MIDI drum note confusion

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jyoung60
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2016/02/07 22:43:59 (permalink)

MIDI drum note confusion

Can anyone explain why I'm seeing the following? ...
 
In my MIDI sequences created on the MC50mkII and Sound Canvas SC-88 hardware, the Kick and Snare drum are shown as:
Kick - B1 (Note #35) 
Snare - D2 (Note #38) 
This agrees with the Roland GM/GS Standard.
 
In SONAR, however, these same events are shown in the Event List as:
Kick - B2 (Note #47) 
Snare - D3 (Note #50) 
 
While in yet another DAW they are shown as:
Kick - B0 (Note #23) 
Snare - D1 (Note #26)
 
All other drum events are similarly rendered in all three environments.
 
What's up with that?
 
post edited by jyoung60 - 2016/02/08 07:59:45

DAW: Cakewalk by Bandlab (latest version) - x64
VST: Roland Sound Canvas VA
Hardware: Roland MC50mkII Sequencer; Yamaha DGX-660 keyboard; Steinberg UR-44 Interface
OS: Windows 10 Home 64-bit
#1

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    scook
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    Re: MIDI drum note confusion 2016/02/07 22:56:00 (permalink)
    Preferences > Customization > Display "Base Octave for Pitches"
    #2
    jyoung60
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    Re: MIDI drum note confusion 2016/02/07 23:10:53 (permalink)
    Awesome, thank you!  Though I find it strange that the standard isn't adhered to across platforms.  In any case, easy fix! (when one is aware of it). :-)
    post edited by jyoung60 - 2016/02/07 23:24:28

    DAW: Cakewalk by Bandlab (latest version) - x64
    VST: Roland Sound Canvas VA
    Hardware: Roland MC50mkII Sequencer; Yamaha DGX-660 keyboard; Steinberg UR-44 Interface
    OS: Windows 10 Home 64-bit
    #3
    rabeach
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    Re: MIDI drum note confusion 2016/02/08 00:05:46 (permalink)
    The MIDI specification only defines note number 60 as middle C and all other notes to be relative to that. As to whether middle C is labeled C4, C5 or something else is not specified. 
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    Kylotan
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    Re: MIDI drum note confusion 2016/02/08 05:15:12 (permalink)
    It's a shame the standard doesn't have middle C as C0, with bass being C-1, C-2, C-3, and treble being C1, C2, C3, etc. It would be unambiguous that way.

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    jpetersen
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    Re: MIDI drum note confusion 2016/02/08 07:15:43 (permalink)
    Roland and Yamaha couldn't agree on Middle C back in the day. I don't know if it's still like that.
    #6
    jyoung60
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    Re: MIDI drum note confusion 2016/02/08 07:56:55 (permalink)
    I find it a bit surreal that the standard doesn't simply coincide with reality.  I mean, the very first note on an 88-key instrument is A.  So why not call it A1/Note #1 (or even A0/#0), and go from there?  The GM/GS standard starts the keyboard somewhere in the 20's, which never made sense to me.
    post edited by jyoung60 - 2016/02/08 08:11:24

    DAW: Cakewalk by Bandlab (latest version) - x64
    VST: Roland Sound Canvas VA
    Hardware: Roland MC50mkII Sequencer; Yamaha DGX-660 keyboard; Steinberg UR-44 Interface
    OS: Windows 10 Home 64-bit
    #7
    mettelus
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    Re: MIDI drum note confusion 2016/02/08 08:34:49 (permalink)
    Most programmers like to play with bytes which yields 256 values, and they will squeeze more data into it by splitting it in half... So 128 (0-127)... Then "middle" is 64 (63 when starting at 0). Obviously "middle C" must fall into the middle of 0-127, so pianos are not properly designed... They are actually missing 40 notes; it just took a software engineer to prove it.

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    #8
    jyoung60
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    Re: MIDI drum note confusion 2016/02/08 08:55:43 (permalink)
    mettelus
    Most programmers like to play with bytes which yields 256 values, and they will squeeze more data into it by splitting it in half... So 128 (0-127)... Then "middle" is 64 (63 when starting at 0). Obviously "middle C" must fall into the middle of 0-127, so pianos are not properly designed... They are actually missing 40 notes; it just took a software engineer to prove it.


    Ah yes, I hadn't considered it from that perspective. That does make sense from that viewpoint. So we must blame Mr. Cristofori for getting it wrong when he invented the piano. haha

    DAW: Cakewalk by Bandlab (latest version) - x64
    VST: Roland Sound Canvas VA
    Hardware: Roland MC50mkII Sequencer; Yamaha DGX-660 keyboard; Steinberg UR-44 Interface
    OS: Windows 10 Home 64-bit
    #9
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