please tell me what is MIDI stand for?

[johnmar78]

Hey everyone,

I was looking into Yamaha silent piano either baby grand or YUS1.

This is the link.https://australianpianofair.com.au/pianos_perth/pianos/silent-piano/

It metions a USB port is used to transfer MIDI to PC. Is MIDI stand for a particular  file format or any digital files like WAV, Mp3,,,,we called it MIDI? Thanks for your help in advance.

[hfmadopter]

Midi allows for mass tranfer of digital data from an instrument or software or between instruments if one instrument or a Midi Box, for instance, has controller capability, It stands for Musical Instrument Digital Interface. As an example, lots of musical editing, notation software are Midi enabled or multi instruments can be tonally controlled through MIdi by interconnecting them through a controller box or computer.. It works through digital data vs on board sound systems sound results, giving vastly more control over the digital data than most on board sound systems may have ( some synth controllers are mighty intense though, which are keyboards with controller capability and built in sound bending capability, usually no speaker system built in)..

[outin]

Could not open the link, but in my Yamaha silent the USB port only enables me to save data from the internal memory to a usb mass storage device (a memory stick) in .mid format. The file can then be worked on with the computer.

There are also  separate ports for MIDI in and out. Haven't used those since I am not really into the digital sound anymore...

[richard black]

Both the above answers are correct, though possibly confusing. MIDI is indeed an _interface_ format - the physical link between a computer and a musical instrument and the data carried on that interface. The data will consist of something like this (translated into everyday-speak!): 'At 2.002" play the note C4 at loudness X'. The tone quality and decay time of the note will depend on the voice currently operating in the instrument that receives that command.

A MIDI file consists of a bunch of MIDI data saved into a file which can be played out sequentially on a MIDI interface. The whole thing is really like a roll piano using computer data instead of paper rolls.

[johnmar78]

thansk everyone. Now I know what MIDI file means, very technical indeed.
The link is working as I have just tried. May be your internet security is blocking it?
  I was planning to" syn"  the midi files with video camera using avi format, what software  do you think is feasible to do this??? So I can have a free background noise recording with a superb yamaha CF3 full size concert grand  digital quality sound.

[lostinidlewonder]

johnmar as a side note, don't buy a baby grand! I don't know why people like to buy baby grands, they are not worth the money imho. If you buy the top of the range upright you will get a superior instrument for similar (if not less) price. If you are after the aesthetics of a grand then I guess it's worth it......

I was planning to" syn"  the midi files with video camera using avi format, what software  do you think is feasible to do this??? So I can have a free background noise recording with a superb yamaha CF3 full size concert grand  digital quality sound.

I'm assuming you mean "sync"? You will not be able to remove the background noise unless you have a lead that connects direction from a digital sound source to your recording device. You do not actually need to buy a digital piano for this, I use to feed my Midi's into a synthesiser through a computer, there are many to choose from, I use to do that some 20 years ago, I believe the program I used was Yamaha XG synthesiser. If you have a PC you can use them and they often have samples better than digtial pianos, also they are a much much much cheaper option.

[hfmadopter]

I use to feed my Midis into a synthesiser through a computer, there are many to choose from, I use to do that some 20 years ago, I believe the program I used was Yamaha XG synthesiser. If you have a PC you can use them and they often have samples better than digital pianos, also they are a much much much cheaper option.

Most of Yamaha's latest keyboards use the CFIII sound samples anyway, even I believe the new $500 p105 uses the CFIII for it's grand piano samples with an all new sound system that is pretty darned clean for the money. Run that through some good studio monitors and I suspect it will do just fine ( with any keyboard forget the on board speaker system)..

The synth thing is still alive and well, the king of sound in the keyboard category IMO ! The latest Yamaha $1600 MOX8 ( which is not top of the line) has 88 keys, graded hammers, sublime sound library built in and as you say you can access Yamaha's library system for even more control. Besides the piano sounds the wood wind instruments are exceptionally clear. Of course these won't do much for aesthetic appeal in the living room but for recording sound you could create a symphony, literally, or a movie sound track for that matter.. The sound will be as good as the sound system you hook it up to.

[chopin2015]

musical instrument digital instrument

multiple pin input and output on digital keyboards, speaks in 0s and 1s

[johnmar78]

thank you guys, so i should aine dfor yus1 which is close to the biggest upright and give a beetr sound quality. Keyboaredwise has lots more sound nsampling too but every tempting indeed. The latest Yamaha piano comes with internal recording just like the most keyboard does, it does not need any microphones. So once I press record, the midi files is stored in the built in memeory. I was asking if this files were transfered to pc, what sort of software do i need to syncronize my video files? or this is not feasiable. Thanks again...

[hfmadopter]

thank you guys, so i should aim for yus1 which is close to the biggest upright and give a better sound quality. Keyboard Wise has lots more sound sampling too but every tempting indeed. The latest Yamaha piano comes with internal recording just like the most keyboard does, it does not need any microphones. So once I press record, the midi files is stored in the built in memory. I was asking if this files were transferred to pc, what sort of software do i need to synchronize my video files? or this is not feasible. Thanks again...

I really would encourage you to play both pianos you are interested in before you make the purchase. It could very well be that you like the grand better, you should at least try one out before making the decision to purchase a U1. Buying a piano is a personal matter really and you should get the one you feel most comfortable with ( I have my grand that I've owned for over 30 years and have spent months researching digital stage pianos for writing in notation software and recording and bought the Kawai MP6 in the end. Well it's supposed to ship out today, so I don't physically have it yet. Various reasons why that model and not Yamaha or Rolands I looked at. Would have loved the MP10 but it stretched the budget too far for me and what I want to do).

[outin]

thank you guys, so i should aine dfor yus1 which is close to the biggest upright and give a beetr sound quality. Keyboaredwise has lots more sound nsampling too but every tempting indeed. The latest Yamaha piano comes with internal recording just like the most keyboard does, it does not need any microphones.

I can't help you much with software, but there are freeware programs you can use.

IMO what comes out as midi from the Yamaha U1 recording device generally sounds quite horrible. At least from mine. It would need a lot of work with the computer to use as a recording. I get a much better result with my simple video camera.

[johnmar78]

thanks Hfma and Outings, Mp6, woh let me   have a look. Yes, you are right I should try the recording quality. But I ahve actually played them with/without earphone, sounds is amazing thru digital technology. Outing, accoring to your experince, the midi files come out from U1 is horrriable, and your video cam has a better sound. This would make me to rethink again about silent recording..... ...

[outin]

thanks Hfma and Outings, Mp6, woh let me   have a look. Yes, you are right I should try the recording quality. But I ahve actually played them with/without earphone, sounds is amazing thru digital technology. Outing, accoring to your experince, the midi files come out from U1 is horrriable, and your video cam has a better sound. This would make me to rethink again about silent recording..... ...

It does sound ok when I play with earphones, I think it's the nature of midi that makes the raw file sound so unnatural. Of course if I could play better maybe it would sound better
I could make you a sample file later or tomorrow...

[hfmadopter]

thanks Hfma and Outings, Mp6, woh let me   have a look.

The MP6 shipped out today, so guess I'm committed at this point ( though there is a return policy) ! Plenty of videos online if you want to know more about that model. I've looked long and hard above and below this piano and I keep coming back to this one. If I wasn't so close to retirement I'd have gone perhaps for the MP10. I hope the Kawai treats me as well as my grand piano has !!

[johnmar78]

Thanks again, Hfam I ahve watched few mp6 review on Youtube, the sound is too good to be true and not sure its the unedited file or edited? Outing, it would be nice if you can post some of your midi files after conversion. Atm i am using 2 akg mics, are you saying this is betetr than mine 2akgs?? I suppose the only advantage I get thru silent is I can record anytime without puting up with anyone

[hfmadopter]

Thanks again, Hfam I ahve watched few mp6 review on Youtube, the sound is too good to be true and not sure its the unedited file or edited? Outing, it would be nice if you can post some of your midi files after conversion. Atm i am using 2 akg mics, are you saying this is betetr than mine 2akgs?? I suppose the only advantage I get thru silent is I can record anytime without puting up with anyone

 Digital pianos sound better through studio monitors or a power amp, ear phones or direct recordings than they do through generally lousy on board speakers ( some consoles have decent enough and powerful enough sound systems built in though up to 35 watts for some, though a power amp obviously can be much higher). Most any digital can be improved if it has line out ports and is connected to a decent sound system. That said the MP6 also has on board tone controls, you aren't stuck with uneditable presets. There is a lot you can do on board to fine tune the tone you want from it. When I get it I can describe better what I'm talking about.

 One personal reviewer said they used the sound controls on board vs VST.  He had IvoryI but did not use it with this piano, as he got natural sounds out of the MP6..

I've read this review since my purchase while I wait for delivery. It may be the most convincing review that bolsters my decision. He claims the sounds at the bottom of the review are straight from the MP6. I don't think he has a reason to lie about it but then one never knows ! Anyway: https://azpianonews.blogspot.com/search?q=mp6

[outin]

OK, attached are two files. Recorded at the same time, the other one is midi from the piano's internal memory and the other one was recorded with my digital camera (not even a video camera actually, just a pocket camera, Ixus 960IS). No pedal was used. The playing sucks but it was not the point anyway.

What I find the most annoying is that it is really slow to get the internal recording to an usb stick and to the computer. You also can store only one take at the time to the piano's memory, so you have to repeat the process of storing to USB every time you want a new take. Quite often the usb does not work with a certain memory device and I have to use a different media.

This is of course different than connecting the piano to the computer with cable and get the midi directly to the software. This I have not tried.

The original file from the camera is .avi. That cannot be attached to PS so I had to format to mp3. You would need to PM me  for the original.

Of course the midi doesn't record the noises from my bench. I know I should do something about it...

[49410enrique]

The MP6 shipped out today, so guess I'm committed at this point ( though there is a return policy) ! Plenty of videos online if you want to know more about that model. I've looked long and hard above and below this piano and I keep coming back to this one. If I wasn't so close to retirement I'd have gone perhaps for the MP10. I hope the Kawai treats me as well as my grand piano has !!

congrats! i love/want an kawai dp so badly. it will what i upgrade to from my current dp. i mainly went with mine due to simply, what i could afford, it's not a bad dp but not super great either, but for what i need it for it works well (for now).  i think they're a 'sleeper' in the high end dp market. the kids at kawai really know what they're doing and for the classical pianist/pianist that wants as close to a real grand action/feel as possible with quality onboard electronics, i find it's a hard line to beat.

do post when you get it with recoridngs/videos, etc.

[johnmar78]

thanks guys, i read the mp6 review you provided, it sounds like me-skeptical at teh first', but after i listened to the sound sample-Chopin nocturne. I immediate knew its soounds much better than my own mic recordings. I shall ring up some local stores to see they have one of these keyboard, because I would like to feel the key actions.
 Outin, your camera does sound much better, some kind of Bach styl eplaying . May I ask you what Model camera do you have?2000$.Yes, its sounds very good and I am happy with taht.  I know my 300$ Video cam sounds really sux.

Thanks again.

[outin]

 Outin, your camera does sound much better, some kind of Bach styl eplaying . May I ask you what Model camera do you have?2000$.Yes, its sounds very good and I am happy with taht.  I know my 300$ Video cam sounds really sux.

The camera is just a pocket digital camera, Canon digital Ixus 960IS, which can also record video.  It's many years old, was not very cheap but not terribly expensive either. I think most digital cameras can record pretty decent video these days.

[hfmadopter]

thanks guys, i read the mp6 review you provided, it sounds like me-skeptical at teh first', but after i listened to the sound sample-Chopin nocturne. I immediate knew its soounds much better than my own mic recordings. I shall ring up some local stores to see they have one of these keyboard, because I would like to feel the key actions.
 
Thanks again.

That's great. I have to tell you that the MP10 is a superior instrument in terms of keys and possibly piano sound as well, though both are good ( maybe read it's review from the same site as long as you are looking anway. I took months researching this stuff for instance). The MP10 is also twice the cost. Also, I don't know where you live but here, locating a Kawai digital piano is like locating hens teeth ! My nearest stocking dealer is in another state, about 100 miles away from here.

[johnmar78]

Hi folks, I went to few piano shops today to check it out, Hfma i am from Sydney. So far no mp6 found yet. only found Kawin  CN34 and its base model. Both has the grand action, as supposed to be close as possible. I played it, and the touch was AMAZING. I mean really AMAZING. I could not beleive the touch and the key feel itself. There was a usb bottom and the control panel, funny thing was the owner-director, she could not even tell me where the USB plug was located..funny man. I also palye dthe Kawai CM12 million action, my god, the key action is so much more refined these days, despite the carbon fiber damper...etc. Very impressive. I also played K5,K6K8....heeeeee, I have to say its a hard pick...even 150cm Grand is still very impressive with its sound and touch. The 183cm seems too loud for my taste...

[hfmadopter]

congrats!

Thank's and I had missed you post earlier ! Ya, all I get from UPS is In Transit. Course it's coming 1200 miles or there abouts east by UPS Ground, so must be patient.

[hfmadopter]

Hi folks, I went to few piano shops today to check it out, Hfma i am from Sydney. So far no mp6 found yet. only found Kawin  CN34 and its base model. Both has the grand action, as supposed to be close as possible. I played it, and the touch was AMAZING. I mean really AMAZING. I could not beleive the touch and the key feel itself. There was a usb bottom and the control panel, funny thing was the owner-director, she could not even tell me where the USB plug was located..funny man. I also palye dthe Kawai CM12 million action, my god, the key action is so much more refined these days, despite the carbon fiber damper...etc. Very impressive. I also played K5,K6K8....heeeeee, I have to say its a hard pick...even 150cm Grand is still very impressive with its sound and touch. The 183cm seems too loud for my taste...

The CN 34 and MP6 have different action and the MP10 different again. They may not feel a wholeot different but they have different construction technology behind them. All in all Kawai makes a nice piano though, guess you discovered that much !

This might take a while !

[oxy60]

OK, attached are two files. Recorded at the same time, the other one is midi from the piano's internal memory and the other one was recorded with my digital camera (not even a video camera actually, just a pocket camera, Ixus 960IS). No pedal was used. The playing sucks but it was not the point anyway.

What I find the most annoying is that it is really slow to get the internal recording to an usb stick and to the computer. You also can store only one take at the time to the piano's memory, so you have to repeat the process of storing to USB every time you want a new take. Quite often the usb does not work with a certain memory device and I have to use a different media.

This is of course different than connecting the piano to the computer with cable and get the midi directly to the software. This I have not tried.

The original file from the camera is .avi. That cannot be attached to PS so I had to format to mp3. You would need to PM me  for the original.

Of course the midi doesn't record the noises from my bench. I know I should do something about it...

I opened your midi file into my composer software and I can generate a score and see the notes you are playing. BTW you have a very good sense of time/meter. There are very few errors. For example I can't record without a metronome. If I run your file through my Yamaha using its sound I will have something quite nice. The standard midi bank that comes in most computers leave a lot to be desired.

[outin]

I opened your midi file into my composer software and I can generate a score and see the notes you are playing. BTW you have a very good sense of time/meter. There are very few errors. For example I can't record without a metronome. If I run your file through my Yamaha using its sound I will have something quite nice. The standard midi bank that comes in most computers leave a lot to be desired.

Interesting...would love to see the score, can you get it into a pdf? Timing is one of the few things I find rather easy, but on the other hand I think it is not good for me, because I find it almost impossible to let myself slow down when something gets hard or give myself time to recover when I play the wrong finger so I "panic" and end up in a complete mess. I really should dig out the metronome to force myself play slowly, but the metronome sound annoys me so...

When I started playing 1,5 years ago I had an old Yamaha digital and I did experiment a little with midi and used some free software to make my playing into notes. It was pretty cool but never really got deeper into it, after I got the acoustic I have concentrated on playing instead. I have not done any editing of the midi files either and I know very little about midi in general. I would love to get to know all that better but I just don't have the time because I have to practice.

In general I am pretty fast to get into new software so is there some freeware you could recommend if I would like to try the midi connection from my U1?

[hfmadopter]

In general I am pretty fast to get into new software so is there some freeware you could recommend if I would like to try the midi connection from my U1?

Outin, you could run your Midi into Musescore to see the score you are playing. It will write as you play. However if you want a virtual sound program I suggest you buy one of those, most freeware for virtual piano is not so great ( there may be exceptions I don't know about). The least expensive, yet worthy software I believe is Pianissimo, last I knew this was well under $100us.. It's also not a resource hog, though it's sounds are mostly German Steinway I believe ( don't quote me on that, it's been a while since I've looked at the software online). Then you can run out through computer sound if you have half decent powered speakers.

Almost certainly you can make big gains in your midi sound by using virtual software like Pianissimo or Ivory II.  Ivory will use more resource than the other but less than some options out there. If your system is fairly up to date that shouldn't be a problem ( my laptop is an i3 and two years old now and my PC is older than that FWIW, so I'm a bit short on power for the Ivory program, I suspect ). I'm hoping to run the Kawai direct with Line Out into powered amp speakers though. If it turns out not to be satisfying I'll go with virtual software myself.

I have to say though, it is amazing to me that your little camera records sound as well as it does !

[outin]

Outin, you could run your Midi into Musescore to see the score you are playing. It will write as you play. However if you want a virtual sound program I suggest you buy one of those, most freeware for virtual piano is not so great ( there may be exceptions I don't know about). The least expensive, yet worthy software I believe is Pianissimo, last I knew this was well under $100us.. It's also not a resource hog, though it's sounds are mostly German Steinway I believe ( don't quote me on that, it's been a while since I've looked at the software online). Then you can run out through computer sound if you have half decent powered speakers.

Almost certainly you can make big gains in your midi sound by using virtual software like Pianissimo or Ivory II.  Ivory will use more resource than the other but less than some options out there. If your system is fairly up to date that shouldn't be a problem ( my laptop is an i3 and two years old now and my PC is older than that FWIW, so I'm a bit short on power for the Ivory program, I suspect ). I'm hoping to run the Kawai direct with Line Out into powered amp speakers though. If it turns out not to be satisfying I'll go with virtual software myself.

Thanks! I am not really that much into virtual sound, but the idea of seeing the notes I played is interesting. I didn't know musescore can do that, I have only used it write notation.

And of course with software one could correct those little stupid errors

EDIT: Tried with musescore. Everything looked a bit funny because it used only one staff, but when I played it it sounded like the original midi, except with a little better. Can someone explain why, I am using the same computer?

I have to say though, it is amazing to me that your little camera records sound as well as it does !

Yeah, I was actually a bit surprised myself the first time I tried.

[oxy60]

Thanks! I am not really that much into virtual sound, but the idea of seeing the notes I played is interesting. I didn't know musescore can do that, I have only used it write notation.

And of course with software one could correct those little stupid errors

EDIT: Tried with musescore. Everything looked a bit funny because it used only one staff, but when I played it it sounded like the original midi, except with a little better. Can someone explain why, I am using the same computer?

Yeah, I was actually a bit surprised myself the first time I tried.

I used Notation Composer and I also got just one staff but the software suggested splitting it into RH and LH. I accepted that option and got something that looks more like a piano score. BTW they have a 30 day free trial...

I can also record directly into that software, clean up mistakes and play it back through my keyboard, as if I played it there originally. You will need a midi in and out through USB to take full advantage of all the options.

[outin]

I used Notation Composer and I also got just one staff but the software suggested splitting it into RH and LH. I accepted that option and got something that looks more like a piano score. BTW they have a 30 day free trial...

I can also record directly into that software, clean up mistakes and play it back through my keyboard, as if I played it there originally. You will need a midi in and out through USB to take full advantage of all the options.

Thanks for the tip! These things tend to become real time robbers for me, because I love experimenting with things like new software and editing audio/video. So I think I'd better just practice piano and leave things like this to later date when I am not so overwhelmed by work, maybe summer

[hfmadopter]

EDIT: Tried with musescore. Everything looked a bit funny because it used only one staff, but when I played it it sounded like the original midi, except with a little better. Can someone explain why, I am using the same computer?

Yeah, I was actually a bit surprised myself the first time I tried.

You did better than I did, I couldn't seem to get your file to play in Musescore. I then did the same as you and went to practice for an hour or so !

UPS notification says my piano is delivering today though, one day early.

[oxy60]

Since I did orchestration and arranging in college I may have a slight advantage with midi.

When you work with midi you work as if you are writing a conductor's score, whether you are decoding a midi file or writing one yourself, whether or not you can see it. Each staff/track is assigned to an individual instrument. On the piano track we have bass clef and treble clef, just to make it easier to write. The software still sees that as one track/instrument.

I also try to just use the instruments to play midi that are on most computers. There are custom sound banks that will sound much better but not everybody has them installed.