4]--------------------------------------- 3]MUSIC AND THE AMIGA: Part Three 3]MIDIeval Horror or Musical Masterpiece? 3]By Tom Krotchko 4]--------------------------------------- (JUMPDISK NOTE: With this column is the third and final movement of Mozart's "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik," transcribed by the author. In this drawer is a second piece of music, "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen," by JUMPDISK staff.) MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a standard set of hardware and software protocols that allow computers and musical instruments to communicate. Initially, the idea behind MIDI was that one synthesizer could be used to play another, but as PCs became popular, the idea of using a computer to control musical instruments became the primary use of MIDI. The mechanics of MIDI communication are very similar to those of communicating using a modem. MIDI is a serial protocol running at 31,250 baud. Preferences has the ability to set the serial port to this speed. For comparison, most modems will run at a speed of 2400 baud, with the fastest capable of 19,200 baud. Although MIDI is a standard of sorts, it is not required for a synthesizer manufacturer to have a MIDI port, though as a rule most keyboards will have a set of MIDI jacks on the back. Also, different manufacturers will change details of their MIDI implementation, so all keyboard will not be created equal. As for the hardware details, a standard MIDI implementation will include a MIDI IN jack to receive incoming messages, a MIDI OUT jack to send outgoing message, and a MIDI THRU jack to pass the MIDI IN signal without modification. This MIDI THRU jack allows several synthesizers to be connected to a single MIDI OUT signal. I'll talk about this capability later on. MIDI cords use a standard 5-pin DIN connectors, so as long as the package says "MIDI cord," you can expect it will work with any MIDI device. If you go to Radio Shack, you may find cords that look similar to MIDI cords, but these will not work properly with MIDI devices, I'm told. 3]COMPUTER TO SYNTHESIZER AND ANSWERS MIDI transmits information about musical notes. For example, when middle C is pressed on a MIDI keyboard, in addition to playing the note, a signal is sent to the MIDI OUT port that says "middle C is being pressed". If the MIDI OUT signal is connected to a computer using the proper software, the computer will make a notation of this event. On the other hand, if the MIDI OUT is connected to another MIDI keyboard's MIDI IN connector, the second keyboard will also play middle C. Of course, what I've described doesn't reflect all the details of the MIDI signal sent to the MIDI OUT connector. In addition, there is information sent about the following: (1) Which note or notes are being played. (2) When a note is pressed/struck/plucked/blown. (3) When a note is released. (4) How hard a note is pressed/struck/plucked/blown. (5) How hard the note is being held. (6) The volume of the note. (7) The pitch of the note. (8) Special information about pitch wheels, special sliders, and other instrument specific information. MIDI is capable of simultaneously sending and receiving this information. This means it it's possible using a computer/keyboard combination to become a one-person band. The computer can play several MIDI instruments while you play another. 3]WHAT DOES MY AMIGA NEED TO DO THE MIDI THING? Obviously, a box to convert the serial port to a MIDI port is necessary. These range in price from $40 to $200 and vary in complexity from a simple cord with connectors for MIDI IN/MIDI OUT/MIDI THRU to boxes with switches allowing MIDI THRU ports to become MIDI OUT ports and vice-versa. The simplest port is probably best, since an entire industry has grown around splitting and merging MIDI signals. MIDI merge/split boxes will be more versatile if you decide you're going to be the next Wendy (or is it Walter?) Carlos, and you won't have spent too much money on an interface that won't be all that flexible. The Amiga's serial port readily adapts to the MIDI baud rate. The IBM PC line has seen all sorts of non-standard solutions, although the MPU-401 seems to be the standard lately. In this respect the Amiga is not unique. The Atari ST has a built-in MIDI IN/MIDI OUT port, and the Macintosh is equally as easy to convert to MIDI operation as the Amiga. If you use a modem, be sure to buy a MIDI box that will allow you to switch between MIDI use and standard serial use. These boxes will cost a few dollars more, but they're worth it in the long run. Software is required to record and play back the MIDI signals. The software to do this is called a "sequencer," which is nothing more than a MIDI multi-track tape recorder. It has the ability to record incoming MIDI signals at the same time it is sending outgoing signals. Sequencers vary greatly in price, from $50 to $500. A list of names that qualify as full- featured sequencers are KCS and Tiger Cub (Dr. T), Music-X (MicroIllusions), Pro Midi Studio (Passport), and Bars & Pipes (Blue Ribbon Bakery). Since I haven't tried every sequencer, this list includes the sequencers of which I've heard few or no complaints in music stores, computer stores, and national bulletin boards. That's not to say you'll like any of them, but they are all considered reliable. The price of these packages will range anywhere from $100 to $350 --less with discounts. You'll notice Deluxe Music Construction Set is not listed among these packages. That's because DMCS is not a sequencer, but a note entry program that allows you to position notes on a staff via a MIDI device. In other words, you can't hook a keyboard to DMCS, and then play your favorite piece, expecting DMCS to record it. DMCS will either not recognize what you're doing or will most likely crash. On the other hand, DMCS is worth having, because it is wonderfully easy to learn and use. I've used it to enter all the music to accompany this article because it saves in SMUS format. Too bad Electronic Arts only half-finished the program. If you've owned DMCS since it first came out, you probably have the original version that tends to crash when used with MIDI. Unless your version is 301,904 bytes long and does not have copy-protection, it's worth sending the disk and $7 to Electronic Arts for the latest version. This version is doesn't crash when you exit DMCS, as some earlier versions did. A nice feature of DMCS all Amiga sequencers lack is "standard notation". That's a fancy way of saying it puts notes up on staves as you play notes. In fact, sequencers tend not to use standard notation because it doesn't really express everything the sequencer knows about the recorded performance. Standard notation can express pitch of notes and general durations, but it doesn't express the exact timings of notes, nor does it express how hard a note was struck, and it certainly can't express things like pitch bend very well. If you've never seen a sequencer before, be prepared for a shock when you see rows of numbers, and lines on graphs used to represent music. The good side is this method of representing music allows you to edit various parameters of a sequence easily. Brace yourself for a rocky road while learning to use a sequencer. A second piece of software is required if you intend to print your sequences as music scores. This is a notation editor. I know of only one notation editor for the Amiga, and that's Dr T's The Copyist. It comes in two flavors, Copyist Apprentice ($130) and Copyist DTP ($335). The major difference between the two is the DTP version will allow you to print to Postscript printers and has many more features than the Apprentice version. As an inexpensive solution, Tiger Cub from Dr. T, has a sequencer and notation editor (very simple, but serviceable). Based on my experience with Dr. T's Copyist DTP, you can expect to spend much time learning the program, but printouts are wonderful, even with a 9- pin dot-matrix printer. The quality of print from a laser printer (Postscript or HP Laserjet) is good enough to publish. If you have a Postscript printer, the program will use a font called "Sonata" which is identical to that used in general music printing. Of course, The Copyist will take a sequencer file and turn it into a musical score. If you use Dr T's KCS with The Copyist, the process is even easier. Don't forget to have lots of memory to use any of these programs. One megabyte is the absolute minimum to do any serious work, and I would recommend having two megabytes if you intend to multi-task a sequencer and notation editor. 3]MULTIPLE MIDI DEVICES If you have a single MIDI keyboard and a sequencer, the connections between the two are obvious. The MIDI IN of the computer is connected to the MIDI OUT of the synthesizer, the MIDI OUT of the computer is connected to the MIDI IN of the synthesizer. If you have 3 MIDI devices, you don't need 3 MIDI OUT connectors from your computer. That's because the MIDI THRU connector passes the MIDI signal without altering it. So we could connect these boxes so: ---------------------------------- | Computer/Sequencer | | | | MIDI OUT MIDI IN MIDI THRU | ---------------------------------- | __________| | | | | ------------ | | ------------- ------------- | Kybrd 1 | | | | Kybrd 2 | | Kybrd 3 | | | | | | | | | | IN |__________| | ___| IN THRU |________| IN THRU | | OUT |____________| | | | | | | THRU |_______________| | OUT | | OUT | ----------- ------------- ------------- In effect, the keyboards are daisy-chained. The THRU output from one synthesizer is connected to the IN input of the next device until the end of the chain. If you study the diagram, you can see the setup is fine for using the sequencer to play back a song with all three keyboards, but is not ideal for using one keyboard to play another. It can't be done with the keyboards connected as shown. You can either rewire your MIDI setup or get the MIDI splitter/merger I talked about earlier. 3]WHICH NOTE? WHAT INSTRUMENT? The MIDI specification says a MIDI device will receive and transmit data on 16 channels. These channels are independent of one another and will be used to transmit data either to or from a MIDI device. With 16 channels, its possible to either control up to 16 synthesizers simultaneously, each playing a different set of notes, or control a single synthesizer that has the ability to play 16 separate parts at once. A channel can carry information in one direction only. If you have a sequencer playing a part on channel 1, you must use a different channel if you intend to record a part simultaneously. 3]MONO, POLY, OMNI These three terms refer to the modes of MIDI. They have much to do with the way synthesizers were originally designed. The very first affordable synthesizers could play one note at a time, and were known as a monophonic synthesizers. Later synthesizers could play more than one note at a time and were called polyphonic. The earliest polyphonic synthesizers could only play one type of sound at a time. If you set the synthesizer to "piano," you could play it like a piano, but you couldn't play a piano and a bass at the same time. Today, most synthesizers can not only play multiple notes (polyphonic), but can play several types of sounds at the same time. These synthesizers are called "multi-timbral". Omni refers to an instrument ignoring the channel assignment and treating all channels as a single channel. The MIDI specification describes four modes: (1) Omni-on/Poly - this is the mode known as OMNI. (2) Omni-on/Mono - one of the MONO modes. (3) Omni-off/Poly - the POLY mode. Perhaps the most common mode for today's synthesizers. (4) Omni-off/Mono - the second of the MONO modes. 3]WHAT ARE THE MAJOR FEATURES TO LOOK FOR IN A SYNTHESIZER? Buying a synthesizer is similar to buying a car. Every make, whether Roland, Korg, Ensoniq, Casio, Kawaii, Kurzweil . . . has its own distinctive flavor. Each manufacturer's line has its own type of sound, and each tends to design front panels and keyboards the same way. Within each line there are usually a variety of models in a variety of prices. Fortunately, living in a metropolitan area, I was able to visit music stores having literally hundreds of choices. Its almost a given the more you spend for an instrument, the more features and the greater variety of sounds you can get. Something to consider is a used instrument if you decide on an instrument but can't afford it. Last, a small tip: the Roland MT-32 is very popular with computer enthusiasts, but I don't think its an ideal starter synthesizer. It sounds nice, but it doesn't have a keyboard. You can program a sequencer by hand (or in DMCS with a mouse), but you're not going to have any fun this way. An MT- 32 makes an ideal second synthesizer since its fairly well supported, and you can find cheap at garage sales. Of course, this advice applies to any "rack mount" synthesizer. I think the MT-32 is a very nice synthesizer. 3]WHERE FROM HERE? Making music with a MIDI keyboard and a sequencer is fun. It's been an endless source of fascination to experiment with some musical ideas, and I've even come up with a pretty good song or two. Keep in mind setting up a MIDI system is at least as complex as setting up a computer system, so plan to spend some time studying different choices. The two magazines that guided my purchases were Keyboard and Electronic Musician, both of which are available on newsstands. I found the mail-order prices of musical instruments generally higher than the local dealers, and of course, the local dealer will give advice and help when necessary. 3]COMPANIES MENTIONED KCS, Copyist, Tiger Cub Master Tracks Pro Dr. T's Music Software Passport Designs, Inc 220 Boylston Street 625 Miramontes Street Chestnut Hill, MA 02167 Half Moon Bay, CA 94019 (617) 244-6954 (415) 726-0280 Bars & Pipes Music-X, Music-X Jr. Blue Ribbon Bakery, Inc. MicroIllusions 1248 Clairmont Road 17408 Chatsworth St, Suite 3D Granada Hills, CA 91344 Atlanta, GA 30030 (818) 360-3715 (404) 377-1514 4]END OF TEXT