Music Masterworks

Common Problems & Solutions:

- If you are not getting any sound or very low sound when playing:

- Check the 'Device'-'MIDI Output' sub-menu. Try different options on this menu until one works. The 'MIDI out' or 'USB MIDI' is the external MIDI port, you'll need to have an external MIDI keyboard hooked up properly with a MIDI cable/adapter for it to play.

- Select 'Device'-'Playback Volume' and check for the 'MIDI Synth' (or something similar) volume. Make sure it is turned up and not muted. Also make sure the main volume is turned up and not muted.

- On advanced soundcards that have more than 2-speaker options, check your sound card's speaker settings. You may have 5.1 speaker setup selected, but only 2 speakers connected. This can cause the MIDI to sound very faint. If you've installed the software that came with your sound card, you may have a 'Speaker Connection Wizard' or something similar. Make sure your speakers match what's selected!

- Poor sound quality: MIDI playing uses the device selected on the 'Device'-'MIDI Output' menu. The quality of the sound depends on the quality of your sound card's MIDI system. Try all them to see which gives the best sound. Microsoft includes a software synthesizer that standardizes sound across PCs called 'Microsoft GS Wavetable SW synth' - this option will sound good on all PCs, however because it's a software synthesizer it may have a slight time delay during playback (which can cause synchronization problems).

- MIDI note recording is done from all available input devices at once (the default on your 'Devices'-'MIDI Input' menu item), so there is nothing to set up. If you are having problems you should check that your MIDI cable is plugged in correctly and upgrade your sound card's software driver. You can also try different options on your 'Devices'-'MIDI Input' sub-menu, if you have more than one choice, to see if a certain device is causing the problem.

- If you are having trouble placing notes at the correct intervals, you may not have the snap-to resolution set correctly. Select 'Options'-'Snap-To Resolution' and select the appropriate lowest time interval you'll need. For triplets, you can select 'twelfth' or 'twenty-fourth'.
The vertical dashed lines are based on the snap-to resolution to help you place notes. You can overlap notes in time, so be careful of the placement (overlapped notes often cause confusion about why rests show up in unexpected places).