Imported PChannels

Standard MIDI files are limited to channels 1 though 16, and these are assigned to PChannels 1 through 16 when you import the MIDI data. Tracks in segments and patterns are usually displayed in ascending order according to their PChannel numbers. If you want to change the position of a track, you must assign the track a different PChannel number.

Each time you import a MIDI file, there is a potential of creating instrument assignment conflicts on PChannels 1-16. As a precaution, avoid using PChannels 1-16 in a project into which you will import a MIDI file.

If you choose not to avoid using PChannels 1-16, then you can reassign the tracks of imported MIDI data to different PChannels after you import a MIDI file. This requires special care, so that you do not lose instrument settings or create conflicts with other bands in the project. Since a band that is imported with a MIDI file can contain up to 16 PChannels, it is easiest to choose a set of 16 unused PChannels that you reserve for reassigning all at once.

Reassigning PChannels in an imported MIDI file requires three steps:

1. In the segment of imported MIDI data, or in the style into which the MIDI file is imported, double-click the imported band file to open it in Band Editor. In a segment, the imported band is called Band1, and is in the band track. In a style, the band is in the Bands list, and has the same name as the imported pattern.
2. Double-click each PChannel in the band to open its PChannel Properties window, and reassign it an unused PChannel. Except for the PChannel name, all instrument properties are retained.
3. In the segment, right-click each sequence track to open its Sequence Track Properties, or in the pattern, right-click each part to open its Part Properties. Reassign each track or part to new PChannel numbers, matching each track with the appropriate PChannel used in the band.

Note Volume and pan settings are not activated in the Properties window of a PChannel in an imported band. Volume and pan settings are inserted as a Continuous Controller curve for each track or part. These settings are not affected when you change the PChannel of a track or part. For more information, see Conflicts Between Bands and Continuous Controllers.

Reassigning PChannels for a MIDI file is especially difficult if you are importing multiple MIDI files that are meant to segue from one to the next, because it is recommended that you do not use overlapping groups of PChannel groups if there are going to be different instruments playing.

If, instead of importing a MIDI file as a segment, you copy and paste MIDI data from a separate sequencer application into the sequence track of a segment, data is pasted in top-down order, placing the highest MIDI channel at the top of the track editing window.

Multiple Tracks on a Single MIDI Channel

Most MIDI applications allow you to assign multiple tracks to a channel. For example, you might have four separate violin tracks playing on a single MIDI channel. In this way you can create MIDI files with far more than 16 instrument parts, by combining similar tracks on a single MIDI channel. When you import a MIDI file into DirectMusic Producer, the tracks are kept separate, depending on the type of MIDI file you import.

• Type 1 MIDI files

  Regardless of MIDI channel assignments, each track is placed in a separate part when imported into DirectMusic Producer.

• Type 0 MIDI files

  All tracks on a MIDI channel are placed in a single part when imported into DirectMusic Producer.