please help me get the drums to work in Note Performer with step-time general midi entry

I’m at a loss I’m afraid. I’m using Note Performer 3’s drums because I can’t yet find a way to use Note Performer 3 for the rest of my instruments, plus Superior Drummer for just drums (if there is a way, please let me know, but I presume we can only at present use a single Playback Template consisting of a single soundset?)

I would like to simply play (in step time of course at present) the appropriate MIDI keyboard notes for General MIDI drums and have them mapped to the appropriate notes on the staff.

Here’s the Play Mode setting I’ve assigned the Note Performer “Drums” (to “General Midi”):


Here’s the settings for Preferences-General-Note Input:

And finally here’s how Play-Percussion Maps looks:

(all of this based on what I thought I had read were optimal settings to achieve what I’m trying to achieve).

However, when I double-click on the empty drum staff and press the appropriate MIDI note for bass drum, I HEAR a bass drum and SEE a bass drum appear in the appropriate location on the staff, but when I subsequently click on the now-created note I instead hear a rimshot click. And when I try playing it back I hear nothing at all.

Thanks for any help!!

  • D.D.

I think in the Endpoint Setup dialog, you have to choose ‘NP Drum Set’ as the entry for the appropriate channel under ‘Percussion map’ rather than ‘General MIDI’.

Hi Daniel,
Thanks for your response. I’m afraid I tried that also but to no avail. When I do that and keep everything else the same as in my original post, every note I play on the MIDI keyboard defaults to “cymbal” on the staff (strange)…Thanks for any more thoughts!

  • D.D.

MIDI Keyboard entry is perfectly logical using the “use staff position” treble clef staff spaces of the five-line staff (as defined in the Preferences General Page). Note Performer will produce all the sounds of the Basic Kit except the ride cymbal.

I did notice that and I guess that’s the way to go then. Strange the other approach doesn’t seem to work, though (but not the end of the world). And certainly being able to just “play in” the drum parts (with 2 simultaneous, separated voices) in the first place is AMAZING compared to Sibelius (!)…With real-time MIDI this program will be unbeatable.
Best -

  • D.D.