Playing along with a CD

[John King]

Hi all
I've posted this subject before some time back and it produced some worthwhile discussion but it didn't solve my problem.

I have a CVP 303 and I like to play along with the "Music Minus One" CDs that are available on the internet. I have a small CD player that I can plug in to the "line in" jack or the "Aux in" jacks. If I use the "Aux in" input I find that my CD player does not have sufficient output volume so that the CVP overpowers the music on the CD unless I cut the "Right1" gain way down. Some songs, for instance, have a piano and bass part and it's very difficult to hear the bass while I'm playing, making it hard to keep time.

The "line input", on the other hand, has a convenient volume control and produces plenty of volume but also produces a very bad garbling problem. The CD sound is OK until I play some notes with it, especially a five or six note chord. Then the garbling is unacceptable. This happens with the mike switch next to the volume control in either position.

Has anybody had this problem? Does anyone play along with a CD music program input? If so, does it work OK and if so, how do you do it?

[kempedkemp]

Have not tried your methods. My stereo system is in the same room as my Clavinova so I just put CD's (all types of music) into the player and play along with the stereo.

[John King]

Thanks for your response, Ed. The reason I do this is to record my playing with the group on the CD by burning a CD of the two together as it comes out of the CVP. I guess another reason is because my stereo is in another room.

[wally]

Thanks for your response, Ed. The reason I do this is to record my playing with the group on the CD by burning a CD of the two together as it comes out of the CVP. I guess another reason is because my stereo is in another room.

Why not use the native capability of the CVP and use the guide control features along with a high quality midi to produce your recording, instead of using a CD?

[John King]

I guess I'm kind of in the dark, Wally. Are there MIDIs available with contemporary jazz and dixie combos that will access the CVPs guitar, bass, drums, horns, etc. voices with a piano lead? If so, where does one find them? Can they be downloaded?

[wally]

Yes, everything you can do with MMO can be done better using a MIDI and the guide control. You might want to start by reading over the FAQ on Tips, Techniques, and Features to understand how to use a MIDI file to play along with your favorite songs. Then go to musicrobot.com, which is a search engine for MIDI files. You can use the music robot to find a MIDI for any song you like. There are other search engines, too, but this is a good place to start.

You will find that some MIDI files are good and some not so good. Just keep searching until you find one you like. I used to have a tutorial on the site that taught how to use the music robot. It seems to have disappeared with our transition to the new web site. I'll have to get Sean to resurrect it.

[John King]

Thanks Wally.
I have used some of the MIDI files that came with the CVP, "The Nearness of You", "Blue Moon", etc. that are kind of fun. I turn off channel one which has the lead piano but there other channels with piano parts. I can turn these off as well but they don't stay turned off. I have to keep hitting the OFF button as I play when I see it being turned back on. I can't turn them off in "Song Creator" either as the commands seem to be protected. So I will check out musicrobot. Maybe downloaded MIDI files will be more permissive.

[wally]

Yes, they will. The disks that came with the CVP were designed to demonstrate the CVP's capabilities, and so they contain a lot of system executable commands that normal MIDI files won't. As for playing along, I much prefer playing along with MIDI files than with a CD because with a MIDI, and using the guide control's "Next Note" feature, you can control the tempo of the music and it will wait for you if you stumble. Very cool.

[John King]

Thanks again, Wally.
But I still wonder why I get gross distortion when I play along with my CD player when its output is piped into the line-in jack. Could my playing really be that bad?