These days, music notation software has improved playback functions and has a wide range of third-party sound sources.
By combining these, I hear that professional composers and arrangers are increasingly finishing mockups (reference sound sources to be played by clients, etc.) in music notation software, rather than exporting them as MIDI files and finishing them in a DAW as in the past.
When it comes to orchestral music, I think that the best way to do it at the moment is to use the third-party sound source NotePerformer and its accompanying function NotePerformer Playback Engine (NPPE). In this article, I would like to introduce some of these combinations.
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1. NotePerformer 4 (00:05)
2. Iconica Sketch (01:09)
*The computer used for this video was a MacBook Air M2 2022 with 16GB RAM. The Iconica Sketch sound source was copied to the Mac's built-in SSD, and the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Spitfire Symphony Orchestra sound sources were copied to a 1TB external SSD (BUFFALO SSD-PUT1.0U3-BKA). The software was Dorico Pro 5.
1. NotePerformer 4 (00:05)
The first playback demo was done by NotePerformer, a comprehensive orchestra sound source dedicated to the music notation software Sibelius, Dorico, and Finale.
NotePerformer is equipped with AI that analyzes the symbols and musical context entered on the score to reproduce the feeling of a live performance, so you can get realistic playback without any special settings by simply selecting it as the playback source and clicking the play button.
The sound quality is good enough for an external sound source of this class, there are many types of special techniques that can be reflected in the playback, the installation size is small at around 2GB, and the price is relatively cheap at US$129 (= about ¥21,000 including tax in Japanese yen). It is an impeccable product in every way, a must-have item for anyone who works with orchestral music using music notation software.
In the case of Dorico, if there are mixed Solo and Tutti phrases in one part, as in this example, there is a function called “Enabling independent voice playback” that allows you to assign separate sound sources by inputting each as a different voice.
This example also uses this function to process the voices. The solo violin separated into the downward stem voice is set to Ch.2, and the Solo violin sound is manually assigned to it in NotePerformer. In this case, using the "Solo violin (soloist)" of the two Solo violin sounds produced better results.
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2. Iconica Sketch (included with Dorico) (01:09)
The second playback demo was done by Iconica Sketch included with Dorico, that is, it was played only with Dorico without using any additional purchases.
The previous playback with NotePerformer may sound better because it’s louder, but I feel the texture of Iconica Sketch’s each instrument seems better than ones in NotePerformer.
However, the volume balance between instruments is not good enough, and there are many parts where you may want to adjust it with the mixer. Also, if you listen carefully to each phrase, there are some parts where the timing of the voice and the connection of the sounds feel a little unnatural, but this may be unavoidable due to the product specifications.
For the solo violin, I manually assigned the Violin Solo Combi sound from the Halion Symphonic Orchestra and adjusted the volume balance in the mixer.
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3. Iconica Sketch + NPPE (02:13)
The third playback demo combines NotePerformer and its companion feature, the NotePerformer Playback Engine (NPPE), with Iconica Sketch, which is included with Dorico.
NPPE is a unique product that allows you to use the excellent playback functions of NotePerformer, which we introduced earlier, while applying them to third-party sound sources. In this playback, you can easily hear that the sound quality of the Iconica Sketch we just heard remains the same, but the performance has been dramatically improved.
When using NPPE, you need to purchase a separate playback engine for each sound source for $59-89 USD (approximately 8,700-13,100 JPY including tax). However, at present, the Iconica Sketch playback engine included with Dorico can be used for free, so Dorico users can immediately enjoy this quality of playback for orchestral music by simply purchasing NotePerformer.
Setup is simple; just start NPPE, select the playback engine, and select the instrument. You can check whether NPPE is running by checking whether the NPPE level gauge is moving during playback.
Note that Iconica Sketch, as well as BBCSO Core and SSO, do not have a solo violin sound source that can be loaded into NPPE, but in this case the Solo violin sound from NotePerformer will be automatically assigned.
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4. BBC Symphony Orchestra Core + NPPE (03:19)
If you own BBC Symphony Orchestra Core (BBCSO Core, US$449, around ¥66,500 including tax), you can use your BBCSO Core on NPPE by purchasing the BBC Symphony Orchestra Core playback engine for US$69 (around ¥10,200 including tax).
The installation size of BBSCO Core is about 25.5GB, so if you don't have enough space on your computer's internal disk, you will need to install it on an external SSD. However, compared to Iconica Sketch included with Dorico, the texture of each instrument is higher, and the mid-low range in particular feels denser and richer.
In addition, in my test environment, there were problems with the first 1-2 bars of playback immediately after loading the sound source, such as no sound being produced by any instruments, only the sound of certain instruments being produced, and noise being introduced. But these were automatically resolved by repeating the playback several times.
5. Spitfire Symphony Orchestra + NPPE (04:23)
If you own Spitfire Symphony Orchestra (SSO, US$629, around ¥93,000 including tax), you can use your SSO on NPPE by purchasing the Spitfire Symphony Orchestra playback engine for US$89 (around ¥13,100 including tax).
This SSO has a fairly large installation size of 348GB, so you may often install it on an external SSD.
Also, SSO seems to take a long time to load sound sources. In my test environment, for this sample piece which uses five instruments (Vln1 + Vln2 + Vla + Vlc + Cb), it took just under 7 seconds for Iconica Sketch and BBSCO Core to load the sound sources, but about 2 minutes for SSO.
Compared to BBCSO Core, the sound is more neutral and the resolution seems higher. Unlike BBCSO Core, there is no problem with no sound when playing immediately after loading the sound source, and you may be able to hear perfect playback on the first try. But sometimes noise may occur, and in that case, you will need to repeat the playback several times until it’s resolved, just like with BBCSO Core.
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6a. Switching by Phrase (1) From Bar 229 (05:28)
This is a comparison of the first 7 bars of Iconica Sketch, BBCSO Core, and SSO when used in conjunction with NPPE.
In terms of sound quality, Iconica Sketch is of sufficient quality, but BBCSO Core and SSO seem to be slightly superior in terms of resolution. You can hear the difference in the processing of the end of the first chord between BBCSO Core and SSO.
6b. Switching by Phrase (2) From Bar 240 (06:51)
This is a comparison of the last 5 bars cut out and lined up. In terms of sound quality, BBCSO Core and SSO seem to be better, but compared to Iconica Sketch, I feel the timing of the sound seems to be slightly delayed.
In particular, SSO does not always play exactly the same, and in this video, the forte in measure 242 is one beat later.
This may be due to the difference in installation size, 4.66GB for Iconica Sketch and 348GB for SSO. As written in the official website “Playback Engines QUICKSTART GUIDE”, NPPE basically requires use on a high-spec computer.
In particular, a high-spec computer is required to fully utilize the performance of a large-capacity sound source such as SSO. If you use NPPE on a computer with insufficient specifications, you will need to carefully check whether the playback is accurate, pretending to be the recording director.
The sound quality of BBCSO Core and SSO is comparable, and at this level, the difference between the two may not be a matter of quality but rather a matter of preference. In that respect, BBCSO Core seems easier to use, with its small installation size, short loading time, and low price, as long as you pay attention to the loading status of the sound source.
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When I was studying at a music college around 2005, even students majoring in composition had the chance to experience recording their own compositions with an orchestra a few times during their time at school.
Considering this, I think the NPPE is a dream product, especially for music college students, because it can be used whenever you want, and can provide this quality of playback with simple operation without the need for tedious editing or difficult settings.
The only thing left to consider is the price, which is around 97,700 JPY in total for NotePerformer + BBCSO Core + NPPE, and around 127,100 JPY in total for NotePerformer + SSO + NPPE.
In my opinion, purchasing external sound sources separately for music production software is essentially the same as buying an instrument.
These prices are about the same as the guitars or keyboards that students would buy with their part-time job wages, and if you can get your own private orchestra for this cost, you can consider it quite inexpensive.
As a final bonus, here is a video of a live performance of A. Schoenberg's “Verklärte Nacht Op.4 (Transfigured Night)”, which was used as a case study in this article.
By listening to and comparing this with the video, you can get a sense that while music notation software playback cannot match a live performance, it has the potential to come closer.
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