Introduction to Sinfonia®
Sinfonia® is a powerful and expressive orchestra enhancement system, built to deliver the depth and richness of a full orchestra while preserving the nuance and spontaneity of live performance. Its flexibility is unmatched: cover a single missing instrument, represent an entire band, support a smaller ensemble, or anything in between. For the most demanding user, Sinfonia® offers deep customization and seamless integration; for those who prefer simplicity, it’s ready to run straight out of the box. With more than 27 years of continuous development, Sinfonia® has been refined to meet virtually every live performance scenario, making even the most complex situations easier to handle. The latest release, Sinfonia® 3, advances this legacy with greater power, expanded flexibility, and new capabilities designed specifically for the needs of live performing arts.
Who Should Play Sinfonia?
Any musician who wants to. The basic principles of operation are quite easy and can be learned in a day or two. Once the principles are learned, the quality of the Sinfonia® performance is in direct proportion with the Sinfonia® player’s innate musicianship and the time spent practicing. 15-year-old high school students with only a few years of flute lessons have performed Sinfonia® beautifully, as well as professional opera conductors, and everyone in between. The most important thing is to have some basic musicianship and a willingness to learn and practice. That said, we have outlined a few prerequisites we think will make for the happiest, most successful Sinfonia® experience.
Prerequisites
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You must be a musician.
Sinfonia® is a new musical instrument. While it does not require the years of training for mastery that, say, a piano or violin demands, you should be familiar with the basic vocabulary of music. You should be able to follow along with a musical score and understand concepts of meter and tempo.
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You must be willing to work with technology.
Sinfonia® does not require computer or related technology experience. You simply need a willingness to learn and work with things that are new and on the cutting edge. Those with prior technology experience tend to embrace the potential more readily, and therefore may pick it up faster. But, if you have never touched a computer before, don’t be intimidated by Sinfonia® . Go at it with a sense of adventure, invest some time and you’ll be a pro before you know it! Which brings us to the next point…
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You must devote time to Sinfonia®.
You don’t need a lot of time, but there should be at least a few days away from the pressures of rehearsal for the Sinfonia® player to familiarize him or herself with how it works. As with anything new, there may be initial confusions. The player needs some quiet time and space to get a basic understanding of the instrument. Once the foundation is there, the more time spent practicing Sinfonia®, the better.
Important Considerations
For starters, we want to establish an environment that will keep everything running smoothly throughout your performances. If certain points seem inconvenient, please bear in mind: it’s better to put in the extra effort upfront than risk a situation that may compromise a performance or damage your equipment. In the long run, we believe you’ll find this attention to detail is relatively easy to accomplish and completely worth it.
Important Technical Considerations
Before setting up Sinfonia® , please carefully review the following considerations:
Electrical Considerations – Very Important
Sinfonia® must have its own dedicated, clean power source. Do not, for example, put Sinfonia® on a power strip with other non-Sinfonia® electrical devices. Music stand lights, especially ones with dimmers, are notorious for corrupting electrical signal. Please keep these (and all other devices) on a separate circuit. If you are unsure, talk with your theatre’s electrician to confirm that Sinfonia® has its own clean power source on a dedicated circuit. Failure to abide by this may severely damage the Sinfonia ® equipment.
Physical Considerations
Electronics and computer components are, by their nature, sensitive. Typically, any problem that might occur is apt to happen during transit. Therefore, we recommend keeping movement of your Sinfonia® setup to a minimum. Please set up the Sinfonia® on a flat, stable work surface where it can remain in one place for as long as possible. If you anticipate needing to move Sinfonia® frequently during your run, consider putting it on a wheeled cart or some other device that will allow easy transport without much stress.
If the MIDI (piano) keyboard will be on the same surface as the computer, the surface should be strong enough to withstand any vibrations that may occur naturally during the playing of the keyboard. A light, fold-up card table, for example, might be problematic; if the Sinfonia ® player plays the keyboard with force, the table may bounce around – causing cables to dislodge or damaging equipment.
Also, please keep all components on a clear, uncluttered surface with ample playing space. This will minimize the risk of buttons or keys getting accidentally pushed.
Performance Considerations
The equipment should be set up in such a way so as to give the Sinfonia® player a clear sightline to the Conductor. If the Sinfonia® player is also conducting, the equipment should be set up so as to give clear sight lines to the stage and other musicians.