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Manipulating the MIDI piano keyboard visual

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jamtpg19
Posts: 12
Joined: Thu Dec 12, 2019 5:39 pm

Manipulating the MIDI piano keyboard visual

Post by jamtpg19 »

I've been experimenting with the Magic Demo and after what I discovered yesterday, I'm pretty much set on purchasing Performer. I am a piano/music teacher and composer, and I'm looking for tools to make creative videos with and for my students and self. I plan to use both audio and MIDI as inputs.

I want to use the audio input functions of Magic extensively, but I think I have a decent grasp on how those work. It's the MIDI input that I need help with. I want to record a MIDI file of improvisational playing, and then use it to create visual effects in Magic that can be layered with/cut between the footage of my hands in my video editor. I was very excited yesterday to discover the sample projects MIDIFileExample and MIDIPiano... I thought I would need to purchase something else at first that would do that. I can tell that this will serve my needs, as soon as I get over the learning curve:

I can use the sample projects alright, but even after reading through the manual and forums and watching the tutorials, I'm having trouble understanding how to create those myself. I also don't quite understand yet how to make adjustments to the piano graphic. So here are some specific questions:

1. Starting with a blank project, how do I create the piano graphic in the magic window myself? I saw in the sample that there were two modules: "active notes only" and "inactive notes only" but when I right-clicked in a blank scene to add a module, I didn't see those anywhere to add. In the Circle Piano scene, the active/inactive modules don't appear at all; instead there are several left/middle/black/right key modules. Where do I find those?

2. I finally found "active notes only" and "inactive notes only" by using the "Search" option. They appeared in the search, but not in the first menu. Does this mean there are lots more modules available than just what appears in that right-click menu?) And, they only appear in search results if I have the MIDIPiano project open. If I open a new blank project and search, "active notes only" and "inactive notes only" do not appear. ?

3. I tried tweaking what I thought were the color modules to change the pastel colors (when certain notes are played) to something else, but it didn't change the output. How can I change the color or appearance of notes being played? Maybe all notes the same color, or notes played just glow but don't move, or they jump, etc. Is any of that possible? Can I make the piano keys do anything else when played besides change to those predefined pastel colors?

4. The Circle Piano is very cool, and I wonder if the keyboard can be wrapped/twisted in other dynamic shapes as well. How about a spiral? That spins perhaps? I think I found how to make it spin (in Circle Piano it rotates slightly back and forth). Or undulating wave? Anything like that?

5. In several demos by others, I hear examples of piano/keyboard music and graphics that (I think) are obviously triggered by "active notes only" and "inactive notes only", or MIDI note information somehow... except that, they look absolutely nothing like physical piano keys. Where do I find information on how to do that myself?

Thanks for your help and an amazing software! If I can understand how to use this fairly quickly, I'll be purchasing Performer very soon.
Magic
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Joined: Wed Apr 09, 2014 9:28 pm

Re: Manipulating the MIDI piano keyboard visual

Post by Magic »

Thanks for your interest. The problem is that you're jumping into something more advanced. I think you will get frustrated if you set these goals for yourself right now. It wouldn't be possible for Magic to do all the things it can do if there weren't a bit of a learning curve, so start gently :). Like playing piano, Magic takes time to master.

Specifically regarding MIDI and building realistic keyboards: MIDI itself isn't that complicated, but making a keyboard is, because the keys are not perfectly symmetrical and all sorts of little "adjustments" are needed to get the correct shapes, positions, and colors. The black keys don't reach all the way to the front; the white keys have 4 distinct shapes; the black keys are sometimes two half steps apart and sometimes three; the centers of all the keys are not equidistant. If not for these things, it would be fairly easy to make a keyboard. The reason I created the various sample projects with keyboards is so that you don't have to. With a little tweaking you should be able to adapt them (eventually) to any situation.

The questions you asked are all variations on basic concepts that I think you will learn if you spend a bit more time studying the documentation, watching the tutorial videos, and playing with the sample projects. I will give you some general answers below, but beyond that, it would be somewhat difficult (and extremely time-consuming) to describe it all in written form for the level of detail you're looking for. Probably better suited for a private lesson which we can give you via Skype or whatever, please see https://magicmusicvisuals.com/services. That way we can actually walk you through the exact examples you're looking at and directly answer your questions, if you're interested to get up and running very quickly. No pressure of course.
1. Starting with a blank project, how do I create the piano graphic in the magic window myself? I saw in the sample that there were two modules: "active notes only" and "inactive notes only" but when I right-clicked in a blank scene to add a module, I didn't see those anywhere to add. In the Circle Piano scene, the active/inactive modules don't appear at all; instead there are several left/middle/black/right key modules. Where do I find those?

2. I finally found "active notes only" and "inactive notes only" by using the "Search" option. They appeared in the search, but not in the first menu. Does this mean there are lots more modules available than just what appears in that right-click menu?) And, they only appear in search results if I have the MIDIPiano project open. If I open a new blank project and search, "active notes only" and "inactive notes only" do not appear. ?
Those are "scene modules", you can read about them in the User's Guide and see the related Sample Projects.
3. I tried tweaking what I thought were the color modules to change the pastel colors (when certain notes are played) to something else, but it didn't change the output. How can I change the color or appearance of notes being played? Maybe all notes the same color, or notes played just glow but don't move, or they jump, etc. Is any of that possible? Can I make the piano keys do anything else when played besides change to those predefined pastel colors?
There are nearly infinite ways you can have things change in response to MIDI. Someone who does excellent work in this regard is the user Skarabee, see his videos (just a few of many examples):
https://magicmusicvisuals.com/forums/vi ... 1909#p8735
https://magicmusicvisuals.com/forums/vi ... 8766#p8766
https://magicmusicvisuals.com/forums/vi ... 1300#p6034
4. The Circle Piano is very cool, and I wonder if the keyboard can be wrapped/twisted in other dynamic shapes as well. How about a spiral? That spins perhaps? I think I found how to make it spin (in Circle Piano it rotates slightly back and forth). Or undulating wave? Anything like that?
Yes, as above, pretty much any shape you can imagine is possible.
5. In several demos by others, I hear examples of piano/keyboard music and graphics that (I think) are obviously triggered by "active notes only" and "inactive notes only", or MIDI note information somehow... except that, they look absolutely nothing like physical piano keys. Where do I find information on how to do that myself?
This is something you will learn as you get more familiar with the software. Start with the Demo project, which is just a square responding to microphone volume, and then follow the MIDI/OSC Learn section of the User's Guide (https://magicmusicvisuals.com/downloads ... #MIDILearn) to try to get the square to respond to a MIDI note instead. Once you understand that, everything will become much clearer.
jamtpg19
Posts: 12
Joined: Thu Dec 12, 2019 5:39 pm

Re: Manipulating the MIDI piano keyboard visual

Post by jamtpg19 »

Regarding the advanced nature of my questions, yes... My first impression of MMV was "Wow! I definitely want this!" My second and growing impression is "I think I'm way out of my league." I don't think I even have the prerequisite skills to learn to understand the advanced stuff. Although... I would love to learn! In the past six months my business turned a dramatic corner, and I started learning and using ten new programs to accommodate my new workflows. So I'm still juggling ten simultaneous learning curves. I don't know if I can add MMV to that right now.

The tutorial videos were very easy to follow, and I can see how to manipulate the parameters in most of the sample projects and predict the outcome (somewhat). But you're right, now I see that my previous post probably sounded like an 8 year old getting into a helicopter and asking "So what button do I push first?"

I still want MMV and I think I'll just get Performer and stay in the shallow end for a little while till I get comfortable and don't have quite so many other things to master first. The private training session sounds attractive.

It makes me wish there was an MMV marketplace, honestly. Where expert users could create and demo amazing scenes, and people like me could buy the project including simple instructions for basic modifications. And, where people like me could commission certain scenes from people who can create them. I would SO spend money there. Is there such a platform, or is that a pipe dream?

Thanks for being gentle with newbies, Eric. After I actually make the purchase (soon), I'll come back and ask if there's just a simple way to change the pastel colors that the piano keys change to (in the sample project) into other colors. I think that, along with simple audio modules, will keep me happy for at least a little while.
Magic
Site Admin
Posts: 3440
Joined: Wed Apr 09, 2014 9:28 pm

Re: Manipulating the MIDI piano keyboard visual

Post by Magic »

It makes me wish there was an MMV marketplace, honestly. Where expert users could create and demo amazing scenes, and people like me could buy the project including simple instructions for basic modifications. And, where people like me could commission certain scenes from people who can create them. I would SO spend money there. Is there such a platform, or is that a pipe dream?
It's a nice idea, but see our previous discussions for more info: https://magicmusicvisuals.com/forums/vi ... f=2&t=1775

There is nothing preventing anyone from selling their stuff on any of the numerous online marketplaces for artists, and posting a link to it here on the forums, but no one has done so. Basic supply and demand, I guess.

If you want to commission an artist directly, I know for sure that there are users on these forums who would be happy to work for you. You can look through the user-submitted videos forum (https://magicmusicvisuals.com/forums/viewforum.php?f=5), the official user video gallery (https://magicmusicvisuals.com/uservideos), the user event photos page (https://magicmusicvisuals.com/photos), or our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/magicmusicvisuals).

Of course we (meaning me and my staff) can also be hired to create projects, but we tend to focus more on getting things "right" (technically) as opposed to making them "beautiful" (aesthetically) because beauty is always in the eye of the beholder (or the client in this case).
skarabee
Posts: 130
Joined: Fri Aug 28, 2015 3:11 am

Re: Manipulating the MIDI piano keyboard visual

Post by skarabee »

@jamtpg19
I'm also a musician who discovered MMV and video stuff, mainly for midi driven visuals for my band. I work with audio, midi, 2D and 3Dvisuals and have several midi instruments projects to use as templates (keyboards, but not only).
I'll be happy to share them with you once you get the Performer edition.
Some examples here: https://sites.google.com/view/studio-sk ... ic-visuals
jamtpg19
Posts: 12
Joined: Thu Dec 12, 2019 5:39 pm

Re: Manipulating the MIDI piano keyboard visual

Post by jamtpg19 »

@Skarabee

I was diverted with another project for a few days but I didn't forget I just returned to this forum and saw your reply... I just bought Performer a few minutes ago. YES YES YES I would be thrilled if you shared those projects with me! I've already seen a few of them in the forums but not all of them. I will send you a private message with my email address and another question for you. Thanks so so so much. Those are astounding.
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