Introduction to MIDI and Computer Music: DP MIDI Recording

Digital Performer MIDI Recording

Here's what to do if you want to record MIDI notes into a Digital Performer sequence by playing on a Korg keyboard.

On the Korg, turn off Local Control.
1. Press the GLOBAL mode button on the Korg.
2. Press the MENU button.
3. Press the F2 function key, which is beneath the MIDI item on the page menu.
4. Press F8 [Open]. Now you should see a screen like the following.
5. Using the arrow keys, navigate to the checkbox labeled "Local Control On."
6. Use the DEC button to uncheck the setting.
Check to see that the Bank Map is set to KORG.
1. Press the GLOBAL mode button on the Korg.
2. Press the MENU button.
3. Press the F1 function key, which is beneath the SYS item on the page menu.
4. Press F8 [Open].
5. Press the F2 function key, which is beneath the Pref tab.
  Now you should see a screen like the following.
6. Using the arrow keys, navigate to the Bank Map field, and set it to KORG (not GM as shown).
Set up the Korg for use with an external sequencer (Digital Performer).
1. Press the SEQ button on the Korg to enter Sequencer mode.
  
  You should see 000: NEW SONG on the display. (If not, press F8, and choose Delete Song before continuing.)
2. Press F8 [Utility], and use the arrow keys to navigate to the GM Initialize item.
3. Press F8 [OK], then press it again to confirm.
  In case you're wondering, this sets up the Korg so that you'll hear some reverberation on all the tracks.
In Digital Performer, make sure that each track has a unique output device and channel number. An output device is usually just the name of a synthesizer, such as "Triton Le" for ours. Channel numbers range from 1 to 16, and they are appended to the device name in the track list — e.g., "Triton Le-1".
A channel can play only one sound at a time. For example, you can't request a guitar and a tuba sound for the same channel. So a guitar track and a tuba track must have different channel numbers.
Find the OUTPUT column in the Tracks window.

If the device names and channel numbers don't look right to you, click and hold on the OUTPUT column entry for a track to get the hierarchical menu of output devices and channels. Choose "Triton Le-X" to select channel X on the Korg.
Set up Korg patches for each track. First, you have to find the DEFAULT PATCH column in the Tracks window. You may need to drag the window divider — the dot pointed to by the arrow below — to the right in order to reveal this column.

Click in the DEFAULT PATCH column.

This gives you a menu of the various banks of patches in the Korg. Most banks have 128 patches.

When you hold your mouse over one of the bank names, you see a large menu of the patches in the bank. Choose one of those patches.

NOTE: Sometimes the large patch menu covers up the bank menu. If this happens, move the Tracks window to a different part of the screen, and try again.
NOTE NOTE NOTE: Do not use the PATCH column, because its settings are not saved with the file! Use the DEFAULT PATCH column instead.
If you need more tracks, use the menu command: Project > Add Track > Midi Track.
IMPORTANT: Choose a unique channel number for each new track. Otherwise, the new track will use the same patch — and other settings, such as volume and pan — as other tracks having the same channel number.
When recording the first few tracks, use the metronome. If you play along with the metronome, the music you record will fit the beats that Digital Performer uses to display your notes. This will be important for successful editing.
Turn the metronome on and off by pressing its button in the Control Panel.
The metronome plays out of the Mac, not out of the synthesizer, which plays your notes. Normally, you don't need to worry about this distinction, except to adjust the metronome volume.
Here's how to set up the metronome.
1. Double-click the metronome icon in the Control Panel to open the Click & Countoff Options dialog.
2. Set Source of click to Internal speaker.
3. Set Click options to Always click.
4. Turn the Internal speaker click volume all the way up. (That is, drag the slider all the way to the right.)
5. Click OK to return to your sequence.
6. If the metronome is too soft, you can turn up the Mac volume using the speaker keys on the Mac keyboard.
You might want to set a few count-off measures, so that you can get used to the tempo before recording begins. The metronome plays during the count-off, but the sequence doesn't advance. To set this up, click the Count-off button in the Control Panel. To change the number of count-off measures, double-click the button.
I recommend not playing in the first measure, so as to leave room for pickup notes and for synthesizer setup messages that we'll learn about later.
Set the tempo for recording using the Tempo box in the Control Panel. Drag the BPM (beats per minute) number field up or down to change tempo. You can do this while playing or recording.

It can sometimes be helpful to record at a slower tempo than you intend to use for playing.
Click the Record-enable button for the track you want to record. It turns red.

You should hear the right sound when you play notes on the keyboard.
Press the Record button in the Control Panel to record.
You should hear the metronome as well as any other tracks you've already recorded. If you've already recorded a time-keeping track (like drums), you may want to silence the metronome by clicking its icon in the Control Panel.
Press the Stop button to stop recording.
Press the Rewind button to go back to the beginning of the sequence.
Press the Play button to hear what you recorded.
If you don't like what you recorded, either undo your recording (Edit > Undo) or choose New Take from the TAKE column menu in the Tracks window. Takes are numbered, and you can switch between them at any time to decide which take you like.