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Using Notation Software products with other (third party) products Find out from others, or share your experience, about integrating Notation Software products with sound libraries, audio processing software, and other hardware and software products.

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  #1  
Old 10-14-2010, 10:35 AM
NotationUser NotationUser is offline
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Lightbulb Virtual midi cables

This seems to be a repetitive topic. Thought I share my latest findings with you.

MidiYoke is the most known one I guess, but not 64bit compatible
http://www.midiox.com/index.htm?http....com/myoke.htm

Marple is probably less known but recommended by some developers, also just 32bit
http://www.maplemidi.com/Maple_driver.html

LoopBe by Nerds, 64bit compatible
LoopBe1 is free - but just one cable
http://nerds.de/en/loopbe1.html
LoopBe30 is $19.99/16.99€ and offers 30 cables
http://nerds.de/en/loopbe30.html
ipMidi is 79/69€ and offers midi over UDP networking
http://nerds.de/en/ipmidi.html

rtpMidi is free and 64bit! Works on one pc or over networks too!! Is Mac compatible, i.e. connects to Mac midi networks!!! Needs Apple Bonjour network services which can be downloaded for free from apple
http://www.tobias-erichsen.de/rtpMIDI.html
http://www.apple.com/de/support/bonjour/
This is HOT and around for approximately one month - the most versatile you can get for free (or any donation you wish to contribute to the developer)

Have fun cabling midi!
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Last edited by NotationUser; 10-20-2010 at 03:00 PM.
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  #2  
Old 10-14-2010, 12:06 PM
Sherry C's Avatar
Sherry C Sherry C is offline
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Default Re: Virtual midi cables

Hi,

Great! Thanks for the updated information, especially the rtpMidi info. That's a new one to me, as I haven't looked into MIDI virtual cables for a while now.

Thanks!
Sherry
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  #3  
Old 10-14-2010, 01:10 PM
NotationUser NotationUser is offline
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Default Re: Virtual midi cables

Glad to help.

If I get good passionate response like yours I try my best to give something in return.

rtpMidi is really worth checking out. It's a free development of Tobias Erichsen done over 4 years. I think it's great work and should be noted.

The 64bit compatibility and the x-platform capabilities are outstanding. It's not just something new, it's new technology, and I am really picky in what I call "technology"...

If you wish to check it out, install Apple "bonjour" first. It will install a bonjour printer too, but for midi you just need the basic bonjour service - you can uninstall the bonjour printer with windows software removal. Then install rtpMidi.

You can create as many "sessions" as you like. Each session is the end point for a midi in and midi out port. By routing on the same machine you get pairs of virtual midi cables. With bonjour all sessions from other machines are recognized as well and can be routed. Ok, I haven't checked the latter myself but I have no doubt that it works. It's all easy, effective and convincing.

BTW, I have routed Notation Software demo via rtpMidi to my VST host and it simply works. Just you need to connect two rtpSessions to get a local loopback virtual midi cable pair, that's all.

Have fun!
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Old 07-18-2017, 11:54 AM
homeboy26 homeboy26 is offline
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Default Re: Virtual midi cables

Can someone please explain more about MIDI VIRTUAL CABLES please?
I have for long been delayed in going into trying to use Garritan for many reasons, and have not purchased it as yet. I did get a copy of another player, whose name I cannot recall.....the name seemed very odd and humorous to me .......anyways..........when I tried to import my Notation scores into it and convert them using the "instruments" available, it all seemed way to difficult to get a decent sound out of it to suit my own scores. I ended up scuttling back to just playing and recording the my scores as played by Notation Composer into "Audacity" recording software, then saving them as Mp3 and wav files. Although they play through my soundcard , they fail the "Real Instrument " sound test miserably.
It is so frustrating to know that there is a better alternative to being able to record my music to sound REAL, and not to fully comprehend what I need to do to take advantage of what is available out there. That is what prompted me to try and learn about how to make my midi files sound more like REAL INSTRUMENTS were playing my music.


From what I understand thus far, one needs this Midi Cable "virtual software" to act as the "carrier or Porter" of a midi file into say Garritan Aria.
I gather that means that the virtual cable acts as a "linking piece of software", without which no transfer can take place from one application to the other?
However, that is where the matter of trying to understand WHAT the limits are if any of the particular MIDI VIRTUAL CABLE one chooses to install.

I note that Sherry refers to using "Free LoopBe1" as a midi virtual cable. I am using Win10 and Notation 3.4 and I am somewhat stalled at trying to comprehend what I need to do once I have installed say Garritan Private Orchestra and LoopBe1.

For example, do I simply bring up my already completed Notation scores and import them into the Garritan Aria Player interface onscreen, as is, then select which SINGLE NAME Instrument bank from Garritan I want to apply to each Stave in my score?
There is the likely additional problem (which I guess I create for myself), in that I use Notation's inbuilt ability to switch from one "sound" to the next even within a stave, and I can only begin to imagine what that might mean if using Garritan requires me to go into my scores and in some Staves, have to alter each and every instrument or sound or embellishment change. I have watched Sherry's video, and she does a great job, but it is not interactive which means that some things she speaks of from her own experience as her common knowledge, cannot be put to question so as to better try and ensure understanding fully what is meant.
I think perhaps I might be asking too much and that asking for more insight on this forum about this topic is not really a fair thing to do as it would likely require an endless amount of too-ing and fro-ing to get the message across to me that I need. I guess it might well require the kind of presenter to listener interaction one can only get from attending a live or online real time seminar or training session on the topic where what I am hoping to do per se, using the tools I am actually using, is dealt with.
Hmmm!........... think I'll end it there for now and see if anyone has the time or inclination to communicate with me further.
I can hear in my head what my music SHOULD SOUND LIKE if played by a full band, but I cannot deliver it to myself, and in turn can thus not deliver it as intended to my audience out there in Mp3 Downloadland !
I hope that some fellow members reading this might get to understand what I mean by listening to samples of my upload music and song at :-

http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/poppamadison

Yep.....it sounds like ALL MIDI, and deserves to sound much much better to do justice to my music.

Cheers
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  #5  
Old 07-18-2017, 12:39 PM
dj dj is offline
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Default Re: Virtual midi cables

Hi,

Virtual midi ports (which term I prefer to virtual midi cables) aren't quite as complicated as you fear.

For virtual midi ports, at least on Windows 7 which I still use, you have the option of Midi Yoke (www.midiox.com) or LoopBe1 (www.nerds.de/en/loopbe1.html). Follow the instructions for each; installation should be fairly straightforward. Once installed, you have 8 separate in/out ports with MidiYoke, or one port that is both in & out with up to 8 connections with LoopBe1. Same end result, different approach.

I don't use Garritan, myself, but it seems to be that, with the Garritan stand-alone player, it's a matter of opening the midi setup menu in the Garritan player and selecting the input port you want for each instrument you've set up: either one of the 8 possible MidiYoke input ports that should appear in the list, or LoopBe1. Assign a midi channel to your instrument, as well. I can't help you set up instruments in Garritan, as I don't have it.

THEN go to Notation Composer, load up your file and assign each track you want to send to Garritan to the port you want in the Staff Setup dialogue, make sure your midi channels agree with Garritan and your voice selections.

At that point, you should be able to make music.

I would suspect that Garritan should respond to voice changes sent from Composer, provided that the Garritan voices are mapped to General Midi -- OR that you have set up a specific map for the Garritan voices you're using in the Notation Device Properties dialogue.

I'll also point out that, if you're not happy with the sounds you are getting from the built-in Notation Software Synth, you can go into Composer's Midi Device Configuration dialogue, find the Notation Software Synth, click on it, then on the Soundfont button and change the Soundfont being used to virtually any other one you might have. There are MANY very useable free or nearly so Soundfonts available, from 4 megs in size up to several gigabytes. One of my favourites is Masterpiece.sf2, which is only 28 megs but has a good orchestral sound.

Another trick is to find a specific Soundfont that works very well for each track, load that into the Notation Software Synth, exportONLY that track as WAV and then continue to do so for each track. Then assemble those WAVs in Audacity or another DAW and use that program's features to massage the tracks and add effects. Trick: make sure you do your Export to WAV with the computer's system volume at no more than 70%, otherwise you can get distortion.

Sounds tedious, but it gets easier with repetition and it's still far easier than writing out your score by hand, extracting and copying parts, assembling a group of musicians, rehearsing them, getting them to a recording studio and recording and re-recording their output, then massaging that and adding effects. And I've never heard a virtual clarinettist complain about too many flats.

I hope that helps.

David
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  #6  
Old 07-18-2017, 04:11 PM
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Sherry C Sherry C is offline
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Default Re: Virtual midi cables

Hi guys,

We have a couple of tutorial videos that show exactly how to install a virtual MIDI cable (or port as David J says), as well as how to set up Garritan Libraries both in the Aria player and in Composer.

You can find those either on the Tutorial Videos page on our main website or here on the User Forum in the Tutorial Videos section. There are also template .not files for the various Garritan ensembles that you can download from either location.

Enjoy
Sherry
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