Author
Topic: Suspended Cymbal Roll Length

ddoyle76

I am using the Sibelius VDL Template 7.0a, and I'm trying to get a suspended cymbal roll to playback correctly, and it's just not working.

I want a one-measure roll with a release on beat 1 of the following measure, but regardless of what I do, the roll is either too long or too short. I have tried using the "Cresc Roll SHORT", "Cresc Roll MED", and "Cresc Roll LONG" inputs using my MIDI keyboard, but these seem to be completely independent of tempo and note duration.

How do I get my roll to accurately release as notated?


Mac OS X 10.8.4
Sibelius 7.1.3
VDL 2.5

sklermbot

I think you need to tie it to a release note.

Hugh Smith

With the note selected, go to Home > Inspector, use the Live Start Position settings. You'll likely need to experiment to get what you want.
Hugh Smith

Joe

Yep, and note that 256 units is equivalent to a quarter note (regardless of what your tempo is). Use this math to adjust.

This means picking the playback length that is close to what you want, then using the Live Start position to bump the playback forwards or backwards so that the roll ends at the appropriate place. Each of the different cymbal instruments has slightly different sampled roll lengths, so you will need to adjust rolls on different cymbals to start at different points.

Also note that, if the roll is a crescendo, you should tell Sibelius to start it at its ending dynamic. Do this by hiding the real playback dynamic after the notated dynamic. So, for example, if you want your cymbal roll to crescendo from mp to f, enter the starting dynamic as "mp~f", enter the hairpin, and enter the ending dynamic as "f". This makes the notation look correct to the player but lets Sibelius play back a roll with the correct dynamics.

Last tip: there are "loud" and "soft" roll samples. Enter text "loud" or "soft" to trigger these (or "mute" to trigger the muted release rolls). I always enter this text with a tilde in front since it doesn't need to be seen by the player. Since the two different volume roll samples play back with slightly different lengths, be sure to enter the desired text before playing with Live Start position.