Create MIDI Files

Not that long ago, MIDI was almost exclusively turned towards western music; the few "ethnic" instruments provided in the standard MIDI specification bore a very poor resemblance with the original. This time is over and MIDI is now expanding to all the sounds of the world: with their Downloadable Sounds (DLS) norm, you can now create your own MIDI instruments out of any wave file you want. Also, as time passes, new synthesizers or expansion boards tend to provide eastern sonorities, like Roland's "Asian".

SwarShala lets you take full advantage of this trend, by providing MIDI files for any instrument currently supported (sarod, sitar, guitar, tanpura, tabla, pakhawaj, dholki, bells). 

The configuration for MIDI output differs between a TaalWizard base and a RaagWizard base. We are describing here the two ways:

TaalWizard Bases

In a TaalWizard base, the MIDI mapping is done through the Insert | Single Strokes command. You can go through all defined single strokes and provide for each a proper mapping, as displayed here:

As you can see, the program supports 2 different mappings: one to the standard GM drum kit (tabla strokes are converted into western drums), the other to a custom DLS instrument or synthesizer. Just enter the note number which corresponds to the sample you have used in your DLS instrument.

If you want to use the GM drum kit but only want one MIDI event per stroke, you can also enter your MIDI equivalent at the Joined Stroke level. When the program finds a mapping at this level, it short-circuits the mapping specified at the Single-Stroke level. 

To enter the proper value, select a joined stroke in the program and press the Properties button:

To switch between DLS and GM mapping, you should select the proper one in the Tools | Options | Playback tab.

If you use a DLS mapping, you should specify the proper channel, bank and program to be set in the file. In a GM drum kit style, default settings are used (channel 9, program 0).

RaagWizard Strings Bases

In a RaagWizard Strings base, the MIDI mappings are different, as we are no longer working with drum kits, but with melodic patches.

Each sound in a RaagWizard base is attached to a string as a plucking style. It is therefore natural to find the MIDI mappings at the Plucking Styles dialog, which is accessed from the Insert | Strings menu:

This setting defines the patch to be used for the particular plucking style. It is used in DLS mode (see Playback options above) only. In GM mode, all strokes are mapped to the GM sitar (patch nr. 105). 

Generation

To generate a MIDI file, select the required pattern and click on the Composer | Create MIDI File menu.