Suggestions for MIDI to USB cable
I'm using Windows Vista, and Musescore 1.3. I've never used MIDI before and I would like to be able to just plug a MIDI capable keyboard directly into my computer, without hassle or extensive set up. I'm not that computer savvy, so I would rather avoid finding drivers, etc.
I would appreciate suggestions for cables that are just plug and play, that are fairly inexpensive, and are known to work with Musescore. I've tried reading other posts about MIDI cables and either they sound too specific for me to gather info about what cables to try, or they are more about problems in Musescore itself. I would rather know what cables have worked for others before I go to buy one. I appreciate any advice.
Thanks,
Mike
Comments
Really, any MIDI to USB cable will work. What you are describing is the problems of the keyboard communicating with the computer. That has to be set up properly so that the two can communicate properly.
You do not specify your keyboard...
However, please read:
http://musescore.org/node/17740
In it, the original poster, Cormall, has a Casio keyboard with midi in-out ports (as opposed to a keyboard with a USB port) and is also running Windows Vista.
His very last comment at the bottom provides a link to a midi cable.
Also look at:
http://musescore.org/en/node/7234
for correct midi in midi out connections
and
http://musescore.org/en/node/22544
for information on what to expect with 'musical' keyboard vs. 'QWERTY' keyboard input.
Regards.
In reply to Midi to USB by Jm6stringer
Thanks for the reply. These are some good links.
Yeah, sorry about not mentioning the keyboard. It's some old Radio Shack keyboard called the Concertmate 1000.
The link to the MIDI cable is one that I found as well. I'll look into it.
Thanks again!
Question: if you've never used MIDI before, why are you interested in going to the extra trouble and expense to use it with MuseScore? If you're hoping it will allow you to just play in time and have the notes and rhythms magically appear, you'll be disappointed - it doesn't work that way. You still enter notes exactly the same way you do with the mouse or the computer keyboard: one note a time, first select the duration, then click/type/play the pitch. There's really no particular advantage to doing this one-note-at-a-time note entry via MIDI rather than your computer keyboard.
If on the other hand you were accustomed to using MIDI and sequencers, the ability to play in real time into a sequencer, then use the sequencers quantizing or other editing features to prepare a useful MIDI file, and then import that into MuseScore - this would be a way of getting some sort of real time input. But it's not something the average person is likely to find easy, either.
In reply to Question: if you've never by Marc Sabatella
Thanks for the comment. I should back up and mention that I only use Musescore for drum notation, so I have lots of measures where I am doing variations of the same basic rhythm motif. It does not seem to save me much time to copy and paste; I still have a lot to change regardless. I have recently discovered and utilized the shortcuts (the numbers for duration and "r" for repeats) in the Handbook. What I am really looking to do is eliminate as much of the mouse use as I can. I don't like going back and forth to the drum palette between notes. And I can only have 7 voices assigned to the letters A-G. I've even edited my drum palette down to just 13 notes, so I am essentially looking for 6 extra shortcut keys. The basic idea I am toying with is to use my left hand on the MIDI, with my right hand on the computer keyboard, so that I can keep the mouse use to a minimum. I also have scratch written copies of lots of my scores, which I then transcribe using Musescore. I would like to be able just to type along, like one would write a sentence. I really don't want to use real time sequencing or any of those other features.