Subject:Midi Time Signatures?

Posted by: knowbody

Date:10/14/2002 2:28:11 AM

Is it possible to get midi to play in 3/4 time? I changed the Project time signature and the time signature in the list editor but the midi loops are still treated as 4/4 time. What have I missed or is there something missing?

Thanks,

Chris (Hunt)

Subject:RE: Midi Time Signatures?

Reply by: Iacobus

Date:10/14/2002 11:32:35 AM

If the MIDI info is already recorded, it's basically going to stay that way even if you change time signatures. The same applies to digital audio. If you paint/draw a 4/4 loop over and over in a project that uses 3/4, it'll eventually be out of whack.

Basically, the time signatures are there as an aid to you. ACID has no way of knowing how many beats are in a measure and what note value gets a beat.

HTH,
Iacobus

Subject:RE: Midi Time Signatures?

Reply by: knowbody

Date:10/14/2002 7:07:34 PM

Sorry, I mean Acid is ignoring the midi time signature. I've tried creating a 3/4 time loop with the piano roll in Acid and I've imported a midi file originally in 3/4 time but Acid paints them as 4/4 time. I realise the time signature in the Acid main window is just a guide but what about the time signature within midi tracks themselves? Acid seems to be ignoring them. Has anyone made a project in 3/4 time incorporating midi tracks?

Chris

Subject:RE: Midi Time Signatures?

Reply by: SonyNateM

Date:10/15/2002 8:43:43 AM

What I believe mD is saying is that ACID simply syncs with the MIDI track beat for beat. ACID doesn't necessarily care about measures or time signature. If you have a 3/4 MIDI file, and you set your ACID project to 3/4 as well, your measures will 'sync' as you expect them to.

Nate

Subject:RE: Midi Time Signatures?

Reply by: knowbody

Date:10/15/2002 10:46:37 PM

Sorry, if I'm being dense, but I'm talking about loops. I had created a midi track and changed the time signature to 3/4 time. I painted 6 measures. When I loop this in acid there is a 'gap'(a missing fourth measure?).

Having said this, I just discovered that if I paint 12 measures, the gap disappears and the file loops properly. I'm probably demonstrating my complete lack of musical knowledge but if I paint 3 measures in 3/4 time and the same 3 measures in 4/4 time shouldn't they loop differently? Somebody, please explain.

Chris

Subject:RE: Midi Time Signatures?

Reply by: SonyNateM

Date:10/16/2002 9:41:31 AM

It has nothing to do with the time signature at all. ACID defines then length of the MIDI "loop" by the last measure in your MIDI file that has any information. So, if you last note is at 4.2, then your MIDI file will be five 4-beat measures long, or 20 beats. As you are working in 3/4 time, this will end up being 6 and a half measures long. Do you see what I mean? Changing the time signature just changes how long in measures the loop is, it doesn't change the data inside or number of beats.

I know it's a bit confusing, but just remember that ACID will always sync with the MIDI file's beats, regardless of time signature. If you find that you cannot create a MIDI loop that loops the way you want it to, simply copy and paste the data a few times over in the Piano Roll until your loop is either as long as you need, or becomes a length that loops properly.

Subject:RE: Midi Time Signatures?

Reply by: Jacose

Date:10/16/2002 1:19:29 PM

you may have created the midi loops incorrectly, mAKE SURE THERE IS not any PIANO ROLL information in that 4th beaT.

Subject:RE: Midi Time Signatures?

Reply by: knowbody

Date:10/16/2002 9:20:09 PM

Hi Jacose, after reading Nate's post I'm not sure what you mean! The piano roll shows 3 beats to a measure as the midi time signature is set to 3/4 time. So that means there is no fourth beat or the fourth beat is the first beat of measure two!! (?).

Nate's tip about copying and pasting data until it loops properly is a good one - I guess the number of beats will always divide by 4. I don't think Acid is syncing to the number of beats - number of beats relative to what? If it were just the beats alone then wouldn't painting one beat cause a continuous sound with Acid looping on every beat? Acid is looping every four beats and if the number of painted beats doesn't divide by 4 then a 'gap' occurs. If the number of painted beats does divide by 4 then there is no gap.

Chris

Subject:RE: Midi Time Signatures?

Reply by: SonyNateM

Date:10/17/2002 10:19:01 AM

Chris,

ACID "syncs" with every beat in your MIDI file, however, the length of your loop is always rounded up to the end of the current measure (assumed to be 4 beats, it's possible that this could change with future updates to the Piano Roll). So, if you paint one beat into your MIDI file at 1.1, then your loop will be one measure, or 4 beats) long. If you are working in 3/4 time, it's quick and simple to do the math and just make your loop 12 beats long (3 measures in 4/4 == 4 measures in 3/4) This way you don't have to copy and paste for the length of your project.

HTH,
Nate

Subject:RE: Midi Time Signatures?

Reply by: knowbody

Date:10/17/2002 7:01:51 PM

Thanks Nate. Regarding midi tracks tt would be nice if in a future version Acid determined the measure to loop taking the midi time signature into account.

Chris