constraining the midi keyboard to play only a certain key

[matchu]

I want to make it so when I play my midi controller (midiman oxygen8), it will only play the selected tones of the key I am in. When I use the step editor, I can add my notes, but if i play a wrong note, it gets added to the steps. I don't want that. I want to constrain the controller to play only the notes in my key. If I am in the key of C and i play my controller but accidentally hit a black key, I want that black key to not play the sharp or flat but to instead play an adjacent note that is in my key.
did that make sense?

[cactus-head]

Hi,

There's a program called MIDI-OX. It's a bit old but it's one of the best MIDI porgrams I've ever come across. You can make it intercept midi messages and route them however you want. That includes notes. However, if you have an 88 key keyboard and you wanted to eliminate the black keys, that would be 36 separate entries. But if you are playing in a small range, it might only be 5 to 10 entries.

For 64 bit Windows, you would need something like LoopBe or loopMIDI to create virtual MIDI ports so you can route your keyboard to MIDI-OX, have MIDI-OX remap your keys and then route them back to Mixcraft. For 32-bit you could use the previous mentioned virtual ports but also MIDI-Yoke.

If you decide to use MIDI-OX, the function is under Options > Data Mapping...

[matchu]

thanks.
that sounds harder than it needs to be. I'll give it a shot.

[Acoustica Greg]

Hi,

Mixcraft 9 has a step recorder mode that would allow you to enter the notes one chord at a time, which makes it less likely to mess up. (Page 112 of the manual).

We don't have a note quantizer feature like that. I mean, we have a time quantizer, but not one that would filter notes. That could be a fun feature.


Greg

[matchu]

thanks Greg.

back in the early 2000s, I had a MIDI sequencer called cybersound. it was basic but one cool feature was this note constraining feature. I could set it up to do modes and scales. and when i hit the controller, no matter what i hit, I was in the right key and scale. I've never seen it since.

[rrichard63]

There are a number of MIDI plugins available to do this. One good one is Plugin Boutique's Scalar 2, which also does some other really useful things with scales and chords. In Mixcraft, you put it before your instrument plugin on the same instrument track. (Don't forget to disable Scaler's internal synth unless it has a sound you want to use.)

Just be aware that the MIDI data recorded on the track is the raw input from your keyboard, not the MIDI output from plugins such as Scalar 2. Much of the time , this is perfectly fine since the plugin is always there to modify it on playback. There are, however, other situations where you would like to record the MIDI output from a plugin. In Mixcraft, that kind of MIDI routing requires using a MIDI loopback utility to route MIDI out of Mixcraft and then back in again on another track.

[matchu]

thanks RRichard.
any leads on a free app?

[rrichard63]

The only free one I can think of doesn't do exactly what you want:

https://www.codefn42.com/cales/

Hopefully someone else will have some better ideas.

[matchu]

holy catfish. Cales is exactly what i was talking about. I set it up to the scale i want, and my C scale becomes any scale I want and as long as i hit the white keys.

thanks.

[Sturdy]

There are a number of MIDI plugins available to do this. One good one is Plugin Boutique's Scalar 2, which also does some other really useful things with scales and chords. In Mixcraft, you put it before your instrument plugin on the same instrument track. (Don't forget to disable Scaler's internal synth unless it has a sound you want to use.)

Just be aware that the MIDI data recorded on the track is the raw input from your keyboard, not the MIDI output from plugins such as Scalar 2. Much of the time , this is perfectly fine since the plugin is always there to modify it on playback. There are, however, other situations where you would like to record the MIDI output from a plugin. In Mixcraft, that kind of MIDI routing requires using a MIDI loopback utility to route MIDI out of Mixcraft and then back in again on another track.

Hi rrichard, if you don't mind me asking, what midi loopback utility do you use (if any?) for this use case of saving modified midi to new track? I've just recently learned about Scalar 2 and really like what it does for presenting creative options and am considering, but I feel like printing modified results to new midi track would be highly desirable.

edit: does it sound like reMIDI 2 this type of loopback utility you describe? It seems mentioned with Scalar 2
https://www.pluginboutique.com/products/5935-reMIDI-2

[ferez21]

https://www.codefn42.com/notemapper/

I'm using this little plugin, you can decide what action happens with each note that you are playing, you can even convert specific notes to Midi CCs to create articulations, and many more things.

For your use case, i would simply change the notes you originally don't want to press, into notes that are useful for you, to create one continuous pallete of keys.