MIDI

i've been recording for years but have always pretty much ignored MIDI. learning it has always seemed like a daunting task and i tend to get lazy about that kind of stuff sometimes. does anyone know the easiest way to get into it, maybe some good tutorials or videos?

i spend a lot of time on hardware synths and would like to learn how to incorporate MIDI for note sequencing and automation instead of just recording straight to .wav all the time. i'd also like to learn how to sync up different pieces of hardware and have them trigger each other/run on the same clock. i'm still not that clear on what it is and does exactly, i just know i'm missing out by not using it.

thanks for the help

midi is outdated and you should avoid it

You should use FIDI

  On 1/31/2010 at 1:27 AM, hahathhat said:

midi is outdated and you should avoid it

no, i think i'll use it. but i appreciate you taking the time to not help.

you didn't get any manuals for your stuff? that sucks

might as well delete the thread

MIDI, OR MUSICAL INSTRUMENT DIGITAL INTERFACE

IS A 8-BIT SERIAL COMMUNICATIONS PROTOCOL TRANSMITTING ON 16 CHANNELS AT A SPEED OF 31250 (if I remember correctly) BITS PER SECOND. IT WAS INVENTED BY THE MIDI MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATIONS IN 1983!

And, no Midi is not outdated, almost every single song you hear (that is post 90s) has some form of Midi on it.

if you have any questions please ask me, I know Midi in and out. I know how to disect Midi into single bits, then convert that into Hex.

Example:

10010000

(Midi note on status byte, on channel 1)

90H (in Hexidecimal)

Seriously dude, just buy a midi cable and start playing. It's REALLY easy

:trashbear: :trashbear:

rtfm. seriously, don't mean to sound harsh, but there are plenty of resources out there to explain basic midi programming, just google it, or youtube...hell there's probably even a wiki page outlining everything.

  On 1/31/2010 at 4:11 AM, analogue wings said:

Seriously dude, just buy a midi cable and start playing. It's REALLY easy

 

:trashbear: :trashbear:

That.

I am pretty sure you use Cubase, Ablton or Logic eh? Well open a midi track, write the notes you want your hardware to play. Link your soundcard witrh your hardware. Press "midi in" or something in the hardware. Play the stuff.

Or the contrary. You play notes on a keyboard (that as midi), the information goes into a virtual instrument and it's like if you played the virtual instrument.

Really it isn't a big deal: MIDI is just a way to connect and control everything with everything.

  On 1/31/2010 at 1:27 AM, hahathhat said:

midi is outdated and you should avoid it

Midi is the foundation of most electronic music today. I couldn't make music without some use of midi. And if anything it still has its legacy stamped on the way we step sequence inside a computer now.

Nice

  On 1/31/2010 at 12:08 PM, David R James said:

  On 1/31/2010 at 1:27 AM, hahathhat said:

midi is outdated and you should avoid it

 

Midi is the foundation of most electronic music today. I couldn't make music without some use of midi. And if anything it still has its legacy stamped on the way we step sequence inside a computer now.

I think he was joking.

yeah, you guys are right. i've just been really lazy and procrastinatory about trying it. hearing how simple and easy it is gives me a bit more motivation though. in the past i've always tried to keep my face out of my laptop as much as possible, but it's time for a change i suppose.

thanks for the genuine responses to those who made them.

  On 1/31/2010 at 1:06 PM, chassis said:

  On 1/31/2010 at 12:08 PM, David R James said:

  On 1/31/2010 at 1:27 AM, hahathhat said:

midi is outdated and you should avoid it

 

Midi is the foundation of most electronic music today. I couldn't make music without some use of midi. And if anything it still has its legacy stamped on the way we step sequence inside a computer now.

 

I think he was joking.

i don't think he was. he was probably referring to OSC which while cool in some aspects (for us nerds that can program our iphones to connect to max/msp), it certainly is not practical yet enough to say "forget midi and learn OSC". i don't get why some people are so anxious to phase out a protocol standard that has been around for so long and has time to become universal and solid, for something that is exponentially more complex, and subject to many more problems. they are both good for certain things, and it would be cool to see them go hand-in-hand for a while, giving people a chance to dip their toes in OSC, but still have midi to fall back on if all they want to do is program a drum beat.

  On 1/31/2010 at 2:32 PM, uptowndevil said:

yeah, you guys are right. i've just been really lazy and procrastinatory about trying it. hearing how simple and easy it is gives me a bit more motivation though. in the past i've always tried to keep my face out of my laptop as much as possible, but it's time for a change i suppose.

 

thanks for the genuine responses to those who made them.

midi doesn't necessarily mean you have to stare at a laptop all day, in fact a good grasp of midi will let you do things you never imagined possible when combined with midi hardware such as cables, faders, knobs, etc. if you take the time to map things out and "build" a midi rig, it can really become and excellent performance tool. check out tim exile for an example of what i'm talking about.

Just looking up OSC now. Surely MIDI would be some sort of intermediate? Or maybe I'm talking out my arse.

Tim Exile has some wicked live shit and the stuff with Beardyman is great.

  On 1/31/2010 at 1:27 AM, hahathhat said:

midi is outdated and you should avoid it

yes it is shit but a necessary evil none the less

Elektron is the only company in over two decades who has tried to advanced the idea with turbo MIDI boosting the shitty frequency and even going above and beyond with the multitrigger protocol in the Mono

as far as the original question goes just get a decent MIDI thru box and you can't go far wrong

i was joking.

but...

the nice thing about midi is you don't need all that nice expensive hardware you already bought.

just a shitty keyboard and a us-122 is all you need.

of course that's just one way to do things :p

if you want to really get into midi and force yourself to use it, start using reason as there is no audio in (just samples of wavs)

[youtubehd]P2o0SKwMn-E[/youtubehd]

  On 1/31/2010 at 10:50 PM, ryanmcallister said:

midi doesn't necessarily mean you have to stare at a laptop all day, in fact a good grasp of midi will let you do things you never imagined possible when combined with midi hardware such as cables, faders, knobs, etc. if you take the time to map things out and "build" a midi rig, it can really become and excellent performance tool. check out tim exile for an example of what i'm talking about.

yeah, it seems like i have some misconceptions about midi, but i do know that it would be hugely beneficial to automate filter sweeps, effects sends, etc. and have both hands still available for the keys. i have all the cords and hardware, i just have to set it up and give it a chance i guess.

that tim exile stuff was cool, he definitely has an incredible grasp on his hardware/software, and it doesn't seem like he has to bother much with his laptop while creating.

  On 2/1/2010 at 7:01 PM, theSun said:

the nice thing about midi is you don't need all that nice expensive hardware you already bought.

 

just a shitty keyboard and a us-122 is all you need.

 

of course that's just one way to do things :p

 

if you want to really get into midi and force yourself to use it, start using reason as there is no audio in (just samples of wavs)

i bought a novation remote sl a few years ago and some soft synths but it just didn't do it for me. given, i was using protools so the software was really expensive (and limited imo). after a few months i drifted back to hardware. i still use reason adapted once in a while though. i'm planning on eventually getting a copy of logic so i can give all the sweet looking free VST's i've seen on this board a chance.

also, has anyone tried adapting VST's to RTAS? seems a bit makeshift for a finicky program like protools.

the remote sl is fantastic.

  On 2/2/2010 at 7:59 PM, hahathhat said:

the remote sl is fantastic.

agreed, nice action on the keys too. do you use the xy pad much? if so - for what?

I wish automap worked for ableton live :(