[LAU] Can you experts answer questions about a MIDI a composer sent me?

[Edgar Aichinger]

Hi David,

Am Montag, 13. November 2017, 05:14:11 CET schrieb david:
> Sending this separately to linux-audio-users and rosegarden-user lists, 
> so apologies in advance if anyone sees it twice.
> 
> It's by a fractal music composer, Albrecht Niekamp. The MIDI is 
> generated somehow from fractal images he makes using Fractint and a 
> complex formula framework he created. I don't know how he generates it - 
> perhaps he has his own program that transforms his fractals into MIDI files.
> 
> The piece is called Taiko Trance.
> 
> I imported it into Rosegarden, found 10 tracks in it, assigned each to a 
> Taiko Drum soundfont I found on the internet and recorded it. You can 
> find it here in MP3 and WAV format, plus his original MIDI file and my 
> Rosegarden project file:
> 
> http://clanjones.org/david/albrecht/
> 
> I like the way my rendering sounds. But here's his response to my rendering:
> 
>  > So sorry, David. I dont recognize my music
>  > The rhythm is completely gone, the speed is wrong too
>  > and there is one instrument that does not belong there.
>  >
>  > Even the "syncopated" Hirajoshi scale melody is there
>  > [when he plays his original composition using his software
>  > on his system] this has completely vanished in your version.
>  >
>  > Re your remark about surround audio: the phase shifting I applied
>  > does something very similar - moving voices to rear and front.
>  > This effect too has vanished.
> 
> He listens to his pieces through a "30-year old Marantz 4-channel" 
> system, so I can't duplicate that listening experience if his hardware 
> is adding things to the sound (such as the front/rear positioning).
> 
> In subsequent emails, he mentioned an 11th track in the MIDI. As the 
> Rosegarden project shows, I only found 10 tracks.

I tried kmidimon on that file , as it gives a neat overview and shows tracks as tabs with event lists. 

File: TaikoTrance_061117B.MID
Created: Montag, 13. November 2017 08:09:31 CEST
Modified: Montag, 13. November 2017 08:09:31 CEST
Format: SMF type 1
Number of tracks: 11
Number of events: 24 609
Division: 120 ppq
Initial tempo: 57 bpm
Duration: 00:11:30.176

So the file indeed has 11 tracks, but track 1 is a "master track" with just the meta information (time/key signature and tempo), no musical data.

The ten music tracks all show a program change 116, one CC10 and CC7 value at the beginning, and only note on/off events after that. The tracks all use their own dedicated MIDI channels, not in ascending or any other order though.

I imported the file in Mixbus 4 and used a small Taiko sf2 seemingly made from Roland samples, the first one I found. It doesn't cover the whole note range, but what i get sounds pretty similar to yours, groove-wise, although the general tune of the drums is lower in this soundfont. Here's a mp3 converted from my mixbus exported .wav file: https://www.dropbox.com/s/86kppg3a7spdpjy/Taiko%20Trance_session.mp3?dl=0

> 
> He's working on uploading a recording of what he hears when he plays his 
> MIDI file using either MS Media Player or Winamp Midi on Windows 10. 
> (According to him, Winamp Midi lets him apply "interactive realtime 
> effects" such as changes in front/rear positioning. So until I hear what 
> he's hearing, I'm lost.)
> 
> But I wonder - could someone knowledgeable check the MIDI? From some of 
> the subsequent discussion, I'm wondering if he's somehow got different 
> tempos for each track? (He refers to "phasing patterns"). Or there are 
> other things about his MIDI that Rosegarden just can't handle properly?
> 
> What other sequencers could I try on his file?

I don't think you can recreate any of the additional effects and treatments he seems to use, unless he documents in detail what he's doing. The midi file carries no information about this...

> 
> Thanks.
> 
> 

Cheers,

Edgar