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geekhack Community => Other Geeky Stuff => Topic started by: pnamajck on Sat, 20 December 2008, 10:22:04

Title: midi files . . .
Post by: pnamajck on Sat, 20 December 2008, 10:22:04

already  checked  the  forum  for  similar  posting  as  this . . . so  am  opening  new  thread.

having  issue  with  one  specific  *.mid  file . . . the  playback  is  not  as  loud  as  the  other  *.mid  files.  so  i  wish  to  edit  the  internal  structure  of  this  specific  *.mid  file.

windows  comes  with  utility  called  "sound  recorder" . . . the  utility  effectively  can  increase  volume  of  *.wav  files . . . it  offers  nothing  to  edit  *.mid  files.

when  editing  the  file  using  second-party  software  called  "anvil  studio" . . . the  interface  has  separate  "pan"  and  "volume"  controls  for  each  track.  i  opened  the  file . . . the  volume  controls  were  already  at  90%  capacity.  increasing  to  100%  did  not  substantially  change  the  end  result.

tried  installing  another  program  called  "midi fixer" . . . the  tiny  proggie  costs  $10  before  editing  file . . . so  i  uninstalled  it.

are  there  other  known  programs (freeware) on  the  market  which  can  further  increase  the  volume  of  the  *.mid  file . . . or  is  the  file  now  beyond  further  editing  capabilities ?

thanks  in  advance  to  anyone's  evaluation / intervention.

Title: midi files . . .
Post by: wellington1869 on Sat, 20 December 2008, 12:57:45

I dont know about mid files and editing of mid files, but wouldnt it be possible to record it out to a separate digital recorder (like a digital voice recorder or music recorder) and then replay it and re-capture it at the volume level you want?

Title: midi files . . .
Post by: bhtooefr on Sat, 20 December 2008, 13:27:58

Problem with that is you end up with a much larger file. MIDI files don't contain any waveforms, they simply contain commands to tell the MIDI synthesizer what instruments to play and how.

Title: midi files . . .
Post by: lal on Sat, 20 December 2008, 14:14:26

I don't know Anvil Studio but there is a separate volume level for each individual note played in a midi file, not just the overall volume of the track. This is usually called velocity.  So you'd have to raise the velocity of every note on every track.  Don't know if Anvil Studio will let you do this comfortably but professional sequencers like Cubase or Logic can definitely do it. There are a few powerful free sequencers for linux that could do the job.

If all else fails you can send me the file and I'd try it :)

Title: midi files (update) . . .
Post by: pnamajck on Sun, 21 December 2008, 20:49:13

ok,  guys . . . first  of  all,  thanks  for  all  the  knowledge  and  insight.  lal . . . appreciate  your  generous  offer.

the  *.mid  file  comes  from  an  author  by  the  name  of  "Bernd Krueger".  supposedly  he  creates  *.mid  files  from  old  analog  recordings . . . using  software  similar  to  what  lal  siggested (cubase).

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Berndkru

i  listened  to  a  number  of  his  *.mid  representations . . . starting  from  his  first  attempts (1999) to  his  most  recent  attempts (2008).  all  of  'em  are  basically  the  same (rather poor quality) . . . and  having  appx  90%  tonal  volume  inside  the  actual  midi  file  structure.  upon  opening  the  file  in  a  midi-editor,  one  notices  only  two  tracks . . . piano  left / piano  right.  the  specific  file  i  originally  had  interest  in :

http://www.piano-midi.de/midis/debussy/deb_clai.mid

basically . . . i  have  thrown  away  the  idea  of  editing  his  *.mid  file(s) . . . in  favor  of  creating  my  own  from  cubase  or  similar.  in  this  way . . . i  can  convert  all  my  instrumental  cd's  to  *.mid  format.  i  have  scouted  around  a  bit  for  necessary  software (freeware) . . . and  if  you  folks  want  a  link  to  a  few  of  the  software  selections  that  i  chose  from . . .

http://www.sonicspot.com/sequencers.html

again . . . thanks  for  all  the  input / knowledge / offer.  advance  christmas  greetings  'n  may  the  new  year  bring  lotsa'  promise.

p.s.  if  you  guys  are  interested  in  reading  some  technical  notes  from  the  author  Bernd Krueger :

http://www.sharpmz.org/bkkemu.htm

Title: midi files . . .
Post by: lal on Mon, 22 December 2008, 05:02:27

Well, converting recordings (e.g. audio CDs) to MIDI format automatically is a *very* complicated task. There is one application which is regarded as impressively good in separating the individual notes in chords. I think it's called "Melodyne" and even this app doesn't achieve perfect results everytime, depending on source material.

What do you need the MIDI files for?

Title: midi files . . .
Post by: iMav on Mon, 22 December 2008, 07:29:27

pnamajck, welcome to geekhack.

I find it strange that you registered here to ask a question about midi files.  Our membership is certainly willing to help, and you did post in the appropriate forum.  Just seems odd to me that you would come to a keyboard enthusiast site for such help.  :)

Title: midi files . . .
Post by: pnamajck on Tue, 19 May 2009, 16:55:03

Quote from: iMav;72487

pnamajck, welcome to geekhack. I find it strange that you registered here to ask a question about midi files.  Our membership is certainly willing to help, and you did post in the appropriate forum.  Just seems odd to me that you would come to a keyboard enthusiast site for such help.

imav . . . no  really  definitive  answer  in  regard  to  your  query.  i'd  say  "geek"  and  "hack"  and  "keys/fingers"  all  correlate  into  one  straight  trajectory.

guess  next  time  i  feel  ants  crawlin'  up  my  legs  i  might  choose somethin'  bit  closer  to  home . . . such  as  "sound  dynamics  forum"  or  similar.

regards  to  all.  :smile: