MIDI Sustain Command

[Axeslinger]

I was reading about a pedal which sends a MIDI sustain / sostenuto command (B0 40 xx) to a synth.  Does anyone know:

Is the sustain command executed first, then one single note played?

Is the sustain command executed, then you play whatever note(s) you want sustained?

Or, do you start your note(s) and then execute the sustain command?

I can implement this in software, but I thought it would be cool to know how it works.

Thanks!

[Guest analouge]

I really don't know much about this... but I can try...

This is what I think. Someone please shoot me if I'm wrong :P

First when you play a note on your keyboard it sends very simplyfied TWO commands that is relevant to your question. One command when you press the key, and one command when you release it.

The sustain command has to be input in the middle of those two commands.

Visualized:

Play a note

Push the sustain pedal

Release the note - and the note will hold until you send a command that tells the software that you have released the sustainpedal.

I know it's not in tech terms, but I only know this from years of programming MIDI in Digital Orchestrator Plus. I stopped using that software when I finally scrapped my wallet and bought me some REAL hardware and software... I'm currently using a Digidesign system with Cubase SX. I should probably learn how to use Pro Tools too, but I have no time :P It's so damn different compared to the systems I'm used to work with...! So now it's at least 1 1/2 years since I touched the Orchestrator. I actually tried to use Cubase and Orchestrator together (making some basic stuff in the Orchestrator and then put them into Cubase) But it did NOT work out the way I thought it would, so now I'm only using cubase... It rocks, but tends to be VERY unstable some time! To put it this way - I learned VERY quickly to SAVE my work ALL the time :P

As I recall you can also put the sustainON command before the NoteON command, and everything else that comes after that "sustains" until you send a sustainOFF command - release the pedal.

I'm not really sure this is what you wanted to know... but at least I tried :P If you want to learn stuff like this my best advice is to have a midikeyboard connected to a PC and then monitor the commands in a MIDI program or something. Then you can play stuff, monitor what commands that are sent and listen to what actually happens...

Sorry if this was not very helpful...

Cheers!

[Axeslinger]

Hmmm...  I think maybe I'll just try doing this in code.  That way I can control all the variables.

[Guest analouge]

OK. I have no programming experience with MIDI. The only "programming I was doing was in a MIDI Event editor where I inserted all the commands (I draw the notes in another editor similar to the one you draw notes with in Cubase). So all I used to do was to fill inn the MIDI commands like sustain etc. and fill in the values - 1-128. Where I used 1 as sustain off and 128 as sustain on. Never tried the exact value where it switches, but I guess it's somewhere around 64...

Ususally nowdays I'm concentrating more on playing live than programming my music. My computer just went bad, I formatted the shitbox and everything worked fine - for one hour. One more minute with the computer and I would've beat it VERY bad :). Suddenly it just wouldn't recognize my USB units. And that includes my keyboard/mouse reciever, my flashdrive and my Digidesign M-Box. So now I haven't been able to do nothing music related for two weeks now. All I have is my old Roland E-500 now, and an really old DS-8 synth from korg. Really rocks, but I miss my VSTi-s!!!!

Have fun learning about the midi stuff!