Can you extract the instruments from a midi song?

renaker · Joined: 30 Dec 2008 Posts: 1

Hello,

To start off I don't have too much experience with midi, but was wondering if there was a way to extract the software instrument used in a .mid song? My real goal is to get the midi instruments used for making the majority of the super mario bros. music. Anyone have any suggestions?

kordiemoranto · Joined: 23 Dec 2009 Posts: 3

It is possible that a MIDI file can have multiple individual "tracks" in them. This is more for us with windows Media Player or something. Cubase can split them up into individual MIDI tracks so you can route them to the appropriate instruments. I don't think there is any other way to do it.
_________________
iphone zubehoer

SysExJohn · Posted: Thu Dec 31, 2009 4:42 am Post subject:

The software instrument, as you call it, is not embedded within the MIDI file at all. There is just a command, or set of 2 or 3 commands, that tell the device playing the MIDI file what "voice" (or instrument) to use when playing the file and, as in the above post by KordieMoranto, there are usually up to 16 tracks in a MIDI file. (In fact there can be many more tracks than 16, just 16 MIDI channels.)

The instrument sound that you hear will depend upon how the MIDI file is "rendered" into audio, i.e. the software instrument in the computer you are using, or in the sound card or module.

The way to find out what was used in the song is to look up the command(s) used in the MIDI track by the person who sequenced it. Any reasonable piece of MIDI sequencing software will tell you what instrument was selected for each track. Try Anvil Studio from here http://www.anvilstudio.com/

Any help?
SysExJohn.