MIDI Channels

To assign staves to MIDI channels

1. Choose Window > ScoreManager. The ScoreManager window appears. Down the side of the screen you see the names of the staves in your document. At the right side of the screen, you can see the Instrument each staff is assigned to (and the MIDI channel that Instrument uses).
2. To change the MIDI channel for an instrument staff, click the channel number to highlight it and type the desired channel. Keep in mind that you’re now changing this Instrument’s channel; if any other staves share the same Instrument, their MIDI channel numbers will change, too.

You can also change the channel for an individual Layer of a staff. To do so, click the arrow to the left of the Name; SongWriter displays new rows of information that correspond to the staff’s Layers. Change any Layer’s Instrument assignment, using the Instrument drop-down list across from its name, or just edit its Channel. If you want the Layers to have different MIDI channels, remember to assign them to different Instruments first.

If you plan to re-use a typical patch/channel configuration, consider defining it, and naming it, as an Instrument. To do so, choose New Instrument from the Instrument drop-down list across from any staff name. Enter the patch and channel numbers, and click OK. Then, the next time you want to re-create a particular channel and patch configuration for a particular staff, your new Instrument's name will appear in the drop-down list for quick access.

User Manual Home