Editing midi song

[singer112001]

All:

I'd like to add one measure to the beginning of a song using my PF-1000's functions. The problem I had when I tried to do it was that all of the subsequent measures were still identified in their original positions. In the end I was not able to add the measure.

More specifially, measure 1 of the song before I tried to edit it is labelled as measure 1, beat thus-and-such, and the clock time.

I was able to insert new lines in the editor prior to the existing first measure and specify which beat the line is for. However, all of the existing measures now need to be offset by one measure so the sequencer will know how to play it.

Is there any way to do this (offset all of the existing measures so that measure 1 is now 2, 2 is now 3, throughout the song to the last measure?

A software sequencer such as XGWorks lets you do this quickly, as does Cakewalk. However I'd like to do it in the PF-1000 if possible because it seems like it should be striaghtforward.

Another task I sometimes need to do with downloaded midi songs is to add a repeat to the song for an extra verse in the lyrics. In the PF-1000 is there any way to select several measures, copy them all, and paste them into another point in the song? Again this is a straightforward task in XGWorks and I get the impression that tasks such as these are better done on a software sequencer.

Thanks very much.

Best regards,

Bob.

[Tommynyc]

I had the same question when I bought my CVP 207. After calling Yamaha, it was confirmed that it is not possible to insert measures on my instrument. This surprised me, as I was able to do so easily on my Ensoniq keyboard which is over 10 years old. I'm happy with the CVP, but its onboard sequencing capabilities are disappointing in my opinion. A computer hookup and sequencing program is necessary for me to do what I could do almost effortlessly on my antiquated Ensoniq!

Tom

[mdoyle]

I must be missing something here ...

I can easily insert/copy/paste measures on my CVP209 - assuming I have played a sequence or a loaded MIDI file into the CVP. I go to the following screens: Digital Recording, Song Creator - then tab over to the one marked 1-16 (the MIDI channels). Select the channel you want to alter using the button next to "CH1" (the default is channel 1). You should see the note sequences now. Move the highlight to where you want the bar inserted (well, almost - as it inserts AFTER the highlight, you move to the bar just before where you want it to appear - Yamaha's interpretation of insert is really my way of saying APPEND). Hit INS, and it inserts a crotchet measure (quarter beat) immediately AFTER the one your cursor is on. You can insert as many beats as you want by repeatedly hitting INS, and then edit the measure in-situ with the edit keys to whatever note/duration you want.

Alternatively, if you already HAVE the sequence recorded live on another channel, you can copy/paste that into position by just selecting the measures (press and hold Multi-select button and then move the cursor to extend the highlight).

The STEP REC button allows you to modify the note length. Simply pressing the note on the keyboard changes what note is played, though you can also use the edit keys for that too. The manual explains this ok - but just experiment ... it's pretty straightforward.

HTH
Mike

[Tommynyc]

Thanks. Say I have a song using 8 channels. Is it possible to easily insert a 4 bar introduction for the entire song? Inserting individual beats channel by channel in the note editor seems very cumbersome for this. That's the issue I called Yamaha about.

Regards,

Tom

[mdoyle]

I agree - entering note by note is a pain. You have 8 channels and want to add the intro. How is the intro split across the channels? It's a bit difficult to advise here... do you mean you have a LH/RH intro with nothing else in it (like drums, bass, ACMP) and want to insert that? (a similar song startup would be Nobody Does It Better, Carly Simon.. the first few bars are pure LH/RH piano)

Mike

[singer112001]

Mike:

I still must be missing something. Here is what I was seeing before I sent the first post, and I'm still seeing now.

I did as you suggested, go first to Digital Recording, Song Creator, and then tab over to the 1-16 tab.

Let's assume the midi song is in 4/4. What I see on the left-hand side of the display are colums marked Bar, Beat and Clk.

The first 4 lines are marked bar 1, beat 1,2,3 and 4. Lines 5 - 8 are marked bar 2 beats 1,2,3 and 4.

I then put the selector at line one and hit insert 4 times. Now there are 8 lines marked bar 1. Bar 2 starts on line 9.

The upshot is that no new bar has been inserted. What was called bar 1 is still called bar 1 and the sequencer will not play the new bar I inserted.

What I wish the sequancer to do is to re-number the bars so that the old bar 1 is now called bar 2, 2 now called 3, and so on.

Please tell me how you got your sequencer to shift the bar numbers to reflect the new measure you put in.

Thanks.

Best regards,

Bob

[mdoyle]

Ahhh. Now I understand what you're trying to do! Gosh - lot easier on a PC sequencer, by far. You can do this but it is not simple. Here's what I did (please - anyone know an easier way??):

Let's assume you have the RH on CH1 and LH on CH2 and no others channels used (basically, you need a free channel to prepare the inserted bars).

On CH1, multi-select the bars you want moved up a few bars. Then hit COPY, and change the channel to the spare on (say 3). You should see just a simple End event in the listing. Set the bar and beat/click number to where you want to move the data to (lower left of screen) - and hit PASTE. You should now see the note events but moved to the new bar positions.

Now select the channel with your intro (the RH portion) in it. Multi-select that data, and hit COPY, then move back to channel 3 and reset the bar/beat to where you want to insert that data and hit PASTE. That RESET bit is very important - the bar/beat/click indicator is on the lower left of the screen.

You now have channel 3 with all the data and the other two channels with the split data - you can either copy the whole channel 3 to the original and delete the intro. You can use the CHANNEL menu (two tabs befor ethe 1-16 one, to mix, copy or delete entire channles.

You do the same with the LH. If your LH/RH music is one one channel this is easier of course.

HTH
Mike

[mdoyle]

You can of course use cut/paste in the same channel (CH1 in the above example) but once you cut and paste, that's it, there is no undo! If you're sure you're correct, you could multi-select the note data in CH1, CUT, reset the bar/beat and PASTE. Bear in mind it only move sthe data you select, so if you move a middle section of music, it will merge with the bit beyond (not overwrite... they both play at the same time).

Mike

[singer112001]

Mike:

Thanks for sticking with it. Indeed your suggestion works and I'm able to introduce a new measure at the beginning of the song.

(The purpose of the new measure was to give me some time to prepare to sing. I had downloaded a Brahms song from the internet whose vocal line begins on beat 2 of bar 1. I wanted the extra measure to give some time to prepare to sing.)

You are also absolutely correct that it's infinietly easier to do it on a PC sequencer, especially if the song has several channels.

Having said that I'm grateful for your figuring out how to do it.

Thanks very much.

Best regards,

Bob.