Midi Miracle

Some enterprising sole did an amazing thing!! This wizard invented MIDI. Musical Instrument Digital Interface or, perhaps, Must I Do It. Using this bit of evolution without regard would allow one to be a band of one!! With regard, it can be an amazing tool for adding effects and lights and a nice mix to the music you and your band mates have created. All from a laptop.

Last week, we were working on Time from Dark Side. The intro has the long bit of tic tocs, roto toms, bass, saturated guitar and synthesizer. The tic toc carries the rythm but is impossible to sustain for much time.

After practice I pulled out an old keyboard that had been bought for the kids (Yamaha PRS-275) that hadn't been touched in years to see if we could use it. It had funny connectors on the back that looked like swollen S-video connectors. Played around with the keyboard and found a relatively nice tic toc sound.

Try playing more than 6 measures of 16th tic tocs in succession. With a consistent beat. Impossible unless you drum for the Rolling Stones. I don't. So... I found the owners manual (online) and lo and behold, there's a description of the MIDI and all of the standards. We are saved!!!

Except... The manual lets you know what the keyboard can do. Not entirely how to do it. Back to the wonderful world of web.

BING is fun but only as smart as the user. Mine is rather, well, mostly confused but occasionally brilliant.

To make a long and exasperating search short, I found that you need a Midi sequencer and an interface cable to get your toys working. Thanks Tweakheadz for MIDI 101! A search for sequencer reviews landed a demo download of FL Studio 10 and recommendations for a usb to MIDI interface cable.

There is an FL Studio promo on YouTube. Simply watching it opened an entirely new world. Pretty much any piece of equipment can be controlled through MIDI. Keyboards, Mixers and light shows being the parts that have me running around like a 6 year old at Christmas. I CAN'T FREAKING WAIT!!!

Downloaded the FL demo and clank... It's not real obvious how to set the bugger up. Of course, FL comes with help but, phhht. This clock. That clock. This MIDI setting, and that. It took a considerable amount of discipline to get out of the Cristmas mode and get back to the engineer mode. Running through the port, clock and sync settings managed nothing but sore fingers. The library search on FL landed the big one. MIDI OUT!!! A bit of tweaking and a few resets later and, the ancient Yamaha began to sing at my command from 10 feet away (2 meters for my Russian friends).

It's always nice when this stuff works. The purchase of the full FL Studio 10 will occur this week. I now have visions of controlling the mixer, effects and lights through MIDI. I have promised the keyboard player (my most lovely wife : )) that she will never be replaced by MIDI. I Promise!!