MIDI Basics Please

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thundercage
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2014/08/30 12:26:46 (permalink)

MIDI Basics Please

Hello, I'm using X3 Producer and I have always done strictly audio recording in the past. If all I want to do is create MIDI tracks for drums and synth, what equipment do I need? Or can I do what I need with X3? I currently have an on board sound card but not sure what I need. I know very little about MIDI any good books out there? Any suggestions would help.
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    Wookiee
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    Re: MIDI Basics Please 2014/08/30 12:32:02 (permalink)
    To create such a thing as a midi drum track you can use the PRV which does not require any form of midi controller.  
     
    I personally would recommend that you get a different Audio interface than your on board one as they tend to be troublesome and not really designed for audio recording or use within such a software product as SONAR.

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    scook
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    Re: MIDI Basics Please 2014/08/30 12:55:27 (permalink)
    Tutorial #4 is a good place to start http://www.cakewalk.com/Documentation?product=SONAR%20X3&language=3&help=Tutorial4.1.html
     
    Couple of videos using Session Drummer
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9x-7sMawGaQ
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruAnAPR6-hQ
     
    A MIDI keyboard will probably be in your future if you continue with MIDI.
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    Anderton
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    Re: MIDI Basics Please 2014/08/30 13:21:53 (permalink)
    thundercage
    I know very little about MIDI any good books out there? Any suggestions would help.



    MIDI for Musicians, which I wrote, is the best-selling book on MIDI. On Amazon one guy (who didn't read it!) gave it a two-star review because it was written in 1986. However, the MIDI spec remains on Version 1.0, and while there have been various enhancements, the basic principles haven't changed.

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    azslow3
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    Re: MIDI Basics Please 2014/08/30 15:15:47 (permalink)
    May be obvious, but www.midi.org has some basics/history (see Tutorials section) and the table of messages (in Specification section). I do not own "The Document" (complete specification, not free), but I think it is not thought for musicians. Groove3 has many nice videos about synths (not free, but one month subscription is cheap).

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    robert_e_bone
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    Re: MIDI Basics Please 2014/08/30 15:48:24 (permalink)
    MIDI is simply a method a bunch of equipment manufacturers agreed upon, to be able to communicate with other pieces of equipment.  
     
    A midi 'event' is a bit of data that describes that particular event, which could be a note on, note off, expression pedal data value, patch number, bank number, note number, etc.  It does not contain any sound itself.
     
    If you think of a player piano, it had a roll, onto which a paper or metal was fixed, and there were a bunch of holes and slits punched through the paper/metal.  When that roll turned, the mechanics of the piano were able to play songs, based upon where the holes and slits were placed on the roll.  A hole was a short note, and a slit was a note held longer.
     
    That is kind of how midi works.  Each midi event contains information that identifies the kind of event it is, and then the rest of the event data is particular to that kind of event.  When the receiving gear 'reads' that midi data, it can then respond to do things like play a certain note, for a certain length, for a certain preset and bank, etc...
     
    The introduction of midi was a HUGE musical gear breakthrough, and revolutionized the entire music industry.  It's amazing that midi has endured for so long - genius.
     
    So, you capture the midi data, whether played live or entered a note at a time, and then you route that midi data to some synth or effect, or whatever (you can control lighting changes and all sorts of things other than instruments), the receiving device interprets that data and responds to it.
     
    The rest is really just understanding how to edit it, and how to generally work with it.
     
    I hope that helps a little - it was a simplistic explanation, just to get the idea across.
     
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    thundercage
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    Re: MIDI Basics Please 2014/09/06 11:43:13 (permalink)
    Wookiee
    To create such a thing as a midi drum track you can use the PRV which does not require any form of midi controller.  
     
    I personally would recommend that you get a different Audio interface than your on board one as they tend to be troublesome and not really designed for audio recording or use within such a software product as SONAR.


    Ok, I am waiting on delivery of an Edirol FA101. Is this a decent unit?
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