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The CDPD Public Domain Collection for CDTV 4
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CDPD_IV.bin
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amfm
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amfm9
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text
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volume.txt.pp
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volume.txt
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1994-06-20
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5KB
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84 lines
VOLUME CONTROLLING (FADING ETC.) WITH MUSIC-X.
Several Music-X users have written to AM/FM, asking how to control the volume
of MIDI instruments from within a Music-X performance. Typical questions are:
"How did you fade in and out those instruments on your CD "Hobbits &
Spaceships", and "How do you make an effect like that of 'A0F' in Protracker"?
I know a lot of MIDI users are having problems with this, feeling that they
don't have as close control over the instruments as they have in Protracker or
MED. The clue is: Control Change messages.
To make a string-chord slowly fade in, you DON'T edit the sound on your
synthesizer so that the sound has a very long attack time! Instead, you use
control change messages to fade the volume up or down, slowly or quickly.
There are several different control change messages you can use. The
different "controllers" as they are called, can be added as events in a
Music-X sequence. The different controllers have different effects on the
MIDI channel that they are assigned to, but the controller that is probably
most used is the Volume- controller, i.e. Controller number 7. Other useful
controllers are Controller number 1, which is the expression controller,
controller number 2 which is the breath controller (sometimes called 2nd
expression controller - only a few synths support this controller), and
controller number 10 which is the pan (left/right) controller. There are more
controllers as well - I advise you to look up the MIDI implementation chart
for your synthesizer (Usually near the back of the manual).
Anyway, today we'll concentrate on the Volume-controller, i.e. Controller
number 7. From the Music-X sequencer screen, select an empty sequence, and
press EDIT, to enter the manual edit mode (Bar view). Then click on "Add" and
from the Add-menu, click on "Control Change". Now click somewhere within the
first 2 or 3 bars, and a little "pole" with a little circle on the top will be
added to your sequence. This is a control change message. Now, at the bottom
right hand side, select the correct controller number, i.e. number 7 (default
is 0), and then select the correct value of the controller. (Values are
0-128). If you set the value to 0, then the volume on this MIDI channel will
be set to 0 when the control change message is "played". Now just add some
new control change messages scattered around your sequence. Make sure all
control change messages you add are controller #7, with different values.
(The height of the "pole" is the value of the controller). Make sure not to
mix together the expressions "Controller number" and "Control Change value".
Controller number 7 is the controller that affects the volume. And the value
of controller #7 is the value that the volume will be set to.
Now add some notes on the same MIDI channel that you've added all your
controllers, and play it. You will hear that the volume goes up and down
according to the control changes that you've added. When this is working ok
for you, I suppose that you can figure out the rest for yourself - you
understand now that if you want to fade in an instrument, you just place
control change #7, value 0 at the beginning of the note, and then place new
control change messages, with higher and higher value, as the note goes on.
Try this out too.
If you have Music-X version 1.1, there is also a function called "Sculpt" (On
the right-hand side menu inside the bar-editor). This function is very nice
to create fades etc. with control changes, because it lets you "draw" your
control change messages (you must first add them, then you can sculpt them).
Enclosed in the directory "MIDIFiles" on this disk, you will find some example
performances of what I have explained above. These Music-X performances are
titled "Example1.MX", "Example2.MX" and "Example3.MX".
I hope I've helped some of you in obtaining those nice fades and
volume-effects!
My advice to you all is to read the MIDI implementation charts for your
instruments carefully and figure out all the fun stuff you can do with Control
Change messages!
Good luck, and keep on composing. In the next issue of AM/FM, maybe we will
have a composing competition, where you will be instructed to send a cassette
tape with your best MIDI music. The prizes will be FABULOUS - just wait and
see!
Bjørn A. Lynne
[Ed]
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AM/FM
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