Embedded Files
July 2, 2021 Midi Connectivity--Technology. I've always been fascinated with pianos. We had one in our home when I was growing up but never made an effort to learn how to play it.
My first electronic keyboard was purchased at Davy B's Guitar City in the early 70s. It was a Fender Contempo (organ) and had a selection of voices changed by flipping switches above the keys. It predated midi and micro computers. This was back in the day when rock bands like Three Dog Night frequently featured the organ. I wanted to be able to produce that sound. Here's what I'm referring to--watch the video Easy to be Hard on YouTube. For some reason mine never sounded that good. Also, check out the link to UCR's website Ultimate Classic Rock.
The Contempo's keyboard had undersized keys with a section of inverted-colored keys on the left. Its case and stand were bulky and during the years I played with it, it remained set up and plugged into my stereo amplifier with one dedicated humongous bass speaker. For fear of blowing out my stereo speakers, they were always disconnected before turning on the Contempo (organ). After my next acquisitions it was stored in a closet for 30 years before giving it away 10 years ago.
The next purchase came shortly after personal computers became popular. At the time, I owned an Apple II and a couple of years later upgraded to a Franklin Ace and Laser 128 which were Apple Clones for the Apple IIe and IIc, respectively--they had midi in/out ports. During these years I purchased my first midi keyboard--a Yamaha Porta-Sound bought at Sears in the late 80's. Its total length was about 30 inches.
After realizing my fingers didn't fit very well, I bought a larger midi compatible Casio keyboard with foot pedal at Radio Shack. In 1998 I upgraded to another Midi Compatible Yamaha with nearly full-sized keys. It's sound quality and touch were far superior to previous models.
By 2010 I had worn out the keyboards on both the Casio and Yamaha keyboards and purchased another midi compatible Casio at Best Buy with more keys--finally they were full-sized. Although its sound quality and touch isn't as good as the Yamaha's, it does everything I need (See photos at the bottom of this page). Its key action has improved over the years. For really good sound and touch, I'll use the old upright piano in the living room.
MIDI Examples
July 1, 2021 MuseScore Update. Beautiful Town Beautiful People was originally recorded in 2009. The imported midi file has been printed with MuseScore music notation software. There are still many technical errors stemming from my initial midi settings made during recording. They are most conspicuous with clef arrangements which appear to be inconsistent for lack of a better explanation.
MuseScore (freeware) was easy to install and configure in Windows. The midi file import and conversion to pdf was straightforward. I had no difficulty locating menus and options.
Here is the link to the updated score:
Beautiful Town Beautiful People v2.PDF
(3 pages)
Here is the link to the midi file used for creating the score:
The current layout needs work.
June 29, 2021 Update--Beautiful Town Beautiful People was originally recorded in 2009. The imported midi file is being reformatted with Frescobaldi and LilyPond music notation software.
All that has been accomplished thus far is to add the title, sub title, composer and instrument. It looks like I will need to start over from scratch.
The output is a partially edited 3-page score in PDF format (linked below) that was imported with Frescobaldi and engraved with LilyPond.
Here are the links:
Beautiful Town Beautiful People .PDF
(3 pages)
This copy of Beautiful Town Beautiful People is shown without accents and other embellishments. The missing instructions such as hair pins, accents, and slurs, etc. convey the composer's thought on how the music should be expressed.
With skill and patience notational software makes it possible to insert all of these.
Click the WAV file to listen.
Beautiful Town Beautiful People.WAV
(recorded with pedal effects)
Click below for uncluttered PDF.
Beautiful Town Beautiful People.PDF
(3 pages)
July 1, 2021 January Groove Update--Piano Score.
Here is the updated score exported from MuseScore:
January Groove--Piano.PDF
(3 pages)
Here is the link to the January Groove piano version Midi File:
Click the WAV link to listen:
Inverted score pasted on green background. Image of Casio Midi Keyboard.
January Groove--My first composition.
This version has been edited with Gimp for adding the title and adding the Bass Clef. Musically, I don't believe it is correct in its present form.
Click Here for January Groove.PDF version as shown above.
The Cubbarooska
Dance of the Black Cat
The Cubbarooska (Dance of the Black Cat) is a work in progress. Actually, I started it about 10 years ago but never got around to cleaning up the notation or MIDI performance.
It's pretty rough as it now exists--much too long with numerous keyboarding errors. The first part has a catchy melody, but later on it gets repetitious.
Here is the MIDI version that can be downloaded for playback:
The Cubbarooska .MID
The Cubbarooska--Tuncated.WAV
(Listen to this one.)
I also generated a copy of the complete music score that can be viewed by clicking here:
The Cubbarooska .PDF
(6 pages)
Lastly, MuseScore was used to convert the same midi file into a more detailed musical score:
The Cubbarooska v2 .PDF
(13 pages)
Page 1 of 13 at the left was exported from MuseScore.
Manual Clef changes were made that resulted in many notes being printed above the staff. More work is needed to correct this.
The Cubbarooska--Truncated.PDF
(4 pages)
Instruments
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