
Keep in mind that the position of your modulation wheel while entering music in Speedy Entry or Simple Entry has no effect on playback. Provided these options are set correctly, Human Playback automatically sends modulation wheel data to the Garritan instruments during playback to shape phrases, realize dynamics, interpret crescendos and diminuendos, etc. When using Garritan instruments with Finale, you will generally not have to worry about the modulation wheel so long as Human Playback is turned on and Dynamic Approach for Sustaining Instruments is set to Automatic in your Human Playback Preferences. Using the modulation wheel, you will hear extremely realistic timbral shifts as instruments get louder and softer.

Because the modulation wheel controls both volume and timbre, crescendos don’t just sound like someone turning up the volume dial on a stereo system - as the dynamic level increases, brass instruments get brassier, string instruments get brighter, and so on. (By "sustaining instruments," we mean wind and bowed string instruments). Most or all of the controllers for a particular Garritan instrument are provided as adjustable knobs in the ARIA Player's Controls window: Garritan Instruments for Finaleīy far the most important controller in Garritan instrument libraries is the modulation wheel (MIDI controller #1), which is used to control the volume and timbre of all sustaining Garritan instruments. This is by no means an exhaustive list - consult the documentation for your Garritan instrument library for information on some of the advanced controller techniques supported by Garritan instruments. In this tutorial, we will concentrate on those MIDI controllers that have a direct impact on Finale and Human Playback. You can also use Finale’s MIDI tool to tweak controllers during Finale playback - for more information on manipulating MIDI controllers from within Finale, see MIDI tool. Whenever possible, Human Playback takes advantage of these controllers to create a more realistic performance.

Garritan instruments depend on the use of many MIDI controllers - for instance, the modulation wheel (MIDI controller #1) - to shape the sound of each instrument.

You are here: Tutorials > Garritan & Human Playback > Controllers ControllersĮven if you’re not using a MIDI device for input or for playback, MIDI data is still the underlying language that Finale uses to control everything from the volume of notes to various instrumental techniques.
