QuickTips - How to Create Midi Library

How to Create a MIDI Library

MIDI files and MIDI data are great ways of studying music. Not only can we listen to individual parts, (piano, bass, drums, etc.) we can actually SEE the notes A, B, C, F#. A very important skill with MIDI is to learn how to route the midi controller data to some type of virtual instrument, synthesizer, or sampler to actually make the sounds. Another value of creating a MIDI library is for testing your equipment. We use MIDI to test our Audio Interfaces and speakers. We also use MIDI to test the signal path of our DAW and virtual instruments. Here is one way we can build a library of MIDI projects and MIDI songs.

• Find a Midi File

You can start with pretty much any song that’s ever been written, type it in to a search engine as “name of song MIDI file”. For example, “Somewhere over the rainbow MIDI”. You will find hundreds, if not thousands, MIDI files of the song you are looking for. You can also search for full MIDI arrangements in any style. For example, search the keywords “MIDI jazz arrangement”. You can search for artists or genres - Lady Gaga MIDI and find all the songs Lady Gaga has written and performed as MIDI files for free. Note: If you are new to MIDI, consider starting with a very simple MIDI file. For example, solo piano. If you start with a complex MIDI file with many tracks of different instruments, it can be confusing and overwhelming.

• Download the file or a collection of files.

Make a folder called “MIDI-Files-RAW”. (Note: We use the word RAW to indicate that these MIDI files have not been edited; they are in their original RAW form as we found them.) Don’t be overwhelmed with the vast number of MIDI files. MIDI is an international standard invented back in 1984 and there are so many MIDI files available on the internet. Whenever possible, find an audio recording of the MIDI song. This could be something that you ripped from a CD, or a file that you found and downloaded form the internet, or a file that you have captured from a music streaming service.

• Import the MIDI file in to your DAW.

Every DAW has it’s own way of importing MIDI data. So all you need to do is search “How to import MIDI data in [your DAW]” or look in the manual of your DAW. Be aware of the option to import the tempo of the song - usually some sort of box to check. We suggest you include the tempo of a song when importing.

• Confirm MIDI data is in your DAW by viewing the MIDI notes in your editor. This should look like a piano roll.
• Assign or route the MIDI notes to a sound generator.

This is one of the most confusing aspects of MIDI to students.

• Choose a sound source.

This can be a virtual instrument built in to your DAW or an external synthesizer module. It could be a modular synthesizer, it could even be an acoustic grand piano with a MIDI input, or a drum machine. Anything that makes sound that can be controlled by using MIDI data. We suggest you start by using a virtual instrument in your DAW. For starters we suggest you begin with a virtual piano sound. It could be an acoustic or electric piano. This gives us a full range of 88 notes that will allow us to listen to any of the notes in the MIDI file.

• Play the MIDI data and listen to your sound source.

You should hear your chosen piano playing back.

• Practice and explore some basic navigational skills in your DAW.

For example, change the track height of your MIDI data making in large, small, or tall. Know how to zoom in or out so you can see each individual MIDI note. Learn the Keyboard shortcut to zoom out to view the entire song, fit to screen. For example, Pro Tools the keyboard shortcut it OPT+A (Mac) or ALT+A (Win).

Hopefully the MIDI file you chose sounds good to you! If you like it, consider saving this MIDI project in a MIDI library. In your DAW-Projects subfolder, put the the MIDI project in another MIDI library subfolder. This MIDI project will be a soundcheck for software, hardware, and virtual instruments on various sound systems. Note: If you have an audio recording version of the song, import that to the DAW project. You can then compare the MIDI and MIDI virtual instruments to the audio recording.

• Save and close the MIDI project in your DAW. Then practice going back to the DAW file, open it, and do a soundcheck to make sure it is perfectly functional.

• Consider creating a library of MIDI projects designed to play back a variety of sounds, genres, and production arrangements.

(Bruce and the Music Tech team can provide MIDI files to work with)

Team Note: We want to create an initial library of RAW MIDI files for initial practice. Team Note: Acoustic guitar, basic drum rhythm, basic percussion, basic string quartet. Team Note: Have some examples of mastered audio recording alongside the MIDI so that the students can compare MIDI with audio.