Yamaha Dvx S80 User Manual

							Yamaha S80 - Sibelius Sound Set User Manual | 11
3.3 Windows
Installation under Windows operating systems requires copying files to the Sibelius 
user settings directory which can be found in the following locations:
Sibelius 5 (Windows XP)
C:\Documents and Settings\username\Application Data\Sibelius Software\Sibelius 5
Sibelius 5 (Windows Vista/Windows 7)
C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Sibelius Software\Sibelius 5
Sibelius 6 (Windows XP)
C:\Documents and Settings\username\Application Data\Sibelius Software\Sibelius 6
Sibelius 6 (Windows Vista/Windows 7)
C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Sibelius Software\Sibelius 6
Sibelius 7 (Windows Vista/Windows 7)
C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Avid\Sibelius 7
Note: The Application Data and AppData folders are hidden by default. If not visible, 
follow the instructions in our knowledge base article AppData Folder Not Visible 
Windows or Application Data Folder Not Visible Windows before continuing with the 
installation.
In the Sibelius user settings directory locate the folder 
named Sounds. If the folder is missing, create it and 
name it appropriately.
Copy the XML files from the 02 Sound Sets folder 
in the sound set package to the Sounds folder in the 
Sibelius user settings directory.
User Settings Directory, Windows
  
						

							Yamaha S80 - Sibelius Sound Set User Manual | 12
4. Using the Sound Set
4.1 Selecting the Sound Set
To use the sound set, a new playback configuration needs to be created so Sibelius 
knows which plugin(s)/device(s) and sound set(s) to use for playback.\
 To create a new 
playback configuration, open the Playback Devices dialog from Play > Playback De-
vices in Sibelius’s menu (Sibelius 5 and Sibelius 6) or by clicking the dialog launcher 
button in the Play > Setup group in the ribbon (Sibelius 7).
At the top of this dialog Sibelius displays the name of the currently active playback 
configuration, with buttons for several different actions including Save, New…,  
Rename…, and Delete. Click New…, enter a name for the playback configuration, 
and then click OK to create it.
When you create a configuration, Sibelius uses the settings of the current configura-
tion to create the default state of the new one. Select each plugin or device listed in the 
Active Devices pane that is not required and click the > button to add it to the 
configuration. In the Active Devices pane, use the drop-down menu in the Sound Set 
column to select the Yamaha S80 sound set. Click the Save  button at the top of the 
Playback Devices dialog to save your changes, and close the Playback Devices dialog.
Playback Devices
  
						

							Yamaha S80 - Sibelius Sound Set User Manual | 13
4.2 Preferred Sounds
When multiple sound sets are used in the same playback configuration there is a good 
chance that some instruments will be available in more than one device. For example, 
“Library A” and “Library B” may both have a solo violin sound. Even though the 
patch names in the sound sets are probably different, to Sibelius these two solo violin 
sounds are equivalent because the underlying sound ID is the same. This poses a prob-
lem because Sibelius will arbitrarily select one of these sounds which may or may not\
 
be the desired sound.
To instruct Sibelius from which device a sound should play, Preferred Sounds rules can 
be added in the playback configuration. Using Preferred Sounds, sounds can be as-
signed very specifically or very broadly to a particular device based on their sound IDs.
Note: Preferred Sounds, despite their use in directing sounds to a device, are not a 
replacement for a manual sound set when one must be used. They should b\
e used in 
addition to any channel assignments made in a manual sound set.
 
From the Playback Devices dialog select the Preferred Sounds tab to view currently 
applied Preferred Sounds rules (if any) and add new rules.
Select a sound ID using the expanding list at 
the left of this dialog. The more specific your 
selection, the more targeted the preferred 
sound rule will be. For example, if you select 
Strings, all instruments whose sound IDs 
begin with “strings” will be allocated to the 
designated device. However, if you select 
Strings > Violin, only instruments whose 
sound IDs begin with “strings.violin” will be 
allocated to the designated device.
Once you’ve made your selection, use the drop-down menu at the right to select the 
device you want to use for this sound, and click Add  to apply the rule. Be sure to save 
the playback configuration after adding or editing rules so that the changes are stored.
Preferred Sounds Tab
Preferred Sounds, Sound ID Selection
  
						

							Yamaha S80 - Sibelius Sound Set User Manual | 14
An important aspect of preferred sound assignments is the use of wildcard characters in 
the sound IDs that are selected. Using the solo violin example, the complete rule is:
 For the sound ID: strings.violin.* 
  prefer this device: My Plugin
While it’s the use of wildcards that makes Preferred Sounds so flexible, each rule should 
be evaluated to see what effect it may have on other sounds. In this case, not only has 
the solo violin sound been assigned, because of the wildcard character, violin section 
sounds have also been assigned to this device. If the violin section sound should play 
from a different device than the solo violin sound, a second rule is required:
  For the sound ID: strings.violin.ensemble.* 
  prefer this device: My Other Plugin
This second, and more specific, rule overrides the broader rule created previously al-
lowing violin section sounds to play from a different device. Keep this in mind while 
assigning Preferred Sounds rules and you’ll be able to target sounds correctly.
  
						

							Yamaha S80 - Sibelius Sound Set User Manual | 15
5. Working with Sounds
5.1 Articulations/Techniques
There are three primary ways of changing articulations and playing techniques in your 
score, articulation markings, text instructions, and lines. Symbols may also be used, 
but are not as common. Through the sound set these instructions are interpreted and 
the appropriate MIDI data is generated, whether that be a keyswitch, continuous \
con-
troller change, or other similar message, invisibly, and automatically.
Each of these methods creates sound changes in slightly different ways, and while stan-
dard notation practice will generally dictate which method is used in a giv\
en context, 
understanding how each one works together and separately is important.
Articulation Markings
Includes such markings as staccato, staccatissimo, marcato, tremolo, etc. Articulation 
markings are in effect for the duration of the note to which they are attached, after 
which the sound is reset or changes to the next indicated sound. Using articulation 
markings is perhaps the most obvious way of changing sounds in a score, but may not 
be the most efficient in all contexts.
Articulation marks generally change sounds by way of a sound ID change, with a fall-
back behavior that will simulate the technique in the event a matching sound ID is not 
found. For example, if a staccato mark is written but a staccato sample is not available, 
Sibelius will shorten the note duration to mimic the staccato effect.
The fallback behavior, while useful, is not entirely reliable with different issues ap-
pearing in different versions of Sibelius. The two most common issues, which extend 
to staff lines as well, include fallback behavior overriding a sound ID change and the 
fallback behavior being executed in addition to the sound ID change (unmeasured 
tremolo and slurs, respectively, are examples). In practice this will have little effect on 
your work since the sound set and House Styles are built to accommodate these incon-
sistencies, but it’s something to be aware of. 
Because articulation markings are automatically reset/changed at the end of the note, 
repeated notes using the same articulation (e.g., staccato) can suffer from a pulsing 
and ill-defined effect, especially at faster tempi, as superfluous\
 MIDI data is generated 
(a reset and retrigger for each individual note as opposed to once per passage). Our 
Knowledge Base article Fast Staccato Passages Muddy sheds some light on this issue.
  
						

							Yamaha S80 - Sibelius Sound Set User Manual | 16
Text Instructions
Given that there are a limited number of articulation markings but seemingly infinite 
technique variations, text instructions are responsible for a substantial number of 
sound changes. Typically entered using Expression and/or Technique Text, nearly all 
text instructions remain in effect until explicitly disabled making them an ideal choice \
for sound changes that should persist for an extended period of time.
 
Used alone, text instructions should be written in the score at the place the technique 
is to begin and a reset instruction entered where the technique should end. For exam-
ple, a passage to be played pizzicato might be indicated with the text instruction pizz. 
and ended with the instruction arco. While some text instructions come in natural 
pairs (such as pizzicato and arco, above; mute and open, etc.), others do not and will 
need to be reset with an appropriate instruction such as normal or ord.
The most important thing to remember is that unlike a live musician, who will 
interpret instructions in the context of the piece, Sibelius reacts to markings literally. 
Context may indicate that a marcato text instruction should naturally be discontin-
ued, and any live player would recognize this, but Sibelius must receive an explicit 
instruction or the marcato sound will persist.
Differences between markup for live players and computer playback are quite evident 
here, but it is possible to prepare scores that play correctly without excess visible and 
unnecessary markup. Any text instruction that you do not want to print can be hidden 
in the score by entering a tilde ~ in front of the part to be hidden.
pp
ppp
q.=q
6
8
c
b b
& bb
b
pizz. arco
..
pizz.Narco
Œ‰ ‰
œœ 
™
Œ‰
‰œœœ™œ ‰œ‰‰œœœ
‰‰œœœ
‰œ‰œ
n ‰Œ
‰Œœ™œœŒ
Text Instructions
p
pp
q.=q
p
cresc. ff
c6
8
6 8& bb
b
pizz. arco
..
pizz.Narco
&bb
b 
&bb
b
con espress.~ord.. .
Œ‰ ‰œœœ™œ ‰œ‰‰œœœ
‰‰œœœ
‰œ‰œ
n ‰Œ
‰Œœ™œœŒ
 ™™™
b™œ™œ
b™œ™œ™œ
bœ
JœœJœœ
bœœ
J
‰‰
1
Text Instructions, Hidden
  
						

							Yamaha S80 - Sibelius Sound Set User Manual | 17
Lines
Staff lines are similar to articulation marks with two notable differences: they may act 
on multiple sequential notes, and the length of the line determines the \
point at which 
the technique or effect ends. Staff lines require less discussion than articulations or text 
instructions, but the behavior of three common lines deserves a mention.
Playback of slurs is dependent on a minimum of two notes, the first not\
e to which the 
slur is attached and the last note (and any notes in between). While the slur marking 
will create a sound ID change at the beginning of the first note, the legato \
transition 
will not be heard until a subsequent note has been triggered. The transition will then 
sound for each note under the slur line.
Glissando and portamento lines react the same way as slurs but are worth mention-
ing on their own because the effect of “waiting for the second note” is much more 
pronounced. When written, glissando and portamento lines often indicate a transi-
tion should be applied in the space between the notes to which the line is attached. 
Live players accomplish this by looking ahead, finding the desired ending pitch, and 
applying the transition accordingly. By contrast, Sibelius is not able to look ahead to 
determine the ending pitch and instead must wait for that note to be tri\
ggered before 
applying the transition effect. The result is a transition that triggers in the space of the 
second note rather than the space between notes. 
Unfortunately, there is no easy way of overcoming this (short of entering hidden 
pitches between the notes in an effort to “fake it”), but with the growing number of 
libraries offering true glissando and portamento transitions, many include the ability 
to control the speed of the transition. Though not a perfect solution in every situation, 
when this control is available, altering the speed of the transition may help to disguise 
this effect in some small way.
  
						

							Yamaha S80 - Sibelius Sound Set User Manual | 18
5.2 Dynamics
Fundamentally, dynamics in Sibelius consist of two parts, the Attack strength and 
the Dynamic level. The Attack and Dynamic values are set in the playback diction-
ary, with a number in the range 0-127. Attack and Dynamic are assigned to MIDI 
functions in the sound set for each patch, and optionally, for specific articulations/
techniques, allowing the values set in the playback dictionary to be sent using whatever 
MIDI function(s) a device responds to.
Different libraries and devices use different methods of controlling dynamic and attack 
levels, some of which respond better than others in Sibelius, but generally fall into two 
categories, crossfaded velocity layers and separate velocity layers.
Crossfaded Velocity Layers
Crossfaded patches (often abbreviated XF or DXF) allow for even, continuous changes 
in level from the quietest to loudest sample. Crossfading frequently uses MIDI CC1, 
commonly mapped to the ModWheel, to control dynamics and may or may not utilize 
note velocity at all (or may assign it to another related function, such as attack speed). 
These patches are generally preferable in Sibelius as they allow for smooth crescendo 
and diminuendos over sustained notes. Depending on patch programming, the Attack 
value sent by Sibelius may have no effect.
Separate Velocity Layers
Patches programmed with separate velocity layers allow attack and dynamic to be con-
trolled separately, but usually prevent the continuous change in dynamics resulting in 
staggered and “jumping” dynamics. Because the MIDI controller assigned to dynamics 
(typically MIDI CC7 or CC11) operates within the active velocity layer rather than 
the instrument as a whole, the output of low velocities at a
 fff dynamic is not the same 
as high velocities at that same dynamic.
While there are exceptions to this, the majority of devices that use velocity layers for 
sustaining instruments will pose a problem when it comes to continuous dynamic 
changes in a Sibelius score.
Perhaps the best workaround is to utilize hidden dynamics and a plugin to create a 
smooth dynamic change that ends at the desired level. Enter the dynamic mark that 
should appear (print) in the score followed by a hidden marking that is the same as the 
ending dynamic, such as 
p~fff. Then, use the Cresc./Dim. Playback plugin to create 
the crescendo from 
p to fff using either MIDI CC7 or CC11.
  
						

							Yamaha S80 - Sibelius Sound Set User Manual | 19
 
This works because the second, hidden, dynamic mark is the mark interpreted during 
playback and triggers the same velocity layer as the note following the crescendo. By 
using the Cresc./Dim. Playback plugin, the entire range of 0-127 is available for this 
upper velocity layer allowing for a distinct and noticeable dynamic change across the 
duration of the note.
Recording Dynamics
As evidenced by the workaround presented above, dynamics in Sibelius are linear in 
nature. In the right, or wrong, context this can result in very unnatural dynamic move-
ment, lacking the subtleties that make the music come alive.
If you are working with a MIDI keyboard or controller that is capable of inputting 
continuous data (via a fader, knob, wheel, foot pedal, etc.) you can overcome this by 
recording dynamic changes in real time, shaping the performance while preserving the 
appearance of the score.
Open the Flexi-time Options dialog from Notes > Flexi-time Options… in Sibelius’s 
menu (Sibelius 5 and Sibelius 6) or by clicking the dialog launcher button in the 
Note Input > Flexi-time group in the ribbon (Sibelius 7).
On the Flexi-time tab, select Overdub in the Existing 
Music section at the lower left of the dialog. Under 
Voices at the upper right, deselect Record into mul-
tiple voices, and then select an unused voice (1-4) for 
the MIDI data to be recorded in.
Switch to the Notation tab briefly and verify that Keep 
controller messages is selected in the MIDI Messages 
section and then click OK to apply your settings.
Align the playback cursor where you would like to re-
cord dynamics, and when ready, start recording by pressing the record button in Sibel-
ius’s transport. When finished, stop recording and your MIDI messages will be entered 
in the score as hidden text instructions in the voice designated in Flexi-time Options.
p~mf~
ffff
&
~C11,51~C11,52 ~C11,53~C11,54 ~C11,55~C11,56 ~C11,57~C11,58~C11,59 ~C11,60~C11,61 ~C11,62~C11,63 ~C11,64~C11,65~C11,66 ~C11,67~C11,68 ~C11,69~C11,70~C11,71 ~C11,72~C11,73 ~C11,74~C11,7 5
~C11,76 ~C11,77~C11,78 ~C11,79~C11,80 ~C11,81~C11,82~C11,83 ~C11,84~C11,85 ~C11,86 ~C11,109~C11,110~C11,111~C11,112~C11,11 3
~C11,11 4
~C11,11 5
~C11,116 ~C11,11 7
~C11,118 ~C11,119 ~C11,12 0
~C11,121 ~C11,122~C11,12 3
~C11,124U
UÓŒœ
# wœœw
w
b
2Dynamics, Hidden
Flexi-time, Overdub
Flexi-time, Voices
  
						

							Yamaha S80 - Sibelius Sound Set User Manual | 20
5.3 The Mixer
The Sibelius mixer provides control over a variety of parameters associated with play-
back, including MIDI volume level, panning, plugin audio levels, effects, and sound 
assignments. With the exception of sound assignments, all of these behave as you 
would expect and allow for finer control of the sounds used in the score.
Audio and MIDI Levels and Control
An important distinction needs to be made between audio and MIDI levels as con-
trolled by the meters in the Mixer. For staff channel strips, the meters show MIDI 
activity/level and are not indicative of the audio signal. The volume faders for these 
channel strips are linked to MIDI CC7 and the pan controls to MIDI CC10. As 
these are MIDI-level controls, their values can be altered by data in the score, such as 
dynamic changes.
For devices that offer a secondary volume control (via CC11), the staff volume faders 
can be used to set overall MIDI volume levels and the value will not change. If, how-
ever, the device uses CC7 alone, the value set in the mixer is subject to change when 
different dynamics are entered in the score. Note that the display in the mixer will not 
track these changes.
Although generally of little consequence, understanding how these faders operate can 
prevent frustration when the displayed levels seem to be changing or ignored alto-
gether.
Unlike staff channel strips, the virtual instrument and master channel strips display au-
dio signal and control each plugin’s audio output level, and the summed audio output 
level of all plugins, respectively. The virtual instrument faders in particular are useful 
when mixing libraries together that have widely varied output. By balancing the output 
levels at the plugin stage, the staff channel strips can be left to mix e\
ach instrument at 
the MIDI-level allowing greater flexibility and range.
Sound Assignments
Two types of sound assignment are possible using the mixer, device assignments and 
patch assignments. However, with the exception of hardware MIDI synths, assigning 
sounds and devices in the mixer is bad practice and is best avoided in all but a few spe-
cific cases (and even then, only as a last resort). Doing so can result in incorrect sound 
allocation, cause articulations and techniques to switch incorrectly, or prevent them 
from switching at all.