Assigning
MIDI Channels and Instruments
Usually, the first step to preparing a
score for playback is assigning instruments to staves. If you began your
score (or added staves) with the Setup Wizard, instruments have been assigned
for you automatically. Even so, you may need to edit the channel, patch,
or bank depending on your MIDI output device. For example, setting each
staff to its own channel allows you to make changes to each staff individually
in real-time using the Mixer or Staff Controls. You can modify the instrument
sound, volume, panning, and channel for every staff individually. Furthermore,
you can adjust all of these settings for separate layers (voices) within
a single staff.
In this section, you’ll learn how to manipulate
the channel and instrument for staves using the Instrument List.
- Close
any documents you have open, and open the document called “Tutorial 6.” (From the File menu, choose Open and then double-click the "Tutorials" shortcut to open the Tutorials folder.)
This document is a short arrangement for piano, bass, strings, and harp.
(If you are having difficulty seeing all of the staves on your monitor,
select a different view percentage from the Zoom submenu under the View menu.)
- From
the Window menu, choose Instrument List. The Instrument List appears—a
staff-by-staff listing of your score. Each staff name has several columns.
- Make
sure that the Send Patches Before Play check box, found in the
lower-left corner of the Instrument List window, is checked.
An Instrument contains the information
needed to access a specific MIDI sound. This includes a name for identification
of the Instrument, a channel number to send the information on, and Patch
information, consisting of Program change and optional bank change data.
An Instrument can be assigned to several staves—if you write a piano part,
for example, you’ll certainly want both staves to play over the same MIDI
channel and the same piano sound, so you’d designate the two staves using
the same Instrument. An Instrument can also be used for just one layer
of a staff. If you wrote a flute and a clarinet part both on a single
staff, but in different layers, each one could have its own Instrument,
and thus have its own MIDI channel and patch assignment.
As you can see from the previous diagram,
the Instrument List gives you a convenient way to control which staves
play back. Click in the Mute column (M) to mute a staff—or click in the
Solo column (S) to isolate a staff (and silence the others).
- From
the Instrument drop-down list across from the [Staff 3] staff, choose
New Instrument. You’ll need to scroll up to see New Instrument.
The Instrument Definition dialog box appears.
- Name
this Instrument “Harp.” Then, type 2 in the Channel text box. You’ll
need to set each instrument to a unique channel, so we can send MIDI data
to each instrument independently.
- Next
to General MIDI, you’ll see “1: Acoustic Grand Piano.” Click on the down
arrow and choose “47: Orchestral Harp.” GPO users, note the General
MIDI sound selected does not apply to GPO for playback in any way. If
you intend to use GPO for playback only (or any non-General MIDI device),
this step is not necessary. For further discussion of the Bank Select,
Program Change, and General MIDI options, consult the User Manual under
Instrument Definition dialog box.
- Click
OK. The Instrument List shows the new Instrument name for the first
staff.
- From
the Instrument drop-down list across from the [Staff 4] staff, choose
“Harp.” The same instrument defined for the previous staff also
applies to this one.
From the Instrument drop-down list across from
the Strings staff, choose New Instrument. Name the Instrument “Strings,”
and assign it to Channel 3. From the General MIDI menu, choose “49: String
Ensemble 1.” Click OK.
Notice that the Piano and Piano (LH) staves
are already assigned to an instrument called “Grand Piano” on channel
1. You can leave these two staves alone. You don't have to create new
Instrument names. If you find it easier, you can just edit one of the
existing names provided by Finale.
- From
the Instrument drop-down list across from the Bass staff, choose Acoustic
Bass. Your final setup should look like this:
- If
necessary, drag the Instrument List box so that you can see the first
measure.
- Windows
users, while pressing the Space bar, click the first measure. Macintosh
users, just press the spacebar. If Finale’s SmartMusic SoundFont
is selected under the MIDI/Audio menu, or your MIDI device is correctly configured,
you’ll hear the arrangement performed. Click the score to stop playback
(Macintosh: Press the Spacebar again).
- Close
the Instrument List window by clicking its close button. Choose Save from
the File menu so that this piece will be ready to play the next time you
open it.
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