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How to use more than 16 sounds?

Posted: Wed Aug 06, 2003 3:24 am
by Befuddled
OK. This question will surely reveal how little I know about my gear, but:

How can I create a MIDI file with more than 16 sounds? I am making original orchestral scores and need to use many different instruments.

OR

Can I program a change of sound within a track? :?: :?: :?

Thanks!

Posted: Wed Aug 06, 2003 12:01 pm
by Special-K
MIDI only has 16 channels so if you use one instrument per track you will be limited to 16 instruments only.

You could insert a program change to select a different instrument partway through the music so a channel would support more than one instrument (but not play both at the same time).
Thus you can produce more than 16 instruments with the 16 channels.

But if you want to play more than 16 instruments at the same time you'll have to play all 16 MIDI tracks and mixdown together to one audio track

Then create a new MIDI track for the additional instruments and play it and the audio track at the same time. So you can now have up to 32 instruments playing together.

Mix this down to a new audio track and build it up from there.

Posted: Wed Aug 06, 2003 1:56 pm
by Brian D
Or add your harmony lines for the same intruments on the same track/staff. Special-K has a good idea, but sound time consuming.

Thanks!

Posted: Wed Aug 06, 2003 2:18 pm
by Befuddled
Thanks for the help. I f-i-n-a-l-l-y stumbled across directions on how to insert a program change in the "help" menu. Yea!

i think this helps

Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2003 8:12 am
by isaac4mercy@hotmail.com
i just read 2nite that u can export MIDI FILES to become audio files ...so just export the midi files when ur finished and then just use the 16 channels... i just hope that ur not doin this as a one time live performance