Pianoteq & Finale

For any Windows user interested, it is possible to drive Pianoteq from the Finale 2006 music notation package in real-time. This took me a little time to work out, so I thought I'd briefly document it here for the benefit of others.

1. Download and install the free VSTHost program http://www.hermannseib.com/english/vsthost.htm .

2. Install Pianoteq in VSTHost, and follow the VSTHost manual to get it operating driven via your MIDI keyboard and outputting to your preferred audio channel. You may find the VST-MIDI monitor tool http://www.freewebz.com/wallyaudio/VST-...onitor.htm useful for this step as it allows you to see your MIDI keyboard events.

3. Download and install the MIDI Yoke program http://www.midiox.com/index.htm?http://.../myoke.htm This program acts as a software MIDI patch cable to route the MIDI output of one program into the MIDI input of another. Reboot your PC after installation.

4. In Finale, set to playback through MIDI, not NI/GPO. Invoke the menu MIDI -> MIDI Setup dialog, and in the MIDI output pull-down select one of the MIDI Yoke ports.

5. In VSTHost, with Pianoteq loaded, invoke the menu Devices -> MIDI and in the MIDI Input Devices select the MIDI Yoke port assigned in the previous step. By using Control-click you can enable it to listen to multiple MIDI devices simultaneously.

6. In VSTHost, select menu Effect -> MIDI Input Filters...; in the System Common panel select the SysEx checkbox and in the Channels panel press the All button. This filters out the SysEx message sent by Finale which unfortunately will reset VSTHost and remove the loaded Pianoteq effect.

7. You should now be able to start playback or note entry in Finale, with playback via Pianoteq hosted in VSTHost. Finale's "Human Playback" modes work fine with this setup.

8. You can make a recording of the performance by clicking the red record button in VSTHost immediately prior to starting playback in Finale.  At the end of the piece, click the square stop button in VSTHost and you will be prompted for a save location for the resulting .WAV file.

Note that if you want to use additional instruments, not just Pianoteq, then of course you will have to be more sophisticated in your use of MIDI channels and routings, but the underlying software set should be sufficient to support this requirement.

Also, this process should work fine with most other VST hosting programs like Cubase, but not for the bundled NI/GPO Kontakt 1 player in Finale 2006 (probably due to licensing restrictions).

Enjoy!