset the instrument and go back to full stops, please send a CC value of 0 to the instrument (the
technique text ~C103,0).

In Sibelius, pipe organs and accordions usually need to be assigned from the mixer to get the right
variant (great/swell/pedal or left hand/right hand for accordions). Please note that you must select
the full stops variant of the sound if you want to do dynamic registration.

A full reference of the stops in NotePerformer is found below.

Pipe organ - Great Value Pipe organ - Swell Value

Principal 8' 1 Fugara 8' 1
Gedackt 8' 2 Oboe 8' 2
Trumpet 8' 4 Chimney flute 8' 4
Viola da gamba 8' 8 Diapason 4' 8
Octave 4' 16 Spire flute 4' 16
Chimney flute 4' 32 Flute 2' 32
Octave 2' 64

Pipe organ - Pedal Value

Sub bass 16' 1
Trombone 16' 2
Octave 8' 4
Gedackt 8' 8
Octave 4' 16

Accordion - Right hand Value Accordion - Left hand Value

Bass 1 Bass 1
Treble 2 Treble 2

40
 MIDI Controllers

MIDI CC 104: Unisons

CC 104 can be used to emulate “a2”, “a3”, ... on a staff.

This parameter affects both string sections as well as solo brass, woodwind and string staves.

To use this feature you add the technique text ~C104,X, where X is a number between 0 and 8
specifying the section size. If you, for example, want to produce an a2 sound (X = 2) you add the
technique text ~C104,2.

The maximum section size is eight players, which means that the highest accepted value for this
parameter is 8 (technique text ~C104,8).

A value of zero (technique text ~C104,0) is used to turn this feature off and return to normal playback.

When used with string sections, CC 104 may be used to override the number of members in the
section. This is useful if you want to create differently sized sections than NotePerformer's default
string layout which is 8-8-6-6-4.

[Please note, if you want to alternate between a string section and a soloist it is recommended to use
regular instrument change in the score instead of CC 104. The reason is, the individual solo string
patches have a better solo string sound, and a dynamic range adapted for soloist playing or quartets.]

When used with brass or woodwinds, CC 104 may be used to produce a section sound without having
to duplicate notes or staves. You may have up to eight players on a staff, meaning the highest
accepted value is 8, producing an “a8” sound.

The sections created with CC 104 also have built-in divisi. If you, for example, employ “a3” on a horn
staff using ~C104,3, the three players will not only play three-note unisons for single notes but they
will also intelligently divide when encountering two or three note chords.

Please keep in mind that this setting only changes the playback sound, as it is an internal setting in
NotePerformer. Changes are not reflected in your printed parts.

41
 MIDI Controllers

MIDI CC 105: Vibrato amount

CC 105 can be used to override the vibrato amount. It is only applicable when an instrument actually
uses vibrato to begin with.

A value of zero (technique text ~C105,0) resets the vibrato amount to the instrument's/staff's current
default.

To use this feature you add the technique text ~C105,X to a staff in your score, where X is a value of
your choice between 1 and 127.

The vibrato is scaled by the value (X - 1)/63. At the highest setting (X = 127) the vibrato is doubled in
depth. At the lowest setting (X = 1) there is no vibrato. At the center value (X = 64) the vibrato is not
scaled at all.

Please note, the primary way of controlling vibrato is to use the “vib”, “non vib” and “molto vib”
techniques in your score, as these techniques are universally known and also communicated to a real
performer reading your score. CC 105 only introduces an additional override which may be used for
artistic reasons.

42
 System Requirements

System Requirements
Minimum and recommended requirements on Mac and PC

43
 System Requirements

Minimum requirements
Mac
• Sibelius 6 or higher,
• 2 Gigabyte RAM memory,
• Mac OS X Leopard (10.5),
• Intel Core™ 2 Duo, 2.0 GHz, or equivalent CPU,
• 1.5 GB free space on your main hard drive.

PC
• Sibelius 6 or higher,
• 2 Gigabyte RAM memory,
• Microsoft Windows XP,
• Intel Core™ 2 Duo, 2.0 GHz, or equivalent CPU,
• 1.5 GB free space on your main hard drive.

Recommendations
Mac
• Sibelius 7 (64-bit) or higher,
• 4 Gigabyte RAM memory,
• Mac OS X Snow Leopard (10.6) or higher,
• Intel Core™ i5, 1.8 GHz, or faster CPU,
• 1.5 GB free space on your main hard drive.

PC
• Sibelius 7 (64-bit) or higher,
• 4 Gigabyte RAM memory,
• Microsoft Windows 7 or higher,
• Intel Core™ i5, 1.8 GHz, or faster CPU,
• 1.5 GB free space on your main hard drive.

44
 Files and Folders

Files and Folders

Automatic installation
NotePerformer installation should normally be effortless. You simply launch the installer, and follow
the instructions.

In case you want to uninstall NotePerformer from your system, or need to know what files are
included, this chapter describes the files that are installed and used by NotePerformer.

If you fail to install on PC, please make absolutely sure that the following folder exists, prior to
running the installer:

C:\Program Files\Avid\VstPlugins

Also make sure that this folder is setup as your plug-ins folder, under “Audio Engine Options“ in
Sibelius.

45
 Files and Folders

The NotePerformer plug-in file on PC

Sibelius 6
Sibelius 6 uses its own folder for VST plug-ins, located at:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Sibelius Software\VstPlugins

If you choose to install NotePerformer for Sibelius 6, this is the folder where the NotePerformer plug-
in is installed.

If you are using a 64-bit version of Windows, all 32-bit applications such as Sibelius 6 are installed to a
folder named “Program Files (x86)“ instead of the regular “Program Files“.

Sibelius 7 or higher, Windows 64-bit

More recent versions of Sibelius have both 32-bit and 64-bit folders for VST plugins (when using a
64-bit operating system) located at:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Avid\VstPlugins

and

C:\Program Files\Avid\VstPlugins

For 32-bit and 64-bit plug-ins, respectively.

If you choose to install NotePerformer for Sibelius 7 or higher, two different versions of
NotePerformer will be installed. A 32-bit version in Sibelius's 32-bit plug-ins folder, and a 64-bit
version in Sibelius's 64-bit plug-ins folder.

46
 Files and Folders

Sibelius 7 or higher, Windows 32-bit

If you are using a 32-bit operating system, there is only one folder for plug-ins:

C:\Program Files\Avid\VstPlugins

This is where the 32-bit version of NotePerformer is installed.

A 32-bit operating system cannot use 64-bit software, so only the 32-bit version is installed.

NotePerformer's resource files

NotePerformer installs resource and documentation files to the folder:

C:\Program Files (x86)\NotePerformer

The files in this folder are required for NotePerformer to function, but can be deleted if you at any
point wish to uninstall NotePerformer entirely from your system.

47
 Files and Folders

The NotePerformer plug-in file on Mac

All versions of Sibelius
On Mac, there is a system folder used for all VST plug-ins. This is also where NotePerformer is
installed. The folder is located at:

Macintosh HD/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST

When you install NotePerformer, the plug-in is installed to the folder above. The file is named
“NotePerformer.vst“ and is a Universal Binary supporting both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Sibelius.

48
 Files and Folders

Sound Set and Playback Configuration

Location of folders
Sibelius's folders for Sound Sets and Playback Configurations vary with each version of Sibelius. As a
general rule, the files are found in a Sibelius folder located within your user's folder. For the exact
location, please follow Avid's guidelines on Sound Sets for Sibelius.

How to revert to the original Sound Set/Playback Configuration

NotePerformer automatically creates (spawns) a Sound Set and Playback Configuration in the
appropriate Sibelius folders, at Sibelius startup.

If you edit or overwrite NotePerformer's Playback Configuration by accident, you may simply delete
it from the Playback Devices dialog and restart Sibelius to go back to the original version.

49