Re: Using MIDI input
Reply #1 –
G'day Jenny,
welcome!
Recording MIDI - been doin' a bit of this lately with one of the guy's from my church - hardly any corrections - he's got great rhythm!
First, see http://www.noteworthysoftware.com/composer/faq/53.htm and https://forum.noteworthycomposer.com/?topic=1988.0
I know they seem a bit sparse so...
Couple of things you NEED to make sure of:
- Your MIDI keyboard needs to be correctly connected to your MIDI interface
- Correct settings in your |Tools|Options|Record (tab)| - this especially includes selecting the correct MIDI Input device which will be the name of the MIDI interface, NOT the name of your MIDI keyboard.
- In your |Tools|Options|MIDI (tab) select a low latency output device - IE a HARDWARE synth, not a software one! (This helps with keeping up with the click track)
- In your |Tools|Options|Import (Tab) you may need to experiment a bit - I've found that 16th note and 8th rest resolution works fairly well. Otherwise the defaults are a good starting point
- USE A CLICK TRACK - without it you basically can't do squat. Take the time to get the tempo of the click track right and it will make life MUCH easier. This is the main reason you need a low latency synth - with high latency synths you end up with your input being late.
- Have FUN
A click track is basically just a rhythm source. NWC's advice is to use a rhythm template when creating a new song. This is a good idea. Personally, I prefer to just lay down a straight click - a metronome if you prefer - say a "rim shot" in the percussion channel. Make sure the click track is long enough for the song - or at least the part you're recording.
I usually us a 1 . 2 . 1 2 3 4 (2 bar) count in followed by a 1 2 3 4 count bar between local repeats with the repeat number set high enough to capture what I'm recording and to spare...
See attached example.