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Topic: MIDIs not replaying correctly (Read 3254 times) previous topic - next topic

MIDIs not replaying correctly

I have a song I have composed consisting of the following:

(Patch List Type: General MIDI)
[Bass] Orchestral Harp
String Ensemble 1
String Ensemble 2
Acoustic Grand Piano (Right-Hand)
Acoustic Grand Piano (Left-Hand)
[Bass] Vibraphone
Trumpet
Trombone
[Treble] Orchestral Harp

The problem is this: When all parts are supposed to play together, some of the parts are not sounded (ex: when the treble orchestral harp is playing the main melody, the acoustic grand piano [treble] part, which is harmony, is mysteriously blocked out, and only slight tapping sounds are heard in place of the notes). I've checked the channels to make sure all is in place already and that did not help. How in the WORLD do I fix this? Is there something wrong with the number of staves I have? Is there some limit to the number of instruments I am able to use in NoteWorthy or WinAmp? (read below)

Please note that I have been using WinAmp 2.8 to play this song in MIDI format, and to hear all the parts in real-instrument (or what is supposted to be real instrument) sound, I use the DirectSound option under MIDI preferences. Also note that I, against my better judgment, am using a paltry Creative SoundBlaster 16 card that doesn't play as great as it should. Please help!

Re: MIDIs not replaying correctly

Reply #1 –
Have you ensured that you do not have two parts playing on the same midi channel?

Above all, ensure that you do not have any of the melodic parts playing on midi channel 10, which is usually reserved for drum/percussion sounds. If your treble piano part is trying to play on midi channel 10, that may explain the "tapping" noises.

Re: MIDIs not replaying correctly

Reply #2 –
I'm very new to this program, but I've had similar problems using cakewalk on a card similar the one you describe with two notes occurring at exactly the same time.  The classic problem was a cymbal slide getting cut off after a quarter beat or so due to other cymbals.  Also, I often lost long string notes if many other notes were played at about the same time.  My usual work around was to simplify chords or start long notes a fraction of a beat later, so something *else* would get 'lost'.

No idea why winamp plays it ok but NWC doesn't - just recall that as far as I can tell, NWC doesn't purport to *play* MIDIs, it can only *import* them.  I just had a glissando turn into 4 chord clusters :)  You might have to tweak things a bit...start with your piano playing solo, then combine it with other instruments one at a time and see what causes it to get chopped.  HTH.

Re: MIDIs not replaying correctly

Reply #3 –
The problem is with your card. There is a limit on how many tones a MIDI instrument will sound at any one moment. A cheap sound card is not likely to sound as many simultaneous tones as an external MIDI synthesizer.

So, if you are sounding chords on several of your instruments at the same time, your cheap card reaches its limit and either does not sound any additional tones or stops sounding the earliest ones.
 

Re: MIDIs not replaying correctly

Reply #4 –
As has been stated, the problem is your SB16. IIRC it has a maximum polyphony (the number of notes that can be sounded at the same time) of 16.

Are you using the pedal controller on your piano (or harp) staves? If so, that could be part of your problem. As long as the pedal controller is invoked, all new notes add to the polyphony and aren't removed until the "pedal release" command. With the pedal down, it doesn't take long to reach your 16 note polyphony limit.