Need help connecting music keyboard to PC

Hi! I was given an electronic keyboard for my birthday (and a set of headphones so the family wouldn't suffer! ), and have followed all the instructions for connecting MIDI in/output to my PC (running XP SP2), but without success. The cable supplied with the keyboard (a Farfisa TK77) connects with the gameport. The manual seems to have been translated from the Korean by a Norwegian with a working knowledge of Serbo-Croat, and doesn't help much.

What I would like to do is pre-record some bases on the PC, then play them back and accompany them myself, thus sounding a little less like a one-finger pianist than I do already. This would involve both recording keyboard > PC (I assume using Soundrec) and then playing out PC > keyboard, and (getting really sexy here) maybe even recording the new (mixed) track.

Does any expert have the patience to talk me through the setup process?

Second question: if I ever succeed in this, I will presumably end up with huge *.wav files. Is there any software available to convert these to slimmer MP3 format so I can email them to my brother?

 

Wow, that's one big kettle of fish you've opened there, Geoffrey. If the keyboard is plugged correctly into the Gameport, then you've achieved step one. ).

The first thing to understand is even with the keyboard plugged in correctly, you won't record a thing that sndrec or any audio editor will be able to do anything with. Your keyboard is sending MIDI information to the computer, not audio. MIDI information isn't sound, it's more like a score. A MIDI recording tells a sound source on your computer what kind of noises to make and when, but it won't make the noises for you.

True, Windows comes with its own built-in-synthesiser, but frankly you're better off with a comb and paper.

Basically, you need three pieces of software to really get started.

1. A sequencer. This is your most important tool. This is where you record your MIDI information from your keyboard and turn it into music if you're lucky, and an earsplitting racket if you're REALLY lucky. Even freeware sequencers have studio possibilities these days that the musicians of 20 years ago would have paid thousands for. I'm afraid I don't know anything about freeware sequencers other than that they exist. Perhaps someone else can help there. What is MOST important about your sequencer, though, is that it can host...

2. Virtual instruments. These will be your sound sources. With your keyboard you can play synthesisers, pianos, drums, guitars and make pretty much any sort of noise you could ever imagine. If you're working on a budget of zero, then you want a sequencer that can host VST instruments. Doesn't matter what VST stands for, what matters is that there are literally thousands of free VST instrument and studio effects out there for the taking. Once you have your sequencer and your VST instruments and effects, you're pretty much ready to dive in.

3. Is really important if you want to play around with the sounds you've recorded in your sequencer, or you want to get into the black art of digital audio editing. And you will. For that you'll need an audio editor. And here I have a rock solid recommendation - Audacity, which you can get from here http://audacity.sourceforge.net/download/windows. Once you've recorded all your MIDI information and have a finished piece/song/whatever, you export it as a .WAV from your sequencer and polish it off in Audacity. Once you're done there, you can export it from Audacity as an mp3 and, if you so desire, delete all those WAVs, although I wouldn't recommend that.

A good place to start looking for Sequencers (or 'hosts'), VST instruments and effects, and anything else you might need is http://www.kvraudio.com/
They have a few tutorials to get you started, and the biggest list of computer music stuff I know of, from the Freeware right up to the pro gear.

Better for tutorials, though, is http://www.computermusic.co.uk/, the magazine dedicated to showing you how to do exactly what you're asking about. If you go to the Computer Music website, on the left hand side towards the bottom of the page you'll see a link to PDF files for beginners. That's a very good place to start.

The learning curve is pretty steep, but there are rewards all along the way. I look forward to hearing your debut album

 

I'm gonna have to check out some of those sites.

I use a MIDI to USB interface and it seems to work well. The software that I use to record and edit is Cakewalk's Music Creator Pro

I use Blaze Media Pro to convert to different formats.

Anyway, just more input

 

Many thanks indeed, Szwagier and Ranger - that's a mound of material to work through! Very generous with your help. I see I've opened a Pandora's box here, but I think it'll be a lot of fun checking it all out... You've already cleared up a lot of concepts for me.

As it happens, I've just retired (so I won't necessarily be looking to making "an earsplitting racket if you're REALLY lucky "), but paradoxically I have now far less free time whan when I was working, so it'll be a slow process. But I usually manage to carve out 30 or 45 minutes or so a day to have the PC to myself.

I'll look for the freebies first before getting into any expenditure, and report back here on what I find in case others are at the same beginner's level as me. But it ain't going to be today...

Thanks again

gsw

 

Freeware Sequencer

http://www.mutools.com/products.html

This, LUNA, looks like a good place to start. There's a free version, which has all the basics, but for the price of Computer Music, if you can get your hands on the magazine in Italy, you appear to get an expanded version on their cover DVD.

It's looks to me like a 'traditional' sequencer, in the sense that it's very linear, which may or may not be what you eventually decide to settle on - there are all sorts of other ways of doing things!

It'd definitely be worth spending some time trying out a variety of approaches (many, though not all, non-freeware sequencers have demo versions) and finding one which suits the way you find it best to work.

Again, good luck and best wishes.

 

Again, more thanks, Szwagier! I happened to be online when your new post came up. Yes, I had already checked out the Computer Music site on your advice, and spotted that CD - I'm having a friend in the UK get me a copy. I'll then have several months' worth of material to work through!!