[MPA] electric piano & midi files

[Scott Baldwin]

Gilly,

As far as I know all digital pianos that have a disk drive write 
standard MIDI files to the disk.  I think all digital pianos use a DOS 
format for their disk drive, but that is O.K. because Mac's can read 
this format.  No special disk is required, just a standard 3.5 inch.

The superdrive should be just fine.

Sometimes Mac MIDI programs have a problem reading MIDI files from a 
DOS format,  There is a simple little freeware utility that fixes this 
called MIDI Typer.  It is available here:

http://www.harmony-central.com/Software/Mac/midi.html

This won't work in OS X on your Mac, if you are using OS X.    I don't 
know if there is something else that will.  Of course you might not 
have any problem, so you wouldn't need this utility anyway.

Most digital pianos have a MIDI out connection, so with a simple MIDI 
interface you could record from your piano directly into the Mac. That 
way you wouldn't need to have a keyboard with a disk drive.  Just a 
thought.

Good luck,

Scott


On Thursday, January 30, 2003, at 10:42 AM, Primrose Music wrote:

>
> Thanks, Andy and ct, for your responses. I'll be a bit more specific 
> about what I'm wanting to do.
>
> At the moment we have a Yamaha Clavinova (old one, no built-in disk 
> drive) with a Roland MT100 sequencer (very old, this, with smaller 
> than 3.5inch disks), and, in another room,  an iMac with Sibelius 
> installed and an Imation SuperDisk Drive attached (USB).
>
> My partner composes at the Clavinova (using the Sequencer for 
> playback), and  hand-writes arrangements for her singing students. I 
> then transfer these to Sibelius in order to get printed copies.
>
> We're looking to replace the Clavinova and the Sequencer with a new 
> electric piano with built-in disk-drive, with the aim of being able to 
> record midi files at the piano which Sibelius can then import via the 
> SuperDisk Drive.
>
> So I guess the questions are:-
>
> 1. When you record onto the disk in an electric piano's disk drive, is 
> what you get a midi file? (Maybe not necessarily - depends on the 
> piano?)
>
> 2. Should I be looking for a special sort of disk which can be written 
> in the piano's drive and read in the Imation SuperDisk Drive?
>
> 3. Maybe the SuperDisk Drive is not the thing and I need some other 
> external floppy disk drive?
>
> Thanks for any help.
>
> - Gilly
>
>
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