input different MIDI channels in the same track

[tusitala1982]

hi, i have a question about composing on Digital Performer and trying to understand if this is doable (i'm considering switching from Logic/Cubase to DP)

question is:
i compose using my Oxygen 88 Master Keyboard, which allows me to quickly change MIDI channels when i'm playing...this allows me to open up a track (for example Kontakt) load different articulations of the same instruments (Legato on channel 1, Staccato on channel 2 ecc ecc) and then play/record switching articulations whenever i want without changing tracks.

another BIG advantage of this method is that on the SCORE window i can find every articulation in the same staff, just like in a real score.

is this possible in DP as well?
i asked a friend who uses it and he said i can't, i have to open different tracks for different articulations.

thanks is advance for your help
all the best
-tusitala

[Dan Worley]

Yes, you set the track's input channel to "Oxygen-any" (for example) and you're good to go.

c-ya,

Dan Worley

[tusitala1982]

thanks a lot for your quick reply...

however i brought my oxygen at my friend's studio and we tried that but it didn't work...
i set the input on "any" but when i change the channel on the keyboard it doesn't change it on DP

maybe it has something to do with DP not recognizing this function coming from the keyboard?

has anyone ever tried this kind of setup successfully?

thanks again and all the best

[Dan Worley]

So sorry. Please forgive. I misread your question.

Your friend is right, different tracks for each.

c-ya,

Dan Worley

[tusitala1982]

don't worry and thanks again!

anyone else can help me out?

thanks!

[Kubi]

You do need separate tracks for each channel, since MIDI tracks are organized by channel in DP. But as far as I can remember, it's pretty easy to have DP record on all of them at once and split them up by MIDI channel for you, so you can still do what you want to accomplish. Haven't done this in a long time and for various reasons can't test this for you right now, so this here's recalled by memory:

1. Be sure your keyboard is set up properly in OSX' Audio MIDI setup, listing all MIDI channels you want to use. This is where DP gets its info on your keyboard from.

2. In DP, check "Multi Record" under the Studio menu

3. Create a MIDI track for each channel in Kontakt (or whatever you're driving), label them accordingly (i.e. Staccato, Legato, whatever)

4. Since you checked Multi-record, you can select an input source for each MIDI track. Set the inputs to the different MIDI channels from your keyboard.

5. Record enable all tracks.

Hit record and go to town. (In fact it should work even before you press play, as long as they're all record-enabled.)

Again, I haven't done this in a LONG time, but it should work. Do report back.

PS: If it doesn't work, try changing the DP preference in MIDI & Solo Patch thru from the default "Auto Channelize" to "Direct Echo". But only if the above doesn't work - I don't think that's necessary, but I don't remember fully... come to think of it, no, I don't think it is.

[MIDI Life Crisis]

Changing tracks is as simple as using the up/down arrow on the Mac QWERTY kbd and you can assign MIDI keys to do that as well. That kind of covers that, just a small adaptation on the user end.

You can also view multiple tracks simultaneously in DP, so even though the data is in different tracks, it is all accessible from a single "graphic editor" window. Optionally, in the sequence editor window, you can have multiple tracks showing but not overlapped, as in the graphic editor.

Studio Vision used to have multiple MIDI tracks per channel and I found it useful, but working in DP I find their method more flexible.

[tusitala1982]

Changing tracks is as simple as using the up/down arrow on the Mac QWERTY kbd and you can assign MIDI keys to do that as well. That kind of covers that, just a small adaptation on the user end.

You can also view multiple tracks simultaneously in DP, so even though the data is in different tracks, it is all accessible from a single "graphic editor" window. Optionally, in the sequence editor window, you can have multiple tracks showing but not overlapped, as in the graphic editor.

Studio Vision used to have multiple MIDI tracks per channel and I found it useful, but working in DP I find their method more flexible.

many many thanks for your help...
can you explain this further?
so can i see more than one track in a single stem of the score editor?
if yes can you tell me how?
thanks!

[tusitala1982]

You do need separate tracks for each channel, since MIDI tracks are organized by channel in DP. But as far as I can remember, it's pretty easy to have DP record on all of them at once and split them up by MIDI channel for you, so you can still do what you want to accomplish. Haven't done this in a long time and for various reasons can't test this for you right now, so this here's recalled by memory:

1. Be sure your keyboard is set up properly in OSX' Audio MIDI setup, listing all MIDI channels you want to use. This is where DP gets its info on your keyboard from.

2. In DP, check "Multi Record" under the Studio menu

3. Create a MIDI track for each channel in Kontakt (or whatever you're driving), label them accordingly (i.e. Staccato, Legato, whatever)

4. Since you checked Multi-record, you can select an input source for each MIDI track. Set the inputs to the different MIDI channels from your keyboard.

5. Record enable all tracks.

Hit record and go to town. (In fact it should work even before you press play, as long as they're all record-enabled.)

Again, I haven't done this in a LONG time, but it should work. Do report back.

PS: If it doesn't work, try changing the DP preference in MIDI & Solo Patch thru from the default "Auto Channelize" to "Direct Echo". But only if the above doesn't work - I don't think that's necessary, but I don't remember fully... come to think of it, no, I don't think it is.

thanks...i tried that but if i set "direct echo" i can't hear anything

[MIDI Life Crisis]

so can i see more than one track in a single stem of the score editor?
if yes can you tell me how?
thanks!

Well, when I think stems I think audio, I'm referring to MIDI (although you can see multiple audio as well in a single window (the graphic editor). You just select the tracks you want to appear and that's what you see. Deselect the ones you don't want to see and they are invisible. You also have the option of hearing just what you're seeing of the entire mix (or part thereof).

DP has (IMO) the best MIDI editing of any DAW, hands down.

What I'd love to see is semi-transparent audio displays so I could overlap them visually instead of stacking them, but not a big problem. DP used to do that in 5.1 more but now placing an audio segment "behind" another hides it.

BTW, you can also select the color of each MIDI track so when your editing several channels at once it's easy to see what you're actually editing without guess work. Of course, clicking on a note plays that note (if you so desire).

[Dan Worley]

You do need separate tracks for each channel, since MIDI tracks are organized by channel in DP. But as far as I can remember, it's pretty easy to have DP record on all of them at once and split them up by MIDI channel for you, so you can still do what you want to accomplish. Haven't done this in a long time and for various reasons can't test this for you right now, so this here's recalled by memory:

1. Be sure your keyboard is set up properly in OSX' Audio MIDI setup, listing all MIDI channels you want to use. This is where DP gets its info on your keyboard from.

2. In DP, check "Multi Record" under the Studio menu

3. Create a MIDI track for each channel in Kontakt (or whatever you're driving), label them accordingly (i.e. Staccato, Legato, whatever)

4. Since you checked Multi-record, you can select an input source for each MIDI track. Set the inputs to the different MIDI channels from your keyboard.

5. Record enable all tracks.

Hit record and go to town. (In fact it should work even before you press play, as long as they're all record-enabled.)

Again, I haven't done this in a LONG time, but it should work. Do report back.

PS: If it doesn't work, try changing the DP preference in MIDI & Solo Patch thru from the default "Auto Channelize" to "Direct Echo". But only if the above doesn't work - I don't think that's necessary, but I don't remember fully... come to think of it, no, I don't think it is.

thanks...i tried that but if i set "direct echo" i can't hear anything

Set MIDI Patch Thru to Auto Channelize. Uncheck "Sync Recorded MIDI to Patch Thru" (or turn local control off at your keyboard).

c-ya,

Dan Worley

[Kubi]

What Dan said...

[Killahurts]

Yep, Auto channelize, multi-record.

When you go to read/ print the score, you have the "merge" command.

[Prime Mover]

Yeah, I sorta wish there was a little more support for multi-channel composing in DP. Showing multiple tracks in the MIDI Edit Window is a great start, but changing between which track is the active edit is a little on the slow side, you have to go way up to the corner, and click in a tiny little space where the pencil icon is.

This is why I keep floating the idea of "smart folders", in which you could setup custom settings. For instance, you'd have a "Violin I" folder, with all your violin articulations in separate tracks. Most of the time, you'd just collapse the folder, and see all the MIDI data together as one track (which they sorta implemented in DP7, though it does look a little different than I originally suggested). Double click it, and it opens the MIDI Edit window with all the tracks selected. But then, you could use the number keys to instantly switch the selected track in the order it appears. I have some other ideas for my "smart folder" paradigm, but they don't pertain to this topic.

[tusitala1982]

Yep, Auto channelize, multi-record.

When you go to read/ print the score, you have the "merge" command.

what is the "merge" command and how does it work?
thanks again