OO O OO OO O OO OO OOOO OOOO OO OOOO OOOO OO OOOO OO OO O OOOOOOO OO OO OO O OO OO OO O OO OO OO OO OOO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OOOOO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO O O OO O OO OO OO OO OO OO O OO O OO OOO O OO OO OOOOOO OOOOO OOO OOOO OOO OOOOOO OOOOOO * m a g a z i n e * -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- T h e W I Z ! ' s M I D I M A N I A S e c t i o n -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Contact The WIZ! either thru Ictari or.... JANet E-Mail: COM240155 @ UK.AC.BOLTON.BASIL Snail Mail: James Roskell, The Britannia Inn, Penny Bridge, Nr. Ulverston, Cumbria. LA12-7RJ. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Congratulations! You are very lucky, but you may not know it. You may not have realised the creative potential sitting there at your fingertips right now. You see, thing is, the ST is -still- the only range of microcomputers to come with MIDI ports as standard. MIDI stands for Musical Instrument Digital Interface, and in simple terms it means you can use your St to create wonderful music. All you need is a MIDI compatible keyboard which you can buy now for as little as œ150. So, you knew all that, you're interestd, but you dunno where to start. Watch this section with interest, because over the next few months or so, I'm going to be showing you how to set up your gear properly and how to make a start on writing some good music. I will also be attempting to answer any of your questions you may have, so don't forget to write into Nik at ictari HQ, who'll kindly pass them on to me. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- So you've got your keyboard. What now? Well you'll need some MIDI leads. These are just 5 Pin DIN plug to plug leads wired straight through (no wires crossed). The pins on the DIN plugs are arranged in a semi circle. They are readily available in varying lengths from Tandy, Maplin or your friendly music shop. Some people may tell you that MIDI leads should only have 3 pins wired because of the ST's weird combined Out/Thru. This is not necessarily true, as the problem only arises when you have a large MIDI system, and besides, most -decent- ST sequencers are able to eliminate the problem. With just one keyboard and your ST the connections are easy: |ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ| Out ---------------------> In |ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ| | Atari ST | In <--------------------- Out | Keyboard | |________________| |________________| St's MIDI Out socket to your Keyboards MIDI In socket and Keyboards MIDI Out socket to your ST's MIDI In. Incidentally, if you've lost them, your MIDI sockets are those two black holes on the left hand side of the ST near the back. It is a very good idea, especially as your MIDI system grows to mark your leads. The easiest way to do this, I find, is to slice an address label in 3, and wrap one of the resulting strips round the plug to form a 'tab' I can write on. With this setup, you now need a sequencer. There are plenty around, with some good ones in the PD. You will be able to play on your keyboard, with your ST recording exactly what you did, then at the press of a button the ST will play it back! I will be explaining more about sequencers in a future section. If you've bought a keyboard with a decent MIDI spec you have probably noticed something else. 'Ere, wots this THRU thing?' I here you cry. MIDI IN - receives data from another source MIDI OUT - sends data to another source MIDI THRU - echoes the data received at the IN, passing it on, unchanged So you can see that the THRU socket is used to pass on data, 'daisy chain' fashion if you have lots of gear, like so: |ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ|Out-------->In|ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ|Thru-------->In|ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ| | Atari ST |In<--------Out| Keybrd | | Module | |__________| |________| |________| Thru I I V more modules With this set up, again you can still play and record stuff with your keyboard, but now you can add a 'sound module'. This is a box which contains more sounds. It doesn't need a keyboard, as you can use your original one as a 'mother'. It's usually only a good idea to add 3 or 4 modules in this IN-THRU fashion because you get 'data lag' and notes you play on your mother keyboard are only picked up by the module a second later, making playing difficult. 'But I can edit the sounds on my module. How do I get around that?', is the other common question. if you've got an editable module, the other setup above will not allow you to communicate with it, or save the voices to your ST. You will need an extra MIDI Merge or Switch box. |ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ|Out-------->In|ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ|Thru-------->In|ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ| | Atari ST |In<--I --Out| Keybrd | -----Out| Module | |__________| I I |________| I |________| I I I Thru I I I I I |ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ|Out--I I I V | MIDI Mrg | I I more modules |__________| I I In ^ In ^ I I I I I I I I----------I I I--------------------------------------I You cannot just merge MIDI signals by buying a 5 pin DIN Y-Lead. MIDI consists of binary data not just audio signals, and so if you were to try and merge the data in this way, you would end up with mismatched binary words with no start or end. The MIDI Merge box joins the packets properly, not an easy job when you think about it, which is why they are sometimes quite pricey. Well, that just about wraps it up for this time. I hope I haven't gone too basic, but without knowing who's got what, I thought I'd give you an insight into what can be done. If you have any comments or questions, please write to either Nik at Ictari HQ, or me; here at The Brit in Penny Bridge. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- E N D O F S E C T I O N =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=