Practical MIDI

I'm fortunate as far as live solo performers go in that I not only play guitar, but I also play keyboards. That becomes important for several reasons. One, I can switch off from guitar for a little variety in my show. Two, the keyboard I use has MIDI capabilities, allowing me to play my sequenced files through it. And three, it acts almost like a podium for speakers, in that I can hide behind it when the rotten tomatoes come flying my way.

Unfortunately, not all guitar players are also keyboard players. I'm not saying that because I can play keys as well as guitar that I'm better than someone who only plays the guitar. Quite the contrary. Even though I play both, I consider myself a "rhythm keyboard player" and I'm not actually that technically good while there are solo guitarists that could probably play rings around me on their chosen instrument. I like to think of myself as versatile and that's the key to securing more jobs than the next guy.

These days sequencing and MIDI-based acts are more accepted than they were years ago when people thought of them as karaoke acts. Oops, I said the K word, which is a dirty word in my circle of professional musicians. What we do is not karaoke, but rather a hybrid act that falls somewhere between live bands and karaoke singers. We evolved out of pure economics. That is, simple math will demonstrate that $200 divided by 4 band members comes out to $50 each while $200 divided by 1 nets you a cool $200. A no-brainer, as they say.

Okay, so back to my original arguments. I do have variety, a MIDI player and protection with the keyboard, but what about solo guitarists? That's where MP3s come into play. Instead of having to set up a whole keyboard to play your MIDI files, a solo guitarists would show up for his job carrying his guitar and amp and then just reach into his pocket and pull out an MP3 player containing a hundred MP3 files of the tunes he wants to play along with. True, it's more compact and easier to use on the job, but what about after you've tried the song out live and find you don't like the mix or want to expand the song? You're stuck with the MP3 that you have.

A little bit larger option than the MP3 player would be the laptop computer with a deluxe sound card and those same hundred songs in MIDI format. With MIDI, you have the option of loading the sequence back onto your computer and tweaking it just right for your application. You can add verses, bridges, change keys, add intros, modify endings, select different instruments and end up with the best MIDI file for your particular situation. Then, when you feel you have the song exactly as you want it, you still have the option of converting the MIDI file to an MP3 and going the other route. Either way, you still need to start with a MIDI sequence, so let's not disregard MIDI just yet.

As for my third advantage to playing keyboard vs. a solo guitarist--I can hide behind my keyboard when the tomatoes come flying while an MP3 player wouldn't provide much cover held up in front of your face. It's a trade-off.

©2005 Bill Bernico for CYBERMIDI.com Downwind Publications