So how do i get full use of my Vdl sounds? For example. Rims shots, sidesticking....I have windows and sibelius5.

Buying a MIDI keyboard should be next on your list next time you get the cash, it's SUCH a timesaver:)

All you need to know is what notehead to use and what line to put it on. I spent about 30 minutes one night writing out the info from the ";Edit Instruments"; dialog, and then put it in spreadsheet format. From there, I just look up the sound I want, then it tells me what notehead to use, what line to put it on, and what articulation if any.

Search the forum for ";VDLMIDI"; if you're a Mac user (which you should put in a signature along with all of your specs to save time). That works well too, but this was just simpler for me. Send me an email if you want a pdf of what I did.

Good luck!

It's funny because I bought a midi keyboard (a nice one too) and I never use it. Maybe I'm just more comfortable with a mouse and keyboard.

I use the read-me included with the VDL2.5 Template to find all the noteheads I need. After the template for a few hours you'll quickly remember what noteheads you use most. A handful of notehead numbers will cover 90% of the writing you do, and I just look up whatever I can't remember. Luckily Hugh did a pretty good job when designing the template at being consistent from instrument to instrument so they all use similar noteheads for the same type of sounds.

So I input notes with my mouse, then select the note that I may need to change the notehead/sound for. You can then open your properties window and the note tab ( I leave it open all the time) and change the notehead to the desired sound you want. Once you start memorizing notehead numbers you can just select a note then hold Alt+Shift, input the number notehead you want and it will automatically change. I've found knowing the noteheads and using keyboard shortcuts is pretty much just as easy as memorizing octaves and corresponding notes for a midi keyboard. Hope that makes sense.

Cheers :)

The new template is definitely better for mouse clicking, but a midi keyboard will still be [u]a lot[/u] faster.  With one hand on the keyboard to enter the note sound/pitch, and one hand on the numeric keypad to control duration/rests/ornaments, you can write really fast.  If you have a chunk of 16ths, six-tuplets, etc. you can basically drum it on the keyboard w/ the correct sticking.  You can write a para-diddle exercise in almost real-time.

Another solution when you don't have a midi keyboard, or don't have access to one, is the Bome's Mouse Keyboard which can be found at http://www.bome.com/midi/keyboard/.

Thanks all. I'll look into all of these ideas. and unfortunately i can't use vdlmidi (no mac).