bandcoach
Zukatoku - Mod Scientist
so, yes, you describe what we call controllers - devices that generate midi data that the daw or other hardware synths use to make sounds
We all use midi if we are creating new note material in our daws and recording the data stream - it is the note date, the velocity data, the other control data.
Velocity is so named because of the way they decided to track how hard a key was pressed - a piano is capable of producing a wide variety of sound levels simply by changing how hard the key is pressed; this pressure, however is the result of how fast the key is actually pushed down. Electronically speaking we can measure the time it takes for the key to move from the off position to the on position and use that as a measure of the velocity or dynamic level with which the key was activated - shorter time greater velocity (which stands to reason - think about moving from point a to point b in traffic or on foot - the time taken and the distance covered is able to give you a measure of your average speed or velocity)
channel numbers are the midi channels 1-16; in standard GM we set channel 10 to be a drum track all others are open for deployment as you see fit
after-touch is where you can press down on the keys of certain keyboards and cause a modulation of the signal to be performed - you have to map after-touch to the specific part of the synth that you want to modulate and preset things like depth/intensity mapping as well - in most cases the after-touch is pre-mapped to pitch variation to mimic vibrato on strings and winds
the other continuous controllers can affect other aspects such as
1 - Modulation ~ assign to any synth parameter but usually vibrato rate
2 - Breath Controller ~ assign to any variable but usually a volume parameter much akin to the expression controller (CC11)
4 - Foot Controller ~ A pedal modulator similat to all of CC1, CC7, CC11,
5 - Portamento Time ~ the actual minimum time to move from note to note when the portamento switch is turned on CC65
7 - Main Volume ~ overall channel volume
8 - Balance ~ Controls the left and right balance, generally for stereo patches. 0 = hard left, 64 = center, 127 = hard right
10 - Pan ~ L-R stereo placement of a mono signal. 0 = hard left, 64 = center, 127 = hard right
11 - Expression Controller ~ crescendo/decrescendo control within the channel volume - think of it as fine volume control vs the coarse volume set by CC7 - this is how you create swells
64 - Damper pedal (sustain) ~ hold the notes played when depressed
65 - Portamento ~ turns on the portamento feature when depressed
information about CC8 taken from http://nickfever.com/402/production-tips-and-resources/midi-cc-list/
We all use midi if we are creating new note material in our daws and recording the data stream - it is the note date, the velocity data, the other control data.
Velocity is so named because of the way they decided to track how hard a key was pressed - a piano is capable of producing a wide variety of sound levels simply by changing how hard the key is pressed; this pressure, however is the result of how fast the key is actually pushed down. Electronically speaking we can measure the time it takes for the key to move from the off position to the on position and use that as a measure of the velocity or dynamic level with which the key was activated - shorter time greater velocity (which stands to reason - think about moving from point a to point b in traffic or on foot - the time taken and the distance covered is able to give you a measure of your average speed or velocity)
channel numbers are the midi channels 1-16; in standard GM we set channel 10 to be a drum track all others are open for deployment as you see fit
after-touch is where you can press down on the keys of certain keyboards and cause a modulation of the signal to be performed - you have to map after-touch to the specific part of the synth that you want to modulate and preset things like depth/intensity mapping as well - in most cases the after-touch is pre-mapped to pitch variation to mimic vibrato on strings and winds
the other continuous controllers can affect other aspects such as
1 - Modulation ~ assign to any synth parameter but usually vibrato rate
2 - Breath Controller ~ assign to any variable but usually a volume parameter much akin to the expression controller (CC11)
4 - Foot Controller ~ A pedal modulator similat to all of CC1, CC7, CC11,
5 - Portamento Time ~ the actual minimum time to move from note to note when the portamento switch is turned on CC65
7 - Main Volume ~ overall channel volume
8 - Balance ~ Controls the left and right balance, generally for stereo patches. 0 = hard left, 64 = center, 127 = hard right
10 - Pan ~ L-R stereo placement of a mono signal. 0 = hard left, 64 = center, 127 = hard right
11 - Expression Controller ~ crescendo/decrescendo control within the channel volume - think of it as fine volume control vs the coarse volume set by CC7 - this is how you create swells
64 - Damper pedal (sustain) ~ hold the notes played when depressed
65 - Portamento ~ turns on the portamento feature when depressed
information about CC8 taken from http://nickfever.com/402/production-tips-and-resources/midi-cc-list/
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