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        General >> General Board >> New to midi
        
(Message started by: dsealer on Jun 7^th, 2017, 1:55pm)

Title: New to midi
Post by dsealer on Jun 7^th, 2017, 1:55pm

Hello to you all. My name is Don and as the topic says I am new to midi. A little bit about me.
I started playing music about the time the Beatles hit the charts. Since that time I've performed in many different line ups and styles. I sing, play guitar, and play some keyboard. In all those many years I have not had any experience with midi (I'm not even sure I'm using the term correctly). I know nothing about it. With that said here's what I'm hoping to accomplish.
I want to begin to use and understand midi. I'm semi retired now and writing and recording (which I have been doing most of my life). However technology has advanced but I haven't.
I have several guitars and 2 keyboards. I have a Korg Sgprox and Kurzweil 2500 (the Kurz is dead at the moment). Both of these keyboards are midi capable.
I am currently playing and recording via Behringer XR 18, using XR Edit to a laptop running Windows 10 into Reaper.
First Question What do I need to get started?
Thanks to all and especially anyone who decides to help me get this going,
Don.....

Title: Re: New to midi
Post by Breath on Jun 7^th, 2017, 8:38pm

Hi Don and welcome.
Sounds like we have been doing this silliness for about the same length of time as I have.

Firstly, think of Midi as a list of instructions, like notes of a score.
Secondly MIDI is NOT audio.
So when you record Midi you can play it back as a trumpet or a flute or a piano,,, you get the idea.

It is not only notes, but a whole lot of instructions to change the sound in real time as well as editing the sound for later recall (patch editing).
What you can do depends on the sound module you have.

As a result of it being just a list of instructions being sent out in real time, it is also used for controlling lights in a show or to control picture editing programs or anything you can think of that needs to be controlled. (Please no spouse jokes 8) )

Here is a good place to see what the Midi messages are in regards to music.
http://www.somascape.org/midi/tech/spec.html
I have it as a bookmark in my browser even now.

Keep asking questions.

All the best
Royyce

Title: Re: New to midi
Post by dsealer on Jun 8^th, 2017, 8:34am

Thanks Royyce.
I'm sure this may be good information for someone who understands it. But I'm not that guy. I thought getting some information was going to be like "buy this gear or that product. Hookup this cable to this or plug that into that". Maybe, "push this button or turn this knob". I didnt expect the "getting started" to be so deep and detailed. I'm just not that guy. I couldn't understand all of this in a million years. I appreciate your offer of help but it's something that I don't comprehend. If this is what I need to do, I'll pass and use something different
Thanks for your time and good intentions.

Title: Re: New to midi
Post by kevgor on Aug 31^st, 2018, 2:51pm

I might not be in the right place but this is all very frustrating. I am trying to upgrade my roli seaboard 25 using midiox. I get not enough buffers error. I have changed the buffer like others have done in your forum but when I do, midiox crashes.

Title: Re: New to midi
Post by Breath on Sep 1^st, 2018, 12:58am

Hi
sometimes you can get this error if your Midi interface uses a single client driver and you already have something that uses Midi running when you start MidiOx.

Is the Roli keyboard a Midi interface as well?

Whatever your Midi interface is, if came with a CD with drivers on it you should be OK and you really need to set the buffers, but more likely some thing else it wrong.

If when you first installed it, you just connected the interface to your PC, then Windows just installed MS class complaint driver.
This is a rubbish single client driver.

Anyway, to get around this try and make sure that no other Midi software is running when you start and use MidiOx.

Buffer size and number were a consideration quite a few years ago, but if your computer is less than 5 years old (perhaps even less than 15 years) memory and speed is rarely a concern.
Modern computers have a LOT of memory so you can set them to large values.
Mine are set large with 16 at 1024 Bytes, but you could easily have 256 at 1024 Bytes and still not make even a blip on your memory resources.

Let me know how you get on.

All the best
Royce

Title: Re: New to midi
Post by mardor on Nov 30^th, 2018, 11:47am

HI
I am new to this bboard, but I understand some midi.
I have a midi kb with 1 MIDI OUT. I have hooked via
cable that to an Arduino MIDI shield IN port.
I have the MIDI shield setup so the MIDI commands
(Note On, Note Off, etc etc) it receives are sent out
via a USB cable. My windows box sees this coming
in via a serial port. I have plenty of window apps that
can take MIDI input but my systems does no see any
MIDI input devices.

How can I convert MIDI commands coming in via serial
look like they are coming in via a MIDI IN port?

PS I do have up and working the following programs...
MIDI Yoke
MIDI-ox
MIDI-bar
VMPK
Procyon Pro
WinJammer

Title: Re: New to midi
Post by Breath on Nov 30^th, 2018, 6:52pm

Hi
you really need to convert the COM port into a Midi port.
Although they are both serial ports (like USB), they work differently.

Korg has a driver you can use that changes COM to Midi and the clever guys and gals at Adafruit used it for a wireless Midi interface.
Go to https://learn.adafruit.com/xbee-radios/midi-link for instructions.
It is a big article so do a search for..."Turning the FTDI cable into a MIDI device"

I hope that helps
Royce