Category: Sibelius

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Convert MIDI CC64 on / off messages to Pedal markings in Finale & Sibelius

Q: Is there a plug-in/tool that will convert MIDI CC64 on/off messages to Pedal on/off markings, respectively, in Finale? It almost seems like a no-brainer… I know it could potentially introduce positioning issues, but I think positioning could be quantized to hit the right beat… at the very least, once they’re in Finale, it’s much easier to move them around. Just wondering if you know of anything that will help.

A: Yes! As it happens, there are plugins available for both Finale and Sibelius that perform this task.

FINALE : JW PEDAL PLUGIN

Jari Williamssohn has written just such a plugin for Finale, called JW Pedal. The plugin adds pedal up/down markings as articulations wherever CC64 MIDI controller events are found.

One current limitation is that you must have the down and up definitions of the pedal markings (as Maestro) in the articulation list before you start – otherwise nothing will show up. But definitely a time saver.

Tip: In a new Document Without Libraries, you can create these 2 articulation characters and export / save them as a library for quick import into future documents rather than having to recreate them each time.

Download the FREE JW Pedal plugin (and other useful plugins) here: Mac | Windows

SIBELIUS : PEDAL LINES PLUGIN

Bob Zawalich has authored the useful (and free) Pedal Lines plugin for Sibelius, which converts CC64 MIDI controller events to Sibelius pedal lines.

Download the FREE Pedal Lines plugin for Mac | Windows here.

~robert

for Rolando Gori

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Create true equidistant measure widths in a Sibelius score

Q: I am currently engraving an orchestral score by a living composer in Sibelius 7.1.3 and he is asking me for evenly spaced measures in the score (regardless of note content). The score itself is very complex and I would like to know if there is any other way other that filling a bar’s second voice with 64ths and then hiding all of them. This would solve the problem in the score but then I would have to repeat the process for every single separate sheet.

A: The quick and easy solution is to use Sibelius’s Auto Layout feature which locks a specific number of measures per system regardless of content. For instance, each system (or score page) can always be 4 bars, or 2 bars, or even a single bar. In Sibelius 7, use Auto Breaks in the Layout tab fix the number of measures per system / page. (Auto Breaks are found in the Layout Menu in Sib 6). You can use this feature in both the score and parts.

This “container lock” method works just fine in many cases. With this method, measure width essentially overrides note spacing. However, there are certain situations where you not only want equidistant width of the measures themselves, but also more exact control of the spacing of the notation content within these bars. (see the score example at the end of this post).

Sibelius factors the content of every staff vertically down the score into its note spacing routine, with the most active staff taking precedence. You can use this to your advantage if your goal is to create wide, even spacing in a score or part.

To see the effects of this clearly, turn off Auto Breaks in the Layout tab (or Layout Menu in Sib 6).

In a passage where you have more note density in one staff than another, (or more notes in one voice than another), the overall note spacing will adjust to accommodate the busier music. Note how the whole notes in the top staff become spaced further and further apart as the staff below it becomes filled with smaller and smaller note values:

more >> “Create true equidistant measure widths in a Sibelius score”

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Vertical Spacing Between Staves in a Score & Working @ 100%

Q: What is the ideal space between staves in a score? I know this can vary but I would like to make the systems as big as possible without too much crowding.

A: The ideal distance between staves is based on the number of staves, the page size and the system size / number of systems on the page – as you’ve discovered, it varies; each situation is a little bit different.

A good starting point for understanding vertical staff spacing might be to consider the braced Grand Staff. In the Grand Staff, the ledger line on middle C is, for all intents and purposes, a staff line. The braced grand staff functions as is a bridge between the two different clefs.

As you move the treble and bass clef staves closer together, there will be a point when the middle C ledger line is directly centered; there are two staff spaces between the clefs, with one staff space above and one below middle C:

more >> “Vertical Spacing Between Staves in a Score & Working @ 100%”

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Lyric Phrasing

I frequently receive vocal scores which have slurring that seems to be at odds with the lyrics themselves:

Essentially, this boils down to too many conflicting symbols being used simultaneously to represent similar instructions. A little historical context might help break down why we seem compelled to use these conflicting instructions for phrasing in vocal music:

more >> “Lyric Phrasing”

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Creating Instrument Changes in Sibelius

Q: I have a score with percussion parts defined as one line staves. However, I want them to be five line staves. The only thing I could find in the Sibelius Reference is how to address this situation when you are first creating instruments. How can I do this?

A: Fortunately, this one’s pretty easy. It’s done with the Instrument Change feature in Sibelius.

sib-instrument-change

Go to the beginning of the score. In Sibelius 6, go to Create > Other > Instrument Change. In Sibelius 7, choose Change from the Instruments panel of the Home tab. Select “Percussion, 5 lines”. Ok the dialog. The cursor will be loaded blue. Click to the left of the first bar for the one line staff you want to change.

Note that you can also use instrument changes anywhere within a piece, for instance, to change Flute to Piccolo or Oboe to English Horn.

That’s it! That’s all there is to it.

~robert

for Laura