What is it?
MID2PianoCD is a software utility for Windows which allows you to encode MIDI and ESEQ music files into the special CD formats required for various types of electronic player piano systems. These are CDs in which one audio channel contains audio accompaniment while the other audio channel contains a digital control track for the piano (sometimes referred to as "analog MIDI").
This software currently supports PianoDisc, QRS Pianomation, Yamaha Disklavier and Marantz Pianocorder formats. Note that Baldwin ConcertMaster and Suzuki player pianos use customized QRS Pianomation systems, so if your piano is equipped with a ConcertMaster or Suzuki system, you can produce CDs for it by selecting "Pianomation" encoding in MID2PianoCD.
How do I use it?
No documentation is included with MID2PianoCD, but you'll find it is extremely easy to operate. The general idea is that you use MID2PianoCD to convert MIDI and ESEQ files into special WAV-format audio files which you then burn onto an audio CD for use with your piano.
- Add one or more MIDI files to the list of source files (you can also drag and drop one or more files into the window from Windows' Explorer)
- Select the output directory where you want the WAV files to be written
- Press Start Conversion
- Take the WAV files the software generated and use any CD-burning package (EZ CD Creator, Nero, etc.) to burn an audio CD-R or CD-RW containing the WAV files. Use Disk-At-Once write mode to burn the CD if available. Also, be sure to close the session. Do not create a data CD (i.e. a CD with files and directories on it) or the disc will not play on your piano!
If you'd like to make a CD in which the piano accompanies an audio track (like some of the commercial CDs for these systems), place a WAV audio file of the accompaniment in the same directory as the MIDI file. If MID2PianoCD finds an accompaniment WAV file, it will automatically merge the accompaniment into the encoded output WAV file with correct synchronization.
What MID2PianoCD does behind the scenes is to merge your accompaniment audio track into whichever stereo channel is empty, leaving the other channel (the one with the control signal) intact.
Your accompaniment WAV file must:
- Have the same name as the MIDI file except for the .wav extension
- Use the same sample rate as the output rate you've selected in MID2PianoCD
- Be 16-bit mono (preferably) or stereo (left and right tracks will be merged during encoding)
- Share a common time reference with the MIDI file; the files will be merged aligning 00:00:00 for both files
The general procedure to create appropriate MIDI and WAV files for input to MID2PianoCD is to use a software package like Sonar to make the recording, recording both MIDI and audio into the same timeline. After editing the performance, export the MIDI and WAV files from the project separately, and use them as inputs to MID2PianoCD. Recording and editing the files together will ensure that proper sync is maintained from the start.
The above procedure works if you can achieve sufficient isolation of the piano and accompaniment audio at the time of recording. If that's difficult in your environment, another approach is to record the piano first and then the accompanying audio. For example, suppose you want to create a CD in which the piano plays along with a vocalist:
- Have the singer and pianist perform the piece together and record a MIDI file of the pianist's playing (the singer is NOT recorded in this step.)
- Add a new audio track in the timeline of your editing software
- Have the singer wear headphones. Play the MIDI file back through the headphones (i.e. NOT on the acoustic piano) and lay down a new 44.1 KHz mono WAV recording of the singer (by herself) as she sings, accompanied by the pre-recorded piano accompaniment she is listening to in the headphones.
- Export the MIDI and WAV files from the timeline and use them as inputs to MID2PianoCD.
Two applications which work well for the purpose of mastering piano+audio recordings are Powertracks Pro Audio and Cakewalk Sonar.
Contributions
MID2PianoCD is offered for free. But if you find it useful, please consider making a contribution to offset my costs and encourage further development. (Suggested amounts: USD $25 for personal use, $200 for limited commercial use; commercial use is defined as using the software to produce CDs for sale to others in small quantities (burned CDs). For extensive commercial use (pressed CDs), please contact me.)
MID2PianoCD contains no advertisements, spyware, crippled features, or other such junk, so I rely strictly upon voluntary contributions.
You can send a contribution using any of the following methods:
- Using PayPal
Click on the logo to contribute via PayPal.
You don't have to be a PayPal member to contribute, and you can use your credit card.- By check or money order - U.S. residents only
Please contact me by email for the payment address (my email address is at the bottom of this page).
Special thanks to WebOnlyPiano, a leading producer of piano+audio recordings and a major contributor to this project since 2005. Also, thanks to the handful of individual users who have elected to make contributions. Your support is essential to the future development of this software.
Download
- Version 1.05 (3/6/2007) (89 KB)
View screenshotThis software is designed for Windows 98/ME/2000/XP/Vista. It will probably also run OK under most Windows emulation environments (WINE, Virtual PC, etc.), though this has not been tested.
Tips
When encoding MIDI and ESEQ files, MID2PianoCD will automatically remap all piano parts to MIDI channel 1, as required for broadest compatibility with electronic player piano systems. This automatic modification is sufficient for most files. However, if your music files require more extensive modification to play properly on your piano system (for example, because NO channels are specified as piano parts), you will need to fix the files manually using MIDI sequencing software before you encode the files with MID2PianoCD. When editing files, be sure to use MIDI channel 1 only for piano parts.
It is not necessary to convert Type-1 MIDI files to Type-0, since MID2PianoCD supports both types, and this distinction is lost in the encoding process anyway.
Also, it is important to understand that the "analog MIDI" encoding formats supported by MID2PianoCD have some considerable limitations. The primary constraint is that they offer much less bandwidth than a wired MIDI connection. For some complex MIDI sequences, this can result in chords becoming slightly arpeggiated due to the serial transmission of note events at a much slower data rate. Because of the bandwidth constraints, MID2PianoCD strips all aftertouch and channel pressure messages from the MIDI stream during encoding.
The specific characteristics of each format are described in the following table:
wireline
CD encoding
CD encoding
CD encoding
encodingData rate (bits per second) Expression levels supported Maximum time required to transmit a note-on Minimum time required to transmit a note-on Timing granularity for the start of a MIDI event Compression used Notes the piano can play simultaneously Stereo audio channel used for music data
As you can see, some encodings have severe limitations. For example, the Pianomation and Pianocorder encodings reduce the subtle expression in the music data by encoding far fewer note velocity levels than the 127 levels MIDI supports.
For this reason, you might want to consider these other methods of playing MIDI data on your piano before resorting to the CD format:
- For the best timing and full expression: Play a MIDI or ESEQ file from floppy disk or memory disk, directly on the piano's control unit (note that Baldwin ConcertMaster and QRS Serenade Pro units also support playing actual MIDI files burned to a data CD, and the results will be far superior to playing an "analog MIDI" version of the same file).
- For decent timing and full expression: Connect a computer to the MIDI IN or TO HOST port of your piano's control unit, and use MIDI file jukebox software such as WINAMP, Windows Media Player, or vanBasco's Karaoke Player running on the computer to play MIDI files on the piano.
(The above options are not possible for Pianocorder systems, since Pianocorders cannot play from floppies and do not have MIDI inputs.)
Despite these limitations, the CD formats are very convenient to use, and for casual listening, the results are often quite acceptable. They are the most convenient solution if you want to combine a piano performance with a live audio recording.
Version history
- Version 1.05 (3/6/2007)
- Disklavier PianoSmart SYSEX messages are now stripped when encoding to any of the formats, preventing Yamaha Disklavier pianos from locking up when encountering such messages on a CD
- Added an Advanced option to convert proportional pedaling to on/off pedaling when encoding to PianoDisc format (enabled by default), since PianoDisc systems currently do not support proportional pedaling and incorrectly interpret intermediate pedal position data
- Eliminated warnings when installing on Windows Vista
- Version 1.04 (11/27/2006)
- Fixed sync drift problem when encoding Disklavier format at 48 KHz
- Version 1.03 (8/6/2006)
- Added support for automatically merging an accompaniment WAV file with the encoded WAV file using the correct sync offset
- Fixed truncation problem that occurred when encoding very long tracks (50+ minutes)
- Added support for encoding 48 KHz output files (useful for mastering piano+audio tracks for DVD and other digital video applications)
- Added support for Disklavier-style and full-range MIDI expression profiles
- Fixed a math error that was resulting in sync drift
- Tweaked PianoDisc data rate
- Tweaked Pianomation expression encoding
- Version 1.00 (1/12/2005)
- Added support for Yamaha Disklavier format
- Improved the expression dynamic range for Pianomation format
- Song titles (derived from source filenames) will now be displayed on Disklavier and PianoDisc systems (if the source file does not already contain a title SYSEX message)
- GM/XG reset SYSEX messages are now only added when the source file does not already include them
- Major improvement to the signal quality for Pianocorder encoding
- Minor tweaks to the signal quality for PianoDisc and Pianomation encoding
- Version 0.93 (10/22/2004)
- Eliminated "file is damaged" error for MIDI files containing very long pauses
- Version 0.92 (6/27/2004)
- Fixed additional problems parsing certain ESEQ files
- Version 0.91 (5/05/2004)
- Added automatic remapping of all piano parts to MIDI channel 1 for PianoDisc and Pianomation
- Improved Pianocorder signal quality
- Version 0.90 (4/15/2004)
- Fixed problems parsing certain ESEQ files
- Fixed problem of program icon sometimes showing up blank in Windows XP
- Version 0.88 (1/02/2004)
- Added support for QRS Pianomation format
- Tweaked PianoDisc waveform and amplitude for better cross-compatibility with Yamaha products
- Added a General MIDI reset to the start of each output file
- Version 0.86 (8/15/2003)
- First public release (only PianoDisc and Pianocorder formats supported)
Planned Features
- Add support for the new Live Performance LX player system
- Support other player piano systems that use similar encoding methods (QRS Pianomation 1, Ampico Cassette Converter, etc.) if anyone expresses interest in these more obscure systems
- Automatically render non-piano MIDI accompaniment parts to the acoustic channel of the CD
- ???
If you have questions or suggestions, send email mfontana@frontiernet.net.
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Copyright © 2007 Mark Fontana
