A high quality midi instrument sound module typically has special controls that help a keyboard player emulate the playing of a skilled musician.

For example a violin instrument might select from multiple samples based on the note velocity entered. A violin instrument may use a round robin method to select a sample from a pool of eligible samples so the same sample does not get repeated too often. In general the larger the sample pool is for the sound module the more likely it will be that the sound module can emulate the sound you desire. Some sound modules automatically make these choices while others give the keyboard player absolute control over everything.

A sound module might use modeling to create sound. This can be in addition to or instead of using samples.

Many sound libraries highlight articulations. I consider articulations as modifiers or enhancements. For example a violin is normally bowed but can also be plucked or muted. In this example plucked and muted are considered articulations that are selected by the keyboard player entering a note outside the normal range of the instrument.

All this control comes at a cost though. A keyboard player may not be able to access all the articulation keys while playing live. Some sound modules work better in DAWs while others excel in live settings but sound bland in a DAW.

Jim Fogle - 2025 BiaB (Build 1128) RB (Build 5) - Ultra+ PAK
DAWs: Cakewalk by BandLab (CbB) - Standalone: Zoom MRS-8
Laptop: i3 Win 10, 8GB ram 500GB HDD
Desktop: i7 Win 11, 12GB ram 256GB SSD, 4 TB HDD
Music at: https://fogle622.wix.com/fogle622-audio-home