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Can we download any midi file and load it in any keyboard ?
Music file question
- Thread starter Rajtilak Sengupta
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That's a "yes and no" question.
For one thing, there are different kinds of MIDI files-- format 0, format 1, and format 2, plus auto-accompaniment files (MIDI files with additional chunks of data). But most MIDI song files are format 0 or format 1 SMFs ("standard MIDI files"), and keyboards that are able to load and play MIDI files are usually designed to be able to read and play both format 0 and format 1 SMFs.
So in that sense, the answer to your question is a tentative "yes." Of course, not all keyboards can load MIDI files.
But another aspect of your question is that all keyboards do not have the same voices or tones. The GM ("General MIDI") specifications were created to help ensure some consistency between keyboards and other MIDI hardware or software. Among other things, the GM specs define 128 different "programs" or instrument sounds (called "voices" or "tones" by some manufacturers), along with a standard "drum kit." The intention is that if a given SMF conforms to the GM specs, you'll be able to load and play it on any keyboard that's GM-compatible and it will sound pretty much the same on all keyboards-- that is, the various parts will be played using the intended instrument sounds (acoustic grand piano, pipe organ, clarinet, etc.), although the same programs won't sound exactly the same on all keyboards. But it soon became apparent that 128 instrument sounds weren't enough, so manufacturers began extending the GM sound set by creating multiple banks of sounds, leading to manufacturer-specific sound sets like GS (Roland) and XG (Yamaha). This led to the development of the GM2 ("General MIDI Level 2") specs, which incorporated several of the new message types and sounds which had been added by GS and XG. So now there are at least four different standards that a MIDI file could conform to as far as the voices and types of messages used-- GM, GS, XG, and GM2. And other manufacturers (Casio, Korg, etc.) developed their own banks of voices or tones.
Consequently, a MIDI file can use voices or tones, as well as various types of effects such as reverb and chorus, not to mention specific types of messages, which are specific to a particular brand or even model of keyboard. But if a MIDI file conforms to the sound set and message types for a particular set of specifications (GM, GS, XG, etc.), then it should generally be able to be played by any keyboard that's compatible with those specifications. But there can be different levels or versions of a given set of specs, similar to the way we have GM Level 1 (GM or GM1) and GM Level 2 (GM2)-- for instance, there's XG Level 1, XG Level 2, XG Level 3, and XGlite (which might also have different levels of compatibility). So just because a MIDI file is "XG compatible" doesn't necessarily mean that all "XG compatible" keyboards will have every single voice and effect which are used in that file.
So in that sense, the answer to your question is "no."
Fortunately, you can edit a MIDI file using appropriate software to change the voices and effects used, remove any messages that aren't usable, etc., so it will play and sound better on your keyboard.
For one thing, there are different kinds of MIDI files-- format 0, format 1, and format 2, plus auto-accompaniment files (MIDI files with additional chunks of data). But most MIDI song files are format 0 or format 1 SMFs ("standard MIDI files"), and keyboards that are able to load and play MIDI files are usually designed to be able to read and play both format 0 and format 1 SMFs.
So in that sense, the answer to your question is a tentative "yes." Of course, not all keyboards can load MIDI files.
But another aspect of your question is that all keyboards do not have the same voices or tones. The GM ("General MIDI") specifications were created to help ensure some consistency between keyboards and other MIDI hardware or software. Among other things, the GM specs define 128 different "programs" or instrument sounds (called "voices" or "tones" by some manufacturers), along with a standard "drum kit." The intention is that if a given SMF conforms to the GM specs, you'll be able to load and play it on any keyboard that's GM-compatible and it will sound pretty much the same on all keyboards-- that is, the various parts will be played using the intended instrument sounds (acoustic grand piano, pipe organ, clarinet, etc.), although the same programs won't sound exactly the same on all keyboards. But it soon became apparent that 128 instrument sounds weren't enough, so manufacturers began extending the GM sound set by creating multiple banks of sounds, leading to manufacturer-specific sound sets like GS (Roland) and XG (Yamaha). This led to the development of the GM2 ("General MIDI Level 2") specs, which incorporated several of the new message types and sounds which had been added by GS and XG. So now there are at least four different standards that a MIDI file could conform to as far as the voices and types of messages used-- GM, GS, XG, and GM2. And other manufacturers (Casio, Korg, etc.) developed their own banks of voices or tones.
Consequently, a MIDI file can use voices or tones, as well as various types of effects such as reverb and chorus, not to mention specific types of messages, which are specific to a particular brand or even model of keyboard. But if a MIDI file conforms to the sound set and message types for a particular set of specifications (GM, GS, XG, etc.), then it should generally be able to be played by any keyboard that's compatible with those specifications. But there can be different levels or versions of a given set of specs, similar to the way we have GM Level 1 (GM or GM1) and GM Level 2 (GM2)-- for instance, there's XG Level 1, XG Level 2, XG Level 3, and XGlite (which might also have different levels of compatibility). So just because a MIDI file is "XG compatible" doesn't necessarily mean that all "XG compatible" keyboards will have every single voice and effect which are used in that file.
So in that sense, the answer to your question is "no."
Fortunately, you can edit a MIDI file using appropriate software to change the voices and effects used, remove any messages that aren't usable, etc., so it will play and sound better on your keyboard.