How to select drum part instruments in S5

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thesoundsmith
Posts: 45
Joined: Fri Sep 05, 2008 5:54 am

Post by thesoundsmith » Sat Mar 21, 2009 5:34 pm

If I create a drum staff and then try to enter notes, some instruments (bass drum and snare) sound when I enter the note. Other instruments (cymbals, cowbell, etc. - and sometimes snare as well) do not seem to correspond to the instrument I wish to play. Even copying from another score can have unexpected results.

s there a list of how to select the desired instrument/midi note/notehead combo/ I do not see it in the manual, if it exists a page number would suffice.
Dasher

It's all about the music. I keep telling myself that...


Sebasian
Posts: 1476
Joined: Mon Feb 13, 2006 5:46 pm

Post by Sebasian » Sat Mar 21, 2009 8:40 pm

thesoundsmith wrote:some instruments (bass drum and snare) sound when I enter the note. Other instruments (cymbals, cowbell, etc. - and sometimes snare as well) do not seem to correspond to the instrument I wish to play.
It would help to know what version of Sibelius you are using, and what playback mechanism.

Percussion changed in a number of ways with Sibelius 5:

1. A sound which isn't included in the 'drum map' doesn't sound. In previous versions, Sibelius played whatever note you used, and the sound that came out was whatever that note triggered on your playback device.

2. If you're using something like Sibelius Essentials or GPO for playback, only one patch or 'set' of sounds is available on a staff at any one time. If you were using, say, GPO Basic Percussion (from GPO or from Essentials) you only have Bass and Side drums, Tamtam gongs and cymbals, and triangle. Other instruments (e.g. Wood Block, Maracas, Tom-Toms, Claves) are in a different 'set'. You need to look for the more extensive GM set (in Essentials) or use Instrument Changes to be able to play back instruments from more than one collection.

3. If you define your own percussion staff, it's best to make sure all the sounds come from the same set.

There's some useful information here (video tutorial): http://www.sibeliusblog.com/category/tutorials/

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