313: Bank numbers - translating numbers from Sibelius 1.x to Sibelius 2 or later

In Sibelius 1.x, bank numbers - used for entering into the Sounds window and for MIDI messages to access extra sounds in your MIDI devices - were calculated from two numbers, known as Bank High (or MSB, which stands for Most Significant Bit) and Bank Low (or LSB, Least Significant Bit).

In Sibelius 2 or later, you can enter these two numbers individually in the Mixer window or in MIDI messages. Most MIDI devices and other music programs normally list the bank numbers as two separate numbers in their manuals, so you should be able to look them up easily.

However, if you don't know the values for Bank High and Bank Low, but know the combined number you used to type into the Sounds window in Sibelius 1.x, you can calculate them, as follows.

Let's say, for example, that you have a bank number of 10754 from Sibelius 1.x:

1. Divide that number by 128: 10754 / 128 = 84.015625
2. Therefore the Bank High is 84, but we need to know the Bank Low is - and it is not 0.015625!
3. 84 x 128 = 10752
4. The original number (10754) minus 10752 is the Bank Low
5. Therefore 10754 - 10752 = 2, so the Bank High is 84 and the Bank Low is 2

To check your calculations, do the following sum: (Bank High x 128) + Bank Low = the bank number from Sibelius 1.x.

If you have any problems with this please email jbarron@sibelius.com.