Key Signatures

[megibson]

Finale 2014.5
VDL 2.5.5
Windows 10
TWS Finale 2014 Template

I opened the ensemble template, saved as Mvt. 1.  I deleted unnecessary staffs from the pit & drumline sections and then added wind staffs above the ensemble score.  I designed the score with all necessary time signature changes, correct keys, measure numbers etc..  I then copied and pasted the wind parts from an older score (2011) to the template's wind score parts.  After doing all of this I loaded the correct sounds in Kontakt and used Garritan sounds for the winds.  Through the score manager I assigned the keyboard parts to the corresponding VDL channel.  Everything sounds fine but the keyboard parts are displaying orange note heads.  Through score manager I showed Perc MIDI map.  All of the banks and channels are correctly number corresponding to Kontakt & VDL assignments.  Everything sounds fine but the note heads are orange.

Another problem I just realized is that the wind score is in the correct key (f minor) but all of the keyboard parts are in C (or no key).
Accidentals also are not displayed in the keyboard parts.

I went to staff attributes and under *items to display* I found that all of the keyboard parts had the *key signature* box checked.  In the *independent elements* section none of the keyboard parts had the *key signature*  box checked.  I went through each keyboard part and checked them all.  I go back to the score and there is still not a key signature displayed.  If I write a Db in the keyboard parts it displays as a D natural (W/out an accidental displayed) but still sounds as Db. 

I'm sure I have missed something. 

Any ideas?

[megibson]

Also,

Transpositions do not happen in the keyboard parts.

[TBoliske]

Transpositions are not required when working with the VDL pitched percussion instruments. Because they are sampled instruments the sounds match the display.

There is no need to set the key signatures as independent elements. Doing so would force you to change the key signature for each stave every time you change the key signature for the score.

When you set up the score, did you assign time and key signatures for the VDL pitched percussion? I'm not certain why those staves would not display key signatures.

The keyboard staves are displaying the orange notes because Finale thinks they are out of range. To change this setting, go to
View>Out-of-Range Notes. It should have been set to Advanced by default in the templates. You may also set it to Off. If the notes still display as orange or if there is no sound, then you are writing outside of the instrument range as set by the VDL library.

[megibson]

Ok.  I just finished doing the following...

opened a new TWS ensemble template and set the measures and key in the template set up wizard.  This applied to the score.
Score Manager> deleted unnecessary staffs, renamed Vibe 1 as Xylo/Bells.
Assigned VDL voices to Kontakt
Score Manager> assigned channels to instruments
Score>View> Out of Range Notes were set to intermediate so I turned them off
This took care of the orange note head issues.

I'm about to format the score with time sig, numberings and then add wind parts to copy and paste from older score

New question/problem: How do I assign Rack Combo B as a 2nd or 3rd Layer to keyboard instruments?  I figured out how to do this with the bells, and timpani (I just did it like previous versions of TWS templates from 2011).  However, Score Manager will not allow me to select Rack Combo B from the Perc MIDI Map in any layers.  I type the channel number in and in the score the sound is correct but the notes are showing up as note heads way out of range.

I tried to change the keyboard cleff in the measure I was working in to Percussion cleff like the Percussion cleff is set up in TWS> didn't work
I Staff Tool> right clicked the measure> rhythmic notation> didn't work

Any ideas?

Thank You for your help!

[TBoliske]

To accomplish what you are talking about, use the Change Instrument Utility. This should automatically change the clef and allow for you to assign a percussion midi map and layout for the new instrument, if it is non-pitched percussion. It also works when moving from non-pitched to pitched.

The only thing that is not possible with the Finale percussion system is mid-measure changes. This really applies to any instrument change. You need to change the instrument on count 1 of the measure regardless of when the first note is played.

[megibson]

Thank you for your help in this Ted.

I was able to switch from Marimba 2 to Rack Combo B. 

There are 2 issues that I'm still having with this after digging around. 

1. Playback is not happening.  I assigned the correct VDL channel, Midi Mapped correctly and the notation is correct (no orange note heads).  There is sound on note entry but not on playback.

2. I selected 2 measures and clicked *change instrument* under utilities.  This applied the instrument change to the entire staff I was using.  In score manager it changed the marimba part to percussion.  After setting this up as much as I could, I'm attempting to change back to marimba and now it's as though I'm adding another marimba staff to score manager.  The sound is there but it's not the correct VDL marimba sound (it sounds like a bad midi marimba).  In score manager I have set the device, channel, bank, & sound correctly ( just copied what the other correct marimba staffs look like) 

I feel like by doing one thing, I'm messing up so many other things.

[TBoliske]

If the Change Instrument Utility was applied correctly, it should have applied the change for only the measures selected and then the staff should go back to the original staff settings. If you check the Score Manager, the new instrument should specify when the change starts and ends.

As far as playback is concerned, make sure that the playback device is set up correctly for Kontakt and the VDL instrument is loaded.

[megibson]

My score has the following layout per staff/layers in pit:

xylo/bells/croats
Vibe 1
Vibe 2
Marimba 1
Marimba 2
Marimba 3/Timpani
Marimba 4
Synth Lead

In score manager I have all of them set up correctly with layers & sounds etc.

What I want to be able to do is add an additional layer of Rack Combo B on all the instruments except for the Synth.

Ex.

xylo/bells/croats/Rack Combo B
Vibe 1/Rack Combo B
Vibe 2/Rack Combo B
Marimba 1/Rack Combo B
Marimba 2/Rack Combo B
Marimba 3/Timpani/Rack Combo B
Marimba 4/Rack Combo B
Synth Lead

I would like to be able to switch back and fourth from the mallet layer to the percussion layer all while getting the correct sounds on playback and correct notation on display.

I have attempted to do the change instrument utility and it works, kinda.  Here is what I have done:
staff tool button>select five measures within a Marimba 4 staff
utilities>change instrument
change instrument window pops up with three panel windows inside. From left to right I select marching band>percussion>percussion

Finale error window pops up and says
"The select Document Style does not include the Percussion Layout required by the instrument(s) "Percussion"
To ensure proper notation, you can either:
- Select a different document style
- Select a different Percussion instrument or
- Manually set up or load the necessary Percussion Layout

After clicking OK to close out the window I have noticed that Finale has taken the selected measures and changed the staff to a percussion staff.  The staff then goes back to treble cleff w/key signature in tact after the selection.

When I attempt to notate crash cymbals for these five measures I get MIDI percussion map sounds with Orange notes that are incorrectly placed on the staff
I go to score manager in attempt to select the correct Percussion Layout/Mapping/VDL assignments etc. 

In the Instruments panel I see marimba 1-4 Device>Kontakt 5 Sound>"Edit Player" banks and channels are all correct for a keyboard sound.
This is where I'm stuck

Also,
The first measure five measures in the score I set Marimba 2 to play wind chimes and sizzle cymbal.  I did all of the same steps above to select five measures and doing change instrument with one exception:
When the change instrument window pops up with three panel windows inside. From left to right I selected All>percussion>percussion.
Score Manager> Now the entire Marimba 2 instrument was replaced with Percussion
I did the device/channel/sound/map settings for Rack Combo 2 and
in notation style in the Percussion Layout Selection window I selected VDL 2.5 Rack Combo B (Auto RL)
This worked great.  Correct playback sounds, notation etc.  However, when it switches back to marimba parts it sounds like a piano instead of a marimba and I don't know how to fix this.

I'm feeling very lost when it comes to managing instrument switches from keyboard to non-pitched percussion in score manager. 

Am I doing something/everything wrong? 
Please advise,

[TBoliske]

You can't assign a percussion map and layout to 1 layer while the other layers pitched percussion. The steps you followed for the Change Instrument Utility were fine. It does require you to manually set up both the percussion midi map and percussion layouts. This is because Finale does not have the instrument definitions for the full VDL using Kontakt/Kontakt Player. Make sure you also load the Rack Combo into Kontakt and specify which Bank (if you have more than 1 instance of Kontakt loaded) and the midi channel that the Rack Combo is assigned to within that instance.

Regarding the Marimba 2 using percussion at the start of the score, I would set that staff up to be non-pitched percussion and use the Change Instrument Utility when switching to Marimba. Again, make sure that your playback devices are set up correctly in the Score Manager.

[megibson]

Thank you for the quick response, confirmations, and help.