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- Sibelius 6 is a Tech & Learning Awards of Excellence 2009 winner
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- Love the one you’re with
213: Playback - there is no sound
If you press Play in Sibelius and the vertical line follows the music but you can't hear any sound, the follow procedure should help you correct the problem.
Step 1:
Check that your computer speakers, MIDI keyboard or other playback equipment are plugged in, switched on and have the volume turned up.
Step 2:
Next, you should check to see if your operating system is correctly configured to play audio produced by Sibelius:
Windows XP
- Go to the Start menu and choose Control Panel, then double-click Sounds and Audio Devices
- Click the Audio tab at the top then click the Volume button
- Make sure the main Volume Control and MIDI Synth/SW Synth are turned up and Mute is not selected
Windows Vista
- Go to the Start menu and choose Control Panel, then Hardware and Sound
- Select the Adjust system volume link immediately underneath the Sound heading
- Make sure the Sibelius volume (under Applications) and the main Device volume are not muted and are turned up
Macintosh OS X
- Go to the Apple menu and choose System Preferences
- Select Sound and then click on the Output tab
- Make sure the Output volume is turned up and Mute is not selected
Step 3:
If you still can't hear anything during playback, you should check that Sibelius is correctly configured:
Sibelius 5
- Choose Play > Playback Devices. (Where?)
- Set the Configuration to Sibelius Essentials(16 sounds) or Sibelius Essentials(32 sounds). (Where?)
The latter is better for scores with large numbers of instruments, but will use more of your computer's RAM - Select the KontaktPlayer2 entry in the right-hand column, then click Test. (Where?)
If you can hear sound at this point, please click Close and try playing your score; if not, please continue - Click Audio Engine Options (where?) and check that your preferred interface is selected (choose ASIO if available, if not choose Primary Sound Driver), then click Close
- Again, select the KontaktPlayer2 entry in the right-hand column, then click Test.
If you can hear sound at this point, please click Close; if not, repeat the previous step, but select a different interface.
Please refer to section 4.11 Playback Devices in your Sibelius Reference for further information.
Now try playing back your score again. If it still doesn't play, please use the button to the right to contact technical support.
Sibelius 5 First
- Choose Play > Playback Devices
- Select your preferred playback device and click OK
- Try playing your score again. If it still doesn't play back please repeat the above procedure, but select a different playback device. If you've tried every device and none of them are working, please continue
- Choose Play > Playback Devices > Audio Engine Options and check that your preferred interface is selected (choose ASIO if available, if not choose Primary Sound Driver), then click Close and OK
- Try playing your score again. If it still doesn't play back please repeat the above procedure, selecting a different interface, until all combinations of interface and playback device have been tested
If you're still having difficulties, please use the button to the right to contact technical support.
Sibelius 5 Student
- Choose Play > Playback Devices
- Select your preferred playback device and click OK
- Try playing your score again. If it still doesn't play back please repeat the above procedure, but select a different playback device.
If you've tried every device and still cannot get your score to play, please use the button to the right to contact technical support
Sibelius 4
- Choose Play > Playback and Input Devices
- Click Test for each listed device. When you find the sound you like best, either:
Windows: Make sure that the Use column is set to Yes for that device, but set to No for all other devices
Mac: Check that your preferred device is highlighted - Click OK to close the dialog.
Now try playing back your score again. If it still doesn't play back please go to Play > Playback and Input Devices > Play in Background and set Sibelius Owns MIDI Devices to Always.
If the advice in this article doesn't help you, please use the button to the right to contact technical support.
Sibelius 3, Sibelius 3 Student and G7
- Choose Play > Devices
- Click Test for each listed device. When you find the sound you like best, either:
Windows: Make sure that the Use column is set to Yes for that device, but set to No for all other devices
Mac: Check that your preferred device is highlighted - Click OK to close the dialog.
Now try playing back your score again. If it still doesn't play back:
- Go to Play > Devices > Play in Background and set Sibelius Owns MIDI Devices to Always.
- If you are using Mac OS 9 ensure that you have the latest version of QuickTime installed, and that the QuickTime Musical Instruments extension is switched on. Make sure also that the option QuickTime bypasses OMS/FreeMIDI is switched on in the Devices dialog.
- If you are trying to play back through external MIDI equipment on Mac OS 9, make sure that you have either OMS or FreeMIDI installed. See Help Center article A204 for instructions.
If the advice in this article doesn't help you, please use the button to the right to contact technical support.
Sibelius 2
- Choose Play > Devices
- In the top half of the dialog, click Test for each listed device. When you find the sound you like best, make sure that the Use column is set to Yes for that device, but set to No for all other devices.
- Click OK to close the dialog.
Now try playing back your score again. If it still doesn't play back:
- Go to Play > Devices > Play in Background and set Sibelius Owns MIDI Devices to Always.
- If you are using Mac OS 9 or earlier ensure that you have the latest version of QuickTime installed, and that the QuickTime Musical Instruments extension is switched on. Make sure also that the option QuickTime bypasses OMS/FreeMIDI is switched on in the Devices dialog.
- If you are trying to play back through external MIDI equipment on Mac OS 9 or earlier, make sure that you have either OMS or FreeMIDI installed. See Help Center article A204 for instructions.
If the advice in this article doesn't help you, please use the button to the right to contact technical support.
Sibelius 1
- Choose Play/Flexi-time > Equipment
- In the top half of the dialog, click Test for each listed device. When you find the sound you like best, make sure that the Use column is set to Yes for that device, but set to No for all other devices.
- Click OK to close the dialog.
Now try playing back your score again. If it still doesn't play back:
- Go to Play/Flexi-time > Equipment > Play in Background and set Sibelius Owns MIDI Devices to Always.
- If you are using Mac OS 9 or earlier ensure that you have the latest version of QuickTime installed, and that the QuickTime Musical Instruments extension is switched on. Make sure also that the option QuickTime bypasses OMS/FreeMIDI is switched on in the Devices dialog.
- If you are trying to play back through external MIDI equipment on Mac OS 9 or earlier, make sure that you have either OMS or FreeMIDI installed. See Help Center article A204 for instructions.
If the advice in this article doesn't help you, please use the button to the right to contact technical support.
Details
Product |
Sibelius |
Versions affected |
1.003 - 1.4, 2 - 2.11, 3.0 - 3.1.3, 4.0 - 4.1, 5.0 - 5.2.5, 6.0 - 6.1 |
Changed |
03 Nov 2008 |
