Sibelius notation and export

Sibelius is great for notation, but its MIDI export is aggressively “helpful” in ways that break mechanical‑instrument workflows — especially yours, where every note number and channel has a physical consequence. The good news is that we can completely tame Sibelius so it exports exactly the MIDI you intend, including drums, without random channels or remapped pitches.

Below is a clear, reproducible workflow that matches your empirical, test‑as‑you‑go style.

🎯 Core problem you’re hitting

Sibelius does not export the pitches you hear. It exports the pitches written on the staff, after applying:

• SoundWorld mappings
• Instrument definitions
• Drum map overrides
• Playback dictionary rules
• Hidden transpositions
• Channel auto‑assignment

This is why your custom drum instrument “sounds right” in Sibelius but exports only F, A, C, E — Sibelius is collapsing your percussion staff into its internal 4‑note drum map.

This is normal for notation software, but terrible for mechanical MIDI.

🧨 The fix: treat Sibelius like a dumb MIDI sequencer

You already think in terms of MIDI channels, note numbers, and rank assignments. Sibelius can be forced to behave the same way.

Here’s the stable, predictable setup that works every time.

🧱 Step 1 — Create a true unpitched instrument that exports raw MIDI

This is the key. You need an instrument whose definition has:

• No pitch mapping
• No drum map
• No SoundWorld ID
• Fixed MIDI channel
• No transposition

In Sibelius:

1. Go to Edit Instruments
2. Choose New Instrument
3. Base it on Unpitched → Percussion (5 lines)
4. Click Edit Staff Type
5. Set “Use pitch mapping” = OFF
6. Set “Number of staff lines” = 1 (or 5 if you prefer)
7. Set “Transposing” = None
8. Set “MIDI pitch” = “As written”
9. Assign MIDI channel = fixed (e.g., Channel 10 for drums)

This creates a staff where every note you write exports exactly the MIDI number you wrote, with zero interference.

🥁 Step 2 — Enter drum notes by MIDI number, not by pitch name

Sibelius will still display note names (F, A, C, E), but that doesn’t matter — the exported MIDI will match the actual note numbers.

To make this easier:

• Open the Inspector
• Set “Play on pass” to ON
• Set “Live Playback” to ON
• Enter notes using your MIDI keyboard or the keypad
• Verify the MIDI number in View → Playback → Live Playback values

This gives you a direct view of the exported note numbers.

🎚 Step 3 — Lock each staff to a fixed MIDI channel

This prevents Sibelius from “helpfully” reassigning channels during export.

1. Open the Mixer
2. For each staff, set the device to Sibelius Player (or “None”)
3. Set the channel manually
4. Turn OFF “Auto” if your version shows it

Your Topsy‑style layout becomes:

This matches your mechanical ranks exactly.

🧪 Step 4 — Export a test MIDI and verify

You already like empirical testing, so here’s the minimal test pattern:

• One note on each staff
• One drum hit
• One function note

Export → MIDI File → Type 0 (for mechanical instruments)

Load it into your controller and confirm:

• Channels are correct
• Note numbers match
• No remapping occurred

If anything is wrong, it’s always one of these:

• Staff type still has pitch mapping
• Channel not fixed
• Transposition still active
• Drum map still applied

🧩 Optional: Create a reusable Sibelius template

Once you get this working, save it as:

“Topsy Mechanical Template.sib”

Then every new arrangement starts with correct channels, staff types, and no SoundWorld interference.

If you want, I can help you build a perfect template with:

• Pre‑assigned channels
• Pre‑named staves
• Pre‑set ranges for Glock in a Box
• Function‑note staff with hidden playback
• Drum staff with raw MIDI export
• Score styles that match your mechanical layout

Just say the word.

🔧 If you want, we can go deeper

Here are natural next steps you might want to explore:

• Fixing_drum_mapping
• Creating_custom_instruments
• Ensuring_MIDI_export_accuracy
• Building_a_mechanical_instrument_template

Before we go on — what’s the next pain point?

Do you want to focus on:

• Drum_staff_that_exports_exact_note_numbers
• Fixing_channel_assignments
• Building_a_full_Topsy_template
• Understanding_why_Sibelius_maps_notes_weirdly

Pick one and we’ll go straight into it.