Question

I'm completely new with Notion (6 Demo). I've downloaded it because I wanted to have the possibility to make audio files with really better sounds. Therefore I've downloaded the Presonus sound libraries too. But after making the first attempts to create a score with Notion I was very disappointed, because it seems so uncommodious for me. Until now I've used the MuseScore software to create scores and it's so well considered to do that. Because I don't want to write a score with Notion, I've imported a MIDI file from MuseScore into Notion, but if I play then that file, it's sound is typically MIDI of course. Is there a possibility to order the Notion program to run an imported MIDI file with the sound libraries? If so, I would be able to generate better audio files without any efforts before to have to write the score with Notion. I want to write furthermore scores with MuseScore, but I want to generate the sound then with the Notion sound libraries. Thank's for info.

Answer 1

edit: I'm using

a laptop with Windows 8.1 Home Edition

a computer with Windows 7 Professional edition

Answer 2

First, I need to say that like any sophisticated program, you need to put a little time into Notion to see its full benefit. I've used Sibelius, (3 years), Finale (4 years) and Muse (1 year) and am very glad to have found Notion. Unless you're a manuscript librarian, I think all of these programs get in the way of the process of actually composing.

That said, you need to reassign the voices in each piece you import. I'm Mac rather than windows, but the process is pretty much the same. After opening your score, go to "Score Setup," either through the top menu or via the icon. You're page should look like the first few bars of your score with small ikons to the left of each part name. Simply click on the "gear" icon to change it's setting. Change the name from the midi instrument previously assigned to the Notion instrument you want to use. You will need to do this for each part.  That's it. You may also adjust the display of the names at the same time V. for violin etc. Note, that like all decent instrumental libraries you will still need to do further editing on the score - inserting instrument specific marks as needed, for example Pizzicato, up and down bowing etc. for strings, muting and the like for various brass. You'll find these to the Right of the input menu when you're in edit mode.

Good luck. You're right though, Notion is a relatively inexpensive way of getting access to an instrumental library of decent quality. I think it's better than any other "inexpensive" packages out there (Garritan, etc). I use  EastWest, but it's much, much more expensive. The only instrument that I was unhappy with was the concert Grand.  You may like it or not, but there are many reasonably priced sampled pianos out there. I finally settled on Pianoteq, which in it's base configuration comes with several concert grands, + uprights, prepared instruments and a few harpsichords - each with multiple "mic setups." I strongly prefer it to either Notion's built in or EastWests instrument in the Symphonic packages.