# Fun With Noteperformer



## giwro (Oct 2, 2019)

A number of years ago, I came across Wallander’s Noteperformer for Sibelius – I tried out the demo, and was sufficiently impressed to buy the product. I’ve tried all of the versions and updates v1-v3.xx, and it’s pretty successful as mockup tool for orchestral scores…. the sounds may not always be completely authentic, but the balances are pretty much spot-on… it’s a great tool for verifying that, and doing a quick mockup without having to resort to a ton of editing in a DAW or a bunch of hidden markings in the score…

I know a few folks here use it, so, here are a few examples, starting with an excerpt of *Henri Dallier’s 1st Symphonie*:


http://www.evensongmusic.net/video/1ereSymphonieinFa.mp4



As you can hear, it’s pretty convincing – I’m sure the Spaces II reverb helps, too.

Noteperformer is now supported in Beta for Finale 25/26… It really gives me fits in Finale 25, so I haven’t used it much. It’s also working in Dorico as a Beta, better in Dorico 2.2x (and apparently in 3, with a few glitches).

I’m not really a Sibelius guy, I’ve used Finale since 1994… I love Dorico, but I’m waiting to upgrade to v3 until the first maintenance release – I’d rather use Noteperfomer and my other VST with that than the bloated old code from Finale or Sibelius.

But, for now it does work great for mockups and demos, and I know Sibelius well enough to manage.

Next, I thought I’d try something with a smaller and more intimate ensemble – I’ve always thought *Louis Vierne’s Berceuse* would translate well for Sax Quartet:



http://www.evensongmusic.net/video/Berceuse.mp4



I’ll post more as time permits…. indeed a lot of fun.


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## rlundv (Nov 7, 2019)

giwro said:


> A number of years ago, I came across Wallander’s Noteperformer for Sibelius – I tried out the demo, and was sufficiently impressed to buy the product. I’ve tried all of the versions and updates v1-v3.xx, and it’s pretty successful as mockup tool for orchestral scores…. the sounds may not always be completely authentic, but the balances are pretty much spot-on… it’s a great tool for verifying that, and doing a quick mockup without having to resort to a ton of editing in a DAW or a bunch of hidden markings in the score…
> 
> I know a few folks here use it, so, here are a few examples, starting with an excerpt of *Henri Dallier’s 1st Symphonie*:
> 
> ...


Simply wonderful demos! Doing the exact same thing at the moment - how did you use Spaces II inside of Sibelius?


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## Dan (Nov 7, 2019)

beyd770 said:


> Simply wonderful demos! Doing the exact same thing at the moment - how did you use Spaces II inside of Sibelius?



You can use all kinds of plugins inside Sibelius if you go to the "Play" tab and then klick on the little purple arrow next to "Setup"






Then this window will open, where you can insert plugins as you wish if you click on "Effects" on the very right:







I totally agree by the way: Wonderful demos!
I am a huge fan of NotePerformer myself. It really is great at giving an impression of the dynamic relations between the instruments and it is super flexible and will do whatever you write in your score.

The sound isn't super polished of course, but considering that the plugin really plays from the page without any further manipulation, it is just awesome.


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## giwro (Nov 7, 2019)

beyd770 said:


> Simply wonderful demos! Doing the exact same thing at the moment - how did you use Spaces II inside of Sibelius?



Glad you enjoyed them, and the implementation of Spaces is exactly as Dan states above...


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## giwro (Nov 7, 2019)

Dan said:


> You can use all kinds of plugins inside Sibelius if you go to the "Play" tab and then klick on the little purple arrow next to "Setup"
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Thanks, Dan... both for the nice explanation of effects inserts and the kind words.

I know a lot of folks kind of pooh-pooh Noteperformer, but when I’m writing I don’t really want to fuss with trying to get a good sound out of a VST. I’m kinda old-school, as I want to SEE what I’m writing first, rather than doodle on a DAW. It’s not right or wrong, just the workflow that works for me... probably due to having been a theory/comp major  
The other wonderful thing is, I can take Noteperformer on the road on the Surface, and it doesn’t choke the poor thing to death. I shudder to think what it would be like to run a resource-heavy sampleset on that...

It’s one of my busy seasons, so I won’t have much time to post more of these for awhile, but I do plan to return to them on on occasion.


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## Dan (Nov 7, 2019)

Yes, NotePerformer is just absolutely awesome to get a good representation of a score. And resource-wise it's really a dream.
Sometimes I wish it was more expressive, but it is kind of unfair to demand that from a plugin that is basically just reading one bar ahead and is playing everything on the spot.

I just recently started working with Sibelius and NotePerformer (after only working with Logic before) to challenge myself and try out some real notation – an area where I'm far from competent.

As I realized, that approach really helps in terms of thinking about orchestral balance etc, because in contrast to working with different sample libraries simultaneously where you need to endlessly rebalance everything, NotePerformer just has excellent balance right out of the box.

Anyway, I thought I'd attach a short excerpt from a piece I am currently working on in Sibelius where NotePerformer just sounds surprisingly rich and massive.
Does it come close to a really detailed mockup that someone invested a lot of time in? Of course not. But I think it does what it is designed to do very well. Especially when compared to those dreadful Sibelius default sounds.


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## JT (Nov 7, 2019)

Note Performer works better in Finale 26, than it did in 25.


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## giwro (Nov 7, 2019)

Dan said:


> Yes, NotePerformer is just absolutely awesome to get a good representation of a score. And resource-wise it's really a dream.
> Sometimes I wish it was more expressive, but it is kind of unfair to demand that from a plugin that is basically just reading one bar ahead and is playing everything on the spot.
> 
> I just recently started working with Sibelius and NotePerformer (after only working with Logic before) to challenge myself and try out some real notation – an area where I'm far from competent.
> ...



This is very nice, Dan.

The other thing I'm finding is that when I do eventually go to better sounds, I use NP as a guide for balance while mixing. NP will actually tell you pretty accurately if you have a well-written and balanced orchestration... 

No question it's better than the stock Sib sounds... oy


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## giwro (Nov 7, 2019)

JT said:


> Note Performer works better in Finale 26, than it did in 25.


I've actually gotten it to work pretty well in F25, but I can't write with it, as the latency while doodling drives me nuts. I'm waiting for Dorico 3 to get the bugs worked out, then I'll upgrade that.


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## WERNERBROS (Nov 7, 2019)

I love this performance: LINK


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## rudi (Nov 7, 2019)

That's _very _impressive - it also shows how far great writing and orchestration can go!


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## giwro (Nov 7, 2019)

WERNERBROS said:


> I love this performance: LINK



This is one of the things that makes me feel NP is a viable solution.... I know it's heresy here on this board, but this sounds better and more cohesive than some deeply-massaged demos from horrifically expensive samples. And, it took FAR less work to do... just good orchestration and proper score marking!


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## giwro (Nov 7, 2019)

rudi said:


> That's _very _impressive - it also shows how far great writing and orchestration can go!


Exactly. I'd go so far to say that if you're starting out wanting to learn orchestration, you could do a LOT of self-teaching by doing orchestral score mockups with NotePerformer.


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## giwro (Nov 7, 2019)

Here's another one I'm working on as I have time... with a little Altiverb7 from Vienna Konzertall it sounds pretty darn good... 
(and no, it's not my composition, just something I'm doing for score study)


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## Dan (Nov 7, 2019)

giwro said:


> Here's another one I'm working on as I have time... with a little Altiverb7 from Vienna Konzertall it sounds pretty darn good...
> (and no, it's not my composition, just something I'm doing for score study)



Very nice! Who composed it?

EDIT: Is it by Elsa Barraine? I found out she wrote a piece with that name via google but there seem to be no recordings sadly. I kind of like the style though. I will try to listen to some of her music.


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## rlundv (Nov 7, 2019)

Dan said:


> You can use all kinds of plugins inside Sibelius if you go to the "Play" tab and then klick on the little purple arrow next to "Setup"
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thank you for showing me this - worked like a charm!


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## giwro (Nov 7, 2019)

Dan said:


> Very nice! Who composed it?
> 
> EDIT: Is it by Elsa Barraine? I found out she wrote a piece with that name via google but there seem to be no recordings sadly. I kind of like the style though. I will try to listen to some of her music.



It is indeed Elsa Barraine.

Recordings of her music are few and far between, and very little of her music was ever published. I regularly trawl the BNF site (Bibliotheque Nationale de France) looking for digital scores... for some reason they posted a scan of the manuscript of this piece (probably by accident, as it is no longer publicly available)... I got lucky and downloaded it before it was removed.

There is a recording of her 2nd Symphonie pour orchestre on iTunes/Apple Music, and I think you can find the same recording on YouTube. Fascinating composer and music.


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## Michael Antrum (Nov 7, 2019)

I’ve always considered note performer to be ‘sight reading for VI’s’. When you think of it in those terms it’s really quite an achievement.....


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## giwro (Nov 7, 2019)

Michael Antrum said:


> I’ve always considered note performer to be ‘sight reading for VI’s’. When you think of it in those terms it’s really quite an achievement.....


EXACTLY!


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## rlundv (Nov 8, 2019)

giwro said:


> A number of years ago, I came across Wallander’s Noteperformer for Sibelius – I tried out the demo, and was sufficiently impressed to buy the product. I’ve tried all of the versions and updates v1-v3.xx, and it’s pretty successful as mockup tool for orchestral scores…. the sounds may not always be completely authentic, but the balances are pretty much spot-on… it’s a great tool for verifying that, and doing a quick mockup without having to resort to a ton of editing in a DAW or a bunch of hidden markings in the score…
> 
> I know a few folks here use it, so, here are a few examples, starting with an excerpt of *Henri Dallier’s 1st Symphonie*:
> 
> ...


Hey @giwro, do you use any special settings in Sibelius for making the Noteperformer-plugin work the best it can? I have seen some tips about setting the Espressivo-setting to Mechanico, and using some plugins for Sibelius to reset the mixer-faders. Apart from those, any other things you do to set it up before composing?


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## giwro (Nov 10, 2019)

beyd770 said:


> Hey @giwro, do you use any special settings in Sibelius for making the Noteperformer-plugin work the best it can? I have seen some tips about setting the Espressivo-setting to Mechanico, and using some plugins for Sibelius to reset the mixer-faders. Apart from those, any other things you do to set it up before composing?


No, I just followed the instructions that Arne gave with Noteperformer for use with Sibelius.

Once you've done that, there remains little to do besides carefully mark your score and write good music...


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## DavidRubenstein (Nov 11, 2019)

I love Note Performer, and I use it with Sibelius. I always find it easier to compose in Sibeilus, than directly in a DAW.
Recently, while working on a film score, I composed it in Sibelius, while viewing the video, timing the hits, the crescendos, decrescendos, and pauses just right. At times, the score involved a solo violin, for which Note Performer does not do a great job. So, I exported the audio from Sibelius without the solo violin, and I exported the Midi tracks. I brought them into a DAW, and applied a good solo violin VST instrument with a lot of expression. I added lots more Midi expression and modulation to the solo violin track, and mixed it with the audio from Sibelius. It came out pretty good!


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## rlundv (Nov 11, 2019)

DavidRubenstein said:


> I love Note Performer, and I use it with Sibelius. I always find it easier to compose in Sibeilus, than directly in a DAW.
> Recently, while working on a film score, I composed it in Sibelius, while viewing the video, timing the hits, the crescendos, decrescendos, and pauses just right. At times, the score involved a solo violin, for which Note Performer does not do a great job. So, I exported the audio from Sibelius without the solo violin, and I exported the Midi tracks. I brought them into a DAW, and applied a good solo violin VST instrument with a lot of expression. I added lots more Midi expression and modulation to the solo violin track, and mixed it with the audio from Sibelius. It came out pretty good!


Cool! Very inspiring to hear about your workflow. Could you post an example?


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## giwro (Nov 11, 2019)

DavidRubenstein said:


> I love Note Performer, and I use it with Sibelius. I always find it easier to compose in Sibeilus, than directly in a DAW.
> Recently, while working on a film score, I composed it in Sibelius, while viewing the video, timing the hits, the crescendos, decrescendos, and pauses just right. At times, the score involved a solo violin, for which Note Performer does not do a great job. So, I exported the audio from Sibelius without the solo violin, and I exported the Midi tracks. I brought them into a DAW, and applied a good solo violin VST instrument with a lot of expression. I added lots more Midi expression and modulation to the solo violin track, and mixed it with the audio from Sibelius. It came out pretty good!


I’ve been tempted to do this very thing myself... I’m mocking up a classical piece right now, and the solo violin is obviously the weak spot with NP


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## DavidRubenstein (Nov 11, 2019)

beyd770 said:


> Cool! Very inspiring to hear about your workflow. Could you post an example?


Sure. Here is an example. The solo violin plays with the orchestra in the beginning, then goes away and comes back later. There are a number of decrescendos and pauses, allowing for sudden action and dialog in the film to take precedence.


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## andrzejmakal (Jan 12, 2020)

I love NotePerformer as well. I use it with Sibelius, and for the kind of work I do ( symphonic and chamber arrangements) it does great job and is a real time saver. Despite of poor quality of some instruments (piano, oboe, sorry...) the fact that it “reads” articulations just from the score is something better than any keyswitching blabla. And audio export for demo that exactly reflects what’s in the score! For traditional, live arranger/orchestrator this is unbelievably valuable tool.
cheers


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