So I have one final instrument to set up on my template which is my taiko drum line. I’m using Damage 2 as my VST.
What I want to achieve: 6-line staff (accomplished by creating a kit) where each line represents a different technique used on the same VST. I seem to be getting stuck trying to get any sound to come out at all.
I’m using a single strike on 19, 20, 24, 25, and “mega low” taikos, a shell strike on the 20, and a roll on the mega low to be indicated by a tremolo on the mega low line.
This is all set up as I want it in Kontakt already.
I’ve been successful at setting up all my other percussion maps, but this is kinda making my brain loop back on itself since I’m looking to do multiple things on the same VST instrument, and none of them are really a “natural” default sound, and I can’t seem to create different maps for each kit item itself.
Any tips for how to approach this?
Having used Finale since 1997, I would normally just tell it what note to activate, give it a name, and then add the note to the expression map and place it on the staff where I want it to appear. This seems like there may be a step somewhere that I’m missing.
There are two approaches to percussion maps I’ve been taking to solve issues like this, such as different techniques or similar techniques which have different variations mapped across keys. (Neither of my methods involve techniques per staff line, though; to me that sounds a little convoluted perhaps?)
1 - create hidden playing techniques (with corresponding playback techniques) – I have labelled mine simply hit1, hit2, hit3 etc. The idea is that you would attach those in your percussion map to where they exist in your VST, and you would invoke them like a normal playing technique and then hide it; alternatively, you could go into the percussion kit editor and map individual noteheads to each playing technique, and then cycle through them on the same staff.
2 - lately for percussion instruments I use the midi trigger region feature. These are especially handy for unique hits you might not use many times in a row; I use them quite often for stuff like gongs & cymbal scrapes, superballs, or various drum effects. They are a lot easier than mapping because you can simply find whatever special sample you want to trigger and then just create a null note in its place for the score (then suppress playback). The downside of midi trigger regions is that they are not easy to work with if you’re doing any kind of drum patterns with fast notes beyond 8ths. It’s technically possible but becomes too complex, so if you need this for drum patterns like 16ths then mapping is of course the way to go.
So in short, you might want to use hidden playing techniques for most hits, and perhaps the midi trigger region just for stuff like rolls or any special effects.
You could still take your approach of a technique per line of staff, but you’ll still have to map the corresponding note whatever that might be.
Hmmm, it all sounds difficult to me as a novice to Dorico
Surely, there must be some way to say: “On this staff, when I put a note here, play note x from the attached VST” and have 7 mapped notes that way.
I’m giving up for now, my brain is fried from work and I’ve spent hours trying different combinations and haven’t really gotten anywhere with getting things to sound back.
Just had a moment to open your project file. The idea behind creating individual instruments is clever, I think that should work and has the added benefit of clarity.
It seems you’re on the right track here. The percussion map and general settings all seem right.
The only thing I have to wonder is if their standard of C3/C4 places those notes you have mapped an octave too high or too low. Have you experimented with that? Only thing I can think of. It’s hard for me investigate further since I don’t have that instrument!
I’ve tried adding another octave of map definitions and still not getting playback.
I notice if I drag one of the noteheads (any of them) from that instrument to a higher or lower line, I do get the sound associated with the C3 note on Kontakt playing back as I drag it. So, something is successfully communicating with the library. Just not getting anything from the octave below where all my actual sounds are loaded.
I’ll try loading the sounds in the other playable octaves if it lets me to see if that changes anything!
Current project version is here. Not sure how different it is from before. I do a lot of changing things to try them out and then changing back
I think mayhaps one of the Dorico devs might be needed to sort me out. I can’t think of anything I haven’t already tried at this point.
So, it seems that it had issues with me adding more than one octave of options in the map. I suppose it didn’t know which to trigger. It may have been that my original map was too low. I deleted everything but one octave on the map at C3. I also loaded the sounds in several octaves in the player in hopes that at some point, they’d line up.
