# How to make my midi controller work in DAW and Musescore



## Filip (Nov 24, 2021)

Hey, so I was wondering if anyone knows how to make a midi controller work simultaneously in DAW and Musescore? I want to be able to input notes in Musescore by playing on my Midi keyobard, and from time to time make changes in my DAW project without having to close it. 
Currently when my DAW is opened, and then I open Musescore, I can't input notes in Musescore by playing on my Midi Keyboard, it happens the other way around too, as it depends on which program I open first.


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## AcousTech (Nov 24, 2021)

Well, one option would be to have the DAW & Musescore listen on separate MIDI Channels. Like:
MIDI Channel 1 - DAW
MIDI Channel 2 - Musescore
Then, just change the MIDI channel your controller is sending on to “select” which destination receives the input. 

The savvy folks here may have more/better ideas.


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## Filip (Nov 24, 2021)

That seems like a good idea, however I'm not really sure how to do that, could you please explain to me how can I create these two separate MIDI Channels?


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## AcousTech (Nov 25, 2021)

Hmmm. Not without knowing more particulars:
1. What DAW are you using?
2. What MIDI Controller are you using? 

Basically MIDI can support up to 16 Channels on a given cable connection. So a DAW can be configured to listen on one, and then Musescore can listen on another. But without knowing your particular controller and your particular DAW there aren’t any more specifics we can share.


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## Filip (Nov 25, 2021)

AcousTech said:


> Hmmm. Not without knowing more particulars:
> 1. What DAW are you using?
> 2. What MIDI Controller are you using?
> 
> Basically MIDI can support up to 16 Channels on a given cable connection. So a DAW can be configured to listen on one, and then Musescore can listen on another. But without knowing your particular controller and your particular DAW there aren’t any more specifics we can share.



Sorry, I forgot to mention the DAW, I'm on Ableton live 10, my controller is Novation Launchkey MkII 49keys version.


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## AcousTech (Nov 26, 2021)

So, I’m going to assume you can already generate sounds from the VSTs you load in Ableton, and that you can successfully get MIDI notes into Musescore. Based on that assumption, in Musescore you can select the MIDI port & channel you want to “listen on” per track. See here:








Mixer


The Mixer allows you to change instrument sounds, adjust volume and panning, and make other adjustments to the playback for each staff. Opening the Mixer To…




musescore.org




So, for example, you can set your Musescore track to listen on Port 1(unless you have more than one MIDI Input device this is likely already your Launchkey), and then set the Channel to 2(this defaults to 1 as well). At this point, if you play your Launchkey(which is likely still outputting to Channel 1) Musescore won’t respond at all.

So, now you would need to tell your LaunchKey which MIDI Channel to send on. I don’t have one of those units, but the manual suggests you would do it like this:




Manual is here, for reference:


https://fael-downloads-prod.focusrite.com/customer/prod/s3fs-public/novation/downloads/10577/launchkey-mk2-ug-en_0.pdf



Change it to Channel 2, and then Musescore should start receiving that MIDI note data again. When you want to switch back to Ableton, change the Channel back to 1.

Maybe that helps?


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## Filip (Dec 1, 2021)

AcousTech said:


> So, I’m going to assume you can already generate sounds from the VSTs you load in Ableton, and that you can successfully get MIDI notes into Musescore. Based on that assumption, in Musescore you can select the MIDI port & channel you want to “listen on” per track. See here:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Wow, thanks for such a detailed explanation! Sorry, I didn't answer back before, I was slightly overloaded with work lately. I'll surely try this method, thanks again.


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