Handbook of MIDI Player Piano Tools For Yamaha Disklavier, PianoDisc and QRS Pianomation Pianos Carol R. Beigel Registered Piano Technician The companion website to this handbook is: www.carolrpt.com All rights reserved.
Table of Contents Page Introduction 3 Frequently Asked Questions 4 Managing Disks FloppyDisks Where to Buy Double Density (DD) Floppy Disks Formatting Floppy Disks Making Back-Up Copies of Floppy Disks Disk Capacity Memory Disks Chart: Disk and File Formats 9 9 9 10 11 11 11 12 Music Files How Digital Audio Files Differ From MIDI Files MIDI File Formats Setting Up Your MIDI Player to Play MIDI Files Music Files on the Internet Editing MIDI files Chart: MIDI Voice Assignments Printing Sheet Music from
Introduction It could be argued that the old bellows-driven player piano that used an air motor to run punched paper piano rolls over an 80 hole tracker bar in the 19th century was the world’s second computer – the loom using cards to weave patterns being the first. MIDI Players are the modern version of the old-style player pianos that used paper player rolls. Today’s MIDI Players use digital "rolls" called MIDI files that can be accessed from floppy disks or playlists located on a computer.
Frequently Asked Questions Frequently Asked Questions About Disks How do I know what disks and files will work on my piano's floppy disk drive? How may songs can I put on a floppy disk? Can I just burn a bunch of MIDI files to a CD and play them? About Music Files Are there different kinds of music files? What is MIDI? What is XG? Can I change the "voices" coming through the speakers? What kind of software do I need to edit these MIDI files? Is is possible to convert audio files to MIDI files? Is it possi
Frequently Asked Questions About Disks How do I know what kinds of disks and files will work on my piano's floppy disk drive? Refer to the Chart: Disk and File Formats . How many songs can I put on a floppy disk? About 99 standard MIDI files or 60 songs in Yamaha ESEQ format. If my system has a CD player, can I just burn a bunch of MIDI files to a CD and play them? You can burn MIDI files to folders on a CD; jazz, hymns, favorites, etc., but not individual MIDI files.
Frequently Asked Questions What kind of software do I need to edit these MIDI files? You would use sequencer software or a utility program like gnmidi. Is it possible to convert audio files to MIDI files? The dream of being able to convert the digital audio music played on stereos to MIDI files that would play your Midi Player Piano is still that – a dream! Transcription software attempts to do this.
Frequently Asked Questions Why won’t the keys on my piano play a file I downloaded from the Internet? The piano keys play data found on Channel 1 in MIDI files, and maybe none of the music on the file is assigned to Channel 1. If music is coming thru the speakers, a simple program change will fix this. Use Sequencer software to edit the file, or when using the gnmidi software, select "prepare sound program for PianoDisc" from the Modify menu even if you have a QRS or Disklavier system.
Frequently Asked Questions About Music Software Is there software to help me learn to play the piano? Yamaha offers special music disks for their Smart Key feature. Home Concert and Voyetra’s Teach Me Piano have demo versions. What kind of software do I need to print sheet music? Programs dedicated to this task are referred to as Notation Software. Most Sequencer software also offers this option. Sheet music is printed from MIDI files. See Music Software. I play the flute (or guitar, violin, etc.).
Managing Disks Managing Disks Floppy Disks Both Yamaha Disklaviers and PianoDisc have control boxes equipped with floppy disk drives (an option on Pianomation and Concert Master systems). Some models use only 2DD (720 Kb) diskettes which only have one square hole in the lower left corner of the diskette. These disks are very hard to find now as the most common disks now to be found, 2HD (1.44 MG). Both disks look the same, but 2HD diskettes have 2 square holes - one in each lower corner of the diskette.
Managing Disks Formatting Floppy Disks PianoSoft floppy disks from Yamaha, and floppy disks formatted in the Disklavier cannot be seen by your computer because nothing is written on boot sector of the disk. However, you can format disks on your computer that can be read by the Disklavier. Starting with the MarkIIXG models, any IBM formatted 1.44 MB diskette will do.
Managing Disks Making Back-up Copies of PianoSoft floppy disks You can make back-up copies of your PianoSoft floppy disks. Use the copies in your Disklavier and put the originals away for safe-keeping. You may also want to copy some songs on the PianoSoft floppies to a hard drive on a computer. Because your computer will not detect the presence of a PianoSoft floppy disk (because nothing is written on the boot sector) you will need to use special software.
Managing Disks Disk and File Formats for Midi Player Pianos Yamaha Disklaviers will have the controller model numbers on the control box Controller DKV Model Floppy Disk Recording Playback Built-in MX100A/B 2DD E-Seq E-Seq DKW10 (Wagon) DGP 2DD E-Seq E-Seq DKC5R MX80 2DD E-Seq E-Seq Built-in MX100II MPX100II 2DD E-Seq E-Seq, SMF/0 DKC100R DGPII 2DD E-Seq E-Seq, SMF/0 DKC100XG DGH1BXG (Playback Only) 2DD, 2HD No E-Seq, SMF/0, 1 DKC500RXG MX100IIXG MX1 DGPIIXG 2DD, 2HD E-
Music Files Music Files The two different kinds of music files used in MIDI Players are digital audio files and MIDI files. The digital audio files are found on the CDs with singing and orchestra accompaniments. The MIDI files contain the data that make the keys on the piano play and control the sounds on the tone generators.
Music Files MIDI File Formats Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) is a communications standard that allows musical instruments and related devices from any manufacturer to communicate with one another via a simple cable. At first, the different producers of MIDI data used their own proprietary formats eventually creating a need for a standard. The General MIDI (GM) standard came out in the mid 1980s and was further improved upon in 1994 by Yamaha's XG standard.
Music Files Setting up your MIDI Player to play MIDI files It is important to check your Owner's Manuals, usually the Advanced Manual under the chapter dealing with Import Files, to make sure your piano is set up to play whatever MIDI data is located on Channel 1 and 2. These settings are usually the Default settings anyway, but you can check them by pressing Function on the Control Box, choose MIDI Setup, then Piano Part.
Music Files Music Files on the Internet There are countless music files on the Internet, but only those in a MIDI format can play the keys on your Midi Player piano. Other types of music files on the internet are audio files like WAV, MP3, Real Player files, etc. These will NOT play the keys on your Midi Piano, but the Digital Audio files (.wav) may play through the speakers on your system.
Music Files Editing MIDI files MIDI files can be edited to play on a MIDI Player piano. You can change the pitch and volume, or remove wrong or duplicate notes; even change which track the piano will play. If the original MIDI file was created with cello and tango accordion voices, all that is necessary for the piano keys to play your piano is to assign those tracks to Channel 1. MIDI files are edited using Sequencer software. A sequencer can be thought of as a word processor for music.
Music Files Some MIDI Voice Program Assignments Voice Name Group 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Acoustic Grand Piano Brite Acoustic Piano Electric Grand Piano Honky Tonk Piano Electric Piano (Rhodes) Chorused Piano Harpsichord Clavinet Ensemble 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 String Ensemble 1 String Ensemble 2 Synth Strings 1 Synth Strings 2 Choir Aahs Voice Oohs Synth Voice Orchestral Hit Chromatic Percussion 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Celesta Glockenspiel Music Box Vibraphone Marimba Xylophone Tubular Bells Dulcimer Bras
Music Files Printing Sheet Music from MIDI files Each generation of software designed for this purpose gets a little better, but this is still a very labor-intensive task. Expensive Scoring software does this best like Finale or Sibelius, but most Sequencers have notation windows built into them. If you look at a MIDI file in a notation window you can see the scoring, but you would not necessarily be able to hand this to a pianist to play without some editing.
Music Files around to line up properly on the rigid grid AND DP creates a tempo map that preserves the tempo nuances of the original performance. When using this feature, I have to drag every beat marker to the correct note. I could do this another way in DP. The other way to do it is similar to the way that some of the Cakewalk sequencers do this (using a Cakewalk feature called "Fit Improvisation"). What you do is create a new track and set it to record.
Music Files Where to Find MIDI Files on the Internet Piano Roll Scans from Terry Smythe http://members.shaw.ca/smythe/rebirth.htm Spencer's E-Rolls www.spencerserolls.com Sue Keller's jazz and ragtime www.rtpress.com Warren Trachtman's collection www.trachtman.org/ragtime Perfessor Bill Edwards archive at: http://www.perfessorbill.com/ John Roache Ragtime piano http://www.johnroachemusic.com John Farrell stride piano http://homepages.tesco.net/~stridepiano/midifiles.
Connecting a MIDI Piano to a Computer Connecting a MIDI Piano to a Computer Why Connect a MIDI Piano to a Computer? There are several reasons you might want to connect your MIDI piano to a computer: Need to bypass the floppy disk drive. This is particularly useful if the floppy drive is broken, or only proprietary files like early PianoDisc or Yamaha ESEQ files will play on your disk drive, and you would like to play standard MIDI files. All Disklaviers will play MIDI files from a computer.
Connecting a MIDI Piano to a Computer Hardware Considerations The first thing to consider is the computer. You can use either a laptop or desktop model; a Mac or an IBM compatible PC. The most important decision will be from which port on the computer will you be making the MIDI connections. There are USB ports, parallel ports (often used for the printer), serial ports, and the joystick port on the soundcard. Many new laptops today do not have a serial port.
Connecting a MIDI Piano to a Computer MIDI cables are attached at one end to the MIDI Interface, and the other end attaches to the piano's MIDI ports. MIDI cables are inexpensive and come in various lengths. They are oneway communication only, so you would need two cables if you were going to record music from your piano into your computer as well as play music from the hard drive into your piano.
Connecting a MIDI Piano to a Computer The TO HOST Port is a Connection Option found on Yamaha Instruments. Disklaviers starting with the MarkIIXG models come equipped with a TO HOST port that eliminates the need for a MIDI Interface and MIDI cables. The quality of the MIDI signal is identical to using the standard MIDI connections on the control box. To connect to a Macintosh, all that is necessary is a standard serial cable (mini DIN 8-pin).
Connecting a MIDI Piano to a Computer connected to the To HOST port, and the other end either a D-SUB 9-pin or a D-SUB 25-pin to connect to the serial port on the computer. Yamaha sells a cable (part number Yamaha CCIBM) for connecting PCs to any Yamaha product equipped with a To-Host connector port. When using the TO HOST port, you must also use the CBX driver for your particular operating system when using am IBM PC.
Connecting a MIDI Piano to a Computer Software Considerations The IRQ assignment for PCs only needs to be considered if MIDI IN is used for Recording data directly into the soundcard port on the computer. Make sure there are no conflicts and that the proper drivers are installed for MIDI on your soundcard. Remember, when using the CBX cable to install the CBX driver! When using Sequencer software, make sure you tell your computer where to look to find the MIDI inputs and outputs.
Connecting a MIDI Piano to a Computer Troubleshooting a computer connection to a MIDI Player • Why Don’t I Hear Anything? One of the most frustrating scenarios is correctly connecting the MIDI cables, MIDI interfaces, installing the appropriate software, etc. and nothing happens! The simple answer is that somewhere in all that maze, the appropriate connection is not turned on. Here are some things to check.
Music Software Music Software and Utilities This section briefly describes the kinds of music software that is available, and presents programs that are free or inexpensive for downloading from the website. Music software is constantly improving and being packaged under different names. To see a good listing of what is available, as well as demo versions of professional programs, go to the http://www.sharewaremusicmachine.
Music Software RipARoot This copy utility does the same thing as above in that it copies files from a floppy drive to a hard drive without needing to duplicate the floppy disk first. It only works on DOS. Before running the program, create the directory you want the files copied to (target directory on the hard drive) first. Convert~1.exe also called SMF Utilities. These utilities are DOS programs provided by the Roland Corporation as unsupported utility software for the PianoDisc website.
Music Software The Disklavier Utilities Programs (dkvutils) These are 5 very handy programs. The detailed instructions for these programs are contained in the dkvutils.txt. DKVCOPY A DOS utility which must be run from the real DOS (i.e. not DOS running under Windows). It copies copy-protected Disklavier discs onto unprotected blank floppies. You can then see the individual files on the new floppy and copy them to a hard drive. The new copies must be Double Density (2DD) (not 2HD) disks formatted to 720 KB.
Music Software The Giebler Utilities These are commercially available disk manager and sequencer utilities from Giebler Enterprises at www.giebler.com Cost is about $59. They provide disk manager copy utilities for many electronic keyboards including Yamaha Disklavier and PianoDisc. They are DOS based programs. To copy the copy-protected disks, each song must first be copied individually to your hard drive, then reconstructed onto a floppy disk.
Music Software Sequencer Software A sequencer can be thought of as a word processor for music. This is the kind of program used to edit, play and record MIDI files. You can change which track the piano will play (the MIDI pianos use Tracks 1 and 2 sometimes noted on the controller as L and R); edit “wrong” notes; change pitch and volume; assign parts of the score to various instruments as well as the piano. Most sequencers also have a Notation Window from which you can edit and print sheet music.
Music Software Media Player Software Also known as Jukebox Software. These programs allow you to compile “play lists” on a computer connected to your Midi piano or Disklavier. You can choose any number of songs you want and play them in the order you prefer. Great for parties when you don’t want to change the disk every 20 minutes, or your disk drive is broken on your control unit.
Music Software Notation and Scoring Software Used to edit and produce sheet music. Although Sequencer Programs above have this feature, a dedicated program for this purpose may have more features. Most notation software will let you enter the notes with a mouse; enter notes by playing them on your computer keyboard, or import a MIDI file you created on your Midi Piano. These programs are also used to change the key signature or transpose music up or down with just a few mouse clicks.
Music Software Transcription Software The dream of being able to convert the digital audio music played on stereos to MIDI files that would play your Midi Player Piano is still that - a dream! However, some progress has been made in converting single voices to MIDI files. This means that the human voice, or a guitar, or flute might work with this software, but definitely NOT a piano because of the harmonics generated. NOTE: The opposite process, converting a MIDI file to an audio file is possible.
Music Software Companion Website The website http://www.carolrpt.com contains more information about MIDI Player pianos.
