Orinj Working with MIDI files

Orinj version 9.0.0

Orinj uses SoundFont (sf2) files to arrange notes and produce MIDI files.

• A SoundFont is a collection of wave samples and articulations describing how these wave samples should be played. Wave samples represent different instruments and often different notes for these instruments.
• Orinj allows the user to choose a SoundFont, select an instrument, arrange notes for that instrument, play the resulting arrangement using the wave samples in the SoundFont, and save this arrangement as a MIDI file or a wave file.
• The resulting MIDI file or wave file can be inserted into a session.

To create and edit MIDI files, switch to the MIDI roll view.

Loading and using SoundFont files

MIDI in Orinj requires a SoundFont. Orinj will ask you to load a SoundFont the first time you switch to the MIDI roll view.

Click on the Load button in the top left, browse to an sf2 file, and open it. The instruments that are available in the SoundFont file will be shown in the list under the Load button.

Create a new MIDI file

To create a new MIDI file, click on File and then on New in the Orinj menu. Then choose if the SoundFont file that will support this MIDI file. Use the SoundFont that is already loaded or click on the Load button in the top left to choose another one.

See Orinj Audio formats for the default content of new MIDI files created with Orinj.

Open an existing MIDI file

To open a MIDI file, click on File and then on Open in the Orinj menu.

Click on File and then on Recent to see the names of MIDI files used recently. Click on one of these files to open it.

Orinj remembers the SoundFont file that was used to create a MIDI file. This SoundFont file will be loaded when you open a MIDI file created with Orinj.

Save the current MIDI file

To save the MIDI file that you are working with, click on File and then on Save or on Save As in the Orinj menu.

Close the current MIDI file

To close the current MIDI file, click on File and then on Close in the Orinj menu.

Choose an output device

To choose a device for MIDI output, click on Sequencer and then on Output Device in the Orinj menu. Choose from the list of available devices and click OK.

When playing MIDI files, Orinj uses the SoundFont samples to produce sampled audio data. This happens both in the MIDI roll view and in the session. Orinj does not send MIDI messages to MIDI devices but sends sampled audio data to sampled audio devices. The output devices you will see are those that can receive sampled audio.

Play, stop playback, fast forward, rewind

To play your MIDI file, click on the play button () in the player toolbar at the bottom of Orinj, or click on Sequencer and then on Play in the Orinj menu.

To play only what is visible on the screen, click on the play screen button () in the player toolbar at the bottom of Orinj, or click on Sequencer and then on Play Screen in the Orinj menu. Once the play cursor (the yellow vertical line) reaches the end of what is visible on screen, playback will stop.

To play a portion of your MIDI file in a loop, select that portion and then click on the play loop button () in the player toolbar at the bottom of Orinj, or click on Sequencer and then on Play Loop in the Orinj menu. To make a selection over the MIDI file, first click on the select mouse pointer () in the pointer toolbar at the bottom of Orinj, then click on the MIDI file on screen, and then drag the mouse to the left or the right.

To stop the playback of the MIDI file, click on the stop button () in the player toolbar at the bottom of Orinj, or click on Sequencer and the on Stop in the Orinj menu. The play cursor will return to where playback started.

To fast forward, click on the fast forward button () in the player toolbar at the bottom of Orinj. You can fast forward only during playback. When you release the fast forward button, playback will resume.

To rewind playback, click on the rewind button () in the player toolbar at the bottom of Orinj. You can similarly rewind only during playback and playback will resume when you release the rewind button.

To rewind to the start of the MIDI file, click on the rewind to start button () or click on Sequencer and then on Rewind To Start in the Orinj menu.

Set the tempo of the MIDI file

Click on Sequencer and then on Tempo / Time Signature in the Orinj menu. Set the tempo and time signature in the dialog and click OK.

Orinj will adjust the grid in the MIDI roll view to reflect the new tempo and time signature.

These tempo and time signature are the tempo and time signature of the MIDI file and may not match the tempo of the session.

Setting the tempo and time signature in Orinj will help you arrange notes accordingly. However, Orinj is flexible, and you can also arrange notes in the MIDI file in ways that do not match the tempo or the time signature.

Work with MIDI channels

See Orinj MIDI channel control panel.

Convert the MIDI file to a wave file

Click on Sequencer and then on Convert To Wave in the Orinj menu.

Insert the MIDI file into the session

You can insert a MIDI file directly into the session. Orinj will temporarily convert the MIDI file into a wave file with the SoundFont used to create the MIDI file. This allows Orinj to apply effects and any other processing that can be applied to sampled audio.

If you insert a MIDI file into the session, then change the MIDI file in the MIDI roll view, and then switch to the session again, the session MIDI file will automatically change as well.

Rather than inserting the MIDI file into the session, you can first convert it into a wave file. In this case, the session will not reflect any changes made in the MIDI roll view and you will have to reinsert the file after the changes.