Tap to Sibelius

MIDI Not Connected

Use one Mac key as a MIDI keyboard in Sibelius.

1. Install the app, once

Download the installer below and double-click it. It builds Tap to Sibelius into your Applications folder and opens it. A small note icon appears in the menu bar at the top right of the screen.

Download the installer

If macOS blocks it, right-click the downloaded file and choose Open, then click Open again. The first run may ask macOS to install its developer tools: click Install, wait, then double-click the file again.

2. Allow keyboard access

Tap to Sibelius asks for permission to read the keyboard the first time. Click Open Accessibility settings and switch Tap to Sibelius on. It also switches on Launch at login by itself, so it is already running whenever you open Sibelius. You can turn that off in the menu bar icon.

3. Turn it on in Sibelius

Sibelius: File, Preferences, Input Devices. Switch "Tap to Sibelius" on and set Type to MIDI Keyboard. Tap K once. The Test meter should flicker.

4. Record with Flexi-time

Select a bar. Start Flexi-time yourself in Sibelius: Note Input, Flexi-time. After the count-in, tap K in time, then stop Flexi-time in Sibelius. Notes come out as middle C; change the pitches afterwards.

Tap to Sibelius never starts or stops recording for you. You stay in control of the Sibelius transport.

Optional: put it in the Sibelius Plug-ins menu

This adds "Tap to Sibelius" to the Plug-ins menu inside Sibelius. Choosing it opens a small panel with the steps and the common fixes, so you never need this web page again. The tapping itself still comes from the menu bar app.

Download the Sibelius plug-in

In Finder press Command Shift G, paste ~/Library/Application Support/Avid/Sibelius/Plugins/Other/ and drop TapToSibeliusPanel.plg in there. Restart Sibelius and look under Plug-ins, Other, Tap to Sibelius.

Optional: make one installer to share

This builds a single disk image on your Mac holding the app, the Sibelius plug-in, and a short read me. Double-click it and it does everything, then shows you the finished file. If you have an Apple Developer account it can also sign and notarize it, so other people can open it without a warning.

Download the installer builder
App source file

Optional: try a tap here first

This page can also send MIDI, but only while this window is in front. Useful for checking the connection, not for real recording.

K

Taps sent: 0

Tap K now. If the counter above stays at 0, the key press is not reaching this window.