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Topic: Voices (Read 4071 times) previous topic - next topic

Voices

I've tried time and time again to put the instrument voices onto the appropriate staves, which works up until the 16th or so staff. After that staff, the rest all have one voice no matter what i set it as. I can't seem to figure out why it does it.
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Re: Voices

Reply #1 –
That's because there are only 16 separate MIDI channels available. It's a limitation of MIDI, not a limitation of NWC. To get around it, put compatible instruments on the same channel (i.e., all strings can go on a single channel, as there is little difference, on most basic MIDI setups, between the sound of a violin and the sound of a cello). The command to do this is on the MIDI tab of the "Staff Properties" dialog box. Note that Channel 10 can only play percussion.

You may also have a problem with the number of voices your sound card can carry (known as "polyphony"). There is nothing to be done about this except to buy a new sound card.

Re: Voices

Reply #2 –
NoteWorthy uses MIDI for output. MIDI is limited to 16 channels per device (usually a software synth). To get more, you need more than one MIDI device. Most music sounds fine with 15 or so different instruments (playable by one MIDI device).
Registered user since 1996

Re: Voices

Reply #3 –
This is due to the way New Staff works. It auto-assigns the MIDI channel to the lowest unused channel. If all 16 channels are in use, it assigns channel 16.
Quote from: http://www.noteworthysoftware.com/nwc2/help/TAB_STAFFPROPMIDI.htm
Channel
This specifies which channel on the specified device should be used for playback of this staff.
MIDI devices can support up to 16 channels. Each channel generally uses its own instrument patch, volume, and various other performance parameters. It is usually necessary to use unique channels per staff so that one staff does not interfere with the playback of another staff. By default, each new staff is assigned a new, unique channel.

Score Review provides a good summary of channel assignments.
Registered user since 1996