Saving Protools midi files as a general midi file

[Kev]

It is good practice to save the current Midi data in all your PT songs to a Standard Midi File.

This standard MiDi File will be a xxx.mid file and can be loaded by any player and any sequencer... in theory. (never mind - later).

As fro a GM ... General Midi file, I like to keep thingas close to GM as possible but it doesn't suit everybody's needs.

General Midi is more about the possitioning of patches and drums on Ch 10 and were the drum notes sit.

Any GM player, QTinstruments or SoundBlaster will play the song and get most of it right.

Save as Standard Midi File and bounce a 2 trk version of the song to disk ... this is a good way to send updates to the client.

[rives39]

thanks for the response.

One more question.

should I save the exported midi files as type 0 (merged) or type 1 (multiple tracks). If it's merged will the client be able to hear the song as I recorded it using a GM bank of instruments?

[rives39]

This is my first post dealing with midi.

I am recording into protools LE 5.1 using unity DS-1software synth and
an external keyboard controller via direct connect.
The songs I am recording contain all midi tracks and I need to save them
as general midi files and send them to a client. Is it possible to save
protools sessions that are all midi tracks as a general midi file? Do I have
to bounce to disc after my tracking is done?

As I understand it, if I send the songs to the client as GM files then they will
be able to play them back on their system suing general midi.

I'm a beginner with midi and I could really use some help. Any input would
be greatly appreciated!

[SoundWrangler]

Save as type 1 (multiple tracks) - almost any current MIDI SW (including all the free QuickTime players, Win Media Players, etc.) can read these fine.
As long as the prog numbers you choose are those from your GM source, these will sound somewhat similiar for your client. (Although be aware that many of the free players, like QT Musical Instruments, do not have alternate drum sets, so don't get to crazy relying on the jazz brush drum set, or whatever. Likewise, most of these free players don't actually have a full GM set - for example one elec. piano sound may be used for 3-4 different patch numbers. Given that the sample sets for these SW-based free players are quite small, also bear in mind that strings, vox, etc. sound pretty tinny & pathetic.)
Once you save our your .MID file, open it in QT Player (or Windows Media Player) & have a listen - depending on what you hear, you may go back to PT, make adjustments & re-export the .MID, if it's worth it to improve the presentation of this file to your client. I use QT Mus. Instr. on my Mac, & when saving MIDI files for playback on most current PC soundcards (& Win Media Player or interactive programs that use the soundcard sounds to play MIDI file) have found this to be a very reliable preview. (There's always variations, of course, but generally nothing cataclysmic.)
Some PC-based MIDI players have a certain amount of "reaction time" for the program changes at the beginning of the track. If you find that some parts are playing a couple notes with the generic piano sound before switching over to the prog number you assigned at the beginning of the track, one workaround is to insert an empty bar or twoat the beginning.