MIDI tools

[Kurt Kaufman]

On Aug 13, 2004, at 4:07 PM, K Norris wrote:

> What about MIDI tools, specifically, can we play notes live through an
> onscreen keyboard with no latency.
>
> To get an idea of what I mean, for Mac folks who are on the SuperCard 
> list
> (Yahoo! groups), go to the files area Miscellaneous folder and D/L my 
> latest
> post there named 'Instrument2', and checkout how the keyboard works.
>
> By permission of the owner (Jon Adams), it uses Nigel Redmond's 
> QuickNotes
> external. Would it work with Rev?  How could it be implemented
> cross-platform (the thing I'm interested in for these experiments)? I
> wouldn't have a clue how to transform it into a Windows-useable DLL.
>

As  you indicate, the cross-platform issue is the challenge.  For the 
stack MIDI Builder, I use an invisible QT player set to a temporary 
MIDI file for each piano key clicked. This enables cross-platform 
functionality but does involve a latency due to the overhead of 
initializing a MIDI file for each heard note. As it stands, each 
separate note's MIDI file is created on-the-fly.  This enables the 
current MIDI track's selected MIDI instrument to be heard exactly as it 
will be recorded to the MIDI file.  This system would of course be 
inappropriate for real-time data entry; it works only in step-entry 
mode.  I personally am not familiar with the hooks to the 
"MIDI-playing" parts of the OS, Mac or Windows. In the case of MIDI 
Builder, QT handles it for me.
In reference to your question above, I'm guessing that you would have 
to have an external that would interact with QT for Windows, or 
alternately one that might work through the underlying mechanism used 
by the Windows Media Player to play MIDI files.

-Kurt
=====================

We'll be the country's toast
And rule from coast to coast,
Without legality but that's
just a technicality!

Ira Gershwin,
"Let 'em Eat Cake", 1933