Author Topic: midi files  (Read 8357 times)

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jcl123

  • Guest
midi files
« on: January 16, 2021, 03:32:58 PM »
Hello everyone

I have had a T5 for a while now but still learning (by the time I'd worked out how to work my vcr they had stopped making the tapes)
so to me this tyros 5 is on a different level. I have purchased some XG & XT midi files from yamaha I want to use them so I am playing the chords and voices What settings do I need to change in my T5
Thanks
 

Offline Fred Smith

Re: midi files
« Reply #1 on: January 16, 2021, 07:20:45 PM »
I have had a T5 for a while now but still learning (by the time I'd worked out how to work my vcr they had stopped making the tapes)
so to me this tyros 5 is on a different level. I have purchased some XG & XT midi files from yamaha I want to use them so I am playing the chords and voices What settings do I need to change in my T5
Thanks

The T5 can do exactly what you want, out of the box. It shouldn't need any settings to do what you asked for in your post: play the midi file, play chords and play voices.

So you need to tell us more about what your problems are. Finding the midi? Loading the midi? Muting channels in the midi? Getting chords displayed on the screen? Changing the OTS voices in a style?

Give us more specifics. You'll get the help you need on this forum.

Cheers,
Fred
Fred Smith,
Saskatoon, SK
Sun Lakes, AZ
Genos, Bose L1 compacts, Finale 2015
Check out my Registration Lessons
 

jcl123

  • Guest
Re: midi files
« Reply #2 on: January 16, 2021, 08:03:41 PM »
Thanks for the reply Fred
I want to basically use the midi file as a backing track or style whichever and I want to play the chords and voices myself
like this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XE8HNDCg8KQ  I can either read the music of screen if its there or off sheet music

thanks for your help

Offline cthiggin

Re: midi files
« Reply #3 on: January 16, 2021, 08:16:31 PM »
Thanks for posting.
I would like to know the exact same thing.
Fred, hopefully you can help both of us?

Thanks,
Tom
 

Offline Fred Smith

Re: midi files
« Reply #4 on: January 16, 2021, 10:07:39 PM »
Thanks for posting.
I would like to know the exact same thing.
Fred, hopefully you can help both of us?

I’d love to help, but I don’t know what the problem is.

I looked at the video, but I don’t see him using a backing track. I sim him playing a style , chording in the left, and melody in the right.

So, sorry to be obtuse, but I still need an explanation as to what’s stopping you from doing what you want.

Cheers,
Fred
Fred Smith,
Saskatoon, SK
Sun Lakes, AZ
Genos, Bose L1 compacts, Finale 2015
Check out my Registration Lessons
 

Offline EileenL

Re: midi files
« Reply #5 on: January 16, 2021, 10:30:37 PM »
He has just muted the tracks he wants to play and left the rest such as counter melody and Bass pattern to play from Midi         

jcl123

  • Guest
Re: midi files
« Reply #6 on: January 16, 2021, 10:45:07 PM »
Thanks Eileen its probably me not explaining it very well
 

jcl123

  • Guest
Re: midi files
« Reply #7 on: January 16, 2021, 10:45:52 PM »
thanks Fred
what is playing in the background is a midi file some how (and this is what I want to do) he has taken the chords and voice out of the midi and playing the chords and voice himself on the keyboard.  this  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQOoE-XDIAY is another one where he is playing with a midi file and using the score from that midi file but again playing the chords and voice himself. this second link I have posted on here is an elvis presley song the wonder of you I've got the same midi file I will try and post it on here for you to listen to.
Thanks
jcl
 

Offline Fred Smith

Re: midi files
« Reply #8 on: January 16, 2021, 10:52:51 PM »
thanks Fred
what is playing in the background is a midi file some how (and this is what I want to do) he has taken the chords and voice out of the midi and playing the chords and voice himself on the keyboard.  this  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQOoE-XDIAY is another one where he is playing with a midi file and using the score from that midi file but again playing the chords and voice himself. this second link I have posted on here is an elvis presley song the wonder of you I've got the same midi file I will try and post it on here for you to listen to.
Thanks
jcl

As Eileen says, you mute the tracks you don’t want the midi playing. This is done in the mixer. Just go there and experiment with turning the volume down to zero, until you e muted the tracks you want.

Cheers,
Fred
Fred Smith,
Saskatoon, SK
Sun Lakes, AZ
Genos, Bose L1 compacts, Finale 2015
Check out my Registration Lessons
 

jcl123

  • Guest
Re: midi files
« Reply #9 on: January 16, 2021, 11:28:36 PM »
Thanks Fred
I will have a look 2moro  11.30pm here my wife might not cook my breakfast in the morning if I start playing my keyboard now.

Thanks for your help and thanks to Eileen as well

Regards jcl

good job I didn't use my real name Fred, things could have got really confusing its the same as yours

 
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Offline overover

Re: midi files
« Reply #10 on: January 16, 2021, 11:51:28 PM »
Hi jcl,

to mute (= switch off) certain Song Channels press the [CHANNEL ON/OFF] button a few times to call up the CHANNEL ON/OFF (SONG) display. Use the [1]–[8] button to turn each channel on or off.

If you want to play back only one particular Channel (solo playback), press and hold down one of the [1]–[8] buttons corresponding to the desired Channel. Only the selected Channel is turned to on and others are off. To cancel solo playback, press the same button again.

Press the [EXIT] button to close the CHANNEL ON/OFF display.

Note: You can memorize the Channel On/Off status of the MIDI file to a Registration. (Make sure you have ticked the checkbox "SONG" in Memory dialog.)


Alternatively you can use the Mixing Console: Press [MIXING CONSOLE] button repeatedly until the desired page is displayed: "MIXING CONSOLE (SONG CH 1-8)" or "MIXING CONSOLE (SONG CH 9-16)". Here you can decrease the volume of certain Song Parts (= Song Channels) or set the volume completely to zero, if desired).

Note: This status can NOT be memorized to Registrations, but you have to re-save the MIDI file. To do this, first press the SONG STOP button (to jump to the beginning of the MIDI file. Then press [CREATOR] button > [A] SONG CREATOR and go to tab "CHANNEL" > 5 SETUP. Now press [D] button (EXECUTE). Finally press [⁣I] button to SAVE the changes you made in the Mixing Console before to the MIDI file. (It is best to use a new or altered file name here to avoid overwriting the source file.)


Hope this helps!

Best regards,
Chris
« Last Edit: January 17, 2021, 12:13:31 AM by overover »
➪ Everyone kept saying "That won't work!" - Then someone came along who didn't know that and just did it.
➪ Never put the manual too far away: There's more in it than you think! ;-)
 
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Offline panos

Re: midi files
« Reply #11 on: January 17, 2021, 09:42:53 AM »
Hi Fred,
Chris explain the whole procedure very well.

Here is a video that can also help.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inAc192_8Hw

On this video the user on the screen he displays the lyrics instead of the sheet music but he is showing want he is doing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zJq2noKxzM

Remember that:
A SONG on Tyros means a midi file.
A midi file can have up to 16 tracks/channels either it is from Yamaha's site or whatever other source.
You have to find out which tracks you want to mute.
(usually those who play the melody line)

And if you are able to play also the chords of a song correctly with your left hand,
then you can play that song in whatever style you wish.

jcl123

  • Guest
Re: midi files
« Reply #12 on: January 17, 2021, 11:22:07 AM »
Thanks Chris for the for all the instructions  will be having a play today.

Thanks Panos for the video links I will have a look at those today

as you can see there has been quite a lot of views on this post so must be a few people wanting to solve the same problem.

regards
jcl   
 

jcl123

  • Guest
Re: midi files
« Reply #13 on: January 17, 2021, 02:32:17 PM »
hello Chris

managed to set the score how I want it treble clef only and showing chord changes.
muted the voice so now I can play the voice myself. but still can't play the chords I have tried muting the channels and also had a go with the mixer settings but no success.when I try to play the left hand the key board is just like a piano. if I switch the acp on its still the same
so do I need to actually change some settings on the keyboard itself.
thanks for your help jcl
 

Offline vlbrgt

Re: midi files
« Reply #14 on: January 17, 2021, 03:51:52 PM »
I think the player in the video is playing a Tyros 4 instrument.
You can see that there is no style playing.
A midi file plays and the player plays the melodie with the right hand.
The left hand plays the voice that is selected with the button for the left voice.

Just like you say, the whole keyboard is playable as a piano, but with left and right different voices (splitpoint).

Regards
Etienne
« Last Edit: January 17, 2021, 03:54:52 PM by vlbrgt »
If plan A doesn't work, don't forget that the alphabet has 25 more letters.
Volbragte@telenet.be
http://Psrtutorial.com/MB/volbragt.html
Genos
 

jcl123

  • Guest
Re: midi files
« Reply #15 on: January 17, 2021, 05:44:52 PM »
thanks for the reply
The  player in the video is playing a tyros3  the two links I have posted are  1/ how deep is your love  beegees he's reading off music
but playing the chords  and voices over a midi file the 2nd the wonder of you again playing chords and voices himself over a midi file reading off score  the midi file I have are from yamaha and are xt and xg the same as the ones he is using in the video and they should be able to be played on a T3/4/5  and 2 but not to sure about t2
Regards
jcl
 

Offline vlbrgt

Re: midi files
« Reply #16 on: January 17, 2021, 06:21:18 PM »
He is not playing the chords as they need to be played with a style.
He just plays another voice (Left) with his left hand.
The notes he plays with his left hand need to be in harmony with the song.
So it seems that he plays the chords, but he plays harmonic notes for the left voice, and they correspond with the chords.

Regards
Etienne
 
« Last Edit: January 17, 2021, 06:23:39 PM by vlbrgt »
If plan A doesn't work, don't forget that the alphabet has 25 more letters.
Volbragte@telenet.be
http://Psrtutorial.com/MB/volbragt.html
Genos
 

jcl123

  • Guest
Re: midi files
« Reply #17 on: January 17, 2021, 06:36:07 PM »
thanks etienne
so are you saying what I want to do can't be done
regards jcl
 

Offline vlbrgt

Re: midi files
« Reply #18 on: January 17, 2021, 07:25:06 PM »
Indeed you can not make a midi file following your chords played on the keyboard.

Regards
Etienne
If plan A doesn't work, don't forget that the alphabet has 25 more letters.
Volbragte@telenet.be
http://Psrtutorial.com/MB/volbragt.html
Genos
 

Offline vlbrgt

Re: midi files
« Reply #19 on: January 17, 2021, 07:48:39 PM »
Look at this video from the same player :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPu9ptUFmr4

Listen the first voice notes he plays with his left hand.
This voice is changing when he changes left hand playing other notes.


Regards
Etienne

If plan A doesn't work, don't forget that the alphabet has 25 more letters.
Volbragte@telenet.be
http://Psrtutorial.com/MB/volbragt.html
Genos
 

jcl123

  • Guest
Re: midi files
« Reply #20 on: January 17, 2021, 09:16:56 PM »
Thanks Etienne
so is there any way we can use midi files as backing tracks or convert them to styles.
if there is nothing we can do with midi files what's the point in having them
regards
jcl
 

Offline Toril S

Re: midi files
« Reply #21 on: January 17, 2021, 09:24:22 PM »
There are many song specific styles, much better to use a style.
Toril S

Genos, Tyros 5, PSR S975, PSR 2100
and PSR-47.
Former keyboards: PSR-S970.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLVwWdb36Yd3LMBjAnm6pTQ?view_as=subscriber



Toril's PSR Performer Page
 

DonM

  • Guest
Re: midi files
« Reply #22 on: January 17, 2021, 09:54:06 PM »
Midi files are useful for songs where there are specific parts or lines that you don't have the ability, or don't want to take the time to learn, to play.  Or maybe you can't find a style close enough to the original song for your satisfaction.  They are somewhat limiting, but you can, as noted before, mute certain parts and play them yourself.  You can also set Markers in the songs, to allow you to repeat certain segments, giving you a little more control over the length of the song.
There are programs that can convert midi files to styles.  The last several generations of Korg arrangers have a program built in to do that.  Some midi files convert better than others, and almost all of them need some "tweaking", or changing of sounds, levels, etc.   I'm not familiar with the third-party programs that do this, as I seldom use midi files. 
Bear in mind that a midi file is not recorded music; it is a series of instructions to tell your midi player what to play. 
There are many ways to use arrangers, including playing CDG (Karaoke) files, but they are basically designed to be used with styles.  With Yamaha in particular, but with all the major brands, you can pretty easily find a style customized to use for almost any really popular song.

Offline Roger Brenizer

Re: midi files
« Reply #23 on: January 17, 2021, 09:58:18 PM »
Use Jørgen's midi2style converter to make a style file from a midi file.  You can download it at the following link:

http://www.jososoft.dk/yamaha/software/midi2style/index.htm
"Music Is My Life"
My best regards,
Roger

(The older I get...the better I used to be...LOL!!!)
Roger’s PSR Performer Page
 

Offline mikf

Re: midi files
« Reply #24 on: January 17, 2021, 10:03:07 PM »
Thanks Etienne
so is there any way we can use midi files as backing tracks or convert them to styles.
if there is nothing we can do with midi files what's the point in having them
regards
jcl
Midi is just a standard protocol which allows digital instructions to be read by compatible music devices. Eve your computer can read and play a midi file - although it may not sound too good because it does not have the full range of voices, top quality sound systems etc.
A style is a midi file but a very special kind of midi file that when played on the arranger changes in real time to respond to what you play ie it is driven by the chords you play and the software in the arranger. That is essentially the whole essence of an arranger, - that it can do this. Most midi files or midi devices do not do this.
Normal midi files play on any midi device and reproduce exactly what is there - just like an audio file. So you can of course play along with a normal midi file, and people do this all the time. So it can be a backing track just like and audio file.  But it is just that, a fixed backing track, you play "along" with it - you cannot "drive' it in real time like a style.
There are many uses for midi files. You will learn that over time.
Mike
 

jcl123

  • Guest
Re: midi files
« Reply #25 on: January 17, 2021, 10:29:10 PM »
Thanks for all your replies
Mike that is exactly what I want to do play along with them so lets take a simple song the wonder of you I have the midi file
which I purchased from yamaha it's an XT file  and it has the score so I can read the music off the screen I know how to mute the voice
so I play the midi and I can play the melody reading the music now what I can't fathom out is how to play the chords on the keyboard
from the midi file how do I connect the left half of the keyboard to play the chords that are written in the score.
hope this makes sense
regards
jcl
 

Offline Toril S

Re: midi files
« Reply #26 on: January 18, 2021, 12:14:07 AM »
You can't control the MIDI file by playing chords with your left hand. But you can of course play chords with both hands along with the MIDI song. It is best to set your keyboard in full keyboard mode, turn off acomp button as starting a style only will confuse things.
Toril S

Genos, Tyros 5, PSR S975, PSR 2100
and PSR-47.
Former keyboards: PSR-S970.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLVwWdb36Yd3LMBjAnm6pTQ?view_as=subscriber



Toril's PSR Performer Page
 

Offline mikf

Re: midi files
« Reply #27 on: January 18, 2021, 02:35:56 AM »
I think that most people are puzzled by your question about playing chords because the accompaniment is already provided by the midi. If you just want to play along both hands even if the midi is playing the accompaniment you have to make sure that you have set a lh voice as well as a rh voice or set the keyboard mode to full keyboard  so the voice you have set for the melody in the rh also plays in the lh.
To be honest, I think you need to start by experimenting with just playing the keyboard with different settings, with and without a style playing, before you start to mess with midi. Then everything will start to make sense to you.
Have you read the manual??
Mike
 

Offline Fred Smith

Re: midi files
« Reply #28 on: January 18, 2021, 03:23:48 AM »
Thanks for all your replies
Mike that is exactly what I want to do play along with them so lets take a simple song the wonder of you I have the midi file
which I purchased from yamaha it's an XT file  and it has the score so I can read the music off the screen I know how to mute the voice
so I play the midi and I can play the melody reading the music now what I can't fathom out is how to play the chords on the keyboard
from the midi file how do I connect the left half of the keyboard to play the chords that are written in the score.
hope this makes sense
regards
jcl

If you want to play chords, you’re far better off using a style, rather than a midi.

Cheers,
Fred
Fred Smith,
Saskatoon, SK
Sun Lakes, AZ
Genos, Bose L1 compacts, Finale 2015
Check out my Registration Lessons
 

jcl123

  • Guest
Re: midi files
« Reply #29 on: January 18, 2021, 11:04:04 AM »
Thanks Fred and Mike
Mike have I read the manual ? I've got both the user manual and the reference manual and I do look at them occasionally but they
send you around in circles to different pages  so I find it much easier to look at keyboardamerica videos and read the lessons on here.
It does actually say in the user manual page 68 I think that you can play along with midi files but doesn't  tell you how to do it.

I think that Fred has probably given me the right advice which is forget midi use styles which is what I will try.
thanks regards Fred
 

Offline mikf

Re: midi files
« Reply #30 on: January 18, 2021, 12:12:19 PM »
It does actually say in the user manual page 68 I think that you can play along with midi files but doesn't  tell you how to do it.
The reason they don’t tell you how to do it is because there is really nothing to tell. You just turn on the midi and start playing.  Its hard to figure out from what you are posting why you are having trouble with this. Of course you need to have voices activated across both hands or there will be no sound.
Mike
 

jcl123

  • Guest
Re: midi files
« Reply #31 on: January 18, 2021, 02:06:38 PM »
hello Mike
thanks for replying I am obviously not explaining myself very clearly my midifiles atm are on usb so I select song, tab across to usb, select the midi file press play/pause in the song section and the midi will play all the way through the song and I can watch the score as the the ball bounces along  passing the chords and the notes as it progresses to the end of the song and then stops playing.

what I would like to do (but don't think can be done) is to switch off (mute) the chords and the melody voice from the midifile then after doing so select the same midifile again in the song section switch on the score then press play/pause in the song section I would assume the midi would then start to play the intro and when the score shows the bar where the chords and music starts I would play those parts I have switched off (muted) myself on the keyboard,  so basically the midi file is working as a backing track or style whichever you want to call it
regards jcl 
 

Offline mikf

Re: midi files
« Reply #32 on: January 18, 2021, 04:21:34 PM »
Now it is clear what you are doing - and the short answer is that it cannot be done.
You need to understand how your arranger functions to produce the auto accompaniment. The auto accompaniment on your keyboard is enabled by a style file. The midi files which you have cannot behave like a style.
Strictly speaking midi is just a standard data format that can be used to store, and move data between devices and is used for multiple things.  But when people colloquially refer to a file as a ‘midi’ they typically mean a piece of music stored in a midi digital format file.
The auto accompaniment files we call style files may use also midi format to communicate, but we never refer to them as ‘midis’.
Mike
 

jcl123

  • Guest
Re: midi files
« Reply #33 on: January 18, 2021, 04:41:20 PM »
thanks Mike
 What about song styles I assume that whatever song is on there will be as near as possible to the original artist recording and they will basically be plug in and play usb and probably include intro/endings and ots. do they have score as well? seen them on that well known selling site but you can't sample them till you actually receive them. If they don'tcome with the score functio then obviously I would have to purchase the sheet music. Also the music finder there is plenty of songs on there but again  no sheet music.
regards jcl
 
 

Offline mikf

Re: midi files
« Reply #34 on: January 18, 2021, 05:43:59 PM »
Song specific styles are sometimes very good. But in many cases the song named style is nothing more than a standard style which has been slightly modified to make it suitable for the song, rather than fully customized to make a cover of the song. For example they may have only set the tempo to suit that song, or maybe a modified OTS to get lead voices they thought suitable. I am not saying this is bad, because I am not myself a huge fan of exact covers, playing your own version of a song can be just as enjoyable.
Mostly the song styles you buy from reputable sources should be good, but can be expensive because a highly individual style is a lot of work to compile.
There are a vast number of free styles on this forum, but it takes a lot of sifting through to find good ones. At the early stages, it is often best to just use the playlist or musicfinder provided on the keyboard. You can drive yourself crazy by amassing massive amounts of style files. Then it becomes like those screws and nails you always save, but it is so hard to find the right one  when you need it years later, that you end up going to the store and buying new ones. Maybe later you can look at custom styles. I almost never use anything except standard styles, and I think I can make pretty good music!
As regards sheet music, you don't really want sheet music to play the arranger. You want what we call lead sheets. These are simple to read, and contain melody and chords. You can often get a lead sheet for a song on the forum just by asking if someone has one. Unless it is a very rare song, most times someone will post one. Then you can print or download. Take the Elvis song you mentioned, I would bet someone would post a lead sheet if you asked inside a few hours. 
There are books called fake books which contain huge collections of lead sheets. Nearly all musicians have these, and you maybe should get one or two. The one called the Real Fake Book for example has hundreds of popular songs. And you can get them in various genres - broadway shows, pop, etc etc. Many of these have also been posted on the forum, although you may have to become a senior member to access them.
Mike 

jcl123

  • Guest
Re: midi files
« Reply #35 on: January 18, 2021, 08:29:12 PM »
Thanks Mike
I do have quite a substantial amount of music and I can read it in quite a few keys in the easy keys I just slow it down till it sounds OK then play it at the correct speed, the music with more difficult key signatures takes a little longer but I just slow it down and practice and I soon get there. I have a roland G800 arranger workstation and this has 128 styles 689 voices 192 performance memories and I only play at home for enjoyment so what I might do is sell the tyros and just stick with my Roland G800 because with the tyros I'm spending hours on end just to find the right  styles for the song and to set it all up and by the time I've done all that I feel to knackered to play it so it becomes a chore instead of an enjoyment.
Thanks for your help anyway Mike
 

Offline Toril S

Re: midi files
« Reply #36 on: January 18, 2021, 09:06:28 PM »
Oh no, don't even think of selling your Tyros! If you can live with reading your sheet music from paper, you don't have to set ut the Tyros at all, just select a style, use the OTS and play! It doesn't have to be complicated. I have a Tyros5 and a Genos, and use them with almost no eyesight. You have a fantastic instrument in that Tyros, take your time to know it, and you will love it, mark my words!
Toril S

Genos, Tyros 5, PSR S975, PSR 2100
and PSR-47.
Former keyboards: PSR-S970.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLVwWdb36Yd3LMBjAnm6pTQ?view_as=subscriber



Toril's PSR Performer Page
 

jcl123

  • Guest
Re: midi files
« Reply #37 on: January 18, 2021, 09:30:53 PM »
thanks Toril for the advice but the Roland keyboard I have is not as complicated as the tyros and it's the same type of keyboard Arranger workstation same sort of things on the roland as the tyros, 76 key 3 split points 4 intros/ endings /variations  128 music styles 689 sounds
192 performance memories. I have been a little bit disappointed  with the tyros since I bought it I really don't see the point in having almost 2000 songs in the music finder and not having the music to play them, would have been much better if they would have put the music for these songs on the score instead of using it for midi files which the majority of players probably won't use anyway. I will more than likely buy another keyboard when I have sold my tyros but it won't be a yamaha might buy another Roland I will make sure I do my homework before I buy another
Regards
jcl
 

Offline panos

Re: midi files
« Reply #38 on: January 19, 2021, 01:01:07 AM »
Hi again Fred,
A midi file or a midi song has 16 channels that can all of them play simultaneously.
Τhat means 16 "hands" are playing several organs to have a nice result.
As long as we have just two hands, we have to mute some channels of the midi to play along with our right and left hand.

The video below shows all the organs a midi can have(except from the drums):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-gG_4Uq4fU

The organs(channels) that play the melody line have to be muted so we can play the melody.
So we have to mute the strings which usually play the left hand chords.
We can leave all the rest as they are (the bass and the other organs will still play notes on the set chords/harmonies and some other little riffs).

That is what people are doing with midi files to play along.
How many organs(channels) has to be to muted in every different midi is the user's choice.

On the other hand with a style the user "tells" all the organs(style parts/channels or multipads) what notes they should play by hitting the right chords.
There is no keyboard that can provide preset specific song styles because there are millions of songs and many many genres of music.

For each song we want to play with a style, either we use a preset one, either we search our usb's if there is any, either we ask on the forum, either we buy one, either we create one from scratch or modify an existing one to match better to the song.
The song is the notes and the chords we are playing, not the style itself.

Offline mikf

Re: midi files
« Reply #39 on: January 19, 2021, 02:01:29 AM »
JCL
Fake books and lead sheets are so cheap ( often free) and available that no one would buy midis just to get the score. I think you are thinking of things he wrong way round. If you can only play by music, you open your fake book at a song you want to play, then find a style and play. Why do you want the score on the screen. Its better on paper. That linked score thing Yamaha give is just a learning tool You dont need that I see it as a bit of a pest really because now it is in the way of anything else you want to change on the screen.
Mike

jcl123

  • Guest
Re: midi files
« Reply #40 on: January 19, 2021, 09:23:00 PM »
thanks Mike and Panos
Panos for explaining midi files in detail and about all the channels that operate them.

Mike for the encouragement,  I had a look today Mike at lead sheets and fake books that you mentioned and don't think I would gain anything
purchasing them I do have a lot of music books the majority are Rodger Evans and Kenneth baker so a big mixture of songs I must have about 500 songs in total possibly more and all written in different keys I don't really want to be playing  everything in c major.  chords and reading music is not really a big problem for me its just setting up the styles and voices splitting the the keyboard intros endings fill ins then saving to music finder, the registration buttons I use just for voices so if the voice in the song gets a bit boring whilst playing its easy to change it.
had a couple of hours on the tyros today so I think I'll persevere for while and see how I get on. there's not much point in trying to sell it anyway atm because we are in complete lockdown here in the uk. 
thanks regards jcl

Offline Toril S

Re: midi files
« Reply #41 on: January 19, 2021, 09:44:46 PM »
Glad you came to your senses😀😀 LOL😀  I see that chords and reading music is no problem for you. So then it makes much more sense to use styles.. The Tyros will grow on you, it is a really good instrument.
Toril S

Genos, Tyros 5, PSR S975, PSR 2100
and PSR-47.
Former keyboards: PSR-S970.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLVwWdb36Yd3LMBjAnm6pTQ?view_as=subscriber



Toril's PSR Performer Page
 

jcl123

  • Guest
Re: midi files
« Reply #42 on: January 19, 2021, 10:29:49 PM »
Thanks Toril
Yes but plenty of headache tablets taking that many I can almost rattle in time to the music.

Regards
jcl

Offline Toril S

Re: midi files
« Reply #43 on: January 19, 2021, 10:39:55 PM »
The Headache Tablet Rattle. Good title for my next composition, on the TYROS :) It gave me headaches at first too, but now it gives only joy. That doesn't say that I can use all its features, just that I can use the features I like to use the most :) Always start easy with a keyboard from another brand, the operating system is different, and that takes some time getting used to. Find a score, find a style that you think fits the song, and play! All the extra mumbo jumpo comes later! Good luck with your wonderful T5! I have one too, 61 notes.
Toril S

Genos, Tyros 5, PSR S975, PSR 2100
and PSR-47.
Former keyboards: PSR-S970.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLVwWdb36Yd3LMBjAnm6pTQ?view_as=subscriber



Toril's PSR Performer Page
 

jcl123

  • Guest
Re: midi files
« Reply #44 on: January 20, 2021, 08:04:06 PM »
Hello Toril
Yes I know what you mean this T5 I have is a 76 key makes it useful for splitting the keyboard into 3 gives a me a few more options
my Roland is the same 76key quite a few songs I have in that are split 3 ways on the keyboard gives a lot more options when playing.

talking about midi files I have just noticed there is almost 700 views on this post must be quite a lot of players interest in midis
regards
jcl 

Offline AndyT

Re: midi files
« Reply #45 on: February 12, 2021, 12:54:31 PM »
Hi JCL,

Some thoughts.....

If there is a good style I will use that, but some midis have so many changes and effects that can take playing to the next level. However, some would say "you are then in a straight jacket - always playing the same piece the same way more or less". I don't totally agree as that is exactly what playing along with a style is :) The benefits for "My Way" for example are the gradual volume increase and build up part way through. You can't do that without a lot of fiddling or volume pedal etc. Extra instruments and drums come in - so you would need to code up multipads. So then you open up a whole new world.

I like playing along with midi files - for a few of the songs. Finding a good one is the first step. I like to have the words and chords on screen. Chords are midi events and sometimes when you edit a midi on a PC they can get stripped out. PSRUTI is great at guessing them and then if there are any corrections, they are easy to see and make (on a PC!) You can also add text/reminders to change REG or something like that. This gives some consistency. Some midis you can play along to a style which then overwrites or appends to the midi depending on what tracks are in use. Sometimes the combination of midi and style can sound stunning - sometimes not.

Why edit midis - cause many of them are not all on track one, or not all of the melody is on track 1. So you are part way through a midi and you can't see the melody notes. That means you need to copy them from one track to another. So let's say the main melody is on track 1 and then on track 11. Oh yes, some midis make finding the melody a challenge :) You copy the relevant section from track 11 to track 1.

The next problem is getting sheet music that matches the midi. I sometimes do that as it is easier to see what is coming up and exactly where you are in the music. "Let Me Entertain You" by Robbie Williams is an excellent example. I ended up colour coding some of the changes, repeats. loops etc and I now enjoy the technical side as my playing is impeded a bit for other reasons. The other thing is that you will rarely get the music in the exact same key with all the same key changes as in the midi. So you have programs like notation composer £££ or musescore (Free!) and there are probably others. The first can create a fake book lead sheet very quickly and you can copy across tracks, but costs way too much. You can do the same in musescore (import midi etc) and then hide the instruments you don't want. There is a chordfinder plugin which is quite good at guessing the chords. I think it is stunning, but steep learning curve. The print outs are better than notation comp. imho.

The next stage is turning off channel 1 and/or other channels (you mentioned the chords)- well that is only 1 option. So for example, if there is some timing that you are not sure of, then sometimes it is better to change the melody instrument to flute or clarinet and set the volume to 30. In other words something that you can just hear if you are not playing anything else. MixMaster is quite good for that. You can still switch the channel off on the Tyros if you want to, but that sometimes helps. Also you can change to string  and put lots of echo on, which again can be interesting.

So to your point of switching off the chords. Typically backing will be split across many channels and you can switch them all off if you personally want to play the chords. This can also be interesting if you have a Jazz piece such as Fly Me To The Moon as that will have a few chord alternatives and you might want to play differently. I have never seen that on Yamaha  or any other midi, but again it is something you could add as text with PSRUTI. I keep mentioning that as it is one of the few programs that doesn't screw up midi files and I won't mention the ones that do.

One trick that you might be missing as you mention splitting the keyboard is that you can do that with registration changes and then assign those changes to a foot pedal. So sometimes I get a bit lost when playing stuff in the "third sector" so I will reg shift the keyboard on a foot pedal to make the sound changes in "2nd sector" and then reg shift again to reset it back. It gets more interesting than that as you can set up a "registration sequence" (should be in the manual) and then completely change the keyboard setup in each of the sectors when you shift change registrations. So, you can have loads of changes within one song or melody.

Hope all this makes sense and helps. I find all this fascinating. All the free programs I mentioned are great at what they do, and my thanks to the team and authors.

- Andy

Offline AndyT

Re: midi files
« Reply #46 on: February 12, 2021, 01:03:22 PM »
Sorry one other thing is that you can make fake sheets, lead sheets, easy play/large note, sing along etc all within musescore which is free.

- Andy