Tune Smithy Retuning Midi Player - how it does midi retuning using the pitch bend method

Making Microtonal MusicHi Jill,

No need to disassemble.

Please see:
http://robertinventor.com/wiki/FAQ_-_Composition_Retuning.htm##How_can_I_write_my_own_retuning_midi_software.3F
(end of the page http://robertinventor.com/wiki/FAQ_-_Composition_Retuning.htm )

BTW you can use the FTS retuning midi player to play and retune midi files in real time for free, you only need to purchase to retune directly to a midi file or to record to midi from within the player. Also, there's a 30 day test drive which lets you try all the features for free exactly as it would be unlocked.

For anyone who might be interested to buy it, the retuning midi player requires only the midi save license level, which is currently only $7, rather than the full $50 of the complete program. I forgot to mention that on the newly redesigned web site, so I have updated it accordingly.
http://www.robertinventor.com/software/tunesmithy/retuning_midi_player.htm

If you have any questions about it be sure to ask, I'm delighted to help anyone who wants to write microtonal software, whether free, shareware or commercial. I've also been helped a lot by other programmers and suggestions from users of my programs, and other members of these forums too for that matter.

Good luck with the project!

Thanks,

Robert Walker
(author of FTS).
http://www.robertinventor.com

> It's certainly interesting, but I was really looking for free stuff. I
> can't justify spending money on something I could just as easily write
> myself. It might take a little longer, but it will be better in the
> long run.
>
> The good news is there were plenty of example retuned midi files on
> that website, and I tested them and they do play in WMP. So now all I
> have to do is pull those MIDI files apart and see how the retuing was
> done. Hopefully, I'll end up with a tool that everyone can use for free.

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

--- In MakeMicroMusic@yahoogroups.com, "Robert Walker"
<yahoogroups@...> wrote:
>
> Hi Jill,

Well hi! How nice to find you on this list, but then I guess maybe it
was not that surprising. I am truly impressed by what you've done,
including the polyrhythmic stuff too.

> No need to disassemble.

Relax, I pulled apart the MIDI files, not your program. I wanted to
see what your program had done to them. I wouldn't dream of
disassembling someone else's program just to avoid paying for it! That
would be truly mean!

No, I reverse-engineered, that's all. Since then, I have been able
successfully to create my own MIDI files using the same technique -
which is not that surprising really, since in the files I looked at,
the only technique you used was to set the pitch bend sensitivity, and
then use pitch bends. Still, I'm glad I looked - it probably wouldn't
have occurred to me to set the pitch bend sensitivity first if I had
not looked at your examples; I would have just relied on the defaults
(though I should probably have known better).

> Please see:
>
http://robertinventor.com/wiki/FAQ_-_Composition_Retuning.htm##How_can_I_write_my_own_retuning_midi_software.3F
> (end of the page
http://robertinventor.com/wiki/FAQ_-_Composition_Retuning.htm )

Strange though this may sound, I /want/ to do this from scratch,
without using anyone else's libraries.

You see, this is all because I want to compose microtonally directly
(as opposed to, compose in 12ET and then "convert" the MIDI file). To
do that, I can't use Cakewalk and it's ilk. I need a new composition
tool. That's why I want to write my own software. Writing software is
what I'm good at.

Please don't misunderstand me. I have no intention of writing a big
GUI app to rival Cakewalk. I'm not that ambitious/stupid! Instead, my
program-to-be will read its input (the music) from a plain text file
(exact format to be decided) and emit MIDI files as its output. That
idea is simple enough to achieve, but also potentially really powerful
as a composition tool.

If I gave the impression that I was too mean to buy the program, I
apologise. That's not it at all. It's just that I'm not going to use
it. I really do want to write my own thing.

I confess though that I do feel a little bit of a fraud, being on this
group. I joined because I love listening to microtonal music, and
would love to create my own, but to date I have not composed a single
piece. However, just so you know I'm not /completely/ bonkers, here's
a non-microtonal piece I did compose (which is at least in 7/8 time):

http://libsyn.com/media/thesignal/Dreams_of_the_Seventh_Star.mp3

I'm thinking of having my program emit (any of) (a) midi retuning
standard, (b) multiple devices, or (c) multiple MIDI files to be
played simultaneously. I believe your program already does that, but
my goals are different.

Thanks for replying. If I get stuck at any point, I'll be sure to ask
you (or this group, generally).

Thanks again,
Jill

Jill wrote:

>Please don't misunderstand me. I have no intention of writing a big
>GUI app to rival Cakewalk. I'm not that ambitious/stupid! Instead, my
>program-to-be will read its input (the music) from a plain text file
>(exact format to be decided) and emit MIDI files as its output. That
>idea is simple enough to achieve, but also potentially really powerful
>as a composition tool.

As mentioned, Scala does this. Also, Aaron Johnson wrote software
to do this in Python which he has shared in the past. But I gather
you want to do it yourself, which is also fine.

-Carl

--- In MakeMicroMusic@yahoogroups.com, Carl Lumma <carl@...> wrote:
> As mentioned, Scala does this. Also, Aaron Johnson wrote software
> to do this in Python which he has shared in the past. But I gather
> you want to do it yourself, which is also fine.

Reading source code may be useful as reference to write something new.

Aaron's Python tools are available at:
http://www.akjmusic.com/software/

The C sources of abc2midi might also be instructive:
http://ifdo.ca/~seymour/runabc/abcguide/abc2midi_guide.html

Cheers,
Hudson Lacerda

.

Hi Jill, Please announce your software here when you've completed it.
Thanks.

Robin

--- In MakeMicroMusic@yahoogroups.com, "Jill Arroway" <saffron@...> wrote:
>
> --- In MakeMicroMusic@yahoogroups.com, "Robert Walker"
> <yahoogroups@> wrote:
> >
> > Hi Jill,
>
> Well hi! How nice to find you on this list, but then I guess maybe it
> was not that surprising. I am truly impressed by what you've done,
> including the polyrhythmic stuff too.
>
>
> > No need to disassemble.
>
> Relax, I pulled apart the MIDI files, not your program. I wanted to
> see what your program had done to them. I wouldn't dream of
> disassembling someone else's program just to avoid paying for it! That
> would be truly mean!
>
> No, I reverse-engineered, that's all. Since then, I have been able
> successfully to create my own MIDI files using the same technique -
> which is not that surprising really, since in the files I looked at,
> the only technique you used was to set the pitch bend sensitivity, and
> then use pitch bends. Still, I'm glad I looked - it probably wouldn't
> have occurred to me to set the pitch bend sensitivity first if I had
> not looked at your examples; I would have just relied on the defaults
> (though I should probably have known better).
>
>
> > Please see:
> >
>
http://robertinventor.com/wiki/FAQ_-_Composition_Retuning.htm##How_can_I_write_my_own_retuning_midi_software.3F
> > (end of the page
> http://robertinventor.com/wiki/FAQ_-_Composition_Retuning.htm )
>
> Strange though this may sound, I /want/ to do this from scratch,
> without using anyone else's libraries.
>
> You see, this is all because I want to compose microtonally directly
> (as opposed to, compose in 12ET and then "convert" the MIDI file). To
> do that, I can't use Cakewalk and it's ilk. I need a new composition
> tool. That's why I want to write my own software. Writing software is
> what I'm good at.
>
> Please don't misunderstand me. I have no intention of writing a big
> GUI app to rival Cakewalk. I'm not that ambitious/stupid! Instead, my
> program-to-be will read its input (the music) from a plain text file
> (exact format to be decided) and emit MIDI files as its output. That
> idea is simple enough to achieve, but also potentially really powerful
> as a composition tool.
>
> If I gave the impression that I was too mean to buy the program, I
> apologise. That's not it at all. It's just that I'm not going to use
> it. I really do want to write my own thing.
>
> I confess though that I do feel a little bit of a fraud, being on this
> group. I joined because I love listening to microtonal music, and
> would love to create my own, but to date I have not composed a single
> piece. However, just so you know I'm not /completely/ bonkers, here's
> a non-microtonal piece I did compose (which is at least in 7/8 time):
>
> http://libsyn.com/media/thesignal/Dreams_of_the_Seventh_Star.mp3
>
> I'm thinking of having my program emit (any of) (a) midi retuning
> standard, (b) multiple devices, or (c) multiple MIDI files to be
> played simultaneously. I believe your program already does that, but
> my goals are different.
>
> Thanks for replying. If I get stuck at any point, I'll be sure to ask
> you (or this group, generally).
>
> Thanks again,
> Jill
>

At 11:29 AM 9/21/2008, you wrote:
>--- In MakeMicroMusic@yahoogroups.com, Carl Lumma <carl@...> wrote:
>> As mentioned, Scala does this. Also, Aaron Johnson wrote software
>> to do this in Python which he has shared in the past. But I gather
>> you want to do it yourself, which is also fine.
>
>Reading source code may be useful as reference to write something new.
>
>Aaron's Python tools are available at:
>http://www.akjmusic.com/software/
>
>The C sources of abc2midi might also be instructive:
>http://ifdo.ca/~seymour/runabc/abcguide/abc2midi_guide.html
>
>Cheers,
>Hudson Lacerda

Whoops, yeah. Forgot ABC.

-Carl

sounds quite microtonal!

/^_,',',',_ //^ /Kraig Grady_ ^_,',',',_
Mesotonal Music from:
_'''''''_ ^North/Western Hemisphere: North American Embassy of Anaphoria Island <http://anaphoria.com/>

_'''''''_ ^South/Eastern Hemisphere:
Austronesian Outpost of Anaphoria <http://anaphoriasouth.blogspot.com/>

',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',',

>
>
> http://libsyn.com/media/thesignal/Dreams_of_the_Seventh_Star.mp3 > <http://libsyn.com/media/thesignal/Dreams_of_the_Seventh_Star.mp3>
>
>
>