JimL

I wish I could say I knew what you guys meant but I'm not into programming. All I know is Sibelius has 'sound sets' for other synths and older (?) Korg synths like Triton. Korg (via tech support over the phone) has no plans to create one, Korg tech said it's up to Sibelius, and from the looks of Sib's site, their done creating patches/updates for 'older' versions.

Oh I can choose the keyboard when it's plugged in, there's drivers & such for the synth but the program doesn't 'see' all the sounds or apparently what sound was used. F'rinstance, i experimented and played a nice string sound, holding the chord for 4 measures and when played back, there's some form of typical piano sound that goes 'plunk' at the beginning of the first measure and nothing for the rest of the measures. Now the notation 'looks' like it 'says' i'm holding the chord, I don't know, I'm musically illiterate but there's the vertical chord notes with arcing lines at the top & bottom that extend across the bars as opposed to just the chord notes that appear when I just 'hit' a chord. The program can't play back or 'know' the correct sound and I monitor the synth output through headphones. You mentioned soundsets, S4 does have other synth SS's but none for the X50. I even called and talked to a Korg tech and he said they have no plans to make a SS, that's Sibelius's job and of course with v5 out I'll be SOL, UTCWAP and not LOL... GMD? Emailing Sibelius, they have no solution other than setup the midi channels...? WTF does that mean? Isn't it automatic? Isn't that what midi is/does? I have to sit and figure out how to assign the 2.3 trillion different sounds from my X50 to the 128 midi things or is it 12? Sounds like I need the services of a (free) programmer... Anyway until I find another X50 user in the same situation (which I won't be cause it's not worth the time) who's got a workaround or fix, well... ;>)

Nope it doesn't work that (exact) way. Sibelius v4 doesn't exactly have midi in/out, it has a mixer with faders and below the faders are where you choose the midi channel. here's a pic, the blue areas with the numbers are the only midi choices other than selecting your playback device in preferences: http://www.mydatabus.com/public/tavernstuff/e/sample.jpg Sibelius does have 'sound sets' where (I guess) 'older' synth communication/language/whatever info is so the program can talk/see a particular synth. The Korg X50 is too new and neither Korg nor Sibelius has a patch. Yes, I can play the synth and notes do appear on the stave I intended them to but on playback, the program will play some parts/staves back and not others or sometimes 2 different sounds from one stave (?) but it won't play back the same sounds i used from the synth. So overall after dealing with it for 2 weeks, I gave up. I'm not a programmer and midi stuff is the last thing I want to learn. It was just an experiment on my part to see if it would work thinking that midi was supposed to be a musical instrument universal language, but it's more like windows plug n' play, neither one works as advertised...;>) i'm still waiting for someone to come up with metric sized guitar cables...;>)

Yeah, I gave up. The software is too old and the synth is too new. Just another reason to not deal with computers and music...;>)

Question: I am setting up/plugging in my Korg X50 to my computer with Sibelius v4 installed. I'm not a keyboard player but I do want to create sheet music of a few of my original tunes. I've managed to get notes to appear on the staves but there's no sound. The computer & Sibelius 'see' the Korg but no sound set in Sibelius' menu show up. Any idea how to get the program to see the X50 sounds and play/record/playback those sounds? i am brand new at this computer/music stuff so please go easy with any terminology above a basic grunt & nod...;>) Thanks, -Jim

I've got a Korg D3200 (32 track, no pairs) which is pretty decent but it has no effects send/return - but I use effects pedals anyway. You can only add one of the internal effects to a channel and I've found it impossible to add 2 to 2 different tracks, theres some way to do it but as i play/record everything myself, i've only tried it once as an experiment with 2 vocal tracks recorded at the same time, so I gave up trying. Other than that, there was a brief learning curve at first and now it's a piece of cake. A CD burner's built in, I can bounce but don't need to w/32 tracks. Ignore the limited drum sounds in it and buy a real drum machine. It has USB out for whatever that's worth. You can assign any track input to many recordable tracks at once, ie: I can plug my mic into a splitter and plug those 2 cables into track 1& 3 then assign the input of track 1 to both tracks 1 & 2, the same for input 3 to 3 & 4 giving me 4 vocal tracks and assign different effects to each track or I can assign the input of track 1 to record on all the other 31 tracks. Plus it never crashes and there's real knobs to turn and all I need to worry about with plugins is the instrument cable...;>) The LCD screen could be bigger as the knob 'matrix' on the unit controls all sorts of neat stuff. This thing is really a computer and it does have a built in mouse/joystick. The sound quality is wonderful. Tons of Korg REMS effects - I only use stereo chorus. I record everything I do direct. -Jim

dvd shrink... nero for ISO's

seniors! SENIORS!!! Damn! I didn't think "I" was that old! Just because i'm on disability and collect social security and sometimes have to walk with a cane and can't do the things i used to do when I was young... Well, I still have all my teeth, and only 'some' of my hair is grey-ish and my bald spot isn't half as big as most peoples. Besides, it's covered quite well by my long hair... and i'm not eligible for AARP yet, triple A yes, but not AARP, which kida stinks as they have some pretty cool stuff... I'm only 46, I won't be a senior until i get as old as Lazz...;>) Now, what the hell were we talking about? oh yes... As far as being a 'beginner', just go ahead and try writing whatever comes to mind (yours or someone elses, trust me, they won't notice...). Get yourself a decent synth and plunk away at it. If I can come up with stuff, so can you! -Jim Now as far as connecting a midi keyboard (my Korg X50) to my computer (via USB) and having Sibelius v4 'see' the damn thing (it does but there's no sound set for it in Sibelius' list), well, it doesn't have a sound set listing in Sibelius' pull down menu. Neither Sibelius nor Korg has a sound set download so I'm stumped. I was hoping the computer/program would see the keyboard so's I could play the thing 'into' the staves to create the sheet music and also 'see' what the notes would look like (and help me get a better idea of how to fathom the note type & placement). Anyone here do this kinda thing? I've set the keyboard (in it's controls) to be a master thingy that the program would use to playback(?) the sounds, not just a controller, and that's about the sum of my computer/music creation knowledge. -Jim

So much great info, so little years left...

Here's a comparative graphic I drew with the graphic I found on the net. I can only assume that the bass side lines of a staff (the lower one of a piano pair) are labeled differently and not the typical FACE order? Either that or the guy that made the 'red' graphic screwed up? I 'combined' the bass & treble 'sides' onto one staff when i noticed the bass side notes didn't 'work' or align with the keyboard notes... confused... Weight & density, understood. Yes, that's what i'm thinking about as far as coming up with a decent qty of instrument voices (for the school orchestra). Now that i've got some idea of instrumentation & placement, I can try and break down the preset string sounds on my keyboard rather than just use the preset sound (this may take me awhile to figure out...;>) I was watching Star Trek Nemesis the other day and was (trying) to concentrate on the music (all that beautiful open space between the notes!) but I couldn't tell if what sounded like a single low noted horn (Bassoon? Big sax? Casio synth? A well trained water buffalo inna tie?) was just one or more, listening how it filled the room (just the right amount of reverb). Stuff like that... aw, my heads starting to hurt from all this music thinking stuff!

Thanks John, some interesting stuff there but no, I'm just looking for a small graphic of each chord written on a staff so I can insert them into my little song chord diagram sheet. Lazz, I've got it into my head to try and 'jot down' as much of my new stuff that I put keys on, Willis's song being the first example. not because I want to learn to read sheet music but to try and make things a bit easier for whomever may be transcribing my stuff, a lesson i learned the first time. Jim Snarski took my recordings and trans'd the vocals and came over my place many times and we sat while he played the bits on his flute to make sure he had things correctly. I never understood the need for a 'lead' sheet as i never expected the singers to try & sing exactly the way I did (and they didn't... if they could sing at all of which only 2 really could...;>) Mike B. took the lead sheets and the recordings and added all the other (school) orchestral instruments and wrote those parts (with my advice/opinions here & there). But for Willis's song, i've got certain melodic lines played on the recording and I want to keep them so I figured i'd 'assist' whoever by jotting down the notes but don't want to just write out "A, C, Eflat, etc..." I can at least jot dots down on the staff and measure (i can count to 4 as well as anyone else...;>) So hopefully that will help whoever later on down the road. "Density/weighing" Well, if an instrument is too heavy, the musician should find a lighter instrument to play... i think that sums up my music theory...;>) Here's the song chart thingy I made for Willis' song: http://www.mydatabus.com/public/tavernstuf...isSongchart.pdf I'm in the process of revamping it to show my full keyboard (still not as long as a regular piano). Mine's got 5 groups of both the 2 and 3 black key groupings but no indication of where middle C is (that's the point of reference where the treble/bass is split for staff notes correct?). I found a keyboard graphic (shorter than mine) that has the bass & treble notes/staff overlaid on it but I don't know 'where' to line it up compared to my keyboard. I've attached it here (I hope). Anyways, back to the instrument stuff, when I add keyboard orchestra parts to my tunes, i'm now writing the info down (name, bank, preset, track, sound, what part the sound is used for, etc.) this time around just because some of the tunes (like Willis) are more complex (unlike the first Tavern tunes which were just 'supposed' to be a single acoustic guitar) and I want to offer a bit more info than just a recording (litterate musicians,... why can't you guys just figure it out from the recording or make stuff up as you go along during rehersals? ;>) I hope that made sense. -Jim Edited: I scanned a chord staff graphic to show what I'm looking for in either png or wmg format. Edited again: I was just looking at that 'red' keyboard graphic and I realized the notes are wrong! I also found a graphic showing where the middle C is on my keyboard, i'll be posting a new graphic tomorrow for your opinions, going to bed now, G'nite ya'll...

Awesome John! Thanks a million! Now, any idea where I can get some (all actually) wmf/png chord diagrams/artwork on staves to put into my home made chord diagram sheets? Another question, anyone here VERY familiar with Finale Notepad? I ask because I just D/L'd it but I need to be able to insert lyrics first, then add notes in afterwards. remember, I don't read nor write notation so it's the only way I can 'try' to create basic sheet music in anticipation of the production. Sadly ('cause i'm a cheap B*****rd), the free version only allows 8 staves/staffs so I can't add in more for additional instruments. I've redrawn the thing (stave layout) in Coreldraw 9 (of which I am a guru!) and will be using that to create by 'basic' info sheet for the tavern songs from now on. I just figured that it would look more 'authentic' with all the extra doo-dads (clefs & whatnot) from the program. But at least i'm not forced to have 2 staves for synth & piano because I only need one. -Jim

Do any of you know of any free sheet music software that will allow me to type in the lyrics first and add the notes afterwrad so I can attempt to figure out & print the 'basic' sheet music? I tried finale last year but it wanted notes first. -Jim

Thank you guys, you've both given me something to think about. John, I'm looking forward to any diagram help you can muster! Finn, awesome site! Now I just gotta find those instruments on my Korg X50 synth and 'see' what they sound like compared to the audio on the site and compare them again to the overall full 'string' sounds. I'm not a keyboard player (about 2-3 weeks so far really, with everything I've been trying to do with my latest tune) so trying to play the piano (timing, key velocity/pressure, picking the right sounds, playing competently/consistently, etc.) has been an extreme chore. I am a guitar player... and bassist & former drummer until my back went bad. Now I'm just a songwriter trying to climb out of my 'box'. Well, here's the finished music (music only, still working on the lyrics) to another Tavern (part 2 of the trilogy) tune. Two tracks of 'strings' (all recorded instrument/tracks are in stereo), drum machine pattern, piano, flute, string 'melody' lead & some type of horn & tamborine. 15 tracks total. It kinda fall apart at the end but such things would be worked out during production rehersals and whenever the sheet music (run away! run away!) gets created. Yes, the first few bars of each verse does sound a bit like Lukes theme from star wars, I didn't realize that until my 2nd attempt at a recording. I did change the melody a bit to more reflect the actual vocal lines. What can ya do? But I've had to point that fact out to others who say they couldn't tell. I hope this means my abilities on keys & songwriting has gotten better if i can rewrite (stumble upon) such things. The funny things is that I spent at least a week flubbing with the keyboard putting my fingers all over the place until things started to make decent sounds (did i mention I don't play keys?) and I was extremely happy that I came up with something very complex sounding (and not on the guitar!). But now, after i've written down the chords to see what they are on guitar and have played each 'melody' part probably hundreds of times until i got them recorded reasonably well, it all seems nothing more than simple little riffs pieced together to create a greater more intricate sounding whole. As much of a pain it's been to get the damn thing recorded (I DID say i'm not a keyboard player, didn't I?), the lyrics have REALLY been a pain. One verse & the chorus are done, but i'll be damned if i can get past that and finish it. -Jim http://www.mydatabus.com/public/tavernstuf...Final_Music.mp3 (11 megs)

Anyone here (assuming you not only write lyrics but also play all the instruments on your recordings too) write 'orchestrated' pieces? If so, how do you choose which instruments and where do you place them in the stereo field? I'm currently working on a soft/smooth jazz piece and using my synth to add horns, wood, strings, etc. But I want to do more than just use a strings preset for the main orchestral chords. I want to better understand what a orchestra consists of, the various sounds the instruments make and where they are placed (diagrams & instrument lists anyone?). Thanks for reading, -Jim