What is ARIA?

ARIA is a state-of-the-art software program that plays back the sounds of ARIA-based software musical instruments. A sample libraryA piece of software consisting of a collection of recorded instrument sounds. Sample libraries can be used to play back existing MIDI sequences or to act as a live virtual instrument. contains the sounds of various instruments in digital form. A player is the software that plays those sounds. This is very similar to MP3s that contain sound files, but an MP3 player like iTunes is needed to play those sound files. ARIA only produces sound when loaded with samples from one or more sample libraries that are compatible with ARIA (such as the Garritan sample libraries). ARIA uses the powerful, open-source SFZAn open standard for developing virtual instruments from audio samples. The ARIA Player uses the SFZ format as the basis for its instrument engine. Read more at http://ariaengine.com/overview/sfz-format/. format. When you install additional ARIA-compatible sample libraries on the same computer, they can all use the same ARIA Player.

The powerful, high-performance ARIA Engine was uniquely designed by Plogue Art et Technologie Inc. from the ground up to be specialized for playability and musicality. More than just playing back samples, the ARIA Player provides specially-tailored acoustic programming designed to reproduce the sounds of actual instruments and imparts expressive controls to those sounds. The focus of ARIA has been on control through the use of MIDI controllerAny device, such as a piano keyboard or wind instrument, that transmits performance information as MIDI data. The ARIA Player can use these devices for live playback and control.s to shape techniques and phrases for the various instruments.

The ARIA Player interface is mostly standardized across libraries and the look and feel remain relatively constant. Controls are instrument-specific with varying parameters and keyswitchAn instrument control used to change between techniques and articulations without the need to load separate patches. The term refers to the fact that a keyswitch is assigned to a particular note on the keyboard and switches between the different sounds.es to accommodate each instrument patch.

The ARIA Player can be run in two different modes:

• As a standalone, the ARIA Player will run as an independent program (see Using the ARIA Player as a Standalone).
• As a plug-in, the ARIA Player is employed by a host program, usually a sequencerA computer program used for storing and transmitting sequences of musical information. Similar to a player piano that transcribes and plays musical information as holes in paper, MIDI sequencers use electronic data to record and reproduce performances. or notation softwareA computer program used for notating music. Common examples include MakeMusic Finale and Avid Sibelius. (see Using the ARIA Player as a VST, AU, or RTAS/AAX plug-in).

Click the link below to start exploring the different functions of the ARIA Player:

The Info view