Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Pianist Corner - Non Classical Please help me understand MIDI

Ok, so I get that MIDI is a sort of language that describes a pitch and velocity. Also, I understand that midi files are like long sequences of transferable information or something like that.

This is what I want to do, but have no idea if its possible:

1. I want to create a backing track in Band in a Box and save it as a mid file (this much I can do)

2. Then I want to somehow upload this track onto my Alesis QS7 keyboard which according to the manual has a PCMCIA card or some other type of memory that allows storage

3. I want to be able to (with just my keyboard) to play the backing track (through the keyboard) and then be able to play over it in a live setting without a computer.

Perhaps my understanding of MIDI is totally incorrect, but is this possible?

if you create a biab track with the "real track" I don't think you can save that as midi, it's audio samples. midi is only 1 and 0 computer info. the synth would only play that info with the software instruments available in the synth, not with the sounds from biab.

I'm not really MIDI literate but I use it a good bit because it is so sparing of memory. MIDI is just on and off commands, the tone comes from whatever instrument or synth is playing it.

One thing that is easy to do is create a MIDI track, then play it on your computer (to a good sound system). You can play it through any media player, or a dedicated music program like a sequencer that gives you more control.

Or you can do what I do: control it from a keyboard, such that each key press gives you the next MIDI note.

Hi,

Band in a Box is a quite complex software with tons of options and sometimes can be a bit confusing.

Regarding your questions, for the first one I am pretty sure it is possible. BiaB works mainly with MIDI. In my setup BiaB sends MIDI events to other program (Mixcraft) that generates the sounds. I can capture and save MIDI events in Mixcraft, but there will be an easy way of directly saving a BiaB track as MIDI without using other softwares.

For the second one, I don't know the capabilites of the Alesis QS7, but if it can load and play General MIDI tracks, then it would be possible what you want to do. But take into account that it may need a lot of tweaking in the BiaB MIDI preferences before the sound being acceptable (reassigning channels, configuring drum kits, some esoteric parameters, etc).

I was able to use a Kawai MP5 with BiaB through MIDI. BiaB was sending MIDI messages to the MP5, and the last was generating the sounds. It took me several hours of messing with BiaB preferences before I configured MIDI channels the right way and I found how to disable some "MIDI synchronization messages" that were making MP5 go crazy. But at last it worked quite well (except the drum kit that performed poorly).

For the third one, once you have point one and two mastered, then third one is easily achievable. Possible? I think yes... Viable? I don't know... you will have to try. Get ready for a lot of trial and error.

Regards,
Kurt.-

3. is easy, just stack two keyboards. Many (most?) gigging players do so anyway.

All keyboards have different capabilities.

You'll have to read thru the dreaded manual that came with your keyboard to find out precisely HOW to "download a midi file to it" and play it in the keyboard's build in "midi sequencer" (song player). And how to record in a new track on top of that.

Keyboard manuals are notoriously difficult to read
But that's what ya gotta do.

Otherwise, you'ld probably use band in a box to play the midi file TO your keyboard while you play live.

Thanks everybody for your help. I'll play around with all these suggestions and let you know how it turns out

I don't think your Alesis QS7 has an onboard sequencer. The memory card is used for storing patches. So there is no way of loading a MIDI file to the QS7 for playback.

I suggest you construct the backing track in biab and record it as audio on some convenient device - nowadays people tend to use their smartphone or a portable MP3 player (I'm NOT going to say iPod, as I consider the Apple range the most restrictive and inconvenient way of storing your music).

Plug the player into the same amplifier and speakers that you will be using for the QS7. Play the track, play the QS7.

I think he'll need a mixer then. But that does sound like a solution that would work.