Greetings All

Ive been recently exploring VDL II - and its a great product, so hats off to you Tapspace guys.  However, I've got a few questions I was hoping you can answer.

Ive got a brand new 17"; powerbook and I'm running VDLII in Finale 2006.  I have the templates and have some questions..

#1 - the only way finale lets me use the VDL II sounds is by keyboard entry, and the only way it allows midi keyboard entry is at tempo - is there any way to change that or to do it in speedy entry?
#2 - if there is no way, how can I get the click back?  The click is beneficial for midi entry timing.

I have more, but solving these two may help me solve the others
So I'll thank you all in advance for any help you offer.

Chris Zwarych
-North Warren Regional HS Percussion Caption Head/Battery Arranger

When you say ";midi keyboard entry"; I think you are referring to Finale's Hyperscribe feature which notates as you enter in real time. For detail specific stuff (like drumline music), this probably isn't a very good method. Instead, you may be better off entering note by note (via the midi keyboard) with the speedy entry tool. Your Finale documentation should outline how to do this if it's new to you.

I must have missed that in the manual - that problem solved.

Now, I'm working with F2k6 and VDL II - I've managed to get the sounds to switch, that's no problem.  However, when using midi entry, regardless of what sound or notes I select on my keyboard, they all enter on the same line in Finale.  A tonal bass drum part or a rimshot or whatever - it all enters on the same line.

What template are you using?

The newest ones Jim Posted

I've tried everything I could think of - even reinstalling and nothing has been successful.  So either I've got it set up wrong, or something's wrong.

No matter what I do, notes will not appear on their right notes on the staff

Finale is so fun, isn't it? :) Sorry, sometimes the simplest things seem so complicated.

If you're using the Speedy Entry Tool (selected), go to the ";speedy"; menu, and ensure that ";use midi device for input"; is selected (with a check mark).

Oh I know - I've been using Finale since 2001 and it's a heck of a learning curve.

That was very helpful - thanks Jim.  Now I have to get that keyboard issue solved.

One question now though.  Are there supposed to be different note heads put in automatically for playing on rims? Or do we do that manually?

Yes, playing on rims will typically notate ";x"; noteheads if you are entering the correct pitches in with the midi keyboard and you're using the current VDL2 Finale template. Those are created that way in the percussion map that's assigned by default in the VDL2 Finale templates. If you aren't seeing these ";x"; noteheads for rims, either you aren't using the correct percussion map (assigned to in the ";staff attributes"; window via ";notation style>percussion";), or you maybe aren't entering the correct pitches. You may want to describe an in-depth play-by-play of how you're entering your parts so it's clear what you are (or aren't) experiencing. Typically speedy entry (with midi keyboard) is the way to go:

1. Click speedy entry tool and click on measure to enter notes
2. hold down desired VDL2 sound (midi pitch) on midi keyboard
3. click rhythmic value via numeric keypad
4. voila - correct sound plays, and correct notation displays

I'm not sure if I could tell from your response if you've corrected the problem where all your notes were inputting on the same line. Let me know if anything was unclear.

Ahh the percussion map assignment solved almost all of the problems.  I didn't assign the map - and I wasnt holding down the key when I entered notes.

When entering the Tenors, the main hit for drum 2 is mapped onto the staff position for drum 1.  All other hits on drum 2 are mapped to the correct spot, except for the main hit.  This was easily remedied.  The only thing I noticed was a problem in the basses, where I couldnt get the rim click to work.  Otherwise, I believe this is all working smoothly now. 

Thanks Jim - problemo solved.

Now to call M-Audio and straighten out this keyboard thing.

New Problem

When creating pit staff in finale, the Glock will not play
The rest of the instruments are fine, but there is no Glock playback, notes are read and come through when I put them in, but nothing comes in playback

Two guesses --

simple midi channel mismatch

you're in the wrong octave

Any winners?

It was set to channel 1 on both and didnt wor

I just changed it to channel 16 on both and no problem