Hello,

in this patch I can open a midi file, start and stop it.
I have two different questions:

1. When I stop the midi file and then restart again, it restarts from the beginning: how can i restart it from the exact point where I stopped it?

2. How can I add a button to start the midi file not from the beginning but from a fixed time?

Thanks,

a.

midifile_01.pd

@atux You need to look at the help file for [seq].
Right-click the object to open it.
It can read messages to pause and continue reading the file.
There is also a message [goto( but no help for that. It could be milliseconds...... but maybe not.
Try [goto 20000( or less for a short file and see what happens.
David.

@whale-av Interestingly enough the help file of current [seq] looks completely different, has no [pause( and [seq] gives an error when [pause( is sent to it: "seq: no method for 'pause'".

@whale-av said:

@atux You need to look at the help file for [seq].
Right-click the object to open it.
It can read messages to pause and continue reading the file.
There is also a message [goto( but no help for that. It could be milliseconds...... but maybe not.
Try [goto 20000( or less for a short file and see what happens.
David.

Thanks,

using |pause( and |continue( it work fine.
Instead using |goto( for now nothing happens. For example the file lasts 90 sec, I put as argument 20000 ms: it should start from t = 20s, but nothing happens.

Thanks,

a.

@ingox That is different!
It looks at least as though [delay( will allow starting at a determined time (also requested)..... so a timer could be used to determine the time play was stopped.......... and effectively allow the user to pause playback.
David.

@whale-av said:

@ingox That is different!
It looks at least as though [delay( will allow starting at a determined time (also requested)..... so a timer could be used to determine the time play was stopped.......... and effectively allow the user to pause playback.
David.

Even in this way the buttons "play", "stop", "pause", and "continue" works fine. But with "delay" nothing happens.

midifile_02.pd

@atux [start 5000(.......?
David.

@atux Maybe try [delay %1( so the 5000 can be incorporated in the message. Don't know if it works.

@whale-av

Thank you,

I see that the image you put is an example of cyclone, which I put here:

seq-test.pd

Trying it out, I now see that... |delay( ...delays the start of a certain time, it works fine. For example by setting 2000, the file is played * from the beginning * after 2 seconds of silence.
Instead, I'm looking for a way to play a midi file immediately at the time I want.
Maybe... |goto( ...is the correct command to do this, but for now it doesn't work for me.

@ingox
Did you mean $1? Anyway in my patch I tried them both, nothing happens.

a.

@atux Yes, i meant $1.

@atux Another way could be to use [midifile] which can be installed via Help -> Find externals...

@ingox said:

@atux Another way could be to use [midifile] which can be installed via Help -> Find externals...

Thanks,

I finally succeeded with [midifile] in mrpeach library.
Opening midifile-help, in [pd midifile_read] I saw that you can go to the desired time of the midi file, as I was asking.
But... there is a problem in playing midi files, often they are played in a distorted way, for example with continuous repetitions of already played notes (clusters are generated) or some multitrack files do not play all the tracks (even if I set option -1).
If anyone wants to try playing various types of midi files, for now I'm trying to figure out what the problem may be.

Bye,

a.

@atux said:

@whale-av said:

@atux You need to look at the help file for [seq].
[...]
There is also a message [goto(
[...]
.

using |pause( and |continue( it work fine.
Instead using |goto( for now nothing happens. For example the file lasts 90 sec, I put as argument 20000 ms: it should start from t = 20s, but nothing happens.

Now I understand why using [seq] nothing happens with [goto 20000( ....the argument must be in * seconds * and not in * milliseconds *...
So to start at t=20 seconds, it must be put [goto 20(.
Now the "goto" in the patch should work.

I have a question: I'm trying to figure out if the message argument [goto( can be used as a variable, in order to handle it numerically, for example by scrolling a number box, anyone have any ideas to do this?

Thanks
a

midifile_03.pd

@atux goto.pd

@ingox said:

@atux goto.pd

It works perfectly, so the problem is solved.
Thank you.

a.

P.S. In general I have to understand the logic of the $, for example if for exercise I want to insert the output in a number box, I see that it is not enough to simply connect it, but a message [$ 1( must be put , like this:

goto_2.pd

@atux In messages, $1 will reference the first item of a message, $2 the second. You can read the basics of Pd in the documentation. Use [print] to see what is coming out of an outlet.

@atux $ is quite fundamental in Pd.
I tried to explain $ here....... https://forum.pdpatchrepo.info/topic/9774/pure-data-noob/4
$ in a message box is in part 2.
$ in an object box (part 1) is different.
The thread is really about the use of abstractions (sub-routines)...... which save a lot of time when building some patches, and keep them tidy......!....
David.
P.S. In your screenshot you could also use [list prepend test] instead of [test $1( to add test to the start of the message....... but then in some circumstances you would need to follow that with [list trim] to remove the list tag...... so using $1 is generally better.