MIDI.....How does Mr. Midi help me

[burzum2000]

ok i got my digi 001 yesterday, along with a Behringer 24 channel console. me and my drummer were able to record some stuff, to get used to pro tools and the new console. so i saw digidesigns pro tools dvd that explains everything about everything in the digi 001

but i still have some questions about midi, and using it to make a professional sounding song. as far as i know midi is used to keep time for a song, so u can adjust tracks in the song on like 1/4 note incrimates...why else is midi so important
CAN i use midi without a midi keyboard or midi controller hooked up to digi? lets say i get a midi man controller, and hook it up to digi, is that all i need?

someone please walk me through what i need to use midi in pro tools.... keep in mind i want to keep my expenses low, and i have a midi cable(5 pin din)

[J. Guerrero]

Well, you are mistaken. MIDI is a protocol used to communicate instruments between themselves and with computers. There is a wide range of uses for it, from sound design to just mirroring on another intrument what you are playing. You can start by reading at websites like www.midi.com all of its uses. I would love to explain it to you in one post, but that would be like trying to resume the Bible. What I can tell you in advance is that you have to avoid the mistake of thinking that MIDI is some sort of audio signal. Good luck reading!

[burzum2000]

ok i read the information over at midi.com, but i still dont understand what midi is to be used with me and my digi 001 for? at first i thought it was to program the drum track of the song so my drummer plays to that through headphones, therefore setting up a timebase of bars and beats so i can adjust his drum hits by exactly 1/4 notes or whatever.

[burzum2000]

any ideas for me so i can get the most out of my digi 001 and its midi and audio capabilities

[burzum2000]

someone please help me

[J. Guerrero]

If you have on of the following devices you'll be able to use the MIDI port of the 001:
- Drum machine or electronic drum kit.
- Synthesizers
- FX processors (that have MIDI ports)
- MIDI control surfaces
Post back with what you have. If you don't have any of these devices, you won't use MIDI at all.

[shaggy]

Think of MIDI as 'shorthand' for music. A musical note is called an 'event'. It is quantized broken up music...requiring a MIDI capable output.

Get yourself some Twiddly Bits (drum beats) set up your a synth or sampler and set to MIDI channel 10.

Import the MIDI files into a Pro Tools track. And then cut & paste to your hearts content.

The one really cool thing about MIDI is this. Change Tempo and the MIDI events stretch or shrink to fit the new tempo. Everything is based upon a 1/4 note. So a MIDI resolution of xxx is xxx clicks per 1/4 note.

With Recycle, you can control real audio samples (slices) with MIDI events. So a drum controller of some kind (that you can hit) is ideal for 'beat programming. Better than a keyboard.

Make sure what you buy is 'General MIDI' capable. MIDI thru passes the input straight through the output.

Local OFF- means that mean you hit your drum controller...you have to enable Pro Tools MIDI and set 'keyboard to thru' to audition it.

Local ON- you'll hear it without the computer hook-up.

Set up OMS. Test Studio with Local On. Enable a MIDI track. Go into record and start bangin. Set-up a click track for the MIDI device so you know where 1 is.

If you know where 1 is, you're a heck of lot smarter than me.

Oh, and watch out for echoes. With MIDI Thru enabled what you play on the controller will be passed back to the controller's internal sound module and double the note.

.02 fleas

[Ben Jenssen]

To me MIDI is a code of instructions that are sent to MIDI devices, that tell them to play notes, change volume and many different things.
And they are recieved from the MIDI device to be recorded, edited and sent back. This way you dont record the audio of the instrument, it just plays to the instructions coming from the computer each time you hit play. So, of course it must be connected to an input of some sort.

[burzum2000]

THANK YOU GUYS midi seems alot clearer to me, and i am now looking into a different controller

[J. Guerrero]

If you want, tell us what you wish to achieve so we might suggest equipment you can buy. You might save a buck or two. [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]