Creating with MIDI - MIDI.org Forum https://midi.org/community/creating-with-midi MIDI.org Discussion Board en-US Thu, 15 Oct 2026 09:25:14 +0000 wpForo 60 Harmonic_mpe https://midi.org/community/creating-with-midi/harmonic_mpe Sat, 10 Oct 2026 12:00:05 +0000 I’ve been working toward something that looks at MPE and acoustic modeling from an additional angle. My intent is both a philosophical and practical exploration of expression.

First off, I am incredibly grateful for the pioneers of MIDI and acoustic modeling. From the early wild west and east days of creating standards, to the incredible minds pushing things forward today, thank you. It’s this foundational work which provides the freedom and ease to tinker, hack, and rethink how to interface with sound design and musical inventions of all sorts…

Lately, I’ve been obsessed with how we, as humans, drive expression but also that which “expresses” upon us, a form of cohabitation. The brilliant EaganMatrix acoustic modeling engine and the way it handles organic, fluid responses is magical or perhaps elegantly mathematical. An equally brilliant mathematical generative sandbox is KARMA. Created entirely to express human intent, breaking free from the rigid midi landscape of yesteryear. Dedicated MPE controllers are also beautiful, the QuNexus was a great step in the journey and the current offering of fantastic controllers is growing, but I started wondering about all sorts of friction we create which could translate into musical expression.

How to expand on these foundational implementations as well as learn, by looking back to go forward?

How to achieve a similar deep, independent per-note expression which is musically aware of itself by using music theory as a variable in the model?

Eventually being able to introduce many new variables and modes of expression…

Currently, a functioning rough draft of something akin to a voice allocation scheme I am calling: HARMONIC_mpe. This might be the long lost keytar cousin of 6 string allocation. 🤪

I have been able to build a routing bridge that leverages KARMA v3.3 for the Motif XS with off the shelf MIDI 1.0 gear to unlock a “musically aware” style of multi-dimensional, acoustic-modeled expression. The goal isn’t to automate my music, but to create a setup where I’m generating the dynamics, using all forms of inputs to express multi-dimensional articulations on individual notes within a chord or phrase. And that chord or phrase also musically lives and breathes.

 

The Canvas: a multi-channel setup (Song mode) on the XS, and or a large mix of multi-timbral synths to create the voices specifically tuned for “organic, acoustic-style modeled” types of responses or easily re-geared towards a yet to be discovered soundscape.

 

The Brain: I am using a 6-module setup within the KARMA software. Instead of using it to generate traditional tracks, it’s acting as a “musically aware” voice allocation router.

 

The Splitter (Note Series Index Filters): play a chord, KARMA’s filters instantly recognize the chord structure and cleanly separates the notes —sending the indexed intervals to distinct modules. Such that the Root note goes to Module 1, the 3rd to Module 2, and so on. Each module gets its own dedicated MIDI channel. And by extension, when the sound module has multi-channel output, separate audio chains for post processing.

 

The Human Driver: By using KARMA’s DynMIDI matrix, I can mimic axis movements thru standard physical gestures—like moving individual faders, pedals or pads from MIDI 1.0 controllers—and map them directly to those specific modules. This extends to non human organic drivers of expression, using nearly any “midi controller” becomes possible. Weather, time, density, proximity, any sensor, any data which can be translated to midi CC.

Because the indexed notes are already separated by the filters and routed to distinct midi channels, “wiring” a traditional midi data stream thru DynMIDI cleanly reshapes and modulates the root of the chord. While another data stream breathes life into another interval of the chord. Each interval distinct but always perfectly or as imperfectly harmonious as expressed… much is yet to figure out

 

 

A Few Thoughts on Musical Intent & The Road Ahead

What excites me most about this setup, even as a legacy project, is how it unlocks a musical intent for both generative midi and acoustic modeling. In this sandbox, a chord is “understood” rather than simply transmitted. Because the routing relies on KARMA’s Index math rather than being strictly pitch-based, the musical structure itself becomes an active participant in how data flows. The system inherently knows the relationship of the notes within the harmony, changing how interactions are mapped.

It also challenged me to expand the horizon of what expressions might actually be possible. True musical articulation is more than just what a physical finger touches. We must respect the physical “cohabitation” we share with an instrument, but also remember that we already play countless instruments through an intermediary—sticks for a drum, bows for a violin, or complex mechanical hammers for a piano. And certainly math…

Should that intermediate layer not naturally extend to all possible interactions? After all, a physical guitar slips out of tune in humid or dry conditions. Saliva accumulates and alters the resonance of a brass horn. So many wild, chaotic environmental variables enter into how our ears ultimately perceive a sound—well beyond the neat, direct tactile intent of its original creator.

By decoupling the note-triggering surface from the modulation source, I am simply leaning into that acoustic chaos, introducing entirely new macro-gestural dimensions into physical modeling. Ultimately, I look at this setup as a transition.

As the saying goes, “a bridge gets more people to the promised land than a catapult.” For myself, heavily invested in the fun and exploration of both new and “legacy” gear, this offers a healthy, functioning pathway forward. It allows me to keep some beloved instruments relevant within a framework like MPE—which, if I am being completely honest, resides as one of truly beautifully formulated, brilliant hacks.

 

The fun truly starts when playing the mpe controller of your choice to modulate the over 400 parameters within each KARMA module routed back to an mpe enabled sound module!

 

Expressing a musical intent in real-time from each axis of the controller.

 

MIDI 2.0 is to me the new wild frontier, the promised land!!!

A work in progress…

 

 

 

PEACE
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]]> Creating with MIDI Thethirdapple https://midi.org/community/creating-with-midi/harmonic_mpe I've got a MIDI DAW - how do you control volume on VSTs that don't accept CC numbers? https://midi.org/community/creating-with-midi/ive-got-a-midi-daw-how-do-you-control-volume-on-vsts-that-dont-accept-cc-numbers Sat, 10 Oct 2026 09:18:19 +0000 Dear Anyone.

Quick Score Elite Level 2.  It's MIDI Central, and CC Commands for everything.  Unfortunately a lot of VSTs don't do CC commands and don't have MIDI Learn. I've got a large collection of things that make lovely noises but I can't use because they're stuck on full volume! Anyone know of ANYTHING I can use as an insert effect to just turn sounds up and down? Doesn't have to do anything else, just accept CC commands itself so it can turn the channel volume up and down, to make the sound ON that channel louder and quieter. Don't care if it's called Volume or GAIN as long as it makes things louder and quieter.

I know Blue Cat but Blue Cat's got a big problem.  You can only use it on Channel One of multitimbral VSTs, if you try to put it on any other channel it doesn't actually do anything! It's not perfect on Channel One - one of the progs that doesn't have MIDI-LEARN is Kontakt - if you set up a multi in Kontakt and try to turn it up and down via MIDI/CC7 instead of turning the whole multi up and down as one combined sound, it turns the INDIVIDUAL SOUNDS UP AND DOWN INDIVIDUALLY - thus wrecking the combined sound! 

There's GOTTA be SOMETHING else out there.... hopefully VST32 though I DO have JBRIDGE if necessary.  

Anyone got any ideas?

 

Yours hopefully

Chris.

]]> Creating with MIDI Christopher https://midi.org/community/creating-with-midi/ive-got-a-midi-daw-how-do-you-control-volume-on-vsts-that-dont-accept-cc-numbers SNES MIDI Remaster Project (New Release September 13 2026) https://midi.org/community/creating-with-midi/snes-midi-remaster-project-new-release-september-13-2026 Wed, 16 Sep 2026 14:23:00 +0000 I have been working on a project for the last several years remastering my favorite soundtracks from the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) as high quality GS MIDI Files, and uploading the completed soundtrack videos to YouTube, as well as having the MIDI files available for download.

 

New Release - September 13, 2026

Super Ghouls ‘N Ghosts  https://youtu.be/h9P_PLq-1RQ

 

This soundtrack has notes that “interfere” with each other at the note off/on transition in nearly every song and every channel.  Pitch bends and expression changes meant for the new note affect the previous note, causing all sorts of auditory anomalies.  In an attempt to compensate, I tried to add a new feature in to MIDI-MIS, and at this point, I realized that I needed to completely rewrite the core of my editor if I wanted to continue adding features.  The old code became too convoluted to follow, and MIDI data was split in to too many data containers that needed constant synchronization.

So instead of finishing the soundtrack in a few months’ time, I rebuilt MIDI-MIS from the ground up, making it tremendously more efficient, and so much easier to upgrade as needed.

The major new feature added for this soundtrack is that it can now take a MIDI channel and split the notes and corresponding commands to a new empty channel.  Odd-numbered notes are left on one channel, and even-numbered are moved to the new channel.  This gives notes that have an extended decay room to breathe without being unintentionally modified by the next note’s commands.

The other major change for this release is that it is officially the first soundtrack I have completed using the new spc2midi-tsuu that is being written by aikiriao.  spc2midi-tsuu picks up where classic spc2midi left off, fixing a lot of things that classic doesn’t do well and adding a lot of things that the original lacks.  I “finished” the soundtrack using the classic version several weeks ago, but I was not happy with the results.  There were assorted discordant pitch issues that I just couldn’t iron out.  So I gave spc2midi-tsuu a shot, and I’m happy to say it worked out fantastic.

NOTE: If you have previously downloaded any of my finished MIDI files, I will hopefully be updating them in the next few months.  While testing out spc2midi-tsuu, I realized that most of my GS Percussion SYSEX commands were stored with invalid checksums.  Most software seems to ignore this, but I plan on fixing and cleaning up the previously completed files as time allows.

 

The full SNES MIDI Remaster Project playlist can be found here:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzNFPVjo8upworyQq0DXDTiCZzPP29Frw

 

The most recent WIP version of my editor MIDI-MIS can be found here:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/114K2TuMGXu7w_vX-iBWI0Kf9RCb9wi6K?usp=drive_link

 

Soundtracks currently remastered:

Axelay (re-release)  https://youtu.be/YJC4pmL1hGU

Battletoads and Double Dragon: The Ultimate Team  https://youtu.be/bt8FIzJuIu8

Battletoads in Battlemaniacs  https://youtu.be/lLnt43QQxcQ

Gradius III  https://youtu.be/XXcfmE7TOho

Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past  https://youtu.be/IknXcaQYxaY

Prince Of Persia  https://youtu.be/cFp1Dos_ltM

Super Castlevania IV  https://youtu.be/r0-P66UJDzY

Super Castlevania IV (Prototype)  https://youtu.be/PPQJMg3UVng

Super Double Dragon  https://youtu.be/6ICJpRNXzaM

Super Ghouls ‘N Ghosts  https://youtu.be/h9P_PLq-1RQ

Super R-Type  https://youtu.be/3ApAJHJDjc4

Super Tetris 2 + Bombliss   https://youtu.be/XXcfmE7TOho

Super Tetris 3  https://youtu.be/gM_1ZuOsjlU

Super Valis IV  https://youtu.be/I_UBQWP0OGI

 

Making of SMRP https://youtu.be/DKRim0JcXVg

 

More info about the project/documentation can be found at
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1op35g2ALiWenpXUNndyuHikq6ZlfmQuG?usp=drive_link
with additional per-soundtrack info located in the video descriptions.

 

Previous SMRP release posts with extra development info:

https://midi.org/community/creating-with-midi/snes-midi-remaster-project-new-release-december-19-2025

https://midi.org/community/creating-with-midi/snes-midi-remaster-project-update-july-7-2025

https://midi.org/community/creating-with-midi/snes-midi-remaster-project-updated-january-22-2025

https://midi.org/community/creating-with-midi/snes-midi-remaster-project-updated-november-25-2024

https://midi.org/community/creating-with-midi/snes-midi-remaster-project-updated-july-5-2024

https://midi.org/community/creating-with-midi/snes-midi-remaster-project-updated-may-3-2024

https://midi.org/community/creating-with-midi/snes-midi-remaster-project-nov-2023-update

https://midi.org/community/creating-with-midi/snes-midi-remaster-project-updated-july-31-2023

https://midi.org/community/creating-with-midi/snes-midi-remaster-project-march-9-2024-update

 

]]> Creating with MIDI Jason https://midi.org/community/creating-with-midi/snes-midi-remaster-project-new-release-september-13-2026 Oh no... My SNES MIDI Remaster Project downloads contain invalid GS SYSEX https://midi.org/community/creating-with-midi/oh-no-my-snes-midi-remaster-project-downloads-contain-invalid-gs-sysex Mon, 31 Aug 2026 15:56:30 +0000 Just an FYI if you have previously downloaded any of my SNES MIDI Remaster Project MIDI files, particularly any released in the past couple of years, I have just discovered that most of my GS percussion assignment SYSEX commands were written with invalid checksum bytes.  Some software will ignore this, so might not cause any issues.  However, I will be going back through all my files and fixing the checksums at some point, and when I do I will upload the corrected versions of each.  I'll follow up here when I do.

]]> Creating with MIDI Jason https://midi.org/community/creating-with-midi/oh-no-my-snes-midi-remaster-project-downloads-contain-invalid-gs-sysex My first ever real MIDI https://midi.org/community/creating-with-midi/my-first-ever-real-midi Sat, 25 Jul 2026 17:33:51 +0000 Hey everyone, I don't know if this is the right place to upload this MIDI, but I made my song Broken Heart (available on every platform by EthanMG250) and I wanted to make a MIDI version of it so... Yeah, i think it's really good for my first ever serious MIDI. It has patch changes in the middle of the song (because I have 16 channels and i needed a 17th one so i made one channel change its patch), volume automations, modulation and velocity changes. Hope y'all enjoy it! removed link (Official).mid/file

]]> Creating with MIDI Daniel Khrisov https://midi.org/community/creating-with-midi/my-first-ever-real-midi Research survey on music accessibility and AI https://midi.org/community/creating-with-midi/research-survey-on-music-accessibility-and-ai Wed, 22 Jul 2026 09:53:51 +0000 Are you a musician who uses MIDI and other digital tools, and interested in accessibility and AI in music?

The <a href=" removed link " target="_blank" rel="noopener">Accessible Digital Music Network, in collaboration with the ERC G3S Project, is currently running an online survey on Accessible Digital Music and AI. Everyone with experience using digital music tools who identifies as living with a disability or access requirement is welcome to participate!

The survey covers AI in digital music, spatial audio, and accessible music practice more broadly. The spatial audio section is skippable, so you can answer whichever parts match your experience. It takes approximately 25 minutes, though the duration may vary depending on your replies to specific questions.

The survey works best on a computer (we have tested it with Mac VoiceOver for Chrome): <a href=" removed link " target="_blank" rel="noopener"> removed link

We are looking forward to getting to know more about you and your views and ideas regarding Accessible Digital Music!

]]> Creating with MIDI Emma Frid https://midi.org/community/creating-with-midi/research-survey-on-music-accessibility-and-ai SMF download sites paid and free - Introducing myself https://midi.org/community/creating-with-midi/smf-download-sites-paid-and-free-introducing-myself Sun, 12 Jul 2026 19:06:38 +0000 Hi,

My name is Joël and I work with computer music for 20 years. I started with Gtk+-2.0 for UI as it was released around 2002 and did my first programming experience with ANSI C99. Most coding was done on an intel based notebook running debian unstable.

Since hacking is a time expensive task, I enjoy creating music by importing SMF to my sequencer software.

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A future goal would be to make more music and less programming.

So can you recommend any websites for SMF download?

----

regards, Joël

]]> Creating with MIDI Joël https://midi.org/community/creating-with-midi/smf-download-sites-paid-and-free-introducing-myself Default Expression level? https://midi.org/community/creating-with-midi/default-expression-level Fri, 03 Jul 2026 22:16:10 +0000 Is there a standard default value that is assumed for expression if none exists in a MIDI file?  I'm leaning toward 127, but I don't know if that's correct.  I need to add in some default expressions before the file eventually changes it.

]]> Creating with MIDI Jason https://midi.org/community/creating-with-midi/default-expression-level spc2midi-tsuu: A new SPC-to-MIDI converter https://midi.org/community/creating-with-midi/spc2midi-tsuu-a-new-spc-to-midi-converter Thu, 02 Jul 2026 09:28:25 +0000 Recently, I released spc2midi-tsuu, an open-source SPC-to-MIDI converter.

spc2midi-tsuu converts SNES SPC sound files to Standard MIDI Files (SMF). It is strongly inspired by the classic spc2midi by GIGO and Hill. I respect the original spc2midi very much, but I wanted to make a new converter with a workflow that makes MIDI editing easier. VGMTrans is also an excellent tool, but for SPC files I wanted to explore a different conversion approach, especially around pitch slides and the MIDI editing workflow.

spc2midi-tsuu is based on SPC playback emulation and focuses on MIDI editing, especially easier MIDI program assignment.

The tool is open source and available here: removed link

Please note that spc2midi-tsuu does not provide or distribute SPC files, ROMs, commercial game data, or converted MIDI files.

Questions, suggestions, and bug reports are welcome.

]]> Creating with MIDI aikiriao https://midi.org/community/creating-with-midi/spc2midi-tsuu-a-new-spc-to-midi-converter Introducing Myself https://midi.org/community/creating-with-midi/astrophotographic-music-videos Sat, 20 Jun 2026 04:46:35 +0000 Hi everyone!

I began working with MIDI in 1982, right after I graduated college with a degree in classical music theory and composition.  My friend Gary Leuenberger, who is a pianist and who owned a piano store in San Francisco, where I live, called me one day around 1985 to invite me and a few other musicians to hear Bach's Brandenburg Concerto in D major, the first movement, that he programmed for 8 DX-7s (the TX816 rack) using the Yamaha QX-1 sequencer.   I was hooked.  From that day until today, I've been immersed in MIDI composition and production.  I've scored for TV, film, dance, animation, games, documentaries and other commercial projects before I "retired" from soundtrack work to focus on my own compositions and albums.  I am also immersed in astrophotography and have produced, so far, 17 music videos featuring my astrophotographs set to music.  Some of the soundtracks are specifically written for the music videos, some are symphonic movements and other works I've composed for my albums.  

I'm not allowed to post the link to my website but it's easy to find. I'm currently working on my 14th symphony for virtual instruments.  Feel free to ask me anything you want about MIDI composition and production. Maybe I can be of help.

Jerry

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]]> Creating with MIDI Jerry Gerber https://midi.org/community/creating-with-midi/astrophotographic-music-videos