Topic by AlexS

  • Avatar
  • AlexS
  • Member
  • Offline
  • Registered: 22-03-2016
  • Posts: 77

Topic: [Suggestion] A couple of programmable events for midi recoding feature

Just have tried to record something I'm playing on my piano first time in Pianoteq, and found out a couple of things that make this feature not very convenient to use atm. It's probably not so important for many professionals there who run the tool in some kind of workshops (FL Studio, Studio One etc), but as we have this ability already why don't add a couple more things to make it a really convenient one?

1) "Recently played on keyboard" menu option is nice thing, but I've found out it tends to unpredictably group your inputs, like "played 30 seconds ago", "played 5 minutes ago" etc. But what if you actually played 2 different pieces one after another 5 mins ago? It never will allow you to replay each of them separately, as it lacks means to separate pieces manually by user. Even worse - I noted then as time passes, it tends to group even more different pieces into huge chunks of input, like you'll get sort of one entry "played yesterday" with all input in it. This feature, if added, should be mapable too, so you could assign it to a key on your piano
2) There is no means to easily remove the more recent your input by pressing some key combination on your keyboard, and start recording from a clean list. Pianoteq has great ability to map midi inputs to some of the features related to playing midi files, like it allows to rewind it, play previous note etc, but NOT ability to erase it. I think such mapping ability should be added. But even after added it still won't be that useful, as currently "Clear menu" feature erases all your input registered to this moment. Thus we also need to tie it with item 1) so it only be able to erase the last one piece you played.

So, in a nutshell, it will work like this:

1) Press some key on your piano to set a start of a new piece (it will be clearly delimited from previous input in the "Recently played on keyboard" menu)
2) If you failed the piece at some time, press another key on your piano to erase only this very last piece and start to record it again

Atm, you can't achieve this without constantly opening menus and clicking with mouse, not very intuitive/convenient at all.

Last edited by AlexS (02-06-2016 14:18)

Reply by Stephen_Doonan

  • Avatar
  • Stephen_Doonan
  • Member
  • Offline
  • From: US
  • Registered: 06-02-2016
  • Posts: 1,101

Re: [Suggestion] A couple of programmable events for midi recoding feature

I would personally not want a MIDI keyboard key-press to initiate or stop a MIDI recording in Pianoteq, for fear I might need that particular key during the performance and accidentally start or stop recording during a performance.

However, one CAN do what you wish, simply by adding a custom MIDI command or two to the MIDI mapping configuration in the Options of Pianoteq.

For example, to configure Pianoteq to respond as you suggested in your post above--

Click the Options button, and then the MIDI tab. Play a key (note) on your keyboard, and remember the MIDI number of that note (it will be visible in the incoming MIDI events area in the same pane (in the MIDI tab of the Options window)), then click the INSERT button (at the bottom of that window),  and specify the note you just pressed as the MIDI event to trigger some aspect of Pianoteq in the new entry you have just inserted at the bottom of the MIDI mapping list, by right-clicking on that entry and selecting that MIDI event (that keyboard note/key). Then, for the action to trigger when playing that note (right-click on the button/field to the right of the MIDI-channel button for that MIDI-mapping entry), choose MIDI Sequencer (standalone) --> Record MIDI sequence. Then every time you press that note (or key) on the keyboard, Pianoteq's MIDI recorder will toggle between Record and Stop-Recording (the Record button will toggle on and off in response to the MIDI message generated by that MIDI keyboard key-press).

---

When I want to record a MIDI file in Pianoteq while playing at the MIDI keyboard, I simply use the mouse to click the Record button on the Pianoteq MIDI player (which has a round icon). If I don't like what I have recorded, or make a mistake and would like to try again, I press the Record button again (it toggles to on/off) or the Stop button (which has a square icon). If I wanted to avoid using the mouse, I might configure the MIDI mapping (mentioned above) to respond to a MIDI message generated by one of the buttons or footswitches or sliders on the MIDI keyboard, rather than to map the start/stop recording to a key that is a note I might press in a performance.

Pianoteq records its MIDI input even if you don't explicitly use the Record button, and if I happen to play something I like, which is somewhere in the file that Pianoteq has recorded, I simply save the MIDI file to hard disk (File menu--> Save MIDI file), open that MIDI file in a dedicated MIDI sequencer application (I use Qtractor or Ardour in Linux), and delete all the portions of that file except for the part that I like and wish to retain. Then I can save or export the resultant edited MIDI file, open it again in Pianoteq if I like, and play it through Pianoteq (or I can play it from the MIDI application routed to any MIDI input of any software or hardware sound module or MIDI keyboard or synth.

Pianoteq is very well designed, configurable and full-featured.

Last edited by Stephen_Doonan (02-06-2016 18:16)
--
Linux, Pianoteq Pro, Organteq

Reply by AlexS

  • Avatar
  • AlexS
  • Member
  • Offline
  • Registered: 22-03-2016
  • Posts: 77

Re: [Suggestion] A couple of programmable events for midi recoding feature

Stephen_Doonan wrote:

When I want to record a MIDI file in Pianoteq while playing at the MIDI keyboard, I simply press the Record button on the Pianoteq MIDI player (which has a round icon). If I don't like what I have recorded, or make a mistake and would like to try again, I press the Record button again (it toggles to on/off) or the Stop button (which has a square icon).

You are right, I missed that button completely..
Still, there is still issue I tried to address (I quoted you words): you must lift your hands from the piano keyboard and start to work with tool's GUI on your laptop. And if you haven't got laptop nearby (like I do atm, Pianoteq is running on my PC, I'm connecting to it with USB extender) - even stand up and make a couple of steps. Now imagine how often a beginner like me should do that to record a single piece of music at least without blatant mistakes Yes, using some workshop is an answer but, still, don't you agree that it would be useful to have this record feature mappabe to a midi event? This way you could designate some piano's key to it, so by simply pressing that key you would be able to restart recording from scratch when you fail some piece.

Last edited by AlexS (02-06-2016 17:50)

Reply by Stephen_Doonan

  • Avatar
  • Stephen_Doonan
  • Member
  • Offline
  • From: US
  • Registered: 06-02-2016
  • Posts: 1,101

Re: [Suggestion] A couple of programmable events for midi recoding feature

AlexS wrote:

Still, there is still issue I tried to address (I quoted you words): you must lift your hands from the piano keyboard and start to work with tool's GUI on your laptop.

No, you don't need to move from your piano keyboard to the computer's GUI.

Please read the information I added to my post above (after you responded to it), about how to configure Pianoteq to respond to a MIDI event from your MIDI keyboard (either a key/note press, or a button press, slider/fader movement, footswitch action, control change, program change, one of a variety of MIDI events that is generated by your MIDI keyboard as a result of one of your actions at the intrument keyboard).

As an example, I just used Pianoteq's MIDI mapping functionality to cause Pianoteq to start recording MIDI when I press the lowest note on the 88-key piano keyboard (A0 (or sometimes considered A1)). When I press that lowest A on the piano, that MIDI message (Note 021 On) triggers Pianoteq to begin recording a MIDI sequence. When I press that note again, Pianoteq stops recording (the round Record button toggles to its off position and turns black instead of red). Every time I press the lowest A on the keyboard, Pianoteq alternately starts or stops recording the MIDI information from the digital piano.

Last edited by Stephen_Doonan (02-06-2016 18:28)
--
Linux, Pianoteq Pro, Organteq

Reply by AlexS

  • Avatar
  • AlexS
  • Member
  • Offline
  • Registered: 22-03-2016
  • Posts: 77

Re: [Suggestion] A couple of programmable events for midi recoding feature

You are right, Steve. That's probably strain affecting my brain already. I totally missed all these possibilities, though I've checked the midi mapping features before, but somehow didn't spot a record starting option there... Thank you and sorry you had to write this huge post to teach me obvious things.

Reply by Stephen_Doonan

  • Avatar
  • Stephen_Doonan
  • Member
  • Offline
  • From: US
  • Registered: 06-02-2016
  • Posts: 1,101

Re: [Suggestion] A couple of programmable events for midi recoding feature

AlexS wrote:

You are right, Steve. That's probably strain affecting my brain already. ... Thank you and sorry you had to write this huge post to teach me obvious things.

It's OK; other people have done the same for me.

--
Linux, Pianoteq Pro, Organteq

Reply by varpa

  • Avatar
  • varpa
  • Member
  • Offline
  • From: Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
  • Registered: 26-02-2011
  • Posts: 165

Re: [Suggestion] A couple of programmable events for midi recoding feature

Pianoteq also has crude midi-editing -- you can right click on the midi note box on the top of the main screen get a menu to remove notes before or after the mouse position.    I love the fact pianoteq records everything you play.   There's hardly any reason to use the explicit record button since all the midi you've played is captured anyway.

varpa's Website

Reply by Stephen_Doonan

  • Avatar
  • Stephen_Doonan
  • Member
  • Offline
  • From: US
  • Registered: 06-02-2016
  • Posts: 1,101

Re: [Suggestion] A couple of programmable events for midi recoding feature

varpa wrote:

Pianoteq also has crude midi-editing -- you can right click on the midi note box on the top of the main screen get a menu to remove notes before or after the mouse position.

Wow, another great Pianoteq feature. Thank you.

--
Linux, Pianoteq Pro, Organteq

Reply by Aidan

  • Avatar
  • Aidan
  • Member
  • Offline
  • From: Portugal
  • Registered: 20-11-2015
  • Posts: 81

Re: [Suggestion] A couple of programmable events for midi recoding feature

After right-clicking the midi box to get a rough position, you can also press the left and right keys to get to the exact midi note you want and then select the "remove notes before" option. This makes it easy to get the exact cut-off point.

Reply by Stephen_Doonan

  • Avatar
  • Stephen_Doonan
  • Member
  • Offline
  • From: US
  • Registered: 06-02-2016
  • Posts: 1,101

Re: [Suggestion] A couple of programmable events for midi recoding feature

Aidan wrote:

After right-clicking the midi box to get a rough position, you can also press the left and right keys to get to the exact midi note you want and then select the "remove notes before" option. This makes it easy to get the exact cut-off point.


Although I'm guessing that exact cut-off point might not include a damper pedal or other non-note MIDI event previous to but close to it. For that type of detailed editing one might include a generous before- and after-point, and then save the MIDI file and open it in a dedicated MIDI application for further editing.

Regarding stepping through a MIDI recording in Pianoteq, I wish that one could configure Pianoteq to color the active notes (those that are pressed) to appear in a contrasting color in its graphical representation of the keyboard during normal playing (live or from a MIDI file), as it does automatically (currently in bright red) when using the step-forward, step-backward feature for moving through a MIDI file.

Last edited by Stephen_Doonan (04-06-2016 13:59)
--
Linux, Pianoteq Pro, Organteq