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Midi volume

kenor

The Cardsharp

Location: Czech Republic

Joined: Jun 04 2009

Hey everyone,

I was wondering if someone more experienced in the matters of midi manipulation and related stuff would be able to help me with this issue I came across a few days ago. What I would like to do is change the volume of the played note during the time it sounds (i.e. not in setting it constant in the beginning). So far I learned about the velocity controller which controls not only the volume but the overall "strength" of the tone and I suppose there must be some kind of option to manipulate the sound of the tone in other ways as well.

inb4 Google

Submitted on Tue, 10/23/2012 - 06:14

1. Open your midi in a MIDI

Kiku

No Sympathy

Joined: Mar 21 2010

1. Open your midi in a MIDI editor of your choice*
2. Option A) View the MIDI in Event List mode, look for the note you want to modify. The event type should be something like Note or Note On. If the table has Value 1 and Value 2 as its columns, change the number in Value 2 to a number between 1 and 127, 1 being very quiet and 127 being very loud. If you're wondering what Value 1 affects, it's the pitch of the note in MIDI notation (0~127, 60=middle C). Some MIDI editors might have Parameter instead of Value 1, and Value for Value 2, it's the same thing with a different name.

Option B) View the MIDI in Piano Roll mode, you should see a visualization of the notes instead of a list. Find the note you want to modify, right click it and select Note Properties. You'll usually get a box that lets you change stuff like note position, note length, channel, pitch, and velocity. Obviously, we want to make the note louder so go ahead and mess with the velocity.

Option B is probably easier if you're doing this for the first time.

*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_MIDI_editors_and_sequencers

Submitted on Tue, 10/23/2012 - 11:53

That's a great explanation,

auriplane

Joined: Sep 06 2008

That's a great explanation, Kiku, but I'm afraid that's what he said he *doesn't* want to do.

MIDI has a "volume" control, which is CC#7. That's distinct from "velocity", which is how hard an individual note is hit. You want to change CC#7 over time.

Some MIDI-based stuff has its own special way of doing this. For example, in Garritan Personal Orchestra, you can do volume swells using the mod wheel on your keyboard (which is CC#1, so you can program it just like you can program CC#7).

In Logic Pro, you can pick the "Touch" setting above the volume fader, then slide the fader with the mouse (or a MIDI controller), and it'll record the volume movements you entered. I don't know which software you're using, but you can usually record it this way, or use a mouse and draw in lines.

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Auriplane!!

Submitted on Tue, 10/23/2012 - 13:26

Thanks to both of you, I

kenor

The Cardsharp

Location: Czech Republic

Joined: Jun 04 2009

Thanks to both of you, I think you pointed me to the right direction. If I understand correctly, I need some kind device to supply additional information about midi (CC == Continuous Controllers? excuse me for sounding like a total noob which I actually am, I have to learn more about this one day...)

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The simulacrum is never that which conceals the truth - it is the truth which conceals that there is none. The simulacrum is true.

Submitted on Tue, 10/23/2012 - 13:41

I can't answer that question.

auriplane

Joined: Sep 06 2008

I can't answer that question. I don't know what software you're using.

Generally you should be able to program CC messages, though. Usually, you can do it in some manner that's less obscure than "program CC messages", like "change the volume".

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Auriplane!!

Submitted on Tue, 10/23/2012 - 14:00

My bad, shouldn't post right

Kiku

No Sympathy

Joined: Mar 21 2010

My bad, shouldn't post right after waking up. :P

This might be me misunderstanding again, but are you sure about CC#7 being what OP is looking for? If he's trying to change the dynamics of a single note, wouldn't CC#11 be the appropriate controller event for GM? I was under the impression that CC#7 was the global track volume and CC#11 was used to adjust notes for stuff like volume swells. Well, for conventional GM of course.

@OP
You don't need any special devices to add CC messages to MIDI, though it may be easier to add some CC with one. Example: adding sustain with a foot pedal. Like auriplane said though, you can just do it on your computer. Most, if not all MIDI editing programs should let you add CC messages through the Event List. You just need to know what the controller number means, which may not be the same from program to program.

Submitted on Tue, 10/23/2012 - 20:02

Oh, yeah. I forgot about the

auriplane

Joined: Sep 06 2008

Oh, yeah. I forgot about the expression pedal. I don't use General MIDI very often!

Thanks for pointing that out!

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Auriplane!!

Submitted on Tue, 10/23/2012 - 20:15