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Old 10-08-2012, 02:05 PM
Sherry C's Avatar
Sherry C Sherry C is offline
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Default Overview of Volume, Pan and Note Velocity (editing in Notation Composer)

Hi friends,

I often get questions at the helpdesk that prod me to put out some general information. Here is one such posting

A Notation Composer user was asking about Volume, Pan and Note Velocity, and remarking how they affected the audio wave form (or "what you hear") he was getting when recording some files he had created. The following is part of my reply to him, and edited a bit for better clarity for general reading. I hope you find it useful, and of course if you have any questions or comments, please post them
Quote:
Balancing all the various audio output parameters can be quite a challenge, which is why we call the folks who do it really well "audio engineers"

Some of the ones you mentioned have a few different places that you can set them in Notation Composer, but all the different ways you can set them all affect the same "base" as it were.

Instrument - is also a staff, and in a MIDI sequencer is known as a "track". We use the term "staff" in our documentation because that is what sheet-music-reading-performing musicians are most familiar with.

Volume - this can be set for each instrument/staff either
(1) in it's specific Staff Setup dialog (click the "Speaker" button for that staff)
(2) in the menu item Staff -> Staff Setup large dialog
(3) using the Graph Over Notes feature.
The first two methods set a single volume value for the entire length of the staff. The 3rd method allows you to vary the volume over the performance.
(The overall volume for the song can be changed using the volume slider on the main toolbar.)

Pan (left/right) - this can also be set for each instrument/staff either
(1) in it's specific Staff Setup dialog
(2) in the menu Staff -> Staff Setup large dialog
(3) using the Graph Over Notes feature
The first two methods set a single pan value for the entire length of the staff. Pan can help with stereo placement of instruments, for instance if you want to set up a file that sounds more like you are recording an orchestra with the microphones placed where the conductor would stand. The violins are typically on the left (0-40), the cellos and basses on the right (100-127), and so forth. The 3rd method allows you to vary the pan over the performance for special effects. One of our users created a file that used this feature to re-create a marching band going past the review stand - you can find it at http://www.notation.com/vb-forum/sho...97&postcount=1

Note Velocity - this is how "hard" a note is hit, plucked, or blown. It can be set (1) in the Note Velocity tab or (2) using the keyboard shortcut "L" + Up/Down arrow key on any selected note(s).
For some MIDI playback devices, it only amounts to another sort-of volume control. However, for better MIDI playback devices, the Note Velocity also affects the the quality of the sound. For example, some wind instruments if blown softly have a breathier sound (lower note velocity), but have a more strident sound when blown hard (higher note velocity). Or think of the difference in the quality of a piano when played softly or when played with more force. Better MIDI playback devices (eg. Garritan libraries, East West library, etc.) give these performance nuances when the note velocity is changed, giving a more lifelike performance.

If you use a MIDI instrument to record into Composer, you can also change the Note Velocity, Volume and Pan level at the MIDI instrument level when you play the piece you are recording.

If you are using "found" MIDI files, they may already have variations in these parameters that are shown when you look at the settings in the file using the various tools in Notation Composer.
Enjoy!
Sherry
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