MIDIRECT V1.3 - (C) Copyright 2003 Wayne Bowers

OVERVIEW:	MIDIRECT (pronounced MIDI DIRECT) is a program that allows you to make chord changes to an existing midi file while preserving the structure of the song.  Download your favorite midi file from the internet and make as many chord changes as you like down to the 16th note. (Be sure to treat any copyrighted material appropriately)

METER:		When a new midi file is loaded, choose the proper METER next to the METER button and then click on the METER button to set it.  Your selected METER will show in the SONG INFO window.  If you are unsure of the METER you can click on the INFO button and it may show you the METER in the SONG INFO window as the midi data will be displayed in a text format. Click on the INFO button again to return to the input page.  The other option is to click on the GUESS button discussed below.  If you change the METER to the song any chords entered will be erased.

KEY:		When a new midi file is loaded, choose the proper KEY next to the KEY button and then click on the KEY button to set it.  Your selected KEY will show in the SONG INFO window. If you are unsure of the KEY you can click on the INFO button and it may show you the KEY in the SONG INFO window as the midi data will be displayed in a text format. Click on the INFO button again to return to the input page.   The other option is to click on the GUESS button discussed below.

TEMPO:		When a new midi file is loaded, choose the proper TEMPO next to the TEMPO button and then click on the TEMPO button to set it.  Your selected TEMPO will show in the song info window. If you are unsure of the TEMPO you can click on the INFO button and it may show you the TEMPO in the SONG INFO window as the midi data will be displayed in a text format. Figure out the Beats per minute using the formula 60,000,000 / Tempo shown in song info window. Click on the INFO button again to return to the input page.   The other option is to click on the GUESS button discussed below.

GUESS:		This button activates guess.exe which will attempt to tell you the METER, KEY & TEMPO for your midi file.

RESET:		The RESET button needs to be used if you have made changes to your original midi file and would like the new version to be used as the template.  You will need to re-input any data you have entered.

INFO:		This displays the midi file in text format in the SONG INFO window.  This can be helpful for figuring things out like the METER, KEY or TEMPO.  It also can be useful for figuring out what CHANNEL is using which INSTRUMENT.  Click on the INFO button again to return to the input page. The PREVIEW button which will be discussed later can be helpful for figuring out CHANNEL/INSTRUMENT information as well.

SEP:		When a midi file is created using the RENDER button, all of the notes on each channel are all contained in one track.  This button will seperate the note data for each channel into seperate tracks.

FROM:		After you have set the METER, KEY and TEMPO if you scroll down the SONG INFO window you will see song measure information.  Click in the SONG INFO window the beginning 16th note that you want to change and then click the FROM button. This will set the beginning 16th note for your chord change. 1:1:1 stands for 1st measure, 1st beat, 1st 16th note. You can make chord changes to the resolution of 16th notes.

TO:		After you have set the METER, KEY and TEMPO if you scroll down the SONG INFO window you will see song measure information.  Click in the SONG INFO window one 16th note after the range you want to change and then click the TO button. This will set the ending 16th note for your chord change. For instance if you wanted all of measure 1 to be changed, you would click on 2:1:1 and then click on the TO button.

CHORD:		After you have selected your FROM and TO range choose the chord root, chord, and bass note next to the CHORD button.  Once the chord is set click on the CHORD button to input the chord into the SONG INFO window. The new chord will show up in the SONG INFO window in the range that you have specified with the FROM and TO buttons. Note that when you make a chord change in the SONG INFO window the chord shows up with an asterisk "*" to the left of the chord.  This means that the CHORD has not yet been RENDERED.  The chord changes do not actually become part of the song until you hit the RENDER button.  You may make as many chord changes as you want, prior to hitting the RENDER button.  The RENDER button takes a considerably longer time to complete then using the CHORD button, so the best approach usually is to make a few chord changes with the CHORD button and then hit the RENDER button.  Note that only the chord "Maj" is available in the demo version.

PREVIEW:	This button is used to hear the selected channel next to the PREVIEW button.  The program needs to know what kind of INSTRUMENT and TYPE is on a particular channel so that it can be RENDERED properly.  Choose each of the 16 midi channels next the PREVIEW button and then click on the PREVIEW button to hear only that channel.  If the midi player immediately stops after you hit the PREVIEW button then there is no midi data for that channel.  If the midi file plays but you do not hear anything, it may be that there is only midi data in certain sections of the song.  If this is the case you would need to skip around in the midi file until you hear something to determine what INSTRUMENT is on that CHANNEL.  Note that you may be able to obtain CHANNEL/INSTRUMENT information by hitting the INFO button as well or by loading the midi file into your own sequencer.

INSTRUMENT:	This is mostly used as a reference for you to help you remember which INSTRUMENT is on which CHANNEL so that when you SET the TYPE, you understand how the CHANNEL will be processed when you hit the RENDER button.

TYPE:		This is used to determine how a particular CHANNEL will be rendered.  If set to "CHORDS" the INSTRUMENT will stay strictly on the notes of the selected chord.  If set to "BASS" the INSTRUMENT will stay in the scale of the selected chord and the root of the scale will be transposed to the selected "BASS" note.  If set to "MELODY" or "LEAD" the INSTRUMENT will stay in the scale of the selected chord.  If set to "PERCUSSION" then the INSTRUMENT is not altered at all, it is the same as selecting "NONE".  Sometimes it is good to try a few different settings to see which setting works the best for a particular INSTRUMENT. For instance sometimes a piano will sound better being set to "CHORDS" and sticking to the chord only and other times the piano will sound better if set to "MELODY" which allows it to roam around the scale of the chord.

SET:		Once you have selected the INSTRUMENT and TYPE for a particular CHANNEL, click on the SET button to confirm it.  The changes will show up in the SONG INFO window.  It is important to SET each channel that has midi data in it or it will not be RENDERED.

LOAD:		Loads the selected midi file into memory.  You will probably want to copy your original midi file to a seperate directory because the midi file will be altered.  

PLAY:		Plays the selected midi file. Your computer must be set up to associate .mid files with a particular midi player in order for this to work.  You should set your midi player to either run minimized or to a small skin so that you can still view the program at the same time the midi file is playing.  The chords in the SONG INFO window will scroll down so that you can tell where in the song particular chords are playing.  If you would like the song to start playing at a particular point in the song, click on the line in the SONG INFO window the measure at which you would like the song to begin playing at. Hit the PLAY button a second time to stop the chords from scrolling. Note that the chords scroll down to the speed of the selected tempo.  If there are tempo changes in your song the scrolling speed does not adjust to these tempo changes.  LOAD in the file demo.mid and hit the PLAY button to see an example of how the chords will scroll down as the song is playing.

RENDER:		Once you have made your chord changes, click on the RENDER button to make those chord changes part of the midi file.  It can take a couple of minutes to RENDER the chords. Note that the more quantized (precise timing) your midi file is the better this program will work. Many sequencers have features which will quantize your midi file.  

SAVE:		Saves the newly rendered midi file. The following file names in the MIDIRECT directory should not be used: BEGIN, END, MIDDLE, NEW, NULL, PLAY, PLAY1, PRE, PREVIEW, PREVIEW1, TEMP & TEMP1.  You can avoid any potential conflict by saving your midi files to a directory other than MIDIRECT. A directory right off the root directory works best, ie. C:\SONGS.  If you choose an existing midi file name, it will overwrite the earlier one without a warning.

HELP:		The information you are looking at now.

UNLOCK:		Once you have registered the program click on the UNLOCK button and enter your code to unlock the program.  You have to restart the program for your UNLOCK code to be recognized.

REGISTRATION:	This program is shareware.  The demo is limited to the chord type "MAJ".  When you run the program, at the bottom left of your screen will be a number.  After you register the program send this number via email to sunyside@panax.com. Register the software using RegSoft at http://www.regsoft.net/purchase.php3?productid=65163 Upon registering the program you will receive the code to unlock the program via email. Click on the Unlock button and enter your code to unlock the program.  The cost for registration is $20 US dollars. You have to restart the program for your unlock code to be recognized.

MIDI TO WAV	A sound card by itself sometimes does not sound that good.  There is a free program that I use called MIDINIGHT EXPRESS which can turn your midi files into .wav files using .wav files as instruments instead of your sound card.  You can turn any .wav file into an instrument !  Download it at http://www.polyhedric.com/software/mn/index.html.  What I do is record my sound card on a .wav file and the midinight express on a .wav file, then using digital audio put each of the 2 .wav files on seperate tracks, line them up, and pan one .wav file about 2/3 to the left and the other .wav file 2/3 to the right.  I have generated some nice sounding .wav files from my midi files that way.

OTHER NOTES:	The program seems to have a hard time with long directory names.  It is best to have the program right on the root directory ie. C:\MIDIRECT to avoid potential problems.  Also save your midi files not too deep in directories and do not use directory or file names that are more than 8 characters in length.  

Sometimes you may end up with some duplicate notes.  There is a free utility that can be found at www.gnmidi.com/utils/midundup.zip which removes duplicate notes.

There is no need to click on a button twice. Keep your eyes on the status bar at the bottom of the window.  It will tell you what the program is currently doing.  It may appear without looking at the status bar that the program is not doing anything but if you clicked on a button it is processing your request.  Do not click on another button until it is finished with your current request.

If you are going to be downloading many midi files off the internet take care to watch out for computer viruses.

CONTACT:	You can email me with comments, bugs or questions at sunyside@panax.com.  Also look for updated information on the program at http://snow.prohosting.com/mididiom/midirect.htm

PROGRAMMING:	Some of the software used to create this program has been written by Guenter Nagler and has been used by permission.  If you would like more information about his software go to http://www.gnmidi.com/

DISCLAIMER:	Use MIDIRECT at your own risk.  Anything you do with MIDIRECT is your responsibility, and not the author's.  Any damage caused to any person, computer, software, hardware, company, or business by running MIDIRECT  is your responsibility, and the author will not be liable.  If you don't understand these terms, or are not sure of something, or are afraid something bad might come from using MIDIRECT, don't  use  it!  You are here forewarned.


