Need help with using VSTi without MIDI Keys

Hello,

I'm trying to figure out what is the most common/best way people use VSTi's without using a MIDI keyboard? I just completed a composition I would like to submit to the site and I composed it in Sibelius. Right now I'm using Miroslav Philharmonik in Sibelius but Miroslav just plows over any dynamic I use. There's also balancing issues with it that can cause hissing if I bump up the volume too much to correct a near inaudible instrument. This composition is using orchestra instrumentation and I've heard some very well done music in the same vein on this site so I know it's possible.

I've scavenged Google for information in this and I've found a lot of people use MIDI sequencers (Cakewalk/Logic/etc) with their work. I've got some money I've been saving up for when I was going to start writing seriously so if I have to buy a program that's not a problem. Also if it does come down to using another program like Cakewalk, could i just export my composition in MIDI form from Sibelius, import it through Cakewalk and then using my VSTi or would that compress it to one channel thus rendering it pointless?

Hello,

I'm trying to figure out what is the most common/best way people use VSTi's without using a MIDI keyboard? I just completed a composition I would like to submit to the site and I composed it in Sibelius. Right now I'm using Miroslav Philharmonik in Sibelius but Miroslav just plows over any dynamic I use. There's also balancing issues with it that can cause hissing if I bump up the volume too much to correct a near inaudible instrument. This composition is using orchestra instrumentation and I've heard some very well done music in the same vein on this site so I know it's possible.

I've scavenged Google for information in this and I've found a lot of people use MIDI sequencers (Cakewalk/Logic/etc) with their work. I've got some money I've been saving up for when I was going to start writing seriously so if I have to buy a program that's not a problem. Also if it does come down to using another program like Cakewalk, could i just export my composition in MIDI form from Sibelius, import it through Cakewalk and then using my VSTi or would that compress it to one channel thus rendering it pointless?

I've noticed that you can select all notes of a specific midi channel even if all midi channels are grouped into one region. I'm sure there are ways to do that in other DAWs as well.

Anyway, you should probably download Reaper and try that out. Its midi tools aren't the greatest (or then I just haven't usde them enough to like them), but if you already have a midi you shouldn't have any problem imprting it and setting different VSTi's to different midi channels and/or tracks. Reaper works for free, so it's a good starting point.

This is precisely why I didn't look back when I discovered FL after using Midisoft studio for years (notation software).

Piano roll > notation.

Thanks for the feedback guys, I've already started to look into some of these options

I've noticed that you can select all notes of a specific midi channel even if all midi channels are grouped into one region. I'm sure there are ways to do that in other DAWs as well.

I'm not sure what you mean by this

Anyway, you should probably download Reaper and try that out. Its midi tools aren't the greatest (or then I just haven't usde them enough to like them), but if you already have a midi you shouldn't have any problem imprting it and setting different VSTi's to different midi channels and/or tracks. Reaper works for free, so it's a good starting point.

Reaper is apparently compatible with Sibelius 6 and there is actually a section in the manual about it that I neglected to read. I think I'm going to try using the Reaper demo and see how things work out. Thanks for pointing this program out to me!

This is precisely why I didn't look back when I discovered FL after using Midisoft studio for years (notation software).

Piano roll > notation.

I checked out some piano roll tutorials on youtube and it looks like way too much effort to write music with it. I'm used to writing music with note values that using blocks to notate freaks me out. I can see some advantages though and I could probably extract each part, after condensing the woodwinds, brass, and string sections parts, into MIDI and then load it into FL to read.

I think I understand what I need to do next to get my music to the next step. Thanks again!

Save up for a controller, too.

Try playing a chord with a mouse without selecting it from a menu.

.