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Music Notation Software for Everyday MusiciansSince 1994
	10 Sep 2010

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	I do not hear sound - what should I do?

Solution First, use the Quick MIDI Device Setup command in the Setup menu, if you have not already. If that does not help you to quickly produce sound, then explore the following tips below.

One simple solution you can try is to turn on your MIDI device AFTER turning on Composer, rather than before turning on Composer. Some keyboard devices have been found that require this order.

(1) Another program, such as Windows Media Player, will sometimes set the MIDI sound level on your sound card to zero ("0") after it is closed. With Windows Media Player 11 (WMP), this happens any time WMP is used to play a MIDI file. To re-set the MIDI volume on your sound card, please follow these steps. These are the exact steps to take with Windows XP. Other operating systems will have quite similar steps:

1. Using your mouse, left-click on the Windows “Start” button in the lower left of your screen.
2. Select “Control Panel.”
3. In the Control Panel, select “Sounds and Audio Devices”.
4. In the tab marked “Volume”, click the “Advanced” button.
5. You should now see a panel with slider controls for various volume sliders for “Play Control”, “WAVE”, MIDI (or MIDI Synth), etc. Check the slider for “MIDI” and use your mouse to “grab” and move it up if it is set to the bottom.
6. Click the red “x” in the upper right corner to exit and save the new setting.

You will need to do this after each time you use WMP to play MIDI files. If you use Notation products often, you may want to “associate” your Notation product as the default MIDI player, to avoid having to reset your sound card’s volume each time you use a program that is different than WMP. To “associate” your Notation product with MIDI files (ie, to make your Notation product the default MIDI player), please do the following:

1. Open your Notation product.
2. Use “Setup/Associate…” and then check the filetypes you want to have associated with Notation Musician/Composer, so that when you double-click a file of that type, it will open in your Notation product.
3. Click “Ok.”

(2) If your sound card's MIDI volume has not been reset to "0" (see (1) above), then use the Help menu, and select "User's Guide". Click the help "book" named "Configuring Your Sound Card and MIDI Devices". One of the first topics in that book is "What To Do If You Do Not Hear Sound." Please follow all of the steps in that topic.

(3) If you have followed all of the steps described in the above Help documentation, then there are a few more things you can try. A very useful diagnostic tool is available to you. While the MIDI Device Configuration Window is open, start playback for the song, or click the Test Playback button in the device object in the window. The configuration window will show the activity of MIDI ports, devices, banks, and channels as each individual note is played. The displayed activity reports Notation's understanding of what is supposed to be happening. If the reported activity extends all the way to the intended device and channels, then the problem may be that the physical arrangement of your equipment really is not what Notation thinks it is. Check again whether the physical equipment is set up correctly.

Or, if the reported activity does not extend all the way to the intended device and channels, then there are two possibilities. One, maybe the configuration, as displayed in the window, does not really accurately represent the physical arrangement of equipment. Or, two, maybe you need to replan the configuration so that it logically accomplishes your musical intentions.

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12 Dec 2003 07:12 PM