Live MIDI Input |

How to work with the Beatnik Editor's continuous MIDI Input.
Notes:
Beatnik Editor version 2.0 Users: You no longer need to use a MIDI sequencer to route a connected MIDI controller (such as a keyboard) to the Beatnik Editor's Live MIDI Input. Just select the device in the Preferences dialog. Beatnik Editor version 1 Users: The Beatnik Editor's MIDI Input feature now operates all the time - there's no longer any need for the Link to Sequencer command that appeared in earlier versions. Just select the right MIDI Input source in the Preferences dialog box. If you don't have any Session documents open, Live MIDI Input won't work. That's because the Beatnik Editor keeps all its Instruments in Session documents, and it can't play MIDI notes when it doesn't have any Instruments to play them on. Mute Buttons Affect Live MIDI In. In the Player window, if a MIDI channel's Mute button is on, then live MIDI notes arriving on that channel won't be heard. The channel Solo buttons also affect Live MIDI Input. Instrument Changes Require a Click on the Onscreen Keyboard. 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.
Topics:
About Live MIDI Input Setting Up for Live MIDI Input Mac OS Windows Working with Live MIDI Input About MIDI and Instrument Programs Coping with Latency About Live MIDI Input
The Beatnik Editor's Live MIDI Input feature gives you a way to send notes, Controller messages like pitch bend, Program Changes, and any other MIDI messages to the Beatnik MIDI Synthesizer inside the Beatnik Editor. This means you can use MIDI to audition and play Beatnik Instruments and control the mix and reverb, at the same time you're editing your Samples and Instruments in the Beatnik Editor. When you realize that live MIDI input can also come from a MIDI sequencer program, you'll see that the Beatnik Editor is an environment where you can develop your notes, your patches, and your mix all at the same time - so music-making is easier, and you're much more productive.
These incoming MIDI messages can come from many different sources, falling into two main groups:
Pieces of software running on the same computer - usually a MIDI sequencer program. External MIDI sources - Keyboard devices, other controllers, and other computers.
Connecting with pieces of software running on the same computer doesn't require any MIDI interface hardware, just some MIDI system software to connect the two programs (see Setting Up for Live MIDI Input, below).
If your computer has the right MIDI interface hardware, MIDI input can also come from any external MIDI device - a MIDI keyboard, a MIDI electronic drum set, or a MIDI program running on a second computer with its own hardware MIDI interface. This is the way you play the Beatnik Editor's synthesizer from an external keyboard, not just the onscreen keyboard in the Player window .
Often you'll want to use both approaches at the same time. The preferred set-up for many composers and arrangers is to run both the Beatnik Editor and a MIDI sequencer program at the same time, on the same computer, and use a MIDI keyboard for easier note entry. This approach also requires a hardware MIDI interface:
Setting Up for Live MIDI Input
To use Live MIDI Input, you'll need to install the appropriate system MIDI software drivers, and then in the Beatnik Editor Preferences dialog box select your desired MIDI input source. This procedure depends on your operating system, and on which MIDI hardware and software you have.
Mac OS
The Beatnik Editor's Live MIDI Input feature, like all MIDI software for Mac OS, requires the use of a separate MIDI routing software package: the Open MIDI System (OMS), and for users of Mark of the Unicorn's Performer, the FreeMIDI package. These packages allow MIDI sequencers, or other programs, to recognize the Beatnik Editor and send MIDI event streams to it.
To set up a Mac OS computer for Live MIDI Input in the Beatnik Editor:
If your situation requires a hardware MIDI hardware interface, get one. Many different models and brands are available. See your favorite computer or music store for a consultation. Get the appropriate system MIDI routing software for your computer: We support the Open Music System (OMS). Users of Mark of the Unicorn's Performer will also need FreeMIDI. They can both be downloaded from the Web. OMS is available at: http://www.opcode.com/downloads/ For best results, make sure to get version 2.1 or greater. FreeMIDI is available on your Performer CD, or at: http://www.motu.com/english/download/ If either of these sites are inaccessible, do a Web search using your favorite search engine. Install your software and optional hardware from steps 1 and 2, following their provided instructions. In the Beatnik Editor, go to the Preferences dialog box and in the Choose MIDI Input Device listbox, select OMS. If you want to feed the Beatnik Editor's Live MIDI Input with a MIDI sequencer program running on the same computer, see also Linking to Your Sequencer. Windows Note for Windows 2000 and NT Users: You should be prepared for a certain amount of irregularity in live MIDI event timing, as these operating systems are optimized for server processes, not real-time media presentation.
To set up a Windows computer for Live MIDI Input in the Beatnik Editor:
If your situation requires a hardware MIDI hardware interface, get one. Many different models and brands are available. See your favorite computer or music store for a consultation. If you want to feed the Beatnik Editor's Live MIDI Input with a MIDI sequencer program running on the same computer, get an inter-application MIDI connection driver. Beatnik recommends you use MIDI Yoke: http://www.midiox.com/myoke.htm Install your software and optional hardware from steps 1 and 2, following their provided instructions. In the Beatnik Editor, go to the Preferences dialog box and in the Choose MIDI Input Device listbox, select the appropriate item. On a typical Windows machine equipped with a Sound Blaster Live! Card, this is often SB Live! Midi UART. If you're using MIDI Yoke, select that instead. If you want to feed the Beatnik Editor's Live MIDI Input with a MIDI sequencer program running on the same computer, see also Linking to Your Sequencer.

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