MIDI keyboard compatibility with Pro Tools Express

[darthvarun]

This is my first post in this forum, and I've done a reasonable amount of pre-reading to make sure I'm addressing the formalities necessary. I am brand new to audio recording, and Pro Tools as well, so my main motivation for joining this forum was to be able to have a place to ask questions to helpful professionals in this field.

I own an Audio Technica AT2020 Condenser XLR Microphone, and for this I bought the Fast Track Duo, which came with Pro Tools Express. I am into recording acoustic guitar and piano, and the microphone works great for that. However, I realized that in order to make more complex songs that involved more than just what I could pass through my mic, I would need some sort of MIDI input to operate a synthesizer and add sounds to my music. I own a Yamaha PSR-273 MIDI-enabled keyboard, and in haste, I purchased a MIDI to MIDI cable from Radioshack, not realizing that the Fast Track Duo audio interface does not have MIDI I/O.

Excuse me if it's a simple question, but I wanted to ask nonetheless before I bought another cable in hope that it would work. I am aware that there are cables that I can plug the MIDI end into my keyboard, and a USB end into my computer, without going into my Fast Track Duo. Since MIDI is just digital data, it technically does not have to be processed by the audio interface, does it? I found this cable: http://goo.gl/efuzRW on Amazon, and wanted to know if I plugged this directly into my computer, would it work with Pro Tools? Additionally, I know there is a necessity to have a synthesizer of some sort in Pro Tools to utilize MIDI data. What are some recommendations for a beginner as far as effective methods of recording MIDI?


Because this was more of a logistical, and not a software/hardware question, I did not provide extensive system information or a Sandra report, but if it is necessary I will go ahead and do so at once.

Thanks in advance to anybody who can answer my question!