Save As MID Merges Tracks

[Malachy Tun]

Hi all,

I'd like to export my project to a MIDI file so I can use it in a visualiser program, meaning all that's necessary is the notes themselves, and which track they're on. Whenever I save the project file as a MIDI, some of the tracks have merged into one. I checked this using Anvil Studio (a really old MIDI-based editor, but it's great for looking at MIDI data itself), and it seems most tracks are empty? Any advice?

Thanks!

Edited August 13, 2021 by Malachy Tun
added Cakewalk screenshot

[John Vere]

Yes Anvil is a great old simple sequencer. I’ve used it lots to find stuff that Cakewalk event list seems to miss.  
 

But you need each midi track using it’s own channel or that will happen. And the limit is 16. 
 

The Tts1 is a good tool to use for testing midi files. If the project plays properly with it then your midi file will play on all GM devices 

Edited August 13, 2021 by John Vere

[Malachy Tun]

Thanks for clearing that up to me! I'm still definitely a noob at Cakewalk, coming from a different DAW just a few days ago. Turns out that none of the instruments had an assigned channel, but assigning them all to channel 1 exports it correctly for each track, so problem solved! Thanks again!

[John Vere]

Hmm. I find that odd that only using Channel 1 would result in a multi track export. But then I always use SAVE AS- MID.  type 1  I never use export. 

Here's a explanation I found.  

Type 1 files contain separate information for each track. For a Type 0 file, however, all the tracks are merged into a single track, although MIDI channel information is still retained. When a Type 0 file is loaded into a sequencer, it will take each channel’s information and put it on a separate track. So for a typical sequence with one track per MIDI channel, it will normally not matter if the sequence is saved as Type 0 or Type 1.

But if your source sequence has several tracks assigned to the same MIDI channel (for example several drum tracks playing the same program on the same channel, but with an individual drum sound on each track), then it is best to export it as a Type 1 file. If exported as Type 0, all tracks assigned to the same channel will be merged into a single track when the .MID file is loaded.

[RBH]

Another consideration is the base channel used to input the original midi data. Controllers typically can be switched to output on any of 16 channels. I've seen cases where you might migrate to different tracks and route playback to separate channels - thinking you are composing for all different instruments on their respective channels , but still be inputting data on just 1 channel. Mid type 0 doesn't respect tracks  nor the channels you intend to playback on. It's worth looking at the Event list for each channel you intend for specific instruments to make sure the channel data is separated properly. then save as - or export to type 0 if you want all data on a single track.