Manipuating velocities in midi?

[JohnGrant]

Any midi program will, for example, copy and paste a tempo track from one midi file to another. But what about velocities? Say you have 2 different versions of the same song and you want to copy the velocity values from one version to the other. (As opposed to the impossible task of entering the values you want copied, note by note!)

Can that be done? (In Cake or Cubase) If so, how???

JG

[nikolas]

I'm not sure I understand clearly enough.

The two versions will be different right? Otherwise why not copy the entire track then?

Either way, assuming that there are differences, the only way I could see it happen in Cubase is to copy the notes of the original to the new track, transoped it some octaves higher or lower, so that they don't mess with the new tracks' notes, and then just try to make the volocities approximately the same. Either way, 100 or 102, won't make much difference...

But depends on what you want really...

[PROTOOLSGUY]

yeah, i didn't get that neither....if let's say you liked the velocity of an oboe track of the version 2, but not versioin 1..however, you like version 1 in general, and you just want to replace the velocities of those 2 tracks:

If you're identical midi tracks with the exception of velocities, you can totally copy and paste the whole track into your session, but if they're not identical you can't do that, because if they have different note values/rhythms, the velocities of one won't match up with the notes of the new track...unless i totally misunderstood what you were asking for.

[JohnGrant]

but if they're not identical you can't do that, because if they have different note values/rhythms, the velocities of one won't match up with the notes of the new track...unless i totally misunderstood what you were asking for.

I'm assuming that the note values/rythm are the same in the two separate files, but that the length of the notes are different. You want to maintain file "a" with its specific note lengths, but you want the velocities of file "b" (which has different note lengths, that you don't want).

JG

[nikolas]

If the note values and rythm are the same (which means that the quantising, or the rythm is the same in both cases), and only the length is the issue (so some crossfading or overlapping is there), why not just shorten the length and get it over with?

[tfishbein82]

I'm assuming that the note values/rythm are the same in the two separate files, but that the length of the notes are different. You want to maintain file "a" with its specific note lengths, but you want the velocities of file "b" (which has different note lengths, that you don't want).

JG

I cannot think of any simple way to do this. The reason this can be done with tempo is because tempo is not track specific; it applies across a project. To be able to mass apply velocity values would require such specific conditions that it just doesn't seem feasible.

[JohnGrant]

If the note values and rythm are the same (which means that the quantising, or the rythm is the same in both cases), and only the length is the issue (so some crossfading or overlapping is there), why not just shorten the length and get it over with?

It's the velocities I want to duplicate, but not--absolutely not--the note lengths. But there is another equally difficult scenario, which is to copy the lengths of notes of midi file 1 to midi file 2 without affecting the velocities of midi file 2.

Inotherwords, is it possible "force" a separation between the velocity attributes of the notes and the length attributes, all other midi variables (rhythm, and the starting point of the notes, etc.) being the same.

JG

[PROTOOLSGUY]

hmmmmmmm...ok, i'm not a cubase user, but it sort of makes sense that it should have a feature like that. I'm guessing you can go to velocity mode of your midi track, and copy the velocity values of track A. That copy should only apply to velocity and nothing else, since you're in velocity mode. Then you go to the second track, and put that in velocity mode, and paste the material, and see what happens. Nothing should change, except the velocity values.
Again, i'm not a cubase user at all, but i'm pretty sure you can put a midi track in volume/velocity/pan/ pitchbend or what have you...then when you copy and paste, it only applies to whatever parameter you've assigned the track to...for example, in pro tools, you can't transpose a note if you're in a volume mode..etc.........

[JohnGrant]

I cannot think of any simple way to do this. The reason this can be done with tempo is because tempo is not track specific; it applies across a project. To be able to mass apply velocity values would require such specific conditions that it just doesn't seem feasible.

Perhaps you are right. But I wish it were otherwise. It would be useful--to me at least--to be able to distinguish between the "velocity" side of a "note" and the "length" of the note, all other variables being the same (for obvious reasons).

JG

[JohnGrant]

hmmmmmmm...ok, i'm not a cubase user, but it sort of makes sense that it should have a feature like that. I'm guessing you can go to velocity mode of your midi track, and copy the velocity values of track A. That copy should only apply to velocity and nothing else, since you're in velocity mode. Then you go to the second track, and put that in velocity mode, and paste the material, and see what happens. Nothing should change, except the velocity values.
Again, i'm not a cubase user at all, but i'm pretty sure you can put a midi track in volume/velocity/pan/ pitchbend or what have you...then when you copy and paste, it only applies to whatever parameter you've assigned the track to...for example, in pro tools, you can't transpose a note if you're in a volume mode..etc.........

Well, I'm going to open up my Cubase over the next few days and see what's doable. I have a funny feeling it's not possible, because I've never read anything about it in the manual. Not that the manual is everything, but it would seem the sort of thing you'd want to address in a manual if it were possible to do it.

JG