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It's a representation of a midi step sequencer. It's pretty standard in all DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) software. Staff notation is way more nuanced than th

It's a representation of a midi step sequencer. It's pretty standard in all DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) software. Staff notation is way more nuanced than this. In order to represent all the details on the midi ui it requires layers (like photoshop) for all the different parameters. On staff notation it's all there on one page. Staff notation might be a bigger learning curve but it's also a far superior way of communicating musical pieces on paper.

phonyphonecall 11y ago
I recall some composers notes such as 'with great vigor' or 'like raindrops' on sheet music. Midi step sequences would have a hard time representing the "emotion" some composers are looking for.
- malka 11y ago
  Because a machine is playing, so as with any computer code, you have to formalise everything and leave nothing implicit.
  - hawleyal 11y ago
    So much of the notation is not codified, and is part of the artistry of the musician. Even if all those Italian/French words are included (martele, staccato, largo, et al.), and crescendos and ritards and are marked, one cannot play the tune from sight with the desired emotion without first hearing it or playing it over and over.
- dave2000 11y ago
  Satie had some good instructions: "In the morning on an empty stomach" "Hypocritically" "With a lot of difficulty" “With conviction and a rigorous sadness” “With a healthy superiority” “Don’t eat too much” “Shake like a leaf” “Do not cough” “Go away” “Like a nightingale with a toothache”
  - rdtsc 11y ago
    Should apply that to lines of code in code review . x.ugly_hack=blah <- “With conviction and a rigorous sadness”
- squeaky-clean 11y ago
  > Midi step sequences would have a hard time representing the "emotion" some composers are looking for. They all allow different amounts of precision and interpretation of the performance. Staff notation is open to interpretation on the performance level. MIDI is an exact recording (or programming) of a performance. With staff notation you can mark eighth notes and say "staccato, lag behind the beat", and there's an infinite number of subtly different ways to play it, even within the own composers interpretation. With MIDI, it would represented as "Note on A3, 12 pulses after first quarter note, velocity of 87. Note off A3, 54 pulses after first quarter note, velocity of 0. Note on C3 (etc....)". MIDI is great for computers (or routing signals during live performance) because it's exact.
  - DarkLinkXXXX 11y ago
    I don't think that's quite right. Different midi sequencers will play in a different way, based on the decisions of the midi sequencers author.
    - squeaky-clean 11y ago
      Not quite sure what you mean by a different way, or sequencers author. Do you mean the musician, or like Roland/Korg/ARP? MIDI is a pretty exact specification. If a sequencer is changing the timing of anything, the underlying MIDI structures are not the same then. You can have different amounts of swing or different PPQ values, but then I wouldn't consider that "the same MIDI". You can feed it to different sound generators of course, different drum machines, synths, a laptop, what-have-you, (most sequencers have both builtin together) but that's different from the MIDI itself.
    - coldtea 11y ago
      That's not how it works. MIDI is a standard. Given a specific MIDI file, with specific applied quantization, they should absolutely play the same way -- the only exception is the timing resolution they offer and smallish latency issues (which in practice should be 100% transparent).
- tomc1985 11y ago
  It can be done, you just need to know the variables to tweak and how.
- coldtea 11y ago
  >Midi step sequences would have a hard time representing the "emotion" some composers are looking for. Most classically trained players do too. Besides we have much more control over step sequences than you probably think, e.g. http://www.steinberg.net/en/company/technologies/vst_expression.html http://www.steinberg.net/en/company/technologies/vst_express... Plus, of course, tons of CC, etc. Compared to the possibilities for expression in step sequencing, something like a piano, which basically just has velocity and sustain/dumper is not even close.
6stringmerc 11y ago
Quite an on point explanation; I'd also contend though that modern DAWs like Ableton Live 9 have quite nuanced sequencing and MIDI controls/notation for professionals (and can go deeper with MAX).
archagon 11y ago
I disagree, at least as far as rhythm and pitch are concerned. For classical music, staff notation is great — but once you get into syncopation, soloing, and the general fluidity that comes with practically all popular music from the past century, it becomes untenable. Seriously, writing down guitar solos in staff notation is just gross. (I've previously written a little about it here: http://beta-blog.archagon.net/2016/02/05/composers-sketchpad/ http://beta-blog.archagon.net/2016/02/05/composers-sketchpad...)

phonyphonecall 11y ago

I recall some composers notes such as 'with great vigor' or 'like raindrops' on sheet music. Midi step sequences would have a hard time representing the "emotion" some composers are looking for.

malka 11y ago
Because a machine is playing, so as with any computer code, you have to formalise everything and leave nothing implicit.
- hawleyal 11y ago
  So much of the notation is not codified, and is part of the artistry of the musician. Even if all those Italian/French words are included (martele, staccato, largo, et al.), and crescendos and ritards and are marked, one cannot play the tune from sight with the desired emotion without first hearing it or playing it over and over.
dave2000 11y ago
Satie had some good instructions: "In the morning on an empty stomach" "Hypocritically" "With a lot of difficulty" “With conviction and a rigorous sadness” “With a healthy superiority” “Don’t eat too much” “Shake like a leaf” “Do not cough” “Go away” “Like a nightingale with a toothache”
- rdtsc 11y ago
  Should apply that to lines of code in code review . x.ugly_hack=blah <- “With conviction and a rigorous sadness”
squeaky-clean 11y ago
> Midi step sequences would have a hard time representing the "emotion" some composers are looking for. They all allow different amounts of precision and interpretation of the performance. Staff notation is open to interpretation on the performance level. MIDI is an exact recording (or programming) of a performance. With staff notation you can mark eighth notes and say "staccato, lag behind the beat", and there's an infinite number of subtly different ways to play it, even within the own composers interpretation. With MIDI, it would represented as "Note on A3, 12 pulses after first quarter note, velocity of 87. Note off A3, 54 pulses after first quarter note, velocity of 0. Note on C3 (etc....)". MIDI is great for computers (or routing signals during live performance) because it's exact.
- DarkLinkXXXX 11y ago
  I don't think that's quite right. Different midi sequencers will play in a different way, based on the decisions of the midi sequencers author.
  - squeaky-clean 11y ago
    Not quite sure what you mean by a different way, or sequencers author. Do you mean the musician, or like Roland/Korg/ARP? MIDI is a pretty exact specification. If a sequencer is changing the timing of anything, the underlying MIDI structures are not the same then. You can have different amounts of swing or different PPQ values, but then I wouldn't consider that "the same MIDI". You can feed it to different sound generators of course, different drum machines, synths, a laptop, what-have-you, (most sequencers have both builtin together) but that's different from the MIDI itself.
  - coldtea 11y ago
    That's not how it works. MIDI is a standard. Given a specific MIDI file, with specific applied quantization, they should absolutely play the same way -- the only exception is the timing resolution they offer and smallish latency issues (which in practice should be 100% transparent).
tomc1985 11y ago
It can be done, you just need to know the variables to tweak and how.
coldtea 11y ago
>Midi step sequences would have a hard time representing the "emotion" some composers are looking for. Most classically trained players do too. Besides we have much more control over step sequences than you probably think, e.g. http://www.steinberg.net/en/company/technologies/vst_expression.html http://www.steinberg.net/en/company/technologies/vst_express... Plus, of course, tons of CC, etc. Compared to the possibilities for expression in step sequencing, something like a piano, which basically just has velocity and sustain/dumper is not even close.

6stringmerc 11y ago

Quite an on point explanation; I'd also contend though that modern DAWs like Ableton Live 9 have quite nuanced sequencing and MIDI controls/notation for professionals (and can go deeper with MAX).

archagon 11y ago

I disagree, at least as far as rhythm and pitch are concerned. For classical music, staff notation is great — but once you get into syncopation, soloing, and the general fluidity that comes with practically all popular music from the past century, it becomes untenable. Seriously, writing down guitar solos in staff notation is just gross. (I've previously written a little about it here: http://beta-blog.archagon.net/2016/02/05/composers-sketchpad/ http://beta-blog.archagon.net/2016/02/05/composers-sketchpad...)