Create Midi Medley from 3 separate midi files ?

[Andrew Burroughs]

Hi clever guys !!

I'm still learning the software - but has anyone some tips or pointers on how to create a midi medley from 3 different midi files (or 2 or 4 !!)

My old Midi software programme is too clunky to do this and hoping Bandlab might have sufficient midi edit tools.

Basically if I load one midi file and eg it finishes at measure 120, how can I load another midi file at eg measure 121 (1 bar for transition).

I know I'll have a few programme changes and channel volumes to change at the transistion - except drums will stay same and maybe bass.  Probably swap some tracks about to 'line up' any voices staying same.

In principle can Bandlab do that ?

Any key steps you'd suggest ?

Many thanks

Andy

[Zaquria]

1 hour ago, Andrew Burroughs said:

Hi clever guys !!

I'm still learning the software - but has anyone some tips or pointers on how to create a midi medley from 3 different midi files (or 2 or 4 !!)

My old Midi software programme is too clunky to do this and hoping Bandlab might have sufficient midi edit tools.

Basically if I load one midi file and eg it finishes at measure 120, how can I load another midi file at eg measure 121 (1 bar for transition).

I know I'll have a few programme changes and channel volumes to change at the transistion - except drums will stay same and maybe bass.  Probably swap some tracks about to 'line up' any voices staying same.

In principle can Bandlab do that ?

Any key steps you'd suggest ?

Many thanks

Andy

All you have to do is Drag the Midi clips on top of each other (Making sure that they all start at the same place), then you can select all the elements and then "bounce to clips" so you then have one Clip.

[user 905133]

59 minutes ago, zaquria said:

All you have to do is Drag the Midi clips on top of each other (Making sure that they all start at the same place), then you can select all the elements and then "bounce to clips" so you then have one Clip.

 

2 hours ago, Andrew Burroughs said:

Basically if I load one midi file and eg it finishes at measure 120, how can I load another midi file at eg measure 121 (1 bar for transition).

EDITED: I don't remember trying this with midi files, but with *.wav files I want to concatenate, I zoom in as tightly as I can, put the now time at the end of one file, and then drag the file in after it (that is, where the now time is).

I will test this shortly to see if this also works with *.mid files. I will report my results either way (works/doesn't work).

I tested with the method with PTN loops and with entire midi files.  It works. I

1. placed the Now Time cursor at the end of one file (in the Track View)
2. dragged the second file to where it lined up with Now Time cursor. (That is, I released the mouse button when the file being dragged was directly on top of the Now Time cursor.

I did this both from Cakewalk's Media Browser and a third party file navigation tool I use.

Edited May 29, 2020 by User 905133

[Andrew Burroughs]

Thank you Zaquria and 905133.

Just to be clear - each midi file typically has 12 tracks - so after the first file is loaded from measure 1 and ends at 120 - I need the 2nd midi file to start from measure 121.

Zaquria I am not familiar yet on handling clips - but can the clip contain the 12 tracks all stemming from the 2nd midi file ?

[user 905133]

30 minutes ago, Andrew Burroughs said:

Just to be clear - each midi file typically has 12 tracks - so after the first file is loaded from measure 1 and ends at 120 - I need the 2nd midi file to start from measure 121.

Yes, I understood you wanted the files one-after-the-other. (Apologies for using "concatenate."  My bad.  ?  )

In my test, I used files with multiple tracks.  I did not juggle the different clips  on the different tracks to line them up. So, if a bass part were on track 3 in file 1, on track 7 in file 2, and track 2 in file 3, I did not drag them around, duplicate them and reassemble them into my own bass track, etc.  It should be easy to do in Cakewalk. 

Since I don't generally do this, I will defer to others who do and to others who know the relevant links in the online documentation and the correct pages in the Reference Guide.

I just jumped in because I saw you wanted to place the files end-to-end, knew I could do it with audio files, and wanted to quickly test to see if it could also be done with *.mid files.

Edited May 29, 2020 by User 905133

[scook]

Something to consider

• Opening a MIDI file sets the project tempo to the tempo data in the MIDI file.
• Importing a MIDI file strips tempo data as the program loads the data into the project; the imported MIDI data will run at the project tempo.

[user 905133]

I wanted to do follow-up on this because one of my long-term to-do sets of projects is to port and update some of my older tunes from a hardware sequencer (backed up as *.mid files) into Cakewalk.  So, thanks for asking about this--it gave me a convenient opportunity to move one step closer!  ?

Results will be different based on a number of things, especially the files you are opening, but in case it helps, here are two screen shots. (1) shows the result of placing file 2 after file 1.  Here I have zoomed in all the way. (2) shows the result after file 3 has been placed after file 2. The zoom is almost all the way out.  

I look forward to the recommendations of others on this process.

(1)     

(2)    

Edited May 29, 2020 by User 905133

[Zaquria]

1 hour ago, Andrew Burroughs said:

Thank you Zaquria and 905133.

Just to be clear - each midi file typically has 12 tracks - so after the first file is loaded from measure 1 and ends at 120 - I need the 2nd midi file to start from measure 121.

Zaquria I am not familiar yet on handling clips - but can the clip contain the 12 tracks all stemming from the 2nd midi file ?

So you are loading a Midi song then by the sounds of it?

If I am right with what you are saying, you can either right click the midi file in explorer,  in the popup menu, click on open with and select Cakewalk Application. This will load the Midi song into Cakewalk. This will load your 12 tracks (As from your post) into Cakewalk for you to edit etc. Or you could use File/Import/Midi to load your midi songs.

You can open more than 1 Midi file (Project) at a time, so you can drag and drop Clips from one project to another easily enough. 

 

[Andrew Burroughs]

Thank you again guys for your help and esp 905133 for the screen shots.

I've just played around with 2 midi files and got them in a new blank project 'in sequence' - ie one following the other.  Yes there are tracks in the 2nd file that need moving up / down so same patches (eg bass guitar) end up in a row.  Now looks like your pasted screenshot 905133 !

Now I'm looking in the event list and can see by track the notes programme and volume commands etc where the which I know I will have to edit / remove esp at the transition from file 1 to file 2.  Must admit I don't find this event list easy to understand at the mo but it's all a bit new.  I am struggling to see how to insert types of meta data in the event list - but that's because it's all new.

I did and still do all my editing in XGWorks (yes a Windows 98 editor !) - but frankly very easy to edit meta data.  And let's face it - midi is just a series of events.

I don't use the VSTs - I just play the midi out into my external GM sound machine (it's a Merish) which is actually used on stage for our band's midi backing tracks.  So the VSTs will not help as they won't represent the actual sound (or volume etc) of the 'live' machine.  The Merish is loaded with the performance midi tracks as a playlist.  No PCs !!

OK final quick question on this as a process - I've got the 2 midi files now in the one project.  Now I want to create one new midi file of the medley (the output !).   If I go Edit - Select All  - and then Export - I can't see how to get a new midi file out, which will be the medley (everything is greyed out).

 

 

 

[Andrew Burroughs]

1 hour ago, zaquria said:

So you are loading a Midi song then by the sounds of it?

If I am right with what you are saying, you can either right click the midi file in explorer,  in the popup menu, click on open with and select Cakewalk Application. This will load the Midi song into Cakewalk. This will load your 12 tracks (As from your post) into Cakewalk for you to edit etc. Or you could use File/Import/Midi to load your midi songs.

You can open more than 1 Midi file (Project) at a time, so you can drag and drop Clips from one project to another easily enough. 

 

Zaquria - yes exactly right - thanks !

I hadn't realised you could have 2 projects open at once and drag from 1 to the other - never had that luxury before on my previous midi editors (which are v old and basic).

I'll try that too as an experiment

I've go some learning to do - in between the wife's priority jobs ha ha.

[scook]

Use File > Save As instead of Export to create a new MIDI file

 

[Andrew Burroughs]

10 hours ago, scook said:

Use File > Save As instead of Export to create a new MIDI file

 

Thanks Scook.  Sounds so obvious now you've said it.  I'll try tonight when I can escape the clutches !