CONTENTS

Guide for Sibelius . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Guide for Finale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Guide for Dorico. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Guide for Playback Engines . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Last updated April 28, 2023. Copyright © by Wallander Instruments AB and original authors.
NotePerformer™ is a trademark of Wallander Instruments AB. Windows® is a trademark of
Microsoft Corporation. Mac®, Apple® and Mac OS® are trademarks of Apple Computer Inc.
Sibelius® is a trademark of Avid Technology, Inc. Intel Core™ is a trademark of Intel Corporation.
Finale®, Dolet® and MusicXML™ are trademarks of MakeMusic, Inc. DORICO® is a trademark of
Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH.

2
GUIDE FOR
 SIBELIUS

MAC INSTALLATION
● If you’ve purchased NotePerformer, please download the
full version installer using your personal download
links.

● Run the installer and proceed through all steps. The

full version overwrites the trial version.

● Open Sibelius, and switch to your new Playback

Configuration named “NotePerformer”.

● NotePerformer may be uninstalled by running:

/Library/Application Support/NotePerformer/
Uninstall NotePerformer.command

● Our installer overwrites previously installed

NotePerformer versions.

4
 SIBELIUS

PC INSTALLATION
● If you’ve purchased NotePerformer, please download
the full version installer using your personal
download links.

● If you’ve manually overridden Sibelius’s VST plug-

in path, or if Sibelius was installed to another drive
than C:, you must take extra caution. Our installer
targets only the default plug-in paths:

C:\Program Files\Avid\VSTPlugins

C:\Program Files (x86)\Avid\VSTPlugins

C:\Program Files\Sibelius Software\VSTPlugins

C:\Program Files (x86)\Sibelius Software\VSTPlugins

● Sibelius must remain configured to use one of

these paths for plug-ins. The folder must also exist
on your hard drive, prior to installing NotePerformer.

● Run the installer and proceed through all steps.

The full version overwrites the trial version.

● Open Sibelius, and switch to your new Playback

Configuration named “NotePerformer”.

● NotePerformer may be uninstalled from

“Add/Remove Programs”.

● Our installer overwrites previously installed

NotePerformer versions.

5
 SIBELIUS

● To get NotePerformer playback in Sibelius, switch to the

NotePerformer configuration.

● This configuration should appear automatically if

you’ve installed NotePerformer.

● NotePerformer’s instruments respond to reverb, pan

and volume from the Sibelius mixer.

● Mixer settings are saved with your score.

● By default, reverb is 39%, while pan and volume

may vary.
● This variation in default volume was meant to counteract
imbalances in Sibelius 6’s built-in sounds
but now often produces unwanted volume differences
between instruments.

● Make a habit of always checking the volume levels, as

you want your instruments to all have the same
volume.

● Double-clicking a volume slider resets it to the

baseline value of 95.

6
 SIBELIUS

● If NotePerformer playback isn’t working, step one is to open the

Audio Engine Options dialog and review your settings.

● When troubleshooting, please always use the Primary Sound Driver (DS) on
PC, and the Built-in Output (CoreAudio) on Mac.

● When troubleshooting, please use a buffer size of at least 1024, and a

sample rate of 44100 Hz.

● Make sure “Use virtual instruments and effects” is selected.

● Please note that General MIDI playback in Sibelius works irrespectively of

these settings, and cannot be used to determine the status of the audio engine
in Sibelius.

7
SIBELIUS

● You can also use our included plug-in

to reset all instruments to a
volume of 95.

● Run this script when starting a new

score, or when adding staves.

● This script also resets pan to the

staff’s default.

● If you want Sibelius to strictly follow

the dynamics in your score you must
lower the espressivo setting to
meccanico from the performance
dialog.

● The “espressivo” feature makes Sibelius

humanize the dynamics, for better or
worse. Use only with care.

● If you experience problems with

higher notes being louder than
lower pitched notes during a
melody, you are using Espressivo.

8
SIBELIUS

● You can alsochange our global

reverb level from the performance
dialog.

● This is done by changing from

Ambient hall to another room type.
● The “Use reverb” checkbox must
always be selected.

● You can turn off the reverb by

using the “Dry” room type.

● You can have early reflections

only by using “Small room”.

● The room type setting works in

combination with the reverb
sliders in the mixer (which have a
baseline value of 39%).

● You can turn off playback for any

item in Sibelius.

● This is done by deselecting “Play on

pass” from the Inspector dialog.

● You can use this feature to correct

improper playback in Sibelius, such as
nested slurs.

combine this feature

● You can also
with hidden items (such as hidden slurs
or accents) to improve playback for scarce or
unconventional notation.

9
SIBELIUS

● Occasionally when opening an older

orchestral score created with Sibelius
Sounds, the first plug-in instance
is -6 dB lower than it should be.
● The result is that the first 16 staves are
considerably lower in volume.
This is a problem if your score uses
more than 16 staves.

● Double-click this slider in the

mixer to reset the volume for the first
plug-in instance.

● You can customize

playback of
individual trills
in Sibelius, from the
Inspector.

● Speed means number of

notes per second and
is useful for fine-tuning
playback of a trill.

10
SIBELIUS

● This problem is resolved

from Sibelius 2019.4.
● Unpitched percussion trills in
Sibelius occasionally play the
wrong sound for every
other note.
● This happens when Sibelius
incorrectly performs it as an
interval trill within the
percussion map rather than a
tremolo.

● Problem is solved by setting

the “fixed” trill type with an
interval of zero half steps.

● Trill lines are automatically

performed legato—when
using NotePerformer—but
trill symbols aren’t
because they are missing
the appropriate Sound ID
change.

● Problem is solved by
manually adding the
+trill Sound ID
change to the symbols in
the Dictionary.

11
 SIBELIUS

● Scores using an old House Style may be missing Sound ID

changes for articulations such as tenuto and marcato.

● Without a Sound ID change, the articulation will not playback

correctly.

● Problem is solved by manually adding Sound ID changes

named after the articulation.

● Or alternatively, by importing an up-to-date House Style.

only “MIDI” type

● If you see
playback devices in Sibelius,
you may not have an audio
interface configured.

General MIDI
● In this state only
playback works.
● Problem is solved by opening
the Audio Engine Options dialog
and selecting an audio
interface.

12
 SIBELIUS

● Sounds in NotePerformer that lack a staff definition in Sibelius may

be accessed by overriding the sound from the mixer.

● If you manually override a sound from the mixer then Sibelius also
overrides the device—whether you like it or not—by assigning
it to the first NotePerformer instance (N. 1-16).

● This is a common source of error with larger scores using sound

overrides. You should immediately change the device
to “auto” after a manual sound override, or you may start
experiencing problems with the wrong sounds being assigned.

13
SIBELIUS

● Dynamics should include voice 1 when

possible.

● Dynamics or hairpins in the wrong voice

is a common source of error with
Sibelius playback of dynamics.

● If sounds are not assigned

correctly (or always playback
as a trumpet sound) you may
have inadvertently deselected
Send program changes in
Sibelius’s playback preferences.

● NotePerformer relies on bank

and program MIDI messages, so
you must not deactivate these
features.

14
 SIBELIUS

● If you want to mix sounds from different plug-ins you add these
additional plug-ins to the NotePerformer playback configuration.

● This is done from the Playback Devices dialog. You select the plug-in you want
to add under available devices and click activate.

● Save the configuration using a different name. The NotePerformer

configuration reverts to its original state on a regular basis.

● With a mixed configuration—like this one—you must manually specify the

playback device for each staff, from the mixer.

● The advanced user can instead use Playback Devices ▸ Preferred Sounds to specify
how sounds should be distributed over different devices.

15
 SIBELIUS

● Our Plug‑Ins for Sibelius unlock additional features.

● The Orchestral Tuning Plug‑In adds support for tunings other

than 440 Hz.

● The Pipe Organ Stops Plug‑In provides easy access to custom

registration.
● The Tenuto Always Plug‑In forces all notes to be performed for their
full written length, overriding natural interpretation.

● The Vibrato Amount/Speed Plug‑Ins provide in‑depth control

over vibrato.

● The a2, a3, ... Plug‑In creates sections for woodwinds or brass,
and reduces the sizes of string sections.

16
SIBELIUS

● We include a range of
percussion sounds with no
natural mapping in Sibelius,
such as the Suspended Cymbal and
Opera Gongs.

● These must be manually mapped

to a percussion staff of your choice, if
you wish to use them.

● 1. Add a percussion staff with

the right appearance.

● 2. Select a full bar on that staff, and

click the small arrow next to
Instruments on the ribbon to open
the Edit Instruments dialog.

● 3. If you selected a bar on that staff,

your instrument is automatically
highlighted. Please click Edit
Instrument...

● 4. This opens another dialog, where

you may edit the properties of that
instrument. Please click Edit Staff
Type...

● 5. From the Edit Staff Type dialog

you may manually assign
percussion sounds to any notehead
or pitch of your choice.

● 6. Close all dialogs and save your

changes when prompted. Your
customised percussion staff is now
ready to be used.

17
SIBELIUS

● Videos may be out of sync

in Sibelius due to NotePerformer’s
one‑second latency.

● This is easily corrected for by

opening the Timecode and Duration
dialog, and starting the video
one second into the score.

● Alternatively, you can start

the video from a negative offset.
By setting the video to start from
minus one‑seconds into the video.

18
SIBELIUS

● Unexplainable playback errors

in Sibelius are often caused by the
‘Playback single appoggiaturas at the
attached note position’ setting.

● You access this setting from the

Performance dialog.

● If a score behaves strangely in playback

we recommend unchecking this
setting as a first resort.

19
 SIBELIUS

● If you have a Mac and NotePerformer is missing from your available

devices, we suggest resetting your Sibelius Audio Engine. Here’s how to do that:
● Close Sibelius, open Finder, and press SHIFT+CMD+G (Go to folder).

● Paste exactly the following path, and press enter:

~/Library/Application Support/Avid

● Finder will open a folder. Navigate from there into the folder named ‘Sibelius’ (if
you have an older version of Sibelius, it may be named e.g. ‘Sibelius 7’).

● Navigate from there into ‘PlogueEngine’

● You’re now in a folder with a number of .cache files. Please delete those files.

● The operation will completely reset the audio engine in Sibelius, and prompt a
rescan of all plugins and the audio interface the next time you start Sibelius.

20
 SIBELIUS

● If you have a PC and NotePerformer is missing from your available

devices, we suggest resetting your Sibelius Audio Engine. Here’s how to do that:
● Close Sibelius, and press WINDOWS+R (Run).

● Paste exactly the following shortcut, and press enter:

%appdata%\Avid

● File Explorer will open a folder. Navigate from there into the folder named
‘Sibelius’ (if you have an older version of Sibelius, it may be named e.g. ‘Sibelius
7’).

● Navigate from there into ‘PlogueEngine’

● You’re now in a folder with a number of .cache files. Please delete those files.

● The operation will completely reset the audio engine in Sibelius, and prompt a
rescan of all plugins and the audio interface the next time you start Sibelius.

21
 SIBELIUS

● With a Rent-to-Own subscription, you will receive a

subscription‑related monthly email.

● There’s a link beneath “X Additional Payments of $10.75 every Month”.

● Please follow this link to manage your subscription.

● This is how you update your payment details or cancel your

subscription.

22
KNOWN ISSUES IN SIBELIUS

● Prior to Sibelius 2019.4, you

cannot do Live Recording
with NotePerformer as your playback
device, due to latency compensation
issues.

temporarily
● The workaround is to
switch to General MIDI
playback when you wish to do live
recording.

● You cannot use Rewire with

NotePerformer in Sibelius, due to latency
compensation/timing issues.

23
 ARTICULATIONS IN SIBELIUS

PLAIN NOTE DYNAMICS CRESCENDO DIMINUENDO

œ œ
ff
œ
p
œ
f f
œ œ
p

STACCATO STACCATISSIMO MEZZO-STACCATO TREMOLO

ææ æ æ æ
œ. œ
'
œ-. œ œæ œ œ

ACCENT MARCATO TENUTO LEGATO

^
œ> œ œ- œ œ
PIZZICATO TRILL GLISSANDO ARPEGGIO

Ÿ~~~~~~~~~ œœ
œ
pizz. arco

œ œ œ œœ
∏∏∏∏∏

24
 ARTICULATIONS IN SIBELIUS

»
COL LEGNO SNAP PIZZ. (ALT. 1) SNAP PIZZ. (ALT. 2) HARMONICS (WRITTEN PITCH)

col legno ord. snap pizz. arco o

œ œ œ œ œ œ
ARTIFICIAL HARMONICS MUTE (ALT. 1) MUTE (ALT. 2) STOPPED HORN

+
Oœ mute

œ
open

œ
con sordino

œ senza sordino
œ
œ

BUCKET MUTE CUP MUTE PLUNGER MUTE HARMON MUTE

bucket mute cup mute plunger mute harmon mute

œ open
œ open
œ open
œ open

œ œ œ œ

LET RING (ALT. 1) LET RING (ALT. 2) NO VIBRATO VIBRATO

let ring non-L.V. L.V. non-L.V. non vib. ord. vib. ord.
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

25
 ARTICULATIONS IN SIBELIUS

MOLTO VIBRATO SLAP BASS INTERPRETATION VARIES INTERPRETATION VARIES

œ. œ. œ- œ-
molto vib. ord. slap ord.

œ œ œ œ

FLUTTER-TONGUE (ALT. 1) FLUTTER-TONGUE (ALT. 2) PLOP DOIT

ææ ûœ œù
flz. ord.

œ œ œ

SCOOP FALL a2, zu 3, ... VIBRATO DEPTH (OVERRIDE)

ùœ œû
USE OUR PLUG-IN USE OUR PLUG-IN
FOR SIBELIUS FOR SIBELIUS

VIBRATO SPEED (OVERRIDE) A4 TUNING (HERTZ) SECONDARY EXPRESSION ORGAN REGISTRATION

USE OUR PLUG-IN USE OUR PLUG-IN USE OUR PLUG-IN

Range: =1...64...127
FOR SIBELIUS FOR SIBELIUS (shift -2 ... +2 dynamic levels)
FOR SIBELIUS

CC110= · CC110=0

26
 ARTICULATIONS IN SIBELIUS

BOWED PITCHED PERCUSSION GUITAR EFFECTS DÉTACHÉ

USE THE MIXER IN USE OUR PLUG-IN détaché ord.

SIBELIUS FOR SIBELIUS

œ œ

27
GUIDE FOR
 FINALE

MAC INSTALLATION
● If you’ve purchased NotePerformer, please download the
full version installer using your personal download
links.

● Run the installer and proceed through all steps. The

full version overwrites the trial version.

● Open a score in Finale, and go to:

MIDI/Audio ▸ Sound Map Priority

and move NotePerformer to the top. This makes
NotePerformer your default choice of sounds in
Finale, when running “Reassign Playback Sounds”.

● Set playback to be through Audio Units plug-ins:

MIDI/Audio > Play Finale Through Audio Units

● For existing scores which are already assigned to

other sounds, please run:

MIDI/Audio > Reassign Playback Sounds

● NotePerformer may be uninstalled by running:

/Library/Application Support/NotePerformer/
Uninstall NotePerformer.command

● Our installer overwrites previously installed

NotePerformer versions.

29
 FINALE

PC INSTALLATION
● If you’ve purchased NotePerformer, please download the
full version installer using your personal download
links.

● Run the installer and proceed through all steps. The

full version overwrites the trial version.

● Open a score in Finale, and go to:

MIDI/Audio ▸ Sound Map Priority

and move NotePerformer to the top. This makes
NotePerformer your default choice of sounds in
Finale, when running “Reassign Playback Sounds”.

● Set playback to be through VST plug-ins:

MIDI/Audio > Play Finale Through VST

● For existing scores which are already assigned to

other sounds, please run:

MIDI/Audio > Reassign Playback Sounds

● NotePerformer may be uninstalled from

“Add/Remove Programs”.

● Our installer overwrites previously installed

NotePerformer versions.

30
 FINALE

● Open MIDI/Audio > Sound Map Priority and move

NotePerformer to the top.

● This makes makes NotePerformer your default choice of

sounds in Finale, when creating a score or when running
“Reassign Playback Sounds”.

● If our sound map is missing, please run the NotePerformer

installer again.

● This is usually necessary when you install a new version of

Finale.

31
FINALE

● You must use Default Prefs

as your Human Playback
Configuration.

● This is the default setting

in Finale.

● We extend your
Default Prefs configuration
with NotePerformer’s custom
Human Playback Preferences.

● Location in Finale for this setting

is:

MIDI/Audio > Human Playback >

Human Playback Preferences...

● Make sure Attach to “...” is NOT

selected.

32
FINALE

● Always use a
Human Playback Style.

● We recommend the Standard

style.

● Human Playback is what

interprets the musical
symbols in your score and
converts them into MIDI signals
that are suitable for your
playback device.

● The “None” styledisables

playback for all symbols
except for notes. Don’t use it.

● To get the correct sound for a

staff you simply select the
appropriate instrument
from the Score Manager.

● After making changes from the

Score Manager, you must also
run:

MIDI/Audio > Reassign Playback

Sounds

33
 FINALE

● Using our supplied FinaleScripts we add support for a few

techniques such as a2, a3 and non vib which are
not described by Human Playback. These can be assigned
manually to an expression whenever you wish to use
them.

● For each technique, there’s also one that cancels

that technique (for example, “a2” is cancelled by an
expression to which you’ve assigned the
“UNISONS – solo/default” FinaleScript).

● To assign playback for an expression, select the

handle and run the appropriate FinaleScript.
● We also include a FinaleScript for assigning tenuto to its
articulation, if you wish to use tenuto, because tenuto
isn’t otherwise detectable in Finale. We’ve
assigned tenuto to the lowest possible note velocity,
which is 1.

34
 FINALE

● Opening the NotePerformer interface from Finale reveals our own high-
resolution mixer.

● In Finale, our mixer is opened from the dialog:

MIDI/Audio > VST (Mac: Audio Units) Banks & Effects...

By clicking the small “pencil” icon next to each respective NotePerformer

bank.

● The mixer is initially empty, but is populated with instruments when you
initiate playback.

● If you delete staves from the score, you can remove the lingering slot by
clicking the instrument name and selecting Special > (delete slot).

● Solo/mute, volume and reverb work globally across all NotePerformer

instances.

● Channels are automatically grouped and color coded according to instrument

family.

● Double-clicking restores the default value for a parameter.

● Instruments have different pan defaults, reflecting orchestral seating.

35
FINALE

● NotePerformer supports custom

organ registration by inserting a
MIDI CC message into the score.

use our
● Please
online calculator to determine
the MIDI CC message. You can find it
here:

noteperformer.com/stops

you may attach a

● In Finale,
MIDI message to your own
expression.
● Go to Expression Designer >
Playback.

● Enter Controller “103”, and

Set to Value according to our
calculator.

36
 FINALE

● Clicking an instrument’s name in the mixer allows you to override the

sound for that MIDI channel.

● This provides access to sounds that are not mapped by your

notation software.

● Or simply for using a different choice of sound for a staff.

● Or for accessing additional drum kits such as rock, brushes or

electronic drums.

37
FINALE

● For reference, you may add

custom MIDI CC events
to any expression in Finale.

editing the
● This is done by
Playback settings for
that expression.

● The Send Patches to MIDI Device

on Playback option must always
remain selected.
● It’s a per-score setting, found under
Document > Playback/Record Options...

● If you deactivate it... the

NotePerformer mixer is never
populated, and you only hear trumpet
sounds.

38
 FINALE

● We sometimes encounter Finale documents where note lengths are

incorrect or playback is distorted.

● You can try to repair a problematic score by the following steps, in order:

1. Select the entire score.

2. Go to the MIDI Tool.

3. Run MIDI Tool > Apply Human Playback...

4. Choose the Clear MIDI Data option, click “Apply” and then Close the dialog.

5. Run MIDI Tool > Clear.

6. See if playback works. If not...

7. Export to MusicXML and import as a new document.

39
 FINALE

● We do a few tweaks to your Default Prefs global playback preferences, which

may be good to know about if you want to change these settings yourself.

● The default value for Hairpin Pair Emphasis is changed from 50% to 30%
(for a custom setting, use any value but 50%).

● The default value for Auto Expression Emphasis is changed from

40% to 0% (for a custom setting, use any value but 40%).

● We make sure that Optimize Attacks for Garritan Libraries hasn’t been deselected.

● Start/Stop Time is set to “No HP Effect” to preserve the written length of notes.

● Tremolo Minimum Speed is increased from 12 to 30 to improve our

unmeasured string tremolos and percussion rolls.

● Humanize Rolls and Trills is deselected because it introduces unevenness.

40
 FINALE

● With older Finale scores the volume of the first bank is sometimes set
to zero, for unknown reasons.

● In which case instruments from the first bank will not produce any sound.
● You can fix this problem from the Banks & Effects dialog:

MIDI/Audio > VST (Mac: Audio Units) Banks & Effects...

by setting the volume of all banks to 100.

41
 FINALE

● If there’s no sound, while NotePerformer’s mixer levels are moving,

you could have an undesired Output Source set in Finale.

● You change this setting from the Audio Setup dialog:

MIDI/Audio > Device Setup > Audio Setup

● The Output Source must be set to match your desired speaker or

headphone output.

42
 FINALE

● In Finale, out-of-range percussion notes that were entered from a MIDI keyboard
are assigned by their MIDI note value rather than by their sound.

may produce the wrong percussion

● Older documents having this problem
sounds, when you switch to NotePerformer.

● You can fix this problem by running Utilities > Transpose Percussion
Notes... with the faulty notes selected. Use Change Selected Note to assign
those notes to their appropriate instrument sound in Finale, rather than a MIDI
note number.

43
FINALE

● Staff Sets have only limited support

for Human Playback.

won’t
● Articulations and dynamics
playback within a Staff Set,
unless the first staff is also included.

● When playback is of importance, we

advice against using Staff Sets.

44
 FINALE

● With a Rent-to-Own subscription, you will receive a

subscription‑related monthly email.

● There’s a link beneath “X Additional Payments of $10.75 every Month”.

● Please follow this link to manage your subscription.

● This is how you update your payment details or cancel your

subscription.

45
KNOWN ISSUES IN FINALE

● Since Finale 26.3.1, the

issue below has been
resolved.

way
● The playback line in Finale is
ahead of what you hear.
● The playback line is off-beat by
one second because Finale doesn’t
currently latency compensate.

● Since Finale 26, the issue

below has been resolved.
● When entering notes with your
mouse or keyboard, there is a one
second delay before you hear the
sound of the note.

● It happens because Finale doesn’t

currently report the transport
playback state to plug-ins.
● The result is that NotePerformer’s
read-ahead algorithms always
remain active, even when
playback is paused, causing a delay
in sound output.

46
KNOWN ISSUES IN FINALE

● Since Finale 27.3, the issue below has

been resolved.
● If your Windows User Account was named
such that it includes non-English characters
Human Playback Preferences becomes
inoperable in Finale.
● So, if you login to Windows by the name of (for
example) François, Jörg, or 伟, you can use
only the built-in sounds in Finale.
● The only workaround that we know of currently
is to create an alternative Windows user account
using only A-Z characters to run Finale
from.

47
KNOWN ISSUES IN FINALE

● Glissandos may not playback

correctly.
● In the Human Playback Configuration,
we must set Start/Stop Time to “No HP
Effect”, to preserve the written length
of notes.

● Unfortunately, the same switch

negatively impacts glissandos.

48
 ARTICULATIONS IN FINALE

PLAIN NOTE DYNAMICS CRESCENDO DIMINUENDO

œ œ
ff p
œ
f
œ
f
œ œ
p

STACCATO STACCATISSIMO MEZZO-STACCATO TREMOLO

ææ æ æ æ
œ. œ
' œ œæ œ œ
NO MAPPING

ACCENT MARCATO TENUTO LEGATO

^
œ> œ œ œ
NO MAPPING

PIZZICATO TRILL GLISSANDO (LIMITED SUPPORT) ARPEGGIO

Ÿ~~~~~~~~~ œœ
œ~~~~~~ œ
pizz. arco

œ œ œœ
∏∏∏∏∏

49
 ARTICULATIONS IN FINALE

COL LEGNO SNAP PIZZICATO FLUTTER-TONGUE HARMONICS (WRITTEN PITCH)

col legno arco NO MAPPING

ææ o
œ œ œ œ
ARTIFICIAL HARMONICS MUTE (ALT. 1) MUTE (ALT. 2) STOPPED HORN

+
Oœ mute

œ
open

œ
con sordino

œ senza sordino
œ
œ

BUCKET MUTE CUP MUTE PLUNGER MUTE HARMON MUTE

bucket mute cup mute NO MAPPING harmon mute

œ open
œ open
œ open

œ œ œ

LET RING NO VIBRATO VIBRATO MOLTO VIBRATO

NO MAPPING NO MAPPING NO MAPPING NO MAPPING

50
 ARTICULATIONS IN FINALE

SLAP BASS SCOOP FALL PLOP

œ~~~~
NO MAPPING NO MAPPING NO MAPPING

DOIT a2, zu 3, ... VIBRATO DEPTH (OVERRIDE) VIBRATO SPEED (OVERRIDE)

œ ~~~~~
Range: =2...8 Range: =1...64...127 Range: =1...64...127
(number of players) (scale by 0% ... 100% ... 200%) (scale by 0% ... 100% ... 200%)

CC104= · CC104=0 CC105= · CC105=0 CC106= · CC106=0

A4 TUNING (HERTZ) SECONDARY EXPRESSION ORGAN REGISTRATION BOWED PITCHED PERCUSSION

OVERRIDE FROM
Range: =1...64...127 Range: =1...64...127 USE OUR SCRIPT
(377 Hz ... 440 Hz ... 503 Hz) (shift -2 ... +2 dynamic levels) OUR MIXER, OR

CC109= · CC109=0 CC110= · CC110=0

DÉTACHÉ

NO SUITABLE

51
 MIDI MAPS IN FINALE

ORCHESTRAL PERCUSSION
0 Low conga (open) 37 Snare (crosstick/rim click) 77 Finger cymbals (open)
1 Low conga (mute) 38 Snare (snares on) 78 Sleigh bells
2 Low conga (muffled) 39 Snare (side stick, snares on) 79 Castanets
3 Low conga (slap) 40 Snare (rimshot, snares on) 80 Triangle (muted)
4 Low conga (slap, mute) 41 Snare (snares off) 81 Triangle (open)
5 Low conga (slap, muffled) 42 Snare (side stick, snares off) 83 Cowbell (high, open)
6 Low conga (finger, open) 43 Snare (rimshot, snares off) 84 Cowbell (high, muted)
7 Low conga (finger, muffled) 44 Hi-hat (closed) 85 Cowbell (medium, open)
8 Low conga (harmonics) 45 Hi-hat (pedal) 86 Cowbell (medium, muted)
9 Low conga (bass tone) 46 Hi-hat (open) 87 Maracas (right)
10 High conga (open) 47 Wind gong (20 inch) 88 Maracas (left)
11 High conga (mute) 48 Tam-tam (medium, 18 inch) 89 Cabasa
12 High conga (muffled) 49 Cymbal (clash) 91 Ratchet
13 High conga (slap) 49 Cymbal (clash, medium) 92 Vibraslap
14 High conga (slap, mute) 50 Cymbal (clash, high) 93 Whistle
15 High conga (slap, muffled) 51 China cymbal (18) 94 Agogo (medium)
16 High conga (finger, open) 52 Crash cymbal (suspended) 95 Agogo (high)
17 High conga (finger, muffled) 54 Tambourine 96 Timbale (medium-low)
18 High conga (harmonics) 55 Cymbal (splash) 97 Timbale (medium-high)
19 High conga (bass tone) 56 Tam-tam/Large gong 98 Egg shaker
20 Low bongo (open) 57 Opera gong (down) 99 Whip
21 Low bongo (muffled) 58 Opera gong (up) 100 Ride (bell)
22 Low bongo (slap) 60 Tom-tom (very low) 101 Ride (high)
23 Low bongo (slap, muffled) 61 Tom-tom (low) 102 Ride (medium)
24 Low bongo (finger, open) 62 Tom-tom (medium-low) 103 Wood block (low)
25 Low bongo (bass tone) 63 Tom-tom (medium) 104 Wood block (medium-low)
26 High bongo (open) 64 Tom-tom (medium-high) 105 Wood block (medium)
27 High bongo (muffled) 65 Tom-tom (high) 106 Wood block (medium-high)
28 High bongo (slap) 66 Tom-tom (very high) 107 Wood block (high)
29 High bongo (slap, muffled) 71 Hand clap 108 Bar chimes
30 High bongo (finger, open) 72 Güiro (short) 109 Bell tree
31 High bongo (basstone) 74 Güiro (long) 110 Rain stick
35 Bass drum (concert) 75 Claves 111 Finger cymbals (muted)
36 Sticks 76 Anvil

52
 MIDI MAPS IN FINALE

DRUM SET (STICKS, ROCK) DRUM SET (BRUSHES) DRUM SET (ELECTRONIC)
31 Sticks 31 Sticks 31 Sticks
36 Kick drum 36 Kick drum 33 Hand clap
37 Side stick 37 Side stick 35 Kick drum (2)
38 Snare 38 Snare 36 Kick drum
41 Tom-tom (very-low) 41 Tom-tom (very-low) 37 Side stick
42 Hi-hat (closed) 42 Hi-hat (closed) 38 Snare
43 Tom-tom (low) 43 Tom-tom (low) 40 Snare (2)
44 Hi-hat (pedal) 44 Hi-hat (pedal) 41 Tom-tom (very-low)
45 Tom-tom (medium-low) 45 Tom-tom (medium-low) 42 Hi-hat (closed)
46 Hi-hat (open) 46 Hi-hat (open) 43 Tom-tom (low)
47 Tom-tom (medium) 47 Tom-tom (medium) 44 Hi-hat (pedal)
48 Tom-tom (medium-high) 48 Tom-tom (medium-high) 45 Tom-tom (medium-low)
49 Crash Cymbal 49 Crash Cymbal 46 Hi-hat (open)
50 Tom-tom (high) 50 Tom-tom (high) 47 Tom-tom (medium)
51 Ride cymbal 51 Ride cymbal 48 Tom-tom (medium-high)
52 China cymbal 52 China cymbal 49 Crash Cymbal
53 Ride (bell) 53 Ride (bell) 50 Tom-tom (high)
54 Tambourine 54 Tambourine 51 Ride cymbal
55 Splash cymbal 55 Splash cymbal 52 China cymbal
56 Cowbell (medium, open) 56 Cowbell (medium, open) 53 Ride (bell)
76 Wood block (high) 76 Wood block (high) 54 Tambourine
77 Wood block (low) 77 Wood block (low) 55 Splash cymbal
80 Triangle (muted) 80 Triangle (muted) 56 Cowbell (medium, open)
81 Triangle (open) 81 Triangle (open) 76 Wood block (high)
100 Rimshot 100 Rimshot 77 Wood block (low)
101 Cross stick (rim click) 101 Cross stick (rim click) 80 Triangle (muted)
102 Swirl 81 Triangle (open)
100 Rimshot
101 Cross stick (rim click)

53
GUIDE FOR
 DORICO

MAC INSTALLATION
● If you’ve purchased NotePerformer, please download the
full version installer using your personal download
links.

● Run the installer and proceed through all steps. The

full version overwrites the trial version.

● NotePerformer may be uninstalled by running:

/Library/Application Support/NotePerformer/
Uninstall NotePerformer.command

● Our installer overwrites previously installed

NotePerformer versions.

55
 DORICO

PC INSTALLATION
● If you’ve purchased NotePerformer, please download
the full version installer using your personal
download links.

● Run the installer and proceed through all steps.

The full version overwrites the trial version.

● NotePerformer may be uninstalled from

“Add/Remove Programs”.

● Our installer overwrites previously installed

NotePerformer versions.

56
 DORICO

● We recommend making NotePerformer your

default playback template from Dorico’s Preferences.

57
DORICO

● With existing scores you

switch to the NotePerformer
Playback Template from:

Play > Playback Template...

● Instruments and Expression Maps are

automatically assigned from
our Playback Template.

● Playback Templates was introduced

with Dorico 2.

58
 DORICO

● Opening the NotePerformer interface from Dorico reveals our own

high-resolution mixer.

● If you delete staves from the score, you can remove

the lingering slot by clicking the instrument name and selecting
Special > (delete slot).

● Solo/mute, volume and reverb work globally across all

NotePerformer instances.

● Channels are automatically grouped and color coded

according to instrument family.

● Double-clicking restores the default value for a parameter.

● Instruments have different pan defaults, reflecting orchestral

seating.

59
 DORICO

● Re-open NotePerformer’s mixer by clicking the ‘e’

button next to the bank, in Play mode.

● ‘e’ stands for ‘edit instrument’.

60
 DORICO

● Trills in Dorico may not be performed legato by default.

● The problem is resolved by going to Library > Playback Options > Trills and
selecting “Generated trills only” for the “Playback approach for trills”
setting.

61
 DORICO

● Clicking an instrument’s name in the mixer allows you to override the

sound for that MIDI channel.

● This provides access to sounds that are not mapped by your

notation software.

● Or simply for using a different choice of sound for a staff.

● Or for accessing additional drum kits such as rock, brushes or

electronic drums.

62
 DORICO

● You may want to increase the unmeasured

tremolo speed in Dorico, from the Playback Options
dialog.

● We recommend a setting of 1/8, which is slightly

faster than the default setting of 1/5.

● A slower tremolo speed may produce a measured tremolo

rather than an unmeasured tremolo, with NotePerformer.

63
DORICO

● NotePerformer supports custom organ

registration by inserting a MIDI CC
message into the score.

● Please use our online calculator to

determine the MIDI CC message. You can
find it here:

noteperformer.com/stops

● In Dorico,you manually enter

MIDI controller values in Play
mode by expanding the Automation lane
for a track.

● Please select the appropriate controller,

e.g. “CC103”, and draw the value
into the lane using the pencil tool.

● For more information on how to use

MIDI controllers in Dorico, please consult
the Dorico Operation Manual.

● For reference, you may add

custom MIDI CC events in
Dorico, from Play mode.

● This is done via the automation

lane for each staff.

64
 DORICO

● In the case that playback and sound assignment isn’t working

at all, Dorico’s sound driver may have stalled.
● Please review your Audio Device Setup, in Dorico’s Preferences.

● Try temporarily switching to another ASIO driver, and back, to reset the
sound driver in Dorico.
● Or alternatively, you may switch to a different Sample Rate, and back.

65
 DORICO

● With a Rent-to-Own subscription, you will receive a

subscription‑related monthly email.

● There’s a link beneath “X Additional Payments of $10.75 every Month”.

● Please follow this link to manage your subscription.

● This is how you update your payment details or cancel your

subscription.

66
KNOWN ISSUES IN DORICO

● Multiple articulations at the same

time is only possible with
NotePerformer 3.2 or higher.
● Additionally, if you open a
document saved with an older
version of NotePerformer, you must
make sure that your document’s
NotePerformer expression
map is at least version 12.
Please see our previous article on
how to update your document’s
expression maps in Dorico.

● Unison notes are performed solo,

even when using different voices.

● This is the expected behavior in

Dorico.

● We hope to see a workaround to this

in a future version of Dorico.

67
KNOWN ISSUES IN DORICO

● Dorico may collapse grand staves

to a single staff in playback.

● If a single Layout > Solo Player

is assigned to multiple staves in
Dorico, these staves share a
common MIDI channel.
● What this means is, all
spill
articulations unavoidably
over to the other staves in
playback—including dynamics.

● Identically pitched notes are also

collapsed into a single solo note.
● If you want to maintain
staff separation in
playback, the rule is to use
different Solo Players in Dorico.

● Dynamics within a bar may be

inconsistent.
● It happens because Dorico defaults to using
beat stress, on a scale equivalent to
two dynamic levels (e.g. mf becomes ff for
stressed notes).

● And also because Dorico humanizes

dynamics by 50%.
● You can manually alter these Dorico settings
from Library ▸ Playback Options...

68
KNOWN ISSUES IN DORICO

● Accents and marcato may be very

loud.
● We currently don’t have control
over accent and marcato playback,
but this is simply a dynamic change
governed by Dorico from Library ▸
Playback Options...

● There may be gaps of silence

between subsequent slashed notes.

● This is a known bug/behavior. Instead

of shortening the individual
notes in the tremolo by 85%
(default note shortening) Dorico
performs a tremolo only for 85% of
the note’s written length.

69
 ARTICULATIONS IN DORICO

PLAIN NOTE DYNAMICS CRESCENDO DIMINUENDO

œ œ
ff
œ
p
œ
f f
œ œ
p

STACCATO STACCATISSIMO MEZZO-STACCATO TREMOLO

ææ æ æ æ
œ. œ
'
œ-. œ œæ œ œ

ACCENT MARCATO TENUTO LEGATO

^
œ> œ œ- œ œ
PIZZICATO TRILL GLISSANDO (CHROMATIC) ARPEGGIO

Ÿ~~~~~~~~~ œœ
œ~~~~~~ œ
pizz. arco

œ œ œœ
∏∏∏∏∏

70
 ARTICULATIONS IN DORICO

COL LEGNO SNAP PIZZICATO FLUTTER-TONGUE HARMONICS (WRITTEN PITCH)

col legno arco » flz. ord. o

œ œ œ œ œ œ
ARTIFICIAL HARMONICS MUTE (ALT. 1) MUTE (ALT. 2) BUCKET MUTE

mute open con sordino bucket mute

NO MAPPING
œ œ œ senza sordino
œ open
œ œ

CUP MUTE PLUNGER MUTE HARMON MUTE LET RING

cup mute plunger mute harmon mute

Pedal line
œ open
œ open
œ open

œ œ œ l.v. line

NO VIBRATO VIBRATO MOLTO VIBRATO SLAP BASS

non vib. ord. vib. ord. NO MAPPING NO MAPPING

œ œ œ œ

71
 ARTICULATIONS IN DORICO

FALL PLOP DOIT SCOOP

NO MAPPING NO MAPPING NO MAPPING NO MAPPING

VIBRATO DEPTH (OVERRIDE) VIBRATO SPEED (OVERRIDE) A4 TUNING (HERTZ) SECONDARY EXPRESSION

Range: =1...64...127 Range: =1...64...127 Range: =1...64...127 Range: =1...64...127

(scale by 0% ... 100% ... 200%) (scale by 0% ... 100% ... 200%) (377 Hz ... 440 Hz ... 503 Hz) (shift -2 ... +2 dynamic levels)

CC105= · CC105=0 CC106= · CC106=0 CC109= · CC109=0 CC110= · CC110=0

ORGAN REGISTRATION BOWED PITCHED PERCUSSION GUITAR EFFECTS DÉTACHÉ

OVERRIDE FROM
USE OUR SCRIPT USE OUR SCRIPT détaché ord.
OUR MIXER, OR
œ œ

a2, zu 3, ...

Range: =2...8
(number of players)

CC104= · CC104=0

72
 GUIDE FOR
PLAYBACK ENGINES
PLAYBACK ENGINES

Our Playback Engines were

created with these sample-library
versions:

74
 PLAYBACK ENGINES

● The NotePerformer Playback Engines application is

installed with NotePerformer.

● Run it in the background when you want to incorporate high-end

sample libraries with NotePerformer.

● You don’t need to use this application. It’s a power-user extension.

● We want you to know that...

● Deep-sampled libraries piece together thousands

of samples, some with artistic flaws. You will encounter
inconsistencies. Sample libraries are music production tools—timing
and dynamics are only approximate.

● We support only fast SSD hard drives for sample libraries

(4.8 Gbit/second or 500 MB/second). External SSD drives must
connect to USB 3.0 ports or faster. USB hubs may cripple speeds.

● An engine may use 50 Gigabytes of RAM memory for

an orchestra. Not enough RAM means only a few third‑party
instruments can be loaded at a time.

● A powerful computer is required. Please pay attention to

our system recommendations. They may be significantly higher than
the manufacturer’s requirements.

75
 PLAYBACK ENGINES

● From NotePerformer Playback Engines, you browse our available

playback engines and load the sounds you want to use.

● You must first activate the playback engine by locating the VST3 plug-in and
downloading our playback engine.

● You can try all playback engines for free in an unlimited number of 1-hour
sessions, with limitations:

● The sounds unload after 1 hour.

● You cannot mix-and-match libraries.

● You can only save, not load templates.

● Audio exporting is muted.

● Stem exporting is disabled.

● Playback Engines are add-on purchases for NotePerformer. Current

prices range from $69 to $89 (at the time of writing this document).

● You must purchase the associated sample library separately. The

playback engine doesn’t include any sounds.

● Please ensure the sample library works in the manufacturer’s

standalone player before using it with NotePerformer.

76
 PLAYBACK ENGINES

● NotePerformer’s Playback Engines replaces the hosting of

VST libraries directly in your notation program.

● You no longer need targeted Sound Sets, Expression Maps, or

Human Playback Rules.

● NotePerformer serves as an intermediate between your

notation program and your high-end library.

● Samples are separated from the notation program. You

don’t reload samples between projects. Your documents stay lean
without heavy VST settings. VST crashes don’t risk the integrity of your
documents. Samples are closed, opened, and reloaded independently
from your notation program and the projects you open or close.

● As far as possible, our engines have unified dynamics and

articulation. We select and combine library patches intelligently to fit
the musical context, and strive for NotePerformer-compliancy.

● Sample libraries are supplemented with extension

NotePerformer-technologies such as microtuning and brass mutes.

77
PLAYBACK ENGINES

● This is the add instruments

screen for a playback engine.

● Select the instruments you want

to load.

● From the “Select Multiple...”

menu, you quickly select or deselect
entire instrument families.

● For multi-microphone libraries,

you may also select what microphone
configuration to use.

● Loaded sounds are represented

as slots.

● Each slot maps to one or more

staves in your score (MIDI channels).

● From this screen, you set up how

staves in your score should map to
different high-end libraries.

● Your NotePerformer Playback Engines

template can combine many different
sample libraries.

78
PLAYBACK ENGINES

● Staves routed to the same slot are

automatically managed for solo vs. section
playback.

● Solo and section samples are

selectively used and with an appropriate
balance for the number of players.

● One slot per instrument type is

customary unless you want to layer multiple
sample libraries. Each slot may serve up to
six staves.

● Playback engines produce a

staccato sound on note entry.
You can use it to identify what staves are
connected to an external library.

79
 PLAYBACK ENGINES

● Sample-library layering can be done with multiple slots of the same kind.

● You access the sample libraries from different staves.

● The overshooting staves fall back to NotePerformer’s default playback.

● Multiple slots should target different samples to avoid phasing. Please

leave it to NotePerformer to manage multiple staves drawing from the same
samples.

● Click on the sample program to open the Change sample library menu. It’s
a multi-purpose menu for changing sounds, deleting slots, or changing the order of
same‑kind slots.

80
PLAYBACK ENGINES

● The arrow button opens the

slot’s settings.
● Customize the stereo width,
microphone balance, EQ,
reverb behavior, panning mode, and
more.

● When applicable, the slot has a

microphone balance editor. Our
software automatically adapts the total
volume.

● The three-dot menu is available for

most editors. It presents additional
options, such as copying those
settings to all instruments or the
instrument family.

● By default, sounds are routed

to NotePerformer’s reverbs.
Early reflections is a short reverb
that adds density (roominess).
Late reverberation is a long reverb that
adds tail.

● The EQ button opens the

parametric equalizer and
spectrum visualizer. It’s covered in a
separate article.

81
PLAYBACK ENGINES

● The stereo-width menu includes options

for the panning mode.

● Power panning means changing the left/

right channel balance by altering the volume.
This is ordinary panning.

● Binaural panning means the sound is

equalized for the left/right ear. It sounds more
natural than power panning but is limited in
width.

● HAAS delay means panning through

timing differences. It exploits the
precedence effect; natural to human hearing
and recording techniques with
spaced microphones.

● Binaural panning + HAAS delay is the

default mode of operation in NotePerformer.

82
PLAYBACK ENGINES

● Slots have a parametric equalizer.

● Drag or mouse wheel to alter values.

● Double-click to reset a value.

● Bypass filters is for A/B testing.

● Output gain is for custom template-balancing.

● The three-dot menu is for copying and pasting

EQ configurations between instruments.

● Includes an FFT visualizer.

● Click-and-hold on the visualizer to isolate
a frequency region. This feature is good for
finding disturbing frequencies.

83
PLAYBACK ENGINES

● The ‘Advanced settings’ menu

includes additional options and features.

● You can open a plug-in window for

basic problem-solving. Edits don’t
affect playback and are reverted once the
window is closed.

● Support more voices adds

extraneous plug-in instances to the slot.
This flag may be required for slots with
unusually high polyphony (large chords).

Even without this flag, a slot will use

many plug-in instances. NotePerformer
uses multiple instances to support
polyphonic legato and individual-note
processing.

● While currently only applicable

to Dorico, slots can be routed to
different stereo outputs.

Audio is always outputted by the first

NotePerformer instance, even if the MIDI
was produced by a higher NotePerformer
instance.

● The stereo output labeling in Dorico

doesn’t currently match that of
NotePerformer, but it resolves to
unrelated instrument names. It’s a known
problem.

84
PLAYBACK ENGINES

● The settings menu in the footer is

for global features.

● Hall noise adds a gentle room tone to

avoid dead silence between samples.

● Reverb time scales the length of

NotePerformer’s reverb.

● Export stems bounces all slots to

individual WAVE files. They can be split
into microphone signals if applicable to
the sample library.

Stems are exported without room noise

or added reverb.

● If bounces overshoot, there’s a

flag for reducing the export volume by
-12 dB.

85
 PLAYBACK ENGINES

● With concurrent notation programs,

the playback engine automatically attaches to
whatever program initiates playback.

● If there’s a problem, try manually

switching notation programs or click
(Repair connection).

● The CPU meter is relative to one CPU core and may exceed
one hundred percent. A value of 194 % means that 1.94 cores are being used.

● The spinning memory-loading indicator means the sample library isn’t

ready for playback yet.

● Playback or exports during loading isn’t harmful but may produce

silence, dropped notes, or incorrect sounds.

86
 PLAYBACK ENGINES

● Orchestral percussion slots work differently.

● They are assigned per-sound and serve all percussion staves in your score
(single-line and compound percussion).

● The sounds are exclusive. You can only load one orchestral snare drum slot
into a template.

● Consequently, a compound percussion staff may draw sounds from

various sample libraries.

● Unlike orchestral percussion, drum sets are ordinary staves and

can’t be mapped to individual sounds. They’re mapped to drum sets and follow
ordinary staff count rules.

● Orchestral templates are saved from

the ordinary system dialogs.

● .np_template files are raw text files

describing the state. They can be edited
by hand to manage templates without
interface access, for example, by the visually
impaired.

● You can load a template at program startup

by naming it autostart.np_template

87
 PLAYBACK ENGINES

● The screenshot shows the mixer in Finale and Dorico, where

a white frame indicates being routed to NotePerformer Playback Engines.

● Sibelius uses the integrated mixer with NotePerformer.

● The volume and panning for a slot is taken from the uppermost staff
routed to the slot. Subsequent staff controllers are disabled. This is also applicable
for Sibelius.

● Orchestral-percussion slots is a special case since they have a different

routing methodology which isn’t based on staff count. The volume and panning is
set on a per-staff basis. Use single-line percussion staves if you want to pan them
individually.

88
PLAYBACK ENGINES

● This applies to Kontakt libraries.

● We recommend disabling Multiprocessor
Support (VST3 - Plugin) for Kontakt.

● The Kontakt plug-in window can

be opened from the instrument slot’s
Advanced settings menu.

● It’s a one-time setting.

89