How to play MIDI files

When I play a MIDI file, I open Sonar and Import the file. Then I set up all necessary vsti's, play with all the levels and settings and finally I get sound. There must be an easier way!? I'd like to be able to select the file and click Play to hear it, I don't care what tool I have to get - surely that's possible? Or even an easier way to make Sonar play it? Thanks - rev

roland jv-1080.

revnice1


Timid: And do what, load it into Kontakt?

You cant load outboard gear into a soft synth like Kontact. you connect it via 5 pin Midi or usb midi into your midi interface and this roland jv will read the midi data and make sounds to it. You can change the setting son the rolland to what ever sound it hasin its brain

revnice1


I'd like to be able to select the file and click Play to hear it, I don't care what tool I have to get -
 

If you just want to audition a Midi file quickley, open it with windows media player and it will play it back using the Microsoft GS wave table synth. This works fine as long as its a general midi file.
 
It audition in Sonar some more work is required. Again if its a General Midi file TTS-1 is probably the best synth for auditioning the file as it is general midi, you just have to point each track at TTS-1 and the appropriate sounds will be selected. Of course you can improve things by playing around with the settings and mix and assigning better sounds or other VSTis
 
If you file is not GM then of course you have more work to do.
 
 

What Glyn said is what I do, Just download the file and open them in Media player or Win Amp to pre view.

 Find one worth working on DON"T IMPORT into Sonar but OPEN it. Otherwise you lose all tempo and some other important data. This is why template overlay would be a nice feature but is not an option with OPEN of a new file.   
Then insert TTS-1 for starters as it will play GM best. You can mess with other synths later. 

My method is to first delete unwanted and empty tracks. Then Highlight them all and go to Tracks/properties/output/ TTS-1 
it will globally assign all the tracks to the TTS-1. Very fast. 

+1 to what Glyn says.

If you're talking about a MIDI song file found online, most of them have been put together to play back easily.  I have those playing in under 10 seconds by doing this:

1-Open MIDI file directly, not importing it, but opening it with the basic Open command.
2-Insert TTS-1.
3-Click the track header of the first track of the MIDI file, hold Shift and click the last track.  All tracks in the MIDI file will now be selected.
4-Top Menu in Sonar, Track, select Outputs.  Click the menu, choose TTS-1 as the output.
5-Push Play.

Those kind of song files will have the program changes needed in the file, and TTS-1 will automatically play them.

That's all there is to it with MIDI song files.  As Glyn said, if it's a single track or some kind of MIDI file which isn't fully produced, then you may have to wrangle around more to get the sounds set up.  If it's just a drum track, you can still do what I outlined above, and the drum module in TTS-1 will automatically play it.

RB