Authoring Device-Independent MIDI Files (71023)

SUMMARY

A MIDI file authored using only the high-end data do not produce sound on a low-end MIDI device. For example, if a MIDI file is created using only channels 2 through 5, a low-end device would not receive the MIDI data. Because there is no low-end version of the data, nothing is sent through the mapper to the low-end (for example, AdLib) device.

MORE INFORMATION

The 16 MIDI channels are organized as follows:

   Channel   Use
   -------   ---
      1      high-end (highest priority)
      2      high-end
      3      high-end
      4      high-end
      5      high-end
      6      high-end
      7      high-end
      8      high-end
      9      high-end (lowest priority)
     10      high-end percussive
     11      RESERVED
     12      RESERVED
     13      low-end (highest priority)
     14      low-end
     15      low-end (lowest priority)
     16      low-end percussive

MIDI data is authored in parallel, with high-end and low-end data. The mapper masks off data that is inappropriate for the device on which the sound is played. (The mapper also transforms the sound according to the maps.)

In the case above, to hear the MIDI data, it would be necessary to create a map that passes the data on channels 2 through 5 to the Adlib, or to modify the file to use channels 13 through 16.