Sibelius: where is my staccato gone?

[denis]

When I launched Sibelius today, a strange thing happened: a staccato markin on the violin's staff triggers a [08B VI-14 perf-rep spiccato] sound of the [Special Edition/03 Orchestral strings/21S Strings violins +] matrix
Same thing if I add an accent...
I don't mean that it has changed over night as I haven't used Sibelius for quite a while.

I made sure the latest soundset was installed (re-downloaded it and re-installed it).
Can someone help with this?

I was also wondering whether there was a document that explains how to trigger each specific articulation of the Special Edition Plus from Sibelius (what marking does what). I'm getting a bit confused now.

Best,
Denis

[andi]

Hello Denis!

The perf-rep staccato (or spiccato) patches are played by default for staccato notes, because they sound more natural with repeated notes than the normal staccato patches.
If you want to use the normal staccato patch instead of the performance repetition, go to Patch Assign and drag the staccato patch to the cell where the performance repetition is located. Don’t forget to save your playback configuration after that.

The document you are looking for is called Optimizing Sibelius Playback and can be found here:
http://vsl.co.at/en/68/141/460/576/655.htm

Best wishes,
Andi

[denis]

Andi,

Too long since I've last done all these things with Sibelius. It looks like the document "Optimizing Sibelius Playback..." has been updated and much improved since last time I had a look at it.

Many thanks for your reply.

How could I program Sibelius to play the performance repetition for a "non-accentuated staccato", and the staccato patch for an "accented staccato" (if this makes any sense)? I'm just trying to have some oomph in the sound with a harsh attack of the bow in some places (accent) while I'd keep it more subtle in others (no accent).

Best,
Denis


PS: By the way, do you know if the dictionary in Sibelius is score dependent - meaning that I would have to modify it every time I start a new project -, playback devices dependent, or would stay the same for every score no matter what?

[andi]

Hello Denis!

If you want to use both staccato-patches for different purposes, you will either have to manipulate the sound set or use MIDI commands for note on and note off.

The Sibelius Sound Set Editor for manipulating the Sound Set can be found here:
http://www.us.sibelius.com/download/sse/main.html

For example you could alter the Sound ID +staccatissimo to trigger Keyswitch [24] and Controller Modulation Value 0.

The dictionary always gets saved with the score. You can export and import House Style files. These House Style files include the dictionary.

Best,
Andi

[denis]

Andi,

I edited the soundset (Whoa... That file looks scary).

Switch Types/Orchestra Strings: I changed
+accent.staccato from Keyswitch [32] to Keyswitch[24]
Controller Modulation from 64 to 0
It does exactly what I was after. I now have access to the staccato by adding an accent to the staccato note (with no accent, it will still play the performance staccato repetition).

I'll know where to look next time I meet a similar issue.
Thanks so much for your help.
Denis