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Motet
Isorhythmic

Date Joined Dec 2002
Total Posts : 12849

Posted 11/25/2016 12:29 PM (GMT -6)

I'm looking for a simple piece of Windows freeware that will listen to my USB MIDI keyboard and play in through Windows audio, ideally using Finale's Softsynth, but the built-in Windows stuff would be OK, too. Finale will do this, of course, but I would like something lighter that would load immediately. Can anyone point me to such a a thing? I don't know the proper thing to search for.

Finale 2014.5, 2011b, 2005, TGTools
Windows 7, MIDI input
Finale Transposition Chart

Charles Lawrence
Registered Member

Date Joined Dec 2009
Total Posts : 3638

Posted 11/25/2016 1:38 PM (GMT -6)

Motet,

Don't know if this will do what you are looking for or not.

http://www.midiox.com/

"Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about!"

Windows 10 Professional (x64) (build 10586)

3.50 gigahertz Intel Core i7-5930K, Multi-core (6 total), Hyper-threaded (12 total)

32638 Megabytes Usable Installed Memory, 17514.37 Gigabytes Usable Hard Drive Capacity
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 - 4GB [Display adapter]

ASUS Rampage V Extreme motherboard, Realtek HD Audio

Finale 2014.5.6359, Finale 25.1.0.182
Garritan GPO4.02

Cakewalk SONAR X3 - (X3e build 244) - x64, Sound Forge Audio Studio 10.0, Audacity 2.1.0
Sharpeye 2.68, PhotoScore Ultimate 7.0.2, SmartScore X2 Pro 10.5.8

"There is a world of difference between a person who has a big problem and a person who makes a problem big." – John Maxwell

Motet
Isorhythmic

Date Joined Dec 2002
Total Posts : 12849

Posted 11/25/2016 2:17 PM (GMT -6)

Thanks, I'll have a look.

I was able to get something to play through Microsoft GS Wavetable Synth, though I don't like the sound much. Is Finale's SoftSynth proprietary, or should some other application be able to use it?

Finale 2014.5, 2011b, 2005, TGTools
Windows 7, MIDI input
Finale Transposition Chart

Credo
Registered Member

Date Joined Feb 2016
Total Posts : 142

Posted 11/25/2016 5:30 PM (GMT -6)

You could load the stand alone ARIA player and use your Finale sound library.
If your version of Finale didn't install the ARIA executable you can find it on the MakeMusic Website. Log into your user account and search the support: update area for Garritan updates.

Motet
Isorhythmic

Date Joined Dec 2002
Total Posts : 12849

Posted 11/25/2016 8:25 PM (GMT -6)

Hey, thanks, Credo! That sounds pretty good, and it loads fast.. I've never used Aria or Garritan before. I wish it were louder, though--I have to turn the volume all the way up for it to be loud enough with headphones. Everything else would be too loud, so we'll see if I forget and deafen myself.

Finale 2014.5, 2011b, 2005, TGTools
Windows 7, MIDI input
Finale Transposition Chart

Credo
Registered Member

Date Joined Feb 2016
Total Posts : 142

Posted 11/25/2016 9:21 PM (GMT -6)

Motet said...
Hey, thanks, Credo! That sounds pretty good, and it loads fast.. I've never used Aria or Garritan before. I wish it were louder, though--I have to turn the volume all the way up for it to be loud enough with headphones. Everything else would be too loud, so we'll see if I forget and deafen myself.

What audio drivers have you chosen in the ARIA Setup?

If you're using Windows Direct Sound or WDM drivers on something like a built in audio port of a laptop or PC, then you might can adjust the volume in your normal Windows audio mixer.

If you're running it through something like a nice audio interface with ASIO drivers and such, then your Audio Device should come with a control panel where you can adjust the levels. I.E. My Tascam 1200 USB, and M-Audio Delta 1010 PCI audio devices have fancy control panels that go with them. When I use the onboard audio of my motherboard, I can adjust things through the native Windows 10 Mixer.

Motet
Isorhythmic

Date Joined Dec 2002
Total Posts : 12849

Posted 11/25/2016 10:03 PM (GMT -6)

Audio device is MME, whatever that is. I can use the Windows mixer, but I have to turn it all the way up. Is seems like the sounds are just recorded at too low a level. I don't use Garritan, as I say, but aren't people always complaining that it's too quiet?

Finale 2014.5, 2011b, 2005, TGTools
Windows 7, MIDI input
Finale Transposition Chart

Jolora
Registered Member

Date Joined Mar 2009
Total Posts : 684

Posted 11/26/2016 1:52 AM (GMT -6)

Motet,

I am a neophyte when it comes to MIDI editing/sequencing. To preview MIDI files, I have used Anvil Siudio for years.

It's free, has a good many features (which I rarely use), and you can use third-party VSTs like Aria pretty easily.

See www.anvilstudio.com/indexm.htm

And the company has given me excellent customer service over the years, doing things like on-the-spot updates to fix compatibility problems. And this is for a free product. They have 8 or 9 optional add-ons that you can buy ($20-$40, or get everything for $100), but the free Anvil Studio itself is not a "lite" or SE version of anything. I own none of the add-ons, and its just fine for me.

Joe

Finale v1 through 2014.5
JW Plugins; TG Tools (Full)
Garritan GPO 4; GPO 5; Garritan COMB 2; Garritan JABB 3
Anvil Studio 2015 midi editor
PhotoScore Ultimate 8
Band-in-a-Box

Windows 10 64-bit, Intel i7-4771, 32GB RAM, 500GB SSD (C Drive)

Post Edited (Jolora) : 11/26/2016 1:10:03 AM (GMT-6)

Credo
Registered Member

Date Joined Feb 2016
Total Posts : 142

Posted 11/26/2016 2:08 AM (GMT -6)

Motet said...
Audio device is MME, whatever that is. I can use the Windows mixer, but I have to turn it all the way up. Is seems like the sounds are just recorded at too low a level. I don't use Garritan, as I say, but aren't people always complaining that it's too quiet?

No, they are normalized samples, something isn't right. On my rig at least (with three different sound cards) it's a very hot signal and I have to bring things down in the Mixer Tab of ARIA to stay in the same room with it.

Maybe try some of the other driver options?

If you're just playing into it with a keyboard remember that many of the Finale library sounds like winds and strings use Mod Wheel (CC1) to do dynamics instead of key velocity. Pianos and organs should work with velocity though.

Jolora
Registered Member

Date Joined Mar 2009
Total Posts : 684

Posted 11/26/2016 2:13 AM (GMT -6)

Sorry, Motet. I misunderstood your original post. Anvil should still work for you, but it isn't exactly what you asked for.

Ebony Ivory
On Ebony And Ivory I'll Tinkle All Day Long

Date Joined Dec 2005
Total Posts : 4594

Posted 11/26/2016 7:42 AM (GMT -6)

As some have suggested, ARIA can be played directly from a MIDI keyboard - I often use GPO4 directly in this way.

Brian

Ebony Ivory
On Ebony And Ivory I'll Tinkle All Day Long

Date Joined Dec 2005
Total Posts : 4594

Posted 11/26/2016 7:45 AM (GMT -6)

And of course if you have a Mac or iOS device, GarageBand is included for free ...

Brian

Fred G. Unn
Registered Member

Date Joined Jun 2002
Total Posts : 1268

Posted 11/26/2016 10:30 AM (GMT -6)

At the risk of pointing out the obvious, you do have the Mod wheel in the lower left of Aria turned all the way up, correct? I can't remember exactly how it installs, but I seem to remember the volume in the freestanding player was not maxed by default.

Motet
Isorhythmic

Date Joined Dec 2002
Total Posts : 12849

Posted 11/26/2016 12:17 PM (GMT -6)

Thanks, everyone. I just want to have a "piano" to use occasionally without running down to the living room. I changed Audio Device API from MME to "DirectSound" and the volume got louder, but there was a substantial lag. So I changed it back to MME and the volume remained loud, because it had changed Audio Device from Speakers to Microsoft Sound Mapper. So, problem solved, I guess. Seems rather arcane, and Aria has nothing in the way of help files.

(The Mod wheel was all the way down, but moving it had no effect.)

Finale 2014.5, 2011b, 2005, TGTools
Windows 7, MIDI input
Finale Transposition Chart

Post Edited (Motet) : 11/26/2016 11:52:46 AM (GMT-6)

Credo
Registered Member

Date Joined Feb 2016
Total Posts : 142

Posted 11/26/2016 10:11 PM (GMT -6)

Motet said...
Thanks, everyone. I just want to have a "piano" to use occasionally without running down to the living room. I changed Audio Device API from MME to "DirectSound" and the volume got louder, but there was a substantial lag. So I changed it back to MME and the volume remained loud, because it had changed Audio Device from Speakers to Microsoft Sound Mapper. So, problem solved, I guess. Seems rather arcane, and Aria has nothing in the way of help files.

(The Mod wheel was all the way down, but moving it had no effect.)

Odd that the manual didn't install for you. It should show up in your Start Bar under a "Garritan" heading. I think the latest version just points to an online version with this link: ariaengine.s3.amazonaws.com/downloads/ARIA_Player_Manual_2010-12.pdf, while older versions of ARIA stash an actual copy in the Windows default start menu directory.

On latency/lag. To get rid of that one can usually set the buffers smaller if the driver provides that 'option'. For a single piano you can usually get by with much smaller buffer sizes. As you add more instruments to a mix, if you get audio glitches then increase the buffers by slight amounts until they go away.

Post Edited (Credo) : 11/26/2016 9:18:31 PM (GMT-6)

Motet
Isorhythmic

Date Joined Dec 2002
Total Posts : 12849

Posted 11/27/2016 1:37 AM (GMT -6)

I don't know if my Aria player came from Finale 2011 or 2014.5 (the Aria files are dated 2010, so probably the former), but there is no Start menu item. I found the manual in E:\Program Files\Garritan\ARIA Player (it looks like something designed to be a printed and bound paperback booklet).

Thanks for the buffer size tip. I discovered that independently and have it set small. There is a delay (100ms?) but my computer's old and I can live with it.

Finale 2014.5, 2011b, 2005, TGTools
Windows 7, MIDI input
Finale Transposition Chart

SysExJohn
Registered Member

Date Joined Jan 2014
Total Posts : 57

Posted 11/27/2016 4:31 AM (GMT -6)

If you can fund an audio interface that has its own ASIO drivers (ASIO stands for audio stream input/output) it may allow you to get the audio latency (the gap between playing a note and getting sound output) down to single figures of milliseconds. If not, you may find that the "ASIO4all" universal ASIO drivers may allow to reduce your latency substantially. Available via asio4all.com surprisingly. It might be worth a try.

John Garside.

at MIDI-tutor.proboards.com

Finale 2012c, Sonar 7 PE, XGworks.
Garritan GPO4, JABB, COMB, IO, Organs, Steinway, Harps + GPO5.
E-MU 1616m PCI and Cardbus x 2.
Yamaha AN1x.

Motet
Isorhythmic

Date Joined Dec 2002
Total Posts : 12849

Posted 11/27/2016 12:40 PM (GMT -6)

Thanks--you prompted me to try WASAPI, which has no noticable latency. I think I'm all set.

The Garritan Steinway sounds great from about middle C down; higher notes seem to have artifacts.

Finale 2014.5, 2011b, 2005, TGTools
Windows 7, MIDI input
Finale Transposition Chart

Post Edited (Motet) : 11/27/2016 12:27:16 PM (GMT-6)

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