What is the difference between velocity and volume?

[Megashark]

I work with ableton drum racks and I have been leaving my velocity at 0%, but I discovered you are not supposed to do this. What is velocity and what percent should I have it at generally? And yes, I already googled this and found nothing

 

[bandcoach]

Velocity is vector; having both speed and direction - physics 101.

On a piano you use a key that you push down to make a sound - this is the direction. How hard you push the key translates directly into speed: the faster a key moves the more sound it generates (the louder the sound is). So velocity is an analogue for dynamic levels

This was how the designers of the MIDI Spec 1.0 gave MIDI the ability to create dynamics on the fly from a press of a keyboard key.

Now to your problem: IF you leave velocity set at 0 then you are unlikely to have any sound come out, although I do not think that that is how the drum rack is set up.

More likely the velocity % is a sensitivity value, meaning that it sets how much the velocity will affect the overall generated dynamic level of the drum sample, a velocity controlled loudness as such.

MIDI volume was designed as a rough and ready method for mixing sounds in multi-timbral setups - multi-instruments, multi-outputs - it is like the gain on a preamp - set it at 64 for 1/2 the total output level or 127 for maximum output or anywhere else that achieves your desired outcome.

 

[hollandturbine]

Velocity can be used to call up a soft sample like the light tap of a drum stick on a cymbal from a light key press to the sound of a whopping big crash when hitting the key harder, however some instruments don't really make proper use of velocity and so they cheat by just lowering the volume of a basic sound and this can be somewhat confusing because in such instances velocity and volume are indistinguishable.

 

[Gods Ghost]

If you use a midi that isnt made for velocity you can adjust the velocity afterwords in the piano roll

 

[Yunus Rajabiy]

Velocity can be used to call up a soft sample like the light tap of a drum stick on a cymbal from a light key press to the sound of a whopping big crash when hitting the key harder, however some instruments don't really make proper use of velocity and so they cheat by just lowering the volume of a basic sound and this can be somewhat confusing because in such instances velocity and volume are indistinguishable.

Thanks for the answer!!!

 

[vasudev]

Hi all

Volume or gain is related to amplitude; velocity is related to speed.