Re: [Rosegarden-user] creating an rgd file? using knobs and channels on keyboard?

[D. M. M. <mic...@ro...>]

On Tuesday 30 October 2007, Max Aginaga wrote:
> I am using the latest stable rosengarden with
> fluidsynth as my softsynth.

> I have an e-mu xboard25 usb midi keyboard connected to my computer. Works
> great, by now I can enter notes through it into (and hear them, too!). No=
w,
> if I understand this correctly to make use of the knobs on the keyboard I
> need to describe the XBoard25 in an RGD file (www.*rosegarden*
> music.com/resources/documents/*rgd*-HOWTO.shtml).

Probably.  I don't know anything about that keyboard.  What knobs?

(Googles.  The Xboard=E2=84=A2 25 features fullsize, velocity sensitive key=
s with=20
aftertouch, 16 programmable real-time controllers, Xboard Control editing=20
software, and E-MU's Proteus X LE Desktop Sound Module, with over 2,500=20
sounds.)

Ah.  That's an interesting question then.  The knobs would be a "MIDI contr=
ol=20
surface" I guess.  We support MIDI control surfaces, but I'm not sure how=20
you'd configure Rosegarden to work with a MIDI control surface that also=20
happened to be a keyboard.

This one is totally out of the realm of my experience I'm afraid.  Though i=
f=20
you want to buy me one of these gadgets to play with, or come over to my=20
house with it for a little while, I'll see what I can come up with!  I'm su=
re=20
I could figure it out, but probably not without getting my hands on the=20
hardware.

> Before trying to do so, I just wanted to try to get some things clear:
>
> 1- what does my keyboard "contain"  in its memory? Using the keyboard I c=
an
> select one of 16 "patches"; from experimentation these seem to correspond
> to the first 16 programs in bank 0 of the softsynth device which I am usi=
ng
> in rosengarden (eg, patch1 is a piano, patch9 a celesta). The "sounds"
> themselves are not described in the keyboard but in the soundfont I am
> loading into the fluidsynth dssi plugin, right?

I can't answer you for certain as to what your keyboard contains without=20
playing with it directly, but cues in that description give me the idea tha=
t=20
its "over 2500 sounds" probably only exist in the Windows software, and you=
r=20
keyboard most likely loses most of its apparent features when you play with=
=20
it outside of Windows.

> 2- what is the difference between the 16 "channels"  and the 16 "patches"
> which the keyboard supports?

Since it appears the keyboard will not be able to actually reproduce anythi=
ng=20
you send to it (without Windows) then the number of channels on the keyboar=
d=20
most likely do not matter to you.=20

That's the short and simple answer.

You can just have the keyboard always transmit to Rosegarden on channel 1, =
and=20
whatever you play will go back out whatever pathway is associated with the=
=20
track you're sitting on.  For example, you're sitting on a flute track that=
's=20
configured to play a flute patch/program (same thing) on channel 3 of=20
=46luidSynth, so you play your keyboard, it transmits note data to Rosegard=
en=20
on channel 1, then Rosegarden routes the note data to FluidSynth on channel=
=20
3, and you're magically playing a flute on FluidSynth.

> 3- Using Rosegarden's "manage MIDI devices" interface, I edited the bank
> for the keyboard. Eg, I tried switching the name of program1 (a piano) wi=
th
> that of program9 (celesta). But that didn't make a difference in the sound
> produced: when I selected patch1 on the keyboard I still got the piano, a=
nd
> patch9 still got me the celesta. How is that?

Banks in Rosegarden are for playback devices.  Based on the information I h=
ave=20
available, it does not appear you are using the keyboard as a playback=20
device.  You want Rosegarden to know about the programs available in the=20
soundfont you're using, which is the playback device in your case.

> 4- if I create a rgd file, will I be able to use the knobs on the keyboard
> to set the volume?

Probably, but without first-hand experience with this kind of thing, I'm ju=
st=20
not sure how to set it up.

I guess if you can't get a keyboard into my hands to play with (very unlike=
ly,=20
I imagine) the next best thing might be to hook the keyboard to KMidiMon,=20
jiggle the knobs around, and see what it transmits.  That could offer a clu=
e.

Or maybe somebody else already has relevant experience.  We have the contro=
l=20
surface stuff in there because somebody wanted it.  Maybe that person has=20
made use of it, and understands what it's all about.
=2D-=20
D. Michael McIntyre=20