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  • MIDI confusion.

    Hi All

    I understand some basics of what MIDI is.

    What I can't seem to discover is this:

    How does Vienna - or any of the other software companies - make their Audio recordings (the samples) appear in the Midi form, when I play & record, let's say, a violin solo on my DAW?

    Probably a dumb question, but there we are. I admit to having no idea!

    Does the magic take place in my computer - does it happen in the software - or 'non of the above'!?

    Could anyone please help me with this?

    Many thanks.


  • The "magic" happens in the software - that is,  the VI Pro player.

    VI Pro is ready to play any of it's samples (instruments), it just needs to be told which note to play and when to stop playing that note, and that information comes from the MIDI data, either from the DAW or directly from a MIDI keyboard.

     

    VI Pro turns this note on information into the audio you hear. (although technically,  it is the audio interface that actually turns it into audio, it is still a digital represenation of audio that comes out of VI Pro and your DAW).


  • Thank you Andyjh

    'The "magic" happens in the software - that is,  the VI Pro player'.

    So it's the VI Pro player which produces the MIDI 'blocks' I see on the project track?


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    @Jackmon said:

    So it's the VI Pro player which produces the MIDI 'blocks' I see on the project track?



    No, your sequencer sends MIDI data (in your MIDI track) to the VI player, which reads and plays this data, routing the auido output to a VST instrument track in your sequencer (which you can then record to an audio track).

    The flow is: MIDI track (containing MIDI data) - VI player - VST instrument track (VI player's audio output) - [an audio track's input (to record the VI player's audio output)]


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    Thanks Goran

    @goran_tsch said:

    No, your sequencer sends MIDI data (in your MIDI track) to the VI player, 

     

    So it's my sequencer (my DAW) which produces the MIDI 'blocks' I see on the project track?


  • VSL goes into the studio and records a flute playing every possible note. All these note recordings are then saved into a single file.

    When you press a key on your piano, VSL's software looks up what note you've pressed and plays black the recording of that note. When you release the key, VSL's software stops playback of that note.

    MIDI, or Musical Instruments Digital Interface, is simply a standardized set of commands (a "protocol") that tells the software how and when to do this, i.e. start playing A#; stop playing A#; make A# louder etc. Thus, MIDI is not audio, it is a simply a set of instructions about how to play existing audio. The MIDI protocol therefore must encompass a variety of different actions which correspond to different aspects of sound making , such as:

    - note on: start playing a note

    - note off: stop playing a note

    - velocity: how hard a note was played

    Your keyboard speaks "MIDI-ese" and so does VSL's software too speak "MIDI-ese", and it's because they both speak this same language that they are able to work together to produce the coordinated dance of instructions that equates to a musical performance.

    Now to your question:

    Your sequencer -- whether Cubase, Garageband, Logic, etc. -- is simply is a recorder of this MIDI data. It sits in between your keyboard and VSL's software. When you play your keyboard, you generate MIDI data and your sequencer remembers this data which then passes it along to VSL's software. Us humans need some way to look at this data so that it makes sense to us. Sequencers typically displays it as "blocks", but there's no real reason that it has to look like blocks, except that it happens to be easy for humans to look at. So, yes, your sequencer generates these blocks. The start of a block corresponds to "note-on" and the end of a block corresponds to "note-off" and by looking at the length of the block we can get an idea of how long the note is.

    When you think about it, traditional musical notation is no different than MIDI blocks. Traditional notation is just MIDI blocks represented in a different way. An eighth note is simply a "note-on" message that lasts one-eighth of a beat. In your sequencer, however, this eighth note looks like a short little MIDI block.

    Both musical notation and MIDI blocks contain no audio, they are simply a set of instructions which indicate a musical performance for a receiving device. In the case of notation, the receiving device is a human being. In the case of a sequencer, the receiving device is VSL's software. Thus, your sequencer (being the recording device), is akin to what a blank sheet of paper is to music notation: a canvas on which to record and display data.

    This is a gross over-simplfication but I hope it communicates the basic idea.

    Best
    MOH


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    Thank you Michael

    @mohurwitzmusic said:

    So, yes, your sequencer generates these blocks.

    That's the nub of it. That's what I really wanted to know.

    And thanks for extensively outlining the whole process. I can get my feeble brain around that! A great help.

     

    All Best.


  • Of course my next question is:

    How can I turn a set of my own recorded (audio) sound samples (processed through the Sampler TX16Wx) into an instrument/plugin that gives me that MIDI configuration (blocks) that I can work with & edit in my DAW?

    Or am I just dreaming again!?


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    @Jackmon said:

    How can I turn a set of my own recorded (audio) sound samples (processed through the Sampler TX16Wx) into an instrument/plugin that gives me that MIDI configuration (blocks) that I can work with & edit in my DAW?

    Read the above posts once again, it seems you're thinking it a bit backwards right now. 😊

    You are already able to produce MIDI data - either by pressing a key on your keyboard, or drawing a "block" on the piano roll editor of a MIDI track. The result is the same - this tells your DAW to pass on a set of MIDI information to whatever is defined as the destination. You're the one that creates configurations of MIDI information.

    Every time you draw a "block" or press a key on the keyboard, you're actually "speaking in MIDI-ese". You're saying: this is a note of xy length, wyz pitch and $%& volume". Remember, the "blocks" are merely the visual representation of MIDI data. They aren't "real". They don't contain sound, don't get confused by the visual presence of "blocks". They are no different from you pressing a key on the keyboard. It just tells the sampler: hey, I've sent you info on a note, it's this long, this loud and the pitch is such-and-such. It's just one of two ways to talk to the sampler - wether that's the Vienna Instruments, the TX16Wx, Native Instruments Kontakt or whatever.

    So, you don't need an instrument that gives you the information - you are giving the information. You need something to read and translate the information.

    In your case, this would be the TX16Wx sampler. Go ahead and load it up in your DAW.  Look on the left side, there's this panel that says "new program". A little below, it says "Ch01" (by default at least, unless you change the routings). Try pressing some keys on the keyboard and look at the interface of the sampler. See that little blue MIDI symbol? It lights up every time you play a note on the keyboard, even if there's no sound coming out of the speakers, because you don't have any samples loaded yet. Every time that little icon lights up, it means that the sampler has received MIDI data! It means you're telling it something in "MIDI-ese" and it's listening.

    You can do a second test: instead of playing the keyboard, open up the MIDI editor of your track and draw some "blocks". Press "play". Look at the blue MIDI symbol. It's blinking again. This means you're talking to the sampler again. You understand? The "blocks" don't contain, or make sound. They're just MIDI language. They're telling the sampler what to do - just like playing the keyboard does.

    Now the sampler is the one who has to create actual sound according to set of MIDI instructions it has received. Look at the interface of the TX16Wx again. In the middle, you can see that piano keyboard graphic. Try playing your keyboard again - see how the corresponding key of that graphic is moving? This shows you that the sampler understands what you're telling it per MIDI. You're already communicating. The sampler just doesn't have a voice yet. You can now take your own recorded audio and drag the file onto a key in the sampler. For example, let's say you have a recorded sample of a snare drum. You drag and drop this recording on the C3 key in the sampler. If you play the note C3 on your keyboard, the sampler will receive MIDI information ("play the sound that you have assigned on C3!") and fire off the sample.

    If you draw a "block" on the C3 in the MIDI editor/piano roll and then press the "play" button in your DAW, the same thing happens. That "block" tells the sampler: "Here's a MIDI command for you: play the sound that you have assigned to C3!" And the sampler plays the sound.

    So, in short: you can make your own playable instrument by dragging your recorded samples onto the virtual keyboard within the TX16Wx. Playing a "real" keyboard that's connected to the computer, or drawing "blocks" into your MIDI editor and pressing "play", is telling the TX16Wx to play the samples.


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    @JimmyHellfire said:

    So, in short: you can make your own playable instrument by dragging your recorded samples onto the virtual keyboard within the TX16Wx. 

    Hi Jimmy

    Thanks very much for your explanation. As I said, I pretty much get the Midi stuff, but it's always good to have someone else's understanding on it. Thanks.

    Truth is I couldn't get on very well with the TX16 when I first downloaded it a couple of years ago, so I put it to the back of my mind for a while!

    So yesterday & today I've been working on it & managed to produce a simple program/preset, mapped to my keyboard. It works! I recorded a simple tune & messed around with the resultant Midi. Great! It's a start.

    Thanks for all your help Guys.