ORFEO user manual & documentation

Frequently Asked Questions

General

Orfeo is a modern Windows app for learning and practising piano with MIDI files. Notes fall towards an on-screen keyboard, chords are named as they play, and you can slow songs down, loop passages, change key, split the hands, and clean up files. See About Orfeo.

Yes, and it always will be. There are no paid tiers, no ads, no telemetry, no sign-in, and no user accounts.

No. Orfeo has no telemetry and sends nothing about you or your files anywhere. Your settings and files stay on your computer; see Where your data lives. Orfeo only goes online to check for updates and to download extra soundfonts when you ask for them.

No. Orfeo plays, practises and edits completely offline, with both sound engines. The default soundfont, GeneralUser GS, comes with Orfeo. It only goes online in three cases:

  • Extra soundfonts: FluidR3 GM (142 MB) and MuseScore General (38 MB) download only when you click their download button in Settings → Audio.
  • Updates: the installed version checks GitHub for a new release when it starts; the portable version only shows a link. Without internet, the check is simply skipped. See Updating Orfeo.
  • Links such as the User Manual and GitHub open in your web browser.

No, but you probably want one. Without it, ORFEO is just a beautiful MIDI player. Everything works with just the on-screen keyboard and your own piano or keyboard next to the computer. If you connect a USB or MIDI keyboard, Orfeo lights the on-screen keys as you play and names the chords you play. See Play along with a MIDI keyboard.

Download & Installation

Use the installer if you’re not sure. It adds Orfeo to the Start menu and updates itself. The portable version runs without installing, keeps all its settings in an Orfeo-Data folder next to the file, and is handy for a USB stick or a computer where you can’t install software. It has to be updated by hand. See Download and Install.

No. The installer sets Orfeo up just for your Windows account, without an administrator prompt, and the portable version doesn’t install at all.

Orfeo isn’t code-signed yet, so Windows SmartScreen shows this warning for new, unsigned apps. If you downloaded Orfeo from the official releases page, click More info and then Run anyway. See Troubleshooting.

From the Orfeo releases page on GitHub. You don’t need a GitHub account. Each release offers two files: the installer (Orfeo Setup <version>.exe) and the portable app (Orfeo-<version>-portable.exe). See Download and Install.

The installed version checks for updates by itself shortly after start-up and downloads them in the background. When the update button at the bottom of the left panel says the update is ready, click it to restart into the new version. For the portable version, download the new portable file and replace the old one; your settings are kept. See Updating Orfeo.

Your library folder is never touched. The uninstaller asks what to do with Orfeo’s own data: Yes deletes it all, No keeps your edited MIDI files in an Orfeo Edited Files folder on your Desktop, and Cancel keeps everything. See Uninstalling Orfeo.

Using Orfeo

MIDI files (.mid, .midi) open directly. MusicXML (.musicxml, .xml, .mxl), Guitar Pro, Capella (.cap) and karaoke (.kar) files are converted to MIDI when you open them. Audio files such as MP3 and PDF scores can’t be opened. See Supported formats.

Never. Every edit is saved as a new version, <song>_ORFEO_v1.mid, _v2 and so on, in an Orfeo folder next to the original. See How saving works.

Yes. Use the arrows next to the BPM in the top bar; the pitch stays the same at any speed. See Change the tempo and Learn a fast run.

Yes. Choose UK/US, EU (with H) or Solfège in Settings → Notation & Chords → Display system. It applies everywhere in the app.

Chords are named automatically from the notes being played, and some arrangements confuse any automatic reading. Changing the Chord tracking mode usually helps. See Troubleshooting.

If the piano part is on one track, split it into Left Hand and Right Hand tracks in the  Playback Editor. Then mute or hide either hand in the  Tracks panel. See Left and right hands.

Contact & Support

Yes, ideas are welcome. Send them through the contact form, by email to [email protected], or as an issue on GitHub.

Note your Orfeo version (bottom of Setup), write down the steps that cause the problem, and attach the MIDI file if it happens with one song. Report a bug walks you through it.

Use the contact form or email [email protected]. If you have a GitHub account, you can also open an issue on GitHub. See Contact and Support.

Orfeo is made by one developer, so there are no fixed support hours. Every message is read, but a reply can take a few days.