Contents
MidiSmith Sequencer Contents

  Introduction

  Shareware Registration

  Main Screen

  Track Control Screen

  Instrument Control Screen

  Configuration Screen


MidiSmith Introduction
Introduction to MidiSmith

 The MidiSmith program is a Midi file Player with extended control capabilities.   It bridges the gap between MIDI file players such as the Windows Media Player or the Creative Labs Soundblaster Jukebox and the full sequencer programs which can produce complete MIDI files from scratch.

MidiSmith is used to play Standard Midi (*.mid) files.  Standard Midi files are defined by the International MIDI Association and can be played through software written for various computers and operating systems (DOS, Windows, Macintosh, Atari ...).  Midi files are broken into components called "Tracks" which contain the Instrument definitions, tempo information and notes to be played.

MidiSmith allows you to view and modify the following information used in playing the music:

Instruments/Voices being used in tracks.

The tempo (speed) of playback

The pitch at which the notes play (Transposition).

Additionally the main volume for playback may be set, playback may be restricted to certain tracks (following the General Midi specification of Base and Extended Sequencer capabilities) and the Midi output device may be selected.

Changes you make may be saved to a MidiSmith Sequenence (*.msq) file which records playback information for the file.  Original files are not altered in any way.  If multiple files have been selected, all the files and the settings for each file will be saved as a sequence.


Shareware Registration

You may freely distribute the shareware version of MidiSmith (which has the word "Shareware" over the version number displayed on the main screen) provided that no fee is charged for copying, distribution, or use, and that it is unmodified and distributed with all of its original accompanying files and documentation. Registered copies of MidiSmith (which display a registration number)  may not be copied or distributed in any way or form.  Computer Systems & Solutions disclaims all warranties, express or implied, including but not limited to warranty of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose, and will not be liable for any damages resulting from the use of this software.

MidiSmith is copyrighted © 1994 by Computer Systems & Solutions.  Registration of this software is required for use beyond a 30-day trial period.  A registered copy of MidiSmith can be obtained for $40, including shipping and handling.  Registered users will receive an individual registered copy of MidiSmith.  In addition, registered users will receive the next version of MidiSmith which will support true background playing when it is released and additional demonstration Midi files..

To register, fill out and send the enclosed form (or a facsimile thereof) with your payment.

The form can be accessed from this help file (Reigistration form) and printed through the Help menus:

"File" ""Print Topic"

Checks may be made out to Richard J. Ellis.

Access Registration Form

Send Registration forms to:

Richard J. Ellis

Computer Systems & Solutions

112 Avon Road

Narberth, PA  19072-2306

You may also register On-Line through Compuserve (GO SWREG).  The product registration number is 2858.  If you do, registration and update files will be sent to you via Compuserve Mail.

Any comments or suggestions are welcome and may be sent to the above address or you may send me correspondence at Compuserve ID 72072,371


Shareware Registration Form
MidiSmith Product Registration Form                      Date ________________.

Name_________________________________            Phone (______) ______-_________

Mailing Address____________________________________________________________

City_______________________________________   State ______   Zip___________

Copies - 5.25" _____  3.5" ____  Total copies ____  X $40.00 per copy =  $ _________

Fold form on lines and seal edges with tape after enclosing check. Affix Postage.

Make Checks Payable To Richard J. Ellis

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: _______________________

         _______________________

         _______________________

Richard J. Ellis

Computer Systems & Solutions

112 Avon Road

Narberth, PA   19072-2306


Main Screen
MidiSmith Main Screen

Select the area of the screen for quick access to help on a control or displayed value

The main screen is always visible while MidiSmith is running.  It contains several groups of controls to manipulate the Midi files.

File Actions

Play Control

Tempo Control

Volume Control

Transpose

Text events

Configure


Track Control
Track Data

Select the area of the screen for quick access to help on a control or displayed value

This screen shows the Instrument data for the MIDI file.  Midi files are organized into "Tracks" which contain the Midi commands needed to play the music.  A Midi file may contain two or more Tracks based on how the file author defined the layout of the instruments and how the sequencer program divides up the information.  Track 0 is always present and contains a header record with data that applies to the whole file.  Tracks 1 ... (n) contain the playing instructions for pieces of the music.

All the available Midi Channels are displayed  on this screen and when a track has data for a particular channel, the radio button by the channel is enabled and any instrument selection for that channel is displayed.

Current Track

Displays and sets the track of the Midi file which is to be acted upon.  Track number 0 when selected displays all of the active channels in the file.  Control the track number by using the scroll bar by the displayed track number.

Active Channels

Display of all the channels and instruments defined in the current track.  If data is to be sent to a channel and no Program Change (instrument selection) is found, the word "None" is displayed.  Radio buttons on the beginning of each line allow selection of a particular channel in the track for display and alteration.  The current instrument number and name is displayed at the top of the screen.

Volume

The scrollbar allows the volume to be changed for the selected channel of the current track.

Mute

When checked this causes notes on the selected channel of the current track to be ignored.

Transpose

This control allows the pitch of the instrument on the current channel to be modified.

Test

Pressing the Test button alternatly turns on and off a note on the current channel.  Auditioning of instruments may be performed in this way

Reset

This button resets any voice override that has been set on the current channel.

Voices

Displays the voice selection screen.

MoveChan

This button allows you to move a channel in a track to another channel in the same track.  Use this when a Midi file contains multiple tracks which have instruments on the same channel and you wish to change the instrument in one of these tracks.

First select the channel to move and press the MoveChan button.  Available (empty) channels will have thier radio buttons enabled.  Select a target channel radio button and the data from the original channel will be redirected to the new channel.  To change the instrument, select the channel button again and select the instrument from the voices screen.

Close

Close the Track Control window.  If the Instrument window is open, it will be closed also.


Instrument Control
Instrument Selection Screen

Select the area of the screen for quick access to help on a control or displayed value

Group

Selection List for the groups of instruments.  There are 16 groups, each of which contains 8 instruments.  Selecting a group with the cursor or mouse causes the instrument list to display that group.  The group and instrument lists track the current channel.

Instrument

Selection list for the instruments within a group.  The currently selected instrument in the group is displayed in the top box of the screen and as it is moved the instrument is changed in the selected channel of the current track.

Note: The groups and instruments displayed are the Gemeral Midi definitions.  Later enhancements will allow other instrument mappings to be defined.


Configuration Screen

Midi Output Device

The available Midi Output devices are shown in this list.  Select the MIDI_MAPPER to use the default device.

Channels

The Authoring guidelines for General Midi files define Base and Extended level Synthesizers.  Files that follow these guidelines contain two independant copies of the data.  The Base and Extnd radio buttons enable correct playback of these files by selecting only the data used by the appropriate Synthesizer.

Base Level Synthesizer

Plays instruments on channels 13 to 15 and play percussion on channel 16.

Extended Level Synthesizer

Plays instruments on channels 1 to 9 and play percussion on channel 10

Channels 11 and 12 are unused.

The button marked All allows all channels to be played for files that do not conform to these guidelines.

AbsVol

When checked, the key velocity in the Midi files is fixed  at the setting of the Volume on the main screen.  Valid key velocities range from 1 to 127 (key velocity of zero is key not pressed -- note off --).

OK

Accepts any changes to selections and returns to the main screen

Cancel

Discards any selections made and returns to the main screen


File Operations
File Group

Open

Selects Midi files to play.  This button is changed to Add when at least one file is in the current play list so more files may be selected later and added to the play list.

A file selection dialog box is presented with Add and Done buttons.  Select files to play in the order you wish either by double clicking on the filename to choose or by selecting the name and then pressing the Add button or pressing return.  When all files have been selected, choose the Done button or press the ESCape key.

 Close/Exit

Clears the play list files from memory.  This button is displayed as Exit when no file is currently loaded.

Save

All the files in the current Play List are saved along with the parameters used for playback.  If only one file is in the playlist the filename will default to the Midi file name with an extension of ".MSQ".  If more than one file is in the playlist no default filename is supplied.

Tracks

Displays the Track Control screen.


Play Control
Play Control Group

Play

Starts playing the currently loaded file  The play key changes to either Pause or Resume as appropriate to the current position in the file and whether playback is active.

Pause

Stops playing the current file, leaves the current measure at the point that play was stopped  This button is displayed when playback is active.

Resume

Restarts playback at the current measure.  This button is displayed when playback is stopped and the current measure is not the beginning measure of the file.

Stop

Stops playback and resets current measure to the beginning.  When a file being played reaches the end, the Stop function is automatically activated.

Skip

Advances the list of files to be played by one.  The next file in the list is opened  This button is displayed instead of the stop button if playback is not active.  If the Resume button is active (playback was paused) the next file will start playing.

Current Position

The scroll bar along with the Current measure value and the Length value shows where the current measure is in relation to the size of the file.  The left and right scroll pointers move the current measure down or up.  The thumb can be dragged to rapidly alter the current measure value.  Playback stops while the measure value is being changed and resumes when released.


Tempo Control

Time Signature

Displays the current time signature and allows modification. Some Midi files dynamically alter the Time Signature.  This will override any changes you made..

Beats/Minute

The tempo of the playback is displayed in this field.  The scrollbar arrows may be used to alter the beats per minute, but frequently Midi files dynamically alter the tempo.  This will override any changes you made to the tempo.

Tempo Pct (Percent)

This field displays the current percentage of the tempo at which the file will play.  The value can be modified by the scrollbar in increments of 10 percent from 10 percent (1/10th of the original tempo) to 300 percent (3 times the original tempo.


Volume Control
Volume Group

Volume

The scrollbar arrows increase or decrease the playback volume.  The volume setting is a percentage of the Midi File key velocity unless the Absolute Volume box is checked in the configuration screen.  In this case, the volume number is the actual key velocity used when playing the file.

Normal

Soft

Mute

These are three preset volume level settings which take effect when the buttons are selected.  The default settings are Normal=100, Soft=60, Mute=30.  When a Volume Preset is selected and the "Preset" button is pressed, the current volume setting shown will be remembered for that preset.


File Transposition
Xpose

Alters the pitch of  all notes being played.  Notes may be moved up or down by up to 2 octaves.


Text Events

Shows the messages embedded in the Midi file including copyright, instruments, lyrics, cue points and markers.  If the Debug checkbox is checked, additional control information is displayed as the file is being played.  These events include Program changes, Control changes, Tempo changes, Aftertouch commands, and other potentially useful information such as the number of Time Signature records (Measure Blocks).


Configure

Displays configuration screen.  Play must be stopped before this button is active.


 PlayList

Displays the list of files which will be played in the order they will be played.  If a filename is selected from the list, it will be the next file to play either when "Play" is selected or when the current file is skipped or finished.


Song Positioning
Current Position

The scroll bar along with the Current measure value and the Length value shows where the current measure is in relation to the size of the file.  The left and right scroll pointers move the current measure down or up.  The thumb can be dragged to rapidly alter the current measure value.  Playback stops while the measure value is being changed and resumes when released.


Skip File Control
Skip

Advances the list of files to be played by one.  The next file in the list is opened  When playback is not active, the file is updated and opened but playback does not start.  If a file is currently playing, the next file will be loaded and playback will start at the beginning of that file.


Stop

Stops playback and resets current measure to the beginning.  When a file being played reaches the end, the Stop function is automatically activated.


Playback Controls
Play

Starts playing the currently loaded file  The play key changes to either Pause or Resume as appropriate to the current position in the file and whether playback is active.

Pause

Stops playing the current file, leaves the current measure at the point that play was stopped  This button is displayed when playback is active.

Resume

Restarts playback at the current measure.  This button is displayed when playback is stopped and the current measure is not the beginning measure of the file.


Open

Selects Midi files to play.  This button is changed to Add when at least one file is in the current play list so more files may be selected later and added to the play list.

A file selection dialog box is presented with Add and Done buttons.  Select files to play in the order you wish either by double clicking on the filename to choose or by selecting the name and then pressing the Add button or pressing return.  When all files have been selected, choose the Done button or press the ESCape key.


Close/Exit

Clears the play list files from memory.  This button is displayed as Exit when no file is currently loaded.


Save

All the files in the current Play List are saved along with the parameters used for playback.

If only one file is in the playlist the filename will default to the Midi file name with an extension of ".MSQ".

If more than one file is in the playlist no default filename is supplied.


Tempo Pct (Percent)

This field displays the current percentage of the tempo at which the file will play.  The value can be modified by the scrollbar in increments of 10 percent from 10 percent (1/10th of the original tempo) to 300 percent (3 times the original tempo.


Beats/Minute

The tempo of the playback is displayed in this field.  The scrollbar arrows may be used to alter the beats per minute, but frequently Midi files dynamically alter the tempo.  This will override any changes you made to the tempo.


Time Signature

Displays the current time signature and allows modification.


Transpose File

Alters the pitch of  all notes being played.  Notes may be moved up or down by up to 2 octaves.


Current Song Position

The scroll bar along with the Current measure value and the Length value shows where the current measure is in relation to the size of the file.  The left and right scroll pointers move the current measure down or up.  The thumb can be dragged to rapidly alter the current measure value.  Playback stops while the measure value is being changed and resumes when released.


Song Length

Displays the length of the current file in measures.


Master Play Volume Level

Alters the playback level of the Midi file.

If the configuration is set to Relative volume, this is a psercentage of the individual note velocities.

If the configuration is Absolute volume, this is the note velocity to be sent.  Channel volumes are applied as a percentage after this value is set.


Volume Preset - Normal

This button selects a "Normal" volume level for playback.  The default value for this is 100


Volume Preset - Soft

This button selects a "Soft" volume level for playback.  The default value for this is 60


Volume Preset - Mute

This button selects a "Mute" volume level for playback.  The default value for this is 30


Set Volume Preset Level

Sets the currently displayed Master volume as the Preset volume for the currently selected Preset.

(Normal, Soft or Mute)


Lock

Prevents the Master volume level from changing when switching between Midi files.


Event Text

Displays text events contained in the file as they occur.

Text events also include Instruments, Lyrics, Markers, Cue Points and Copyright notices.


Text Event Debug Information

When the Debug checkbox is checked, additional control information is displayed as the file is being played.  These events include Program changes, Control changes, Tempo changes, Aftertouch commands, and other potentially useful information such as the number of Time Signature records (Measure Blocks).


Current Configuration Display

Displays the currently selected output device, the channel group being used and whether the volume mode is Relative or Absolute.


Active Channels

Displays the channel(s) that have events in the current track.  The radio buttons and instrument names are displayed on active channels.  If no instrument is defined on an active channel "None" will be displayed.  When more than one channel has data, select the radio button for the channel to change the instrument, alter the volume, or change the pitch (Xpose).


Track Mute

Prevents playback of any notes in this track.


Track

Controls which of the tracks of the file is to be displayed and potentially manipulated.


Move

This button allows you to move a channel in a track to another channel in the same track.  Use this when a Midi file contains multiple track which have instruments on the same channel and you wish to change the instrument in one of these tracks.

First select the channel to move and press the MoveChan button.  Available (empty) channels will have thier radio buttons enabled.  Select a target channel radio button and the data from the original channel will be redirected to the new channel.  To change the instrument, select the channel button again and select the instrument from the voices screen.


Mute

Prevents playback of notes on the current channel in this track.


Volume

Sets the relative volume of notes played on the current channel for this track.

This is a percentage of the note velocity.


Transpose

Alters the pitch of notes played on the current channel for this track (+/- 2 octaves).


Voice

Opens the Voice (Instrument) selection window.


Current

Displays the Midi Instrument Number and the Name of the current instrument.


Test

Alternately starts and stops playback of the currently selected instrument.

This allows for auditioning of instruments.


Reset

Reverts the current channel to the original instrument and resets transposition to none.


Close

Closes the Track Control window.  If the Instrument selection window is open, it is closed also.


Instrument Groups

Displays the sixteen group names, each of which contains eight instruments


Instrument Names

Displays the eight instrument names which are contained in the Instrument Group.


Current Instrument Name

Displays the currently selected instrument for the channel


Close

Closes the Instrument Selection Window