[disklavier] Diane
2000-02-19 by Mike McGregor
Diane, Possibly you haven't tumbled to the fact that the main reason for being of this site is to provide non-classical MIDI and Yamaha Disklavier (ESEQ) files for members to download (and also to upload so there will be something for others to download). You hit the "vault" button up above and there is a pretty large library of stuff. The good, the bad, and the ugly. But lots to pick from. ALso some links to other sites. The Gary Lloyd stuff I think is particularly well done. But others are quite good, too. Give it a try. It you have trouble downloading, bang out another message and we'll try to help. There are a few gotchas in this game. One is to not mix MIDI and ESEQ files on the same disk. Another is that sometimes downloaded files get a little but corrupted so that they look like a text file instead of a MIDI file. That happens to me all the time. If you use a Mac, I can send you freeware that will correct that. If you use a PC, then maybe another member can suggest where to obtain free PC software that will do the same thing. ANother problem is that many MIDI files have a maximum volume for the piano track that is too loud for the Disklavier. MIDI software called a sequencer will allow you to change that. You'll probably have to pay for that. Many use a program called Cakewalk. Less than $100 for the basic version. Finally but not exhaustively, the track assignments of some MIDI files are not right for the Disklavier, which requires piano to be on tracks 1 and 2. The sequencer software can change those track assignments as well as the volume. If you want free music, you have to invest a little time and energy, and perhaps a few dollars to get all the know-how needed to find, download, and manipulate music files so they sound great on the Disklavier. We all went through it, and you can, too. If that's too much trouble, well you can throw money at the problem by buying commercial stuff offered by Yamaha, Live Performance, and QRS Music, to name some of them. Then it will just be a matter of popping the diskette in and listening. (I don't mean to sound snide. I spend plenty of money on commercial disks as well as downloading free stuff from here and from other web sites.) Good luck. From what I see on the news, with your weather you'll have plenty of inside-the-house time this weekend to explore what your piano can do. Regards, Mike McGregor Double Oak, TX P.S. Most people get their MIDI file technical questions answered on the DUG site. A couple of real experts available there who can answer any such question.