Live MIDI Input Working with Live MIDI Input |

Live MIDI Input is very simple to use. Whenever the Beatnik Editor is running, the external MIDI source feeds the Beatnik MIDI Synthesizer, subject to the controls in the Player window:
The Beatnik Editor's MIDI Input is available at all times; that is, whenever the Beatnik Editor is running, the Beatnik MIDI Synthesizer will respond to the live MIDI input source you've selected in the Preferences dialog box. Live MIDI input can access all 16 MIDI channels, providing that the Player window's channel Mute buttons are off. The channel Solo buttons in the Player window also apply to live MIDI Input. The Player window's sampling rate, channels (mono/stereo), and reverb controls also affect notes arriving from the live MIDI input. Selecting Channel 1 Instruments: When you select a new Instrument in a Session window, the Instrument name will appear immediately in the Keyboard Instrument display of the Player window ; however, the Instrument will not be activated until you click a note on the onscreen keyboard. As a result, any Live MIDI Input notes received on channel 1 during that interval will continue to sound with the previous channel 1 Instrument. When playing the Beatnik Editor Instruments live from a MIDI keyboard, you'll notice some latency - when you press a key, there's a short delay before the note triggers, usually at least 20 milliseconds. This latency can be very irritating when trying to play complex musical passages. Unfortunately, latency is unavoidable due to the system software that routes MIDI messages between applications, and the Beatnik Editor's audio output buffering that prevents the sound from breaking up when your computer is very busy. See also Coping with Latency, below. Tip: Rather than playing the Beatnik MIDI Synthesizer in real time, we recommend you do your live MIDI playing and sequence recording on instruments other than the Beatnik Editor . Then, once the MIDI performance is recorded in the sequencer, assign the same track to play back through the Beatnik Editor. About MIDI and Instrument Programs
If you're new to MIDI and music on computers, you may want to read the following description of how MIDI programs and MIDI channels relate to the musical Instruments you hear when a song is played.
In MIDI, Instruments are called Programs, and every one of the 16 MIDI channels can have a different Program at any given time. To select the Instrument for a channel, you'll need to send the Beatnik Editor a MIDI Program Change event on that channel. The Instruments are numbered 0 through 127, as they appear in the Instruments window.This is how all of MIDI works, not just the Beatnik Editor. In MIDI, Instruments are grouped into Banks of up to 128 Instruments each, and MIDI Program Change events always select an Instrument from the current Bank. All Beatnik playback software includes three different Banks: Bank 0 is Beatnik's General MIDI Bank Bank 1 is Beatnik's Special Bank Bank 2 is the User Bank, containing any Custom Instruments you make To access these Banks in your sequences, you'll need to send a MIDI Bank Select command (controller 0) to the Beatnik Editor. For further details, see the heading Program Change and Bank Select in the section For Musicians. Coping with Latency
As mentioned above, there will be a noticeable delay between the Beatnik Editor's receipt of a MIDI note and the time you hear the corresponding note. This can present some difficulties, so here are a few tips on making the best of the situation:
When recording a MIDI performance into your sequencer, if you want to play on the Beatnik Editor MIDI synthesizer despite the delay, then make sure your metronome or click track is also assigned to the Beatnik Editor MIDI synthesizer - otherwise, your live performance will be recorded out of sync with the other tracks. Another recording trick: Try reducing the tempo of your sequencer to a very slow speed while recording your performance, then restore the proper tempo when you're ready for playback. If this works for your playing style, it will minimize the effect of the latency, making it much easier to stay in time. Sync is also an issue when playing your sequence back. Because of the latency, if you play a MIDI sequence with some tracks assigned to the Beatnik Editor synthesizer and other tracks assigned to other MIDI instruments, then the tracks assigned to Beatnik will play late - out of sync. So, if exact synchronization is important to you, don't drive both the Beatnik Editor synthesizer and other MIDI instruments at the same time, from the same MIDI sequence. Note: Some MIDI sequencers offer instrument-by-instrument lag correction - for example, Cubase's `delay' setting. If you really want to align the Beatnik Editor synthesizer with other MIDI instruments (and your music has a constant tempo), this feature can be used to compensate for the latency. With enough practice and patience, many musicians have been able to learn to do a pretty good job of compensating for the latency.

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