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Joe Albano on Mon, September 26th 4 comments

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If you're working between multiple DAWs it's fairly easy to transfer audio. But what about MIDI files? Joe Albano explains the how and why when sharing MIDI.

General MIDI (or not)

Standard MIDI Files

Fig 1 Exporting a Standard MIDI File in Logic

Fig 2 Importing a Standard MIDI File into Logic

Sounds, sounds, sounds

Remapping drums

Fig 3 The General MIDI standard drum map (L) vs a custom drum map (R)

Hitting the curve

The velocity of MIDI

Fig 4 Some tools (in Logic) for adjusting/scaling Velocity data to match a MIDI performance to a different virtual instrument

In control

Learn all about MIDI in this entertaining and educational video course in the AskAudio Academy.

Joe Albano

Joe is a musician, engineer, and producer in NYC. Over the years, as a small studio operator and freelance engineer, he's made recordings of all types from music & album production to v/o & post. He's also taught all aspects of recording and music technology at several NY audio schools, and has been writing articles for Recording magazine for many years.

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Comments (4)

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Hello. I want to record midi data ONLY from my yamaha clavinova keyboard. However, I dont want to use my computer, but a separate dedicated device to plug into the clavinova, record a midi session and then take that midi data to download on another computer. Nowhere can I find a 'midi recorder' that records midi only. Can you help? Why??? Because I'm a session musician who plays music tracks and the producer is only interested in the midi information, not the sound of my keyboard. Thank-you, Richard
- 8 months ago
- By:
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Joe A

Hi Richard - Over the years there have been plenty of standalone MIDI recorders, including the Anatek Pocket Record, Yamaha QY-10, or MC-series MIDI recorders from Roland. You might be able to find something used -- the Anatek sounds like it’s probably the closest to what you’re looking for (it’s small & cheap). You didn’t say what kind of MIDI connections your Clavinova has -- DIN cables or USB (or both) -- needless to say, older devices would be likely to have only DIN connections. I’m not sure what kind of MIDI hardware recorders might still be made and sold today -- maybe some of the various drum machines/workstations could fit the bill, but would probably be more than you’re looking for in both features and $$$. If you have a smartphone, perhaps an app like MIDI Memo Recorder (IOS) -- if you Google “app MIDI recorder” you may get some useful responses.. Just curious -- is there a reason you don’t (or can’t) just record the MIDI in any DAW on the computer, export it as a universal SMF (Standard MIDI File), and email that to your producer? Cheers, Joe
- 8 months ago
- By: Joe A
Hey Joe, many thanks for the reply. It's an old Clavinova with DIN outputs. I decided to go down a different route: the keyboard has an old style floppy drive that records songs directly in midi. I got a cheap floppy drive with usb and use this to shunt my midi data to a daw where I can create a usable file for further processing. Thanks for the ideas... got me thinking and how to do things and now there's a solution!
- 8 months ago
- By:
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Joe A

Ah, that takes me back! :-) Glad to hear you found a workable solution..
- 8 months ago
- By: Joe A

MIDI Demystified

MIDI 101