MIDI files

The Standard MIDI file format is a file interchange format defined by the MIDI Manufacturers Association (MMA). The purpose of the format is to allow for the exchange of MIDI data between different programs. Any program that can read and write MIDI files has a common language with which to talk to other MIDI software. The compact size of MIDI music files makes them particularly useful for delivering music online.

SONAR can open standard MIDI files, and can save your projects in standard MIDI file formats. Note that only the MIDI portion of your projects is saved in a standard MIDI file. If your projects contain digital audio, the audio portion of the project will be lost when you save it to a standard MIDI file.

Note: If you load a standard MIDI file into SONAR, SONAR strips out any initial volume and pan settings and sets the volume and pan controls for any affected tracks to those values. Initial volume and pan settings in a standard MIDI file are those that occur within the first measure. Any affected volume and pan controls will show the initial values that SONAR loaded from the standard MIDI file. Any volume and pan controls that are not affected, in other words that don’t have initial values stored in the file, will show their current values in parentheses. These controls are disabled until you move one of them and therefore give it a value, at which point the control becomes enabled and the parentheses disappear. If you save a file as a standard MIDI file, SONAR saves the values of all enabled controls as initial values. However, as a project plays, SONAR’s controls do not display MIDI controller values that change throughout the track—SONAR’s controls only display automation values, i.e. shapes. If you want SONAR’s controls to display MIDI controller values throughout the project, use the Track view Clips > Convert MIDI Controllers to Envelopes command.

SONAR supports two different MIDI file formats, MIDI Format 0 and MIDI Format 1. Format 0 MIDI files contain a single track, with all events stored in that track. Format 1 MIDI files can store up to 7256 tracks, just like SONAR project files. When you load a MIDI Format 0 file, SONAR splits it into 16 separate tracks, based on the MIDI channels assigned to each event. When you save a project to a MIDI Format 0 file, SONAR collapses MIDI information from all of its tracks into one single track.

SONAR also lets you save and load files in the RIFF MIDI file format. This is a standard Resource Interchange File Format specification that encapsulates a Standard MIDI File of either format 0 or format 1. These files typically have an extension of .rmi.

A disadvantage of MIDI files is that the way the file sounds on playback varies based upon the sound reproduction hardware you are using. The same project sounds very different on two different synthesizers or two different sound cards. Another problem is that the Standard MIDI File specification leaves some details open to interpretation by software and hardware manufacturers.

To save a project as a Standard MIDI file or RIFF MIDI file

1.	Choose File > Save As to display the Save As dialog box.

2.	Choose the desired format from the Save as Type list.

3.	Enter a file name and click Save.

 

See:

Timebases

Supported MIDI file meta-events

Features not supported by MIDI files

Other MIDI file handling notes

Special handling of GM, GS, and XG MIDI files

If you have problems playing MIDI files

If you plan to publish your songs