General Question on Recording MIDI files

[noru2]

Hi,

I am a new member, and musically challenged, but would like to know how to record the MIDI output from my wife's Technics Organ to computer or disc in a midi format (.mid). The organ plays prerecorded midi files, but does not record on the same floppy recorder. There is a midi jack, but I don't know what to do with it as far as recording. Am afraid that it will take gear that is more expensive than I want to undertake just to make midi recordings of her playing. Am an engineer, totally familiar with other formats, wav, mp3, etc., and have basic recording equipment.

Any comments, suggestions, etc., would be most appreciated.

Norman Ince noru2@aaahawk.com

[Spoons]

Re: General Question on Recording MIDI files

you need to use your midi jack output and go to your sound card midi/game port input.

then you could use dbpoweramp to record the sounds using dbpoweramp auxiliary input.

[noru2]

Re: General Question on Recording MIDI files

I see two of my problems. I have been looking for a midi to RCA connector cable or miniature phone plugs, and found none. Secondly, I don't have a midi input on my PC, only miniature Phone jacks (basic PC sound system, but all I have needed to date).

If I use the setup described by the responder above, will I be able to record a song.mid file, or will it be something else like song.wav or song.mp3 etc.? What I would like to know is how all the music available on the internet as song.mid files are recorded. Maybe you told me the answer, but I haven't yet seen how. I will look further into the capabilities of dbpoweramp to see if I have been overlooking something.

Thanks for the reply.

Norman Ince

[Spoons]

Re: General Question on Recording MIDI files

on my Yamaha SY85 i use phono plug out to a dedicated audio card that has RCA audio input. so you can go fom Phono to RCA and to mini if you have to using an adaptor. here we just get this stuff from dick smith electronics or tandy.

you could use expensive software/multitrack sequence with midi options like cubase. if you want to record what you are playing directly from the keyboard you can use dbpoweramp auxiliary input and record directly to wav and concert to whatever format later.

but if you want to keep it as midi all the way thru then you need midi recording software.

[ChristinaS]

Re: General Question on Recording MIDI files

Well, you need a midi input jack on the pc and the midi cable to connect from the midi keyboard to it. Plus software to capture it into, like Cubase, or Logic or any others.

A free midi composition program is Anvil Studio from www.anvilstudio.com . I am not sure if it can be used with an external keyboard (I think it can).

[noru2]

Re: General Question on Recording MIDI files

Thanks for all the replys. I now know what I need to get into my PC. I need to explain further what I am trying to record. My wife does her playing (not composing per se) on the organ. It has its own built in memory. When she gets her music like she wants it, would like to record it in music.mid format.

If I use a midi-gameport, or other midi to USB cable, then will the software mentioned above, suck as DBPoweramp, will it record in .mid format? This is important for us to have it in .mid format so she can email it to her relatives. The midi format is so much smaller in byte size than wav or other.

Hope I have clarified it better.

Norman Ince

[LtData]

Re: General Question on Recording MIDI files

dMC doesn't record to .mid format, no. You'll need to find other software to do that.

[ChristinaS]

Re: General Question on Recording MIDI files

Thanks for all the replys. I now know what I need to get into my PC. I need to explain further what I am trying to record. My wife does her playing (not composing per se) on the organ. It has its own built in memory. When she gets her music like she wants it, would like to record it in music.mid format.

If I use a midi-gameport, or other midi to USB cable, then will the software mentioned above, suck as DBPoweramp, will it record in .mid format? This is important for us to have it in .mid format so she can email it to her relatives. The midi format is so much smaller in byte size than wav or other.

Hope I have clarified it better.

Norman Ince

Try the Anvil Studio program, it does take input from a midi port to a midi port.

The thing to remember though with midi is that the instrument selected on the keyboard will not be preserved during the transport to pc through the midi cable, only the notes and their duration. The instrument has to be selected from the midi soundbank of your pc and applied to the track itself as a property of the track. Anvil and all other midi composition/recording programs (e.g. Logic) can do that.

Remember that when you play back a midi file on yoru pc its audio quality depends entierly on the midi soundbank your computer has. It will not sound the same on another compuetr that si equipped with a different soundcard. It can range from wow to yuck, depending on the soundcard's capabilities.

If capturing midi as midi is a problem for you, try to capture as audio - to a wav file - that gets recorded on the pc from a line-in jack. This capture can be handled by dMC Auxiliary Input.

Then you can use dMC to convert the full wav file to a smaller compressed format like wma. With the right settings this can result in sufficiently small files that can be emailed - though the audio quality will get progressively worse, the lower the bitrate used for compression.

[Spoons]

Re: General Question on Recording MIDI files

yes at least if you capture it to audio rather than midi you will at least get a similar sound and can then burn to audio cd as well.

[noru2]

Re: General Question on Recording MIDI files

Ok, thanks again to all who posted. From your answers it appears that I will not be able to get a good music.mid file easily, and maybe not correctly. I can already record the analog output - just wanted to reduce it to midifile size. I am giving up for now. Again thanks to everyone.

Norman Ince

[chrisgl]

Re: General Question on Recording MIDI files

I've come in too late I fear on this...

MIDI can be thought of as the electronic equivalent of the old fashioned pianola rolls or those punched card strings they use for mechanical organs.

I'm not sure is a basic pc has MIDI input and output ports - you'll need at least the input. And this assumes that the organ has the relevant connections - my Mum used to have one that did not :(

From there you need a MIDI program - I use Harmony Assistant from Myriad software ( http://www.myriad-online.com/en/index.htm ) this is kind of the MIDI equivalent of dBpowerAMP in what it does. I'd have to admit I went for it because it has the ability to sing!

Anyway that program or one like it will allow you to save your wife's work to MIDI format (amongst others)

The possible problem is that she may like what can be done and you'll loose access to your pc...

chris :-)