Yamaha YPT-220 keyboard & Noteworthy Composer

2010-01-28 05:37 am

As noted in the subject, I have a Yamaha YPT-220 keyboard (which has MIDI in and MIDI out ports), and I use Noteworthy Composer 2.0.

I know how to save my compositions as MIDI files. What I am trying to figure out how to do is to play back those MIDI files on my Yamaha keyboard.

I purchased a MIDI > USB adapter (just got it today), that allows me to plug the cables from the MIDI In and Out ports on the keyboard into a single USB port on my laptop. My goal is to create something with Noteworthy that I can accompany on the keyboard with my hands. Like, I want to be able to play it with my hands, and have my laptop accompany me with MIDI songs I have created with Noteworthy. I can imagine making some really amazing music, if what I want to do is even possible. For now, at least, I don't care about recording what I play on the keyboard to my laptop, I just want my laptop to accompany me.

As you may have guessed, it's not working...

After installing the adapter for the first time (I am using an HP laptop running Windows 7, 2.0 Ghz processor, 3 GB ram), I noticed something new in Noteworthy. Under staff properties, there is a new playback device called USB Midi. So I assumed this is what I want to play back on. When I went to play the MIDI file on Noteworthy, I never heard anything from the laptop or on the keyboard.

On my adapter, when I am trying to play the MIDI file, the MIDI Out indicator light blinks on and off for the duration of the song. I thought the MIDI In light would blink, since I am hoping it's receiving input. The MIDI cables are labeled IN and OUT, and I made sure they were plugged into the respective ports. Just on a whim, I reversed them to see what would happen. The lights all blinked a lot more intensely, the song would play back, but there was a lot of other noise as well. It wasn't reverb I don't think, because it was continuous, and the noise it made I would not want to accompany!

I'm just wondering if I am missing anything in the setup of Noteworthy or the keyboard. The instruction manual for the keyboard is not very detailed at all. I don't know a whole lot about MIDI. It does mention different channels. I have it on channel 1. I'm not sure if that's what it needs to be on to play it. I'm wondering about the channel, because our church organ (Rodgers) has a computer (PR-300) that plays songs from floppy disks. The PR-300 does exactly what I am trying to do with my laptop. On that organ, if I want to play a MIDI file on the PR-300, I have to specify channel 12 to have it play on the great manual, channel 13 to have it play on the swell manual, and channel 14 for the pedal part. If I don't tell it a channel, it just plays the same default sounds that Noteworthy plays on my laptop. This is actually what gave me the idea to use my laptop to accompany me this way. And now thinking about the channel being essential in the MIDI files for the organ at church, I am wondering what channel I need to set the MIDI files to in Noteworthy to play on my Yamaha.

I know this is a lot of information, and I am trying to be as thorough as I can, because I want to detail everything I can think of, because I would really love to be able to do what I have going in my imagination, anyways!

Any help would be appreciated!

Gerald

Re: Yamaha YPT-220 keyboard & Noteworthy Composer

Reply #1 – 2010-01-29 07:12 am

G'day Gerald,
I don't have all the answers you want, but with MIDI connections, the MIDI out from the USB adapter should be connected tot he MIDI in of the keyboard, and ipso facto the MIDI in of the USB adapter should connect to the MIDI out of the keyboard.

I have no quick answer for the noise problem you are having.

Re: Yamaha YPT-220 keyboard & Noteworthy Composer

Reply #2 – 2010-01-29 08:03 am

Noise? On MIDI?
That's almost impossible.

What do you mean by "noise"?
I suppose you mean odd/stray notes and/or percussions.

Maybe your problem is some kind of "midi through" enabled that causes a kind of digital "Larsen" effect.
This can explain why "The lights all blinked a lot more intensely"

Or perhaps the keyboard has "OMNI ON" enabled so it plays all the channels data in one.

OTH

Re: Yamaha YPT-220 keyboard & Noteworthy Composer

Reply #3 – 2010-01-30 05:33 am

A coupleof things; NWC uses channel 10 for percussion. Yamaha uses for some reason channel 9. This can cause a problem where a drum track is involved.
It sounds as if your keyboard must be kind of old. Anything less than ten or 12 years old would use either floppy, CD, Smart Media Card or USB port for recording midi performance or for playback of imported midi written on NWC or anything else. If you have any of the above mentioned storage devices built into the machine you can transfer your midi from your computer to your keyboard without the use of cables, the keyboard will play it and you will be able to play along and it will likely sound much better than your laptop although it would be nice to have the option to do it both ways so good luck with getting the cable thing to work. I have never tried to do that myself.

Re: Yamaha YPT-220 keyboard & Noteworthy Composer

Reply #4 – 2010-01-30 09:44 pm

There is a possibility that the USB MIDI adapter may be to blame. M-Audio (for example) has had some compatibility problems with their lower end adapters such as the Uno. You didn't mention what adapter you were using. My comment is mainly to suggest that if you continue to have mysterious problems, you might try an adapter by a different manufacturer.