[LAU] Looking for Resource Help with using Midi in a Church and School

[R.Wolff]

mowestusa schrieb:
> I'm looking for guidance.
> 
> I serve at a church and school, and we would like to begin using midi but no one here knows a lot about it. Personally, I use Linux as my main work desktop and home desktop, and have done some Linux audio recording and editing under Linux, but nothing with midi.
> 
> Before the church invests tons of money in a new keyboard or midi software that only runs under Windows. I was wondering if:
> 
> 1. What are some good resources on the web to understand what midi can do for us and what it can't do? (Basically, where can I learn about midi as a technology.)
> 
> 2. We would like to use midi for (School Music, accompaniment for the children to learn new music. Choir Music, accompaniment for the choir director so she does not have to play the piece and direct at the same time, might be nice here to be able to play just the bass line then all four parts at once. Church Music, accompaniment for congregation for services when we don't have a live organist or when we have a small group worship setting. Church Music, to add variety of instrument sounds that we can't get from an organ or a piano.)
> 
> 3. Finally, can midi under Linux handle the above tasks. What would be a wise investment in equipment to get started with the goals above? I don't want to spend $2000 on a new keyboard when instead something like the Yamaha QY100 would be a better investment. I have asked others if I can have their midi files and many have said that they are in Qbase so I imagine a Windows Program format will not work with Linux software. We do have a keyboard with Midi in and we do have a Pentium 1Ghz with 512megs of ram, would that be enough to get us started if we buy an midi interface, and I have no idea which one?
> 
> Even if you just point me to some reading materials, it would be appreciated, because we are in the dark right now.
> 
> Thanks,
> ----------------------------
> | Steve                    |
> | mowestusa at yahoo.com      |
> | mowestusa.nixsyspaus.org |
> ----------------------------
> 
> 
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-- 

Well, Cubase can very niclely export MIDI files, wether in SMF Type 0 or Type 1 
format. So that should give you plenty to work with if you have some outboard 
MIDI soundmodule/sequencer like a Yamaha QY100.
Your friends would have to make sure though that they're exporting their files 
in GM/GS format preferably, so they would match the instruments on most any 
GM/GS compatible/conforming sound module.

I don't know about your 1 Ghz/512 MB RAM PC if it'll be able to handle 
Rosegarden or not.
Personally I have NEVER EVER had a chance to make it work correctly.
1 MIDI track only, routed to an outboard synth, or whereever, gave 100% CPU 
usage. That's simply ridiculous. Maybe I don't quite understand as of yet how to 
properly configure my PC for linux use, but it's an AMD XP2200+, with 2 GB of 
DDR 400 RAM, 5 fast HDD's (3xIDE, 2xSATA). So I don't know how far you'll get.

As for a MIDI interfaces, I guess almost any would do today, as long as you're 
using a recent kernel and a class compliant USB2MIDI box.

HTH

Raphael ;)

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