Octave transposition after importing MIDI file

Discussion of playback and midi issues go here.
rdv
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Jan 24, 2019 11:56 pm
Sibelius Version: 4
Operating System: Windows

Post by rdv » Fri Jan 25, 2019 12:10 am

Hello,

When I import a multi-track MIDI file (with four parts in total, one per track) that I've created with a MIDI editor, each track/part gets its own system. So far so good. However, all systems have the G clef - and worse, although the lower two parts sound correct, they are notated one octave too high (e.g., a C with MIDI pitch 48 sounds as expected, but is notated as a C with MIDI pitch 60.

How can I correct this? I want to use bass clefs for the lower two systems, but want to retain the pitches as they are in the MIDI file. I am using Sibelius 4 on Windows.

Thanks very much!
Reinier


bobp
Posts: 1182
Joined: Thu Dec 27, 2012 12:53 am

Post by bobp » Fri Jan 25, 2019 2:56 am

Reinier,
What is it that you are trying to do in Sibelius?
Midi import is not always accurate. I think it's because Sibelius is only partially midi based.
Are you expecting to manipulate the score in Sibelius and then export as a midi?
Bob Porter
Sibelius 7.5, W10,i5,16 GB ram,desktop

andyg
Posts: 1727
Joined: Tue Feb 14, 2006 8:55 pm
Sibelius Version: 7.1.3 and 6.2
Operating System: Windows

Post by andyg » Fri Jan 25, 2019 10:11 am

Yes. MIDI import is always inaccurate and will take some, perhaps a lot, of tidying up.

OK, your imported staff's music is an octave too high. Triple click the staff and do Ctrl + down cursor arrow (CMD instead of Ctrl on a Mac, I think). That will shift the music down an octave. Now type Q, select Bass Clef from the options and click it on the very first Treble Clef on the staff. Repeat for as many staves as you need. Pretty basic stuff and covered in greater depth in the Reference manual.

The only issue now is that you may find that playback is in the wrong octave, depending on the instrumentation you're using. Sometimes you need one score to read and another to play back, but you already have the MIDI file for playback anyway.

MikeLyons
Posts: 1631
Joined: Fri Jun 24, 2016 7:20 pm
Sibelius Version: Ult. 2024.3.1/7.5
Operating System: Windows

Post by MikeLyons » Fri Jan 25, 2019 12:23 pm

Choose an appropriate instrument to assign to each staff. In Sibelius, 8ve transpositions are a property of the instrument, not the clef.
Sib 6.2, 7.5 and 2023.6, Windows 11, 32GB RAM, 16TB 7200RPM Storage, 2TB SSD, Note Performer 3.3.2, EWQLSO, EWQLSC, Harmony Assistant and some others. mike@mike-lyons.co.uk

rdv
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Jan 24, 2019 11:56 pm
Sibelius Version: 4
Operating System: Windows

Post by rdv » Fri Jan 25, 2019 8:55 pm

Thanks for the replies!

Below my answers to all three of you.

@Bob I am simply trying to visualise a MIDI file that I've created (not with Sibelius) so that I can see the piece as a score. I might want to do some editing (changing key signature, recleffing etc.), but want to save it as a Sibelius file. No export back to MIDI.

@Andy I know how to do all these things, but this is exactly what I not want: I want the music to sound as it is written upon import, without having to change anything else than clefs manually. I'll have to do this for a large number of files... Besides, my problem is a bit different: playback is in the correct octave, but the visualisation is in the wrong octave (a C-48 looks like a C-60).

@Mike Maybe I understood you wrong. In the MIDI file I have specified the acoustic guitar as the instrument for all tracks. In Sibelius, I indeed hear an acoustic guitar, but I see that the notation is an octave higher than the sound - but only for the lower two voices. I know that a guitur is usually notated in a transposing G clef, but (1) I don't see this transposing clef (just a regular G clef), and (2) why do the two top voices behave as expected then?

I just tried specifying a different instrument (piano) in the MIDI file, and now both sound and visualisation are correct. That's good. However, now the four separate parts, each of which has its own system, are no longer connected by a bracket at the left end. What a mess!

Is MIDI really so unreliable as Sibelius import? That is pretty disappointing. I can hardly think of a format more simple than MIDI; it's very surprising that it confuses Sibelius so much.

bobp
Posts: 1182
Joined: Thu Dec 27, 2012 12:53 am

Post by bobp » Sat Jan 26, 2019 5:35 pm

My guess is that the problem lies less with how Sibelius deals with midi import and maybe more with how the midi was created.

As Mike basically said, guitar transposition is a property of the instrument, not the clef. Which means there is no octave up clef for guitar. No idea why two lines are correct and two aren't. That's why I suggest a possible export problem with your midi software and import problem with Sibelius. It might be educational to test this by changing octaves in your midi software and see what Sibelius imports. But not practical, of course.
I suggest getting MuseScore and seeing how it deals with your midi.
Bob Porter
Sibelius 7.5, W10,i5,16 GB ram,desktop

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