Studio View Volume Setting

[jamesadrian]

In studio view, the volume setting for a given voice is permanent for the duration of the piece of music, unless there is a way to change it in future measures.

Is there?

Thank you for your help.


Jim Adrian

[ttw]

I'm still getting volume markings to work. (At least ff to mp back to ff worked.)
I am using the Garritan Steinway D from GPO5 and HP.

[jamesadrian]

ttw,

What are volume markings? How do you get them to work? I don't know what "Garritan Steinway D from GPO5 and HP" means.

Please help.

Thank you for your reply.


Jim Adrian

[ttw]

HP is "Human Playback" which (among other things) reacts to things like dynamics (f,ff,mp,etc.) or slurs or staccato marks.
GPO5 is the Garritan Personal Orchestra (some of these instruments are included in the GIFF, Garritan Instruments for Finale, which is included with Finale.) GPO5 has several pianos, I usually use the Steinway D. It also has other orchestral and percussion instruments.

The online user's manual (reached through the Help tab) should have some information.

[jamesadrian]

I have tried to find out how to alter the volume of a particular instrument starting at a particular measure but the User Manual and the key works in the replies here have not made it clear how to do this.

Can anybody who has done this let me know more?

Thank you for your help.


Jim Adrian

[RVS Lee]

Jim,
There are two separate chains which affect playback output: the dynamics attached to each instrument/staff, and the 'mix' volume (which is set by midi CC 7.)

If you are talking about "turning up (or down) the mic" on a particular instrument, then you can insert an expression anywhere in the score with playback instructions that set cc7. That message will take precedence (with one caveat) over any more general instructions per the following hierarchy (bottom up):

Aria player (mixer window) - essentially useless when Aria is used in finale, these sliders will be ignored/overriden by

Finale Mixer/Score Manager 'vol' column - the finale mixer (either popup window or left tab in studio view) and the score manager are linked and control the initial setting of cc7 for each instrument. They are in turn superseded by

CC7 instructions entered as expressions in the score BUT

All of the above are further adjusted by the sliders in the VST Banks and Effects dialogue, which control the relative volume of the 8 possible instrument banks to which instruments can be assigned.

If, on the other hand you want to 'tell a player to play louder or softer' you can get more precise control by:

adding an expression that sets CC1 (modulation) for a sustaining instrument or
adding an expression that sets key velocity for a keyboard or percussive instrument (including pizz strings)

However, there are many variables at work, and the results can be unpredictable:
Human Playback settings - HP 'interprets' your score, adding gradations, and adjusting the meaning of expressions in different contexts. By default HP incorporates midi data from the score, so if you include an instruction that sets key velocity to 96 (which is pretty loud) HP should accept that as definitive. However, HP is finicky; it can get confused by instructions in different layers, and can become overwhelmed and ignore random expressions in particularly dense music. (This is a particular problem when mixing instruments from different software libraries eg both garritan and NP3.)

Individual instrument patches respond differently to midi instructions (just like real people.) "CC1 = 72" will have a different effect on "Flute 1 Player 1" than on "Flute 1 Player 2."

Sometimes balance issues that logically should be solved by adjusting dynamics, are actually problems with how different instruments were recorded/programmed. For instance, the garritan harps were recorded 15 zillion times louder than the percussion battery. No amount of marking the harp "pppp" (or "kv = 3") and the tambourine "ffff" (or "kv = 115") will bring them into balance. That can only be fixed in the mix.

Hope this helps!

RVSL

[jamesadrian]

RVS Lee,

Thank you for this reply. I am studying it.

Maybe the choices would be fewer if you knew the following:

I use no musical instrument input. It is all done with the mouse and the computer keyboard.

All instruments are selected from SmartMusic SoftSynth and I avoid Garritan instruments, MIDI, and Aria.

There are 15 instruments. If absolutely necessary, I can reduce the number to 8.

Human Playback = None

Base Key velocity = 127

I want the loudness of one voice to be controlled as the measures proceed.

Thank you for your help.


Jim Adrian

[jamesadrian]

How do I enter CC7 instructions as expressions in the score?

Thank you for you help.

Jim Adrian

[RVS Lee]

Jim,

Yes indeed, your setup eliminates many variables. But the basic "philosophy" remains the same: the finale mixer sliders and/or numerical entry in the volume column of score manager should be treated as setting mic levels, and dynamic markings in the score are... well, dynamics. In midi terms, CC7 affects mic gain, while key velocity (or in some cases CC1 for modulation) affect how loud an instrument is playing.

You can introduce changes to either parameter by creating (or editing) expressions:
Expression Selection > Create (probably "create dynamic" but it doesn't matter so long as you know where to look for it and how you want it to layout in the score. I keep most of my midi message expression in miscellaneous.)
Expression Designer/Main (use whatever text you want to keep it straight)
Expression Designer/Playback
for dynamics - Type = Key velocity and Effect = Set to Value (choose a number between 0 and 127)
for mic gain - Type = Controller (enter or choose "7" in the popup list) and Effect = Set to Value (choose a number between 0 and 127)
OK (to create the expression and exit)

Notice that 127 is the maximum value for midi parameters, including key velocity. Your setting the base KV to 127 is essentially telling finale that each instrument starts off playing "ffff". Of course that changes the moment you add a dynamic indication to the score. If the first dynamic is "p", finale will change the KV from 127 to 49 before the first "note on" message. Four bars later, adding "f" will change the KV to 88.

Likewise, if you have set the initial volume of a part to 64, and 16 bars in, you want to 'turn up the mic" because it's a solo, adding an expression that sets cc7 to 80 will do just that.

One thing to remember about dynamics expressions: I am talking about the expressions in the finale default library, which have associated playback instructions. If you create additional or duplicate dynamics and forget to add playback instructions, they won't work. (At least not when you have Human Playback turned off.)

Good luck!

[jamesadrian]

I find that when I click on the icon in the main menu of icons that looks like a fancy lettering of mf, a box appears at the start of a line and I can raise it or lower it to make it affect whatever instrument I like. Then I can use my mouse to form a rectangle around the measures that I want to change the meter of. Then I get a pop-up table of loudness abbreviations in the Italian style like ppp for very piano and fff for very forte. I choose one and it works.

The problem then is that the loudness is not in numerical distinctions and there might just be enough of them but there is another problem: As I try various loudness levels, the Italian notation printed next to the appropriate staff does not disappear when it is overwritten by another trial loudness.

How do I delete the markings made by this process?

I still don't know how to access CC7 or CC1.

The kind of explanation that I need cannot be in terms of the overall scheme, structure, or philosophy. I have no idea why entries are made under one pull-down menu or another. They frequently violate my expectations and I am surprised to find a function in an unexpected menu. I need to know which thing to click on and which choice to make after that if further choices are required.

Thank you for your help.


Jim Adrian

[Peter Thomsen]

I find that when I click on the icon in the main menu of icons that looks like a fancy lettering of mf …

The icon that looks like “a fancy lettering of mf” is the icon for the Expression Tool.
With the Expression Tool you can add various staff relevant text items, such as Rehearsal Marks, Dynamics, Tempo Marks, &c.

…, a box appears at the start of a line and I can raise it or lower it to make it affect whatever instrument I like …

No, the box contains four triangles that control the expressions’ vertical positioning in that very staff.
In Other Words: the four triangles affect the layout (not the playback).
You can click on another staff, to make a similar box appear for that staff.

… Then I can use my mouse to form a rectangle around the measures that I want to change the meter of …

To change the meter (e. g. 3/4), switch to the Time Signature Tool - the icon that looks like “a fancy lettering of 4/4”.

… Then I get a pop-up table of loudness abbreviations in the Italian style like ppp for very piano and fff for very forte. I choose one and it works …

That window is the Expression Selection. All the expressions available in the document are shown in the Expression Selection. You can add more expressions to the Expression Selection, or delete expressions.
The expressions are organized in expression categories, shown at the left of the Expression Selection.
To see only the expressions in a specific category, click on the category at the left.

… The problem then is that the loudness is not in numerical distinctions and there might just be enough of them but there is another problem: As I try various loudness levels, the Italian notation printed next to the appropriate staff does not disappear when it is overwritten by another trial loudness …

You are adding another expression, not overwriting the expression already there.
To remove an expression, drag-select its handle, and hit the delete key.

By The Way:
You can edit the playback effect (loudness) of a dynamic.
To do so, context-click the expression handle.
In the context menu, choose Edit Text Expression Definition…
You get to the Expression Designer where there is a chiclet for Playback.
The “scale” for Key Velocity goes from zero to 127.

[oldmkvi]

Why do you "Avoid" Garritan/Aria/HP?
They sound so much better than the Synth Instruments, to me.

[zuill]

Without HP on, certain notation elements (e.g. Expressions) will affect playback volume. With HP on, depending on the HP settings, additional changes in playback volume will occur. To see what is done, use the MIDI Tool to "hardwire" the MIDI data, and you can see what HP does within the MIDI tool. Having said all that, I don't know of anything that adjustments the Volume slider (in Studio View, in the Mixer, or the setting in the Score manager).

If you want to see a visual representation of which I speak, look at my post in the recent thread involving decrescendo on long notes before a rest. A picture is worth a thousand words. I've attached the sample file so you can see and hear the behavior in real time.

Zuill