Midi_create

Creates a format 1 (multitrack) MIDI file with one track, defaulting to 120 BPM. The generated MIDI file will contain 8 notes in the C major scale, starting at middle C. Pro Tools and Ableton Live will not import a MIDI file unless it contains at least one note.

About Middle C

In Pro Tools and Ableton, middle C is known as C3. See a discussion about middle C, and this article.

Installation

Set up Ruby (here is how), then type the following at a shell prompt:

$ gem install midi_create

If you are running rbenv (and you should, according to the instructions mentioned above), type:

$ rbenv rehash

Help Message

$ midi_create -h
midi_create: Creates a MIDI file containing an 8-note scale in the key of C,
             starting at middle C (C3 in Pro Tools and Ableton Live).

Syntax: midi_create [Options] PATH_TO_MIDI_FILE

Options:
  -b 120   Specify beats per minute (BPM); default is 120 bpm.
           Only integers can be used; a decimal point will cause an error.
  -f       Overwrite the output file if present
  -t NAME  Use this title for the track
  -h       Show this help message

Sample Usage

Create a MIDI type 1 file called filename.mid with one track in the current directory, without a title. Fail if the file already exists. Include an 8-note scale in the key of C starting at middle C (C3).

$ midi_create filename.mid

Like the previous example, but overwrite filename.mid if it already exists.

$ midi_create -f filename.mid

Like the previous example, plus include the title Test MIDI clip for the track. Ableton Live and Pro Tools ignore the MIDI track title, but Guitar Pro uses it.

$ midi_create -ft 'Test MIDI clip' filename.mid

Like the previous example, plus set BPM to 150. BPM can only be specified as an integer; using a decimal point will cause an error.

$ midi_create -b 150 -ft 'Test MIDI clip' filename.mid

Development

After checking out this git repository, install dependencies by typing:

$ bin/setup

You should do the above before running Visual Studio Code.

Run the Tests

$ bundle exec rake test

Interactive Session

The following will allow you to experiment:

$ bin/console

Local Installation

To install this gem onto your local machine, type:

$ bundle exec rake install

To Release A New Version

To create a git tag for the new version, push git commits and tags, and push the new version of the gem to https://rubygems.org, type:

$ bundle exec rake release

Contributing

Bug reports and pull requests are welcome at https://github.com/mslinn/midi_create.

License

The gem is available as open source under the terms of the MIT License.