Hey there, I'm trying to get a short crescendo sus cym roll from combo rack B and I cant seem to find out how to change the noteheads. I'm a finale to sibelius convert and it seems that sibelius 7 is a little different than previous versions. Does anyone know how to switch noteheads in Sibelius 7 to achieve the right playback sounds for cymbals?

Hi Ricky

Yes, Sibelius 7 did implement a couple of changes in how it handles noteheads. In the attached image you'll see that the selected note has its attributes in the info strip at the bottom of the program's window. In this case it's ";Back slashed";, notehead number 12. What didn't change is how to modify the notehead number: all you need to do is use the shortcut key Alt + Shft + [i]notehead number[/i]. Anything numbered 10 or higher needs to be entered quickly while the Alt+Shft keys are pressed (not from the keypad though). A couple trials and errors may be needed to get the hang of it.

Hugh

Hey Hugh,

So I'm in combo rack B, I have a short suspended cymbal roll for on measure tied to a quarter note release. 3 tremolo lines and the notehead is assigned to 35 (you can see on the bottom) as says the input diagrams and its still not playing back correctly. Is there something I'm missing here? attached is a screen shot of my template and highlighted is the measure in question.

If I'm seeing that right, move the SusCym [b]instrument change[/b] to the left (not sure how far it will need to go). Unpitched instrument changes are a little squirly for some reason.

I've tried it about a billion different ways and still no luck, but when I type in the ";SusCym 20 Constantinople"; it appears as red where as all the other text clarifications appear as black. Should that be a red flag? Attached is a screen shot. Also when I click the note with my mouse I get no sound out of it.

Are you using an Instrument Change? It needs to look like the image below. Select a bar, then insert by going to [b]Home > Instruments > Change[/b] (Ctrl+Alt+Shift+I).  Turn on [b]View > Invisibles > Hidden Objects[/b] (box checked) to see the rectangle brackets and other hidden items.

You need to use an instrument change, as Hugh says.

Also, be aware that from Sibelius 6 onwards, text that automatically turns red is an indicator that Sibelius thinks it's overlapping with something. In this case it's the barline and it's no big deal.

Hey Hugh

All that cymbal stuff worked out great, but now I'm having trouble getting my suspended cymbal to play back when I use it as an attachment to a marimba. I've been reading up on it online and I guess there is some new adjustment with VDL 2.5 where you need to do the instrument change as with the rack combos instead of using the built in cymbals above the marimba range, but I cant figure out which staff line the notes need to be on or which note I need to hit on my MIDI controller to make that happen, I cant seem to find it in the diagram or input map PDFs. I've tried trial and error by checking each staff line but nothing seems to work. Do you know how to do this?

attached is a screen shot

The SusCym diagrams are on page 35 of the Diagrams file. SusCym input maps are on page 20 of the Input Maps file.

Remember, for pitched to unpitched instrument changes you'll need to move the instrument change rectangle a few pixels to the left for the instrument to actually switch in the desired place.