We have a number of tracks we want to perform live that have key/synth parts but we don't have a keyboard player so it would be good to have a convenient way to trigger MIDI files and I suspect PD could do what I want. However, I'm a total PD newb so I'm hoping someone has already created something close to what I want?

What I'm looking for is a patch that lets me create playlists of MIDI files that are triggered at a tempo determined by 2 or more consecutive MIDI events. In my case these MIDI events will most likely come from a MIDI drum trigger but it could as well be a MIDI keyboard or whatever. For each MIDI file in the playlist you would ideally be able to choose either the number of repetitions, 'one shot' (the default) or loop. Loop mode would repeat the MIDI clip until another MIDI event is received at which point it would stop and queue up the next clip in the list, if there is one. The clips would default to playing after a count of 2 hits/events but this would ideally be configurable too.

Most of the time I'd want the MIDI files to be triggering VST synths but sometimes I may want to use soundfonts instead. Is there some kind of PD file format that could be used to store the VST patch settings etc for the MIDI files? Maybe it would store the MIDI data too?

Does a patch like this already exist?

Thanks!

Hi, welcome to Pd and to this forum,

In the spirit of Christmas, I prepared this patch for you: midi-player.zip

It allows you to load 10 MIDI files that can be played once or looped. To control the playback a file using your mouse, just click on the buttons play and stop. Alternatively, you can use a key of your MIDI keyboard to do that (simply write which MIDI key you are pressing and which channel is the keyboard input coming from in the pink areas PLAY and STOP).

To use your VST or soundfounts, simply ask those applications to listen to the correct channels that you set in the "channel out" sections. You can send a file to one VST, then a second to another one, a third to a sf application, etc.

I hope you will find this useful. Take care,
Gilberto

Hi Gilberto!

Yes, that will be useful so thanks for sharing that!

I've not got to try your patch yet and I won't be able to until tonight but from your description it sounds like its missing a couple of key features I require.

I've been thinking about how this app would work best and ideally it would utilize beat detection so you could potentially trigger a MIDI clip at the correct tempo with only one hit, which would best be triggered ~1 beat before the MIDI clip is to start playback.

There should be some visual indicator on-screen of the current tempo detected by the beat detector and I anticipate I'm probably going to want the ability to double/quad or halve/quarter etc the detected tempo before triggering the clips in some cases. After a midi clip has been played or stopped (if it was on loop), the app needs to automatically queue the next clip.

I have been in touch with the author of aubio and he's not aware of any existing Linux software that does what I want that uses his library so it looks like PD may be the best route right now. I did a little research into this last night and it seems I have a choice of at least two beat detectors that can work with PD - [beat] in PD extended or IDT:

http://smc.inescporto.pt/technologies/ibt/

I'll only be able to pull this off with PD/IDT if PD's MIDI file player lets me override the tempo contained within the MIDI file with the one provided by IDT or [beat].

Hello,

You could certainly adapt the patch I created for you in order to include those features you require - I am pretty sure pd can do everything you mentioned above - but that is something that I cannot do for you since it would be more time consuming than I can afford right now. But please feel free to play around with the patch above, or see if someone else in the forum could give you a hand with that, or post questions about specific implementation problems you may be having.

Take care,
Gilberto

I'm glad to hear you think PD should be able to do this Gilberto!

Thanks again for your help!