Virtual MIDI Support is Coming

Recently there has been a lot of buzz about Virtual MIDI, which provides a way for different apps to connect to each other as if they were real MIDI devices.  Using Virtual MIDI it is possible for one app to generate MIDI while another app generates the sound, or to play music in one app and record it in another.

We're pleased to announce that Virtual MIDI is coming in the next update to Symphonix Evolution!

Virtual MIDI also brings other notable improvements including the ability to:

• Select which MIDI devices are connected to (currently Symphonix Evolution connects to all discovered devices)
• Continue playing music when running in the background
• Generate MIDI clock signals (master clock)
• Slave to MIDI clock signals generated by external MIDI devices or apps

Of course it's still very much a work in progress - When the next version is complete you will also have the ability to receive specific MIDI channels from specific devices.

These changes allow Symphonix Evolution to be an integral part of your virtual studio!

More Features for Beginners

In my last post I mentioned that we're busy adding new features to Symphonix Evolution to make it more useful as a learning tool.  One of the new functions is the ability to enter the finger positions for each note:

This screen capture shows the new feature in action - In this mode, an instructor first selects a note from the music in the top part of the screen and tells Symphonix Evolution the finger that should be used to play that note.  Later, when the student loads the song into the app, the finger positions will appear on the piano keyboard while the music is playing.  Even if the music is not playing, it's possible to select any position in the score to see the notes and finger positions for the highlighted notes.

The new tools make it easy to create and save finger exercises, or to prepare tutorials for learning new pieces of music.

Keep watching this blog and we'll reveal more information about the next version of Symphonix Evolution over the coming weeks!

Upcoming Symphonix Evolution Features for Beginners

One of the aims in designing Symphonix Evolution was for it to be a tool that beginners could use to understand the relationship between music notation, the piano keyboard, and the pitch of the sound.  We're pleased to announce that the next update will focus on ways to make the app even better for those who are learning about music, or for teachers who want to extend the use of the app into their classrooms.

Here's a screenshot of what it looks like when you turn on the new "Beginner" modes:

A number of new features are visible here:

• Highlighting middle "C" in yellow, so it's easy to know which part of the keyboard is visible
• Notes are labelled
• Notes that are playing are shown in red

Each of these functions can be activated separately, so even advanced users may find them useful.

We'll log more posts over the coming weeks as we add new features and work towards version 1.9!