Audio Options

NoteAbilityPro can playback scores using a variety of sound playback methods.

via MIDI to external synthesizers
using Apple's built-in DLS Synthesizer
using Apple's built-in Quicktime Musical Instruments
using installed Audio Unit sythesizer plugins
playing audio files inserted in the score
sending remote messages to interactive performance software (such as MaxMSP or Pd)

The Track Setup panel in the Audio/MIDI menu can be used to change the sound output method used on each track (staff) of the score. Different staves of the score can use different output methods. For example if you are setting the first 2 staves to play using Apple DLS, the third via MIDI, the fourth using Audio Units and the fifth and sixth containing embedded audio files, your Track Setup will look something like:

MIDI

Notes can be sounded on a MIDI synthesizer connected to your computer. In this case, the staves should be set to MIDI and a MIDI channel (1 - 16) and a MIDI bank (a - h) should be selected in the Track Setup panel. The desired bank should be matched to MIDI Port configuration that you have specified in the Midi Ports Panel.

When using MIDI, notes along with their velocites (volumes) as well as patch changes will be sent on the specificed MIDI channel to the MIDI device on the corresponding MIDI bank - MIDI setups that use only one synthesizer should have all tracks set to Bank "a". Midi has limited ability to playback quartertones, so you are advised to use one of the other playback options if your music uses a lot of microtones.

Apple DLS

The Apple DLS (Downloadable Sounds) Synthesizer is the default playback device used with NoteAbility. There are 6 separate DLS Synthesizers available in NoteAbilityPro. All the DLS synthesizers are initially set to use the Quicktime Music Synthesizer which conforms to the General Midi Instrument configuration. The Quicktime Music Synthesizer includes synthetic versions of most common music instruments (piano, strings, percussion, winds, brass, pads, etc.).

If desired, each DLS synthesizer can be set to use a different bank of sounds by selecting the sound bank from the the pull-down menu for each DLS player in the Audio Units Panel. These pull-down menus display all the available sound banks in your computer system. You can add banks to your computer by downloading SoundFonts - many of which can be downloaded free on the internet. SoundFonts have a .sf2 extension and they should be placed in the /Library/Audio/Sounds/Banks directory. All ".sf2" files place in this location will appear in the pull-down menus in the Audio Unitls Panel and will be available for use by the DLS synthesizers in NoteAbilityPro.

To select a particular instrument (or patch) for a specific track (staff) from the available sounds in the sound bank, click on the DLS buttons associated for each staff on the Track Setup panel in the Audio/MIDI menu. All patches set for your score will be saved with your document. There are some general settings for reverb type and reverb mix on the DLS Synthesizers. These controls are set in the Audio Units Panel located in the Audio/Midi menu.

- SoundFonts can include complete banks of instruments (128 or more) or they can include only one or a few instruments. In cases when only a few instruments are contained in the sound font, you should ensure that you do not use patch numbers beyond the range of the instruments.

Some basic effects have been added to the DLS synthesizer. The type of room reverberation and the amount of reverberation can be set in the Audio Units panel. These effects can be used to make the synthesizer sound warmer and richer.

Quicktime Musical Instruments

Quicktime Musical Instruments are the collection of General MIDI instrumental sounds that were available in the early versions of OS-X. While the instrumental samples are the same as those used in the Apple DLS, Quicktime Musical Instruments have no effects added to them and sound less "natural" than the sounds produced by the Apple DLS sythesizer. The option of using Quicktime Musical Instruments is available so that older NoteAbilityPro files can be opened and played back with the same instrumental sounds they originally had. New files should probably use Apple DLS or Audio Units for their sound output.

Audio Units

Audio Units are a collection of audio components that can be downloaded and installed on your computer. Audio Units can be either sythesizer and effects components, and these components can be joined together in a variety of ways. In NoteAbilityPro, 1 synthesizer component and up to 2 effects components can be connected together in the Audio Units panel. You can also display the interface of any of these components so that you can configure or modify them. Many different kinds of audio units are available, some of which are free to download and others which must be purchased.

Embedded Audio

Audio files in any standard format may be dragged and dropped onto your score. There is a new staff type (available in the Staff Attributes pane of the Score Structure panel) that is designed to hold audio files (although files can be dragged and dropped on any staff type). When audio files are placed in the score, the location of the soundfile start time (i.e. the beat position in the measure) is indicated along with the name of the audio file and its duration.

In the example above, an audio files has been dragged onto the score twice (on the new staff type designed to hold audio files). The slider at the left edge of the rectangle sets the playback volume (max. 127). In this example, one audio file is set to play at a volume of 80, the second at a volume of 58. You can also see the name of the audio file, the duration (21.165 seconds). The starting beat positions of the audio files (0.70 and 2.320 beats of the measure) are displayed above the rectangle -- if the boxes are dragged around the score, the starting location will be updated. Only the starting point of the audio file is notated in the score -- the rectangle does not show where (in the score) the audio file ends. You can add as many audio files (in any reasonable audio format) to your score as your computer's CPU can handle during playback. If playback becomes choppy then you are trying to play back too many audio files.

Network Messages

Network messages are, technically-speaking, not audio, but allow you to remotely control interactive performance software such as MaxMSP or Pd (Pure data). In order to send network messages, you must use the Network Connections panel located in the Track Setup Panel to identify the IP address and port to which you want to connect and assign the staff to send messages to that network connection. It is up to the receiving software to be structured to receive UDP network messages on the specified port. MaxMSP or Pd messages are entered on the score with the Max tool (located at the end of the Tool Palette in the score window). You can include single messages or a series of messages (each separated by a semicolon) or you can create continuous messages using a NoteAbilityPro breakpoint function. The example below shows some MaxMSP messages embedded in a NoteAbilityPro score.