Do these templates require a midi keyboard?  I still need to input sharps/flats on silly ledger lines when using Sibelius 4 so I don't quite see how these templates help.

No; they appear as you expect when using a keyboard.

I [i]was[/i] using the template. Are you saying that, when you use a mid keyboard, every sound appears on a single line, but with a different note head? This is the thing I am trying to understand (before bothering with downloading and tinkering with the Bome's keyboard). Using the example I gave ... do R & L notes still appear on different lines if you use the midi keyboard? Do [i]snares off[/i] notes, for example, still appear an octave above the staff if you use the midi keyboard?

Hey Mark...  let me see if I can break this down...

Drum ";mapping"; is the process where everything can go on the staff like you expect, i.e. a one-line snare staff.  A round note head will trigger a note, and a x notehead will trigger another.  When you enter those other notes via a midi keyboard -- like regular and shots, etc., they will still appear on the snare line.  The template takes care of that.  If you don't use the template, and you enter a F#, you'll get an F#.  If you use the template, and you happen to enter a Bb, it doesn't matter, since that Bb means something else in ";snare lingo";.  The template writes the appropriate note without you needing to adjust it. 

In the manual, find the snare map, use the template, and play around by entering a bunch of notes.  You'll see right away.  Like when you enter right hands and left hands, it doesn't matter - in the score, it appears the same.  It does trigger the different sounds, offering realistic playback.  That's the point of course.

Try Bome's keyboard if you need -- search the forum for info on that.

Short answer: using the TEMPLATE makes Sibelius ";intelligent";. 

I haven't broken down and gotten a midi keyboard yet (yea, you can beat me later). But I am currently considering it. Related to this discussion, when using a keyboard for basic L-R taps, are they still placed on both the F4 and G4 lines? Or would they just be on a single line. And when I'm playing taps with snares off, are the notes still going to appear way the heck above the staff for F6 and G6?

Forgive me, but I'm old school - and using something other than a single line for snare parts is odd to me (and the 50 year olds that I write the music for). I even have side tenors that I write for and, when entering on a computer keyboard, all their music is an octave above the top of the staff.

So, to rephrase my question ... Does the use of a midi keyboard, for some reason, place all the notes within the basic staff (or even on a single line)? ... OR ... Is there at least a way to adjust the notes so that they are lowered an octave or two on the staff?

Yes, the templates are designed to work with a midi keyboard. For example, enter a G#5 on the snare staff (by punching in that note on your midi keyboard), and you WON'T get the silly sharp or a silly leger line. You'll see sibelius place a note that looks like a snare note (in this case it'll play back a buzz roll). Then enter in a G-natural 4 (RH rimshot). You won't see a ";G-natural";, but rather an ";x"; notehead on the same staff line as other snare parts.

The template is important because it contains dozens of ";staff types"; that are specific to VDL2. If you don't know what a staff type is, it's a good thing to read about in your Sibelius manual. This is what allows percussion mapping to be possible.