do i need a keyboard to make midi files

how i can creat midi files
and is it easy
and what do i need

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› See More: do i need a keyboard to make midi files

http://www.anvilstudio.com/
No keyboard necessary, but dramatically speeds up the process.

You can use your voice thru the mic or anyother instrument to record a MIDI file!
Happy RECORDING!

You can record a midi using what's called a vitual keyboard, but trust me after using a virtual keyboard for a few days you'll run screaming to the nearest store to by a keyboard.
Besides you can get a keyboard for next to nothing these days...just make sure it says that it's GM (general midi). GM2 (general midi 2) but that's a subject for another thread.


Have fun

You can use the step editor or piano roll to 'programme' in most aplications but it takes time. One reply you received said use a microphone. Cant realy see how this would work as it will give you an audio signal and not a midi signal and the programmes that convert real audio to midi leave alot to be desired

You can use any sort of controller to make midi files, even turn turn your computer keyboard into one! I use a wind synth controller for some of my file as I play sax better than keys.

The other option is to edit bits of other files into yours, suchas drum loops, basslines etc.

A microphone is not a midi controller

there is such thing as a MIDI saxophone? How much was that for?

Originally posted by JamieLPD
You can use your voice thru the mic or anyother instrument to record a MIDI file!
Happy RECORDING!

That is NOT how MIDI files are recorded.

Originally posted by al_rulz
there is such thing as a MIDI saxophone? How much was that for?

I doubt if he was referring to a saxophone, more likely the Akai EWI - http://www.akaipro.com/us/ewi.html - which (I believe) has the same fingering. The controller runs around the $350 mark, street price, not sure about the modules designed for it, but you don't have to use those.

There are alternatives to a keyboard for getting notes into a midi sequencer - this is one of them. Pitch to midi guitar is another (although not one I'd recommend) - the Ztar is probably the best for a guitar player. I've seen midi'd pianos and vibraphones - it's amazing what's about, if you look hard enough for it.

Hi

You need to understand that midi works by sending an event (i.e. the note) to a particular voice (e.g piano) for a given velocity (loudness) and duration. After that you can add other effects, like reverb, pitch bend etc which are also events. So this is completely different to changing recordings of actual sounds. Don't worry about midi guitars/saxaphones at this stage. The keyboard is the obvious, and cheapest way to record midi, because midi interfaces are built in to them. (You can get hardware that listens to the sound coming out of say a guitar, and converts it to a midi event...badly as far I'm aware). Most keyboards have volicity sensitivity and pitch wobblers, to try to capture the feeling of a performance. Remember MIDI is about emulating sound and turning it into computer code that can be easily edited. Its not perfect.

You record songs as a series of events. Events for the same instrument go on the same track (1-16). Of this, track 10 is usually for the drums. So note F3 might be a cymbal. "3" here refers to the octave of the keyboard.

After that you can change the tempo, or voices (instruments) for tracks using whatever computer hardware or software you are using to play your songs.

Midi information is quite small, after all, its only a string of events, so pretty much any computer can handle it. I use an old laptop. But I'm using a separate external device, a little sequencer (that plays and edits these midi events) to process this information. Morever, the better your gear the better the voices are.

Routes to good sounds:

1. Get a keyboard with good quality voices (it "synthesises" the voices - turns events into sounds.)

2. Get a midi-orientated soundcard, to play the sounds from your pc. They have good sounds built in to them.

3. Get a seperate sequencer box, that has sounds built in.

3. Download a "soft synth", which is software that produces good sounds relying on the PC processor to do it.

Another thing to bear in mind is that desktop PC's don't have a MIDI connection as standard. So you can get hold of a USB midi interface to connect your keyboard straight into your PC. Some keyboards will have USB ports on them, or floppy drives, so you can load songs you have got off the net, say.

It really depends on your set-up. I'm using a Yamaha QY100, plugged into an old Yamaha keyboard. When I hit the notes on the keyboard, it sends the events to the box, and plays the good quality sounds, not the crap you get an old keyboards! I use the box to record, then transfer the midi data to my pc on the serial port. Because I'm sending a file I've already recorded, it doesn't matter if this takes a while...I'm not recording midi events with the PC software. I use software (Powertrax) to work on the whole of the song, i.e. copy and paste bits so it goes verse-chorus-verse-ending...there's a lot of repitition of different bits. I also do the drums on the PC because the box cant do it; well I cant anyway. Then I send the whole lot back, and save it to the box. I plug in my guitar and start jamming.

I would say, think budget first. As a newbie, a midi controller keyboard and a cheap midi compatible soundcard will let you record to your PC. Look at soundonsoun You need some software too. Thinking about live performances? Maybe some external hardware would be a good investment. Speakers and headphones alone can be hundreds of bucks! This is a good place to look for products as you can access all the archives without having to pay. http://www.soundonsound.com/

(Sorry for any errors, sure peeps will point them out!)

Good luck! Ben

To answer your question coolman, you need lots of time, some knowledge of playing the keyboard, and a couple of hundred dollars. Its easy when you know how (I would imagine!)

p.s. i just noticed this is in the cell-phones forum. If you only want ringtones I suggest you make some posts, download the midis and send them to your phone (dont ask me how). It really isn't worth the hasstle unless you are, or want to be, a musician

i have a recomendation

Use a program called Froot Loops

It's a midi program, and last time i checked it was free

I think that's Fruity Loops. You can do sample loops on it, a bit like eDJay and stuff. Dont know if its free now; my mate registered an original release years ago and he still gets free updates. But I guess you could make dance orientated midis on it without a keyboard.

Haha...U ppl dont use cakewalk??