Re: Documentation confusion regarding MIDI.

[Michael Gerdau]

> I preface this by acknowledging that I know nothing about the
> innerworkings of MIDI. In section 3.5.7 of the NR, which deals with
> MIDI channel mapping, there appears to be a discrepancy in the wording
> about channels and tracks. The third paragraph implies that channels
> and tracks are synonymous, stating that LilyPond creates separate MIDI
> tracks for staves, instruments, or voices depending on the value of
> Score.midiChannelMapping. This is immediately followed by the
> statement that there is no limit to the number of tracks. The
> impression left is that layers upon layers of sound could be
> generated. This obviously is not true. The Selected Snippet at the
> bottom of that page states that only 16 channels are available per
> track and then details ways of avoiding the running out of channels.
> This page appears to need some clarification. I would offer
> replacement text, but knowing nothing on the topic, I am hardly
> qualified. I simply know from experience that midiChannelMapping
> offers a bit of wiggle room in an otherwise restrictive situation,
> especially for orchestral or other large ensemble context.

I think you are mixing up things.

Lilypond does not imply a limitation on the number of tracks. You can 
indeed create layers upon layers of sound in lilypond. That impression 
is - as far as lilypond is concerned - correct.

However there is a limit on the number of different midi channels per 
midi track imposed by the midi specification, namely 16 channels. 
Lilypond will allocate sounds (aka midi channels) in a round robin 
fashion when exceeding the 16 channel midi limit. Either follow the 
suggested methods as of the documentation or deal with this in a DAW or 
proper midi sequencer in post processing (e.g. by reallocating excess 
channels to new tracks).

Kind regards,
Michael
--
 Michael Gerdau       email: mgd@qata.de
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