MIDI, Music, Audio

Sorry to be imprecise.

On both ARMX6 OS 5.29 (21-Dec-2022) and Pi 400 OS 5.29 (14-Feb-2023) Rhapsody4 loops during load, repeating in a central viewport until Alt-Brk:
‘Internal error: abort on data transfer at &FC1B1A28 at line 68’ (ARMX6) or
‘Internal error: abort on data transfer at &FC1BAE80 at line 68’ (Pi 400)
*Where says these are at offset &00002E90 in module ‘BASIC’

So those two errors are identical save only for the position of BASIC in the ROMs.

I haven’t been able to elicit again the error about the Tones file (sorry, not directory). At one point it reported not finding file Tones via an incomplete pathname …!Rhapsody4.MidiSetup.MidiDevice.Tones in which MidiDevice was just ‘#’. I’ll leave that one for now until I actually connect a MIDI device when I hope that file Yamaha-PSR.Tones might be the basis for a Tones file to work with a Yamaha PSS-580.

If you need help don’t hesitate, glad to have !Rhapsody users.

@Jean-Michel — That is very good to know. I’m sure the loading error I describe can be easily solved.

I also cannot get Rhapsody4 to work on my Pi4. It fails with one of the following errors,

File ‘SDFS::RISOSpi.$.Apps.Rhapsody4.!Rhapsody4.MidiSetup.#.Tones’ not found at line 6524

or

Internal error: abort on data transfer at &FC1ACA08 at line 68

The abort needs an Alt-Break to stop.

Running/quitting applications or creating/quitting big ram discs can sometimes change the error from one to the
other and sometimes the “file not found” can have extra characters after the # that look like part of the basic source.

The version I have is Rhap4_220906/zip. I thought it was my setup but it seems Bernard has had similar problems.
My Pi is running OS 5.28 16/12/20 and is a 2GB Pi4B.
The version of basic is, BBC BASIC V 1.81 (26 Sep 2020)

I stopped all my extra stuff booting on startup, but it makes no difference.

My reason for wanting to get this working is that I’ve been playing with MidiSupport and have created a minimal version for the Pi4 (and the associated MidiMan and drivers), and the more things I can test it with the better.

I also cannot get Rhapsody4 to work on my Pi4. It fails with one of the following errors,

+=2. I cannot get it to run on either the Titanium or RPi1, the errors are as described above.

Hi all,
I downloaded the version present on my site and indeed it generates the error on line 68 on my ARMX6!!! Sorry, thanks for testing…
It was working when I uploaded it, which may not be the case after a RISC OS update?
I will update the version, there have been improvements. Just the time to do the tests.

@Peter
I’m very interested in MidiSupport, the version I own works but without a driver, the MIDI module version 5.0 seems very powerful because it was a replacement for version 3.14 of the ACORN one. It is more independent of devices,it communicates with them via drivers.

I tried to build USB drivers for MIDISupport, but I lack information. The goal is to have both an external device, and ESP’s MidiSynth (and now your module). Note The ESP apps are in the possession of ROOL, free of rights, if I’m not mistaken.
I tried converting MIDISynth to 32bit, it works fine on my RISC PC.

I will prepare Rhapsody4, and upload it today.

Done, thanks for testing.

Done

It’s good here now, thanks.

Thats great, it now works fine thanks.

Regarding MidiSupport, I bought ESP’s Synth Plus with midisupport and Rhapsody4, and a MidiMax II card back in 2000. It all worked fine on my RiscPC and the software still works fine on the replacement RPCEmu. However, none of it works on the Pi. The ESP source code is all with ROOL but only the MidiPlay module is accessible the rest is “closed”.
So I’ve had to start from scratch, it currently comprises,

MidiSupport module.
!MidiMan application, driver management.
Midi4/5 4 port driver module.
MidiPlay driver module.
MidiSynth driver module
!MidiMonitor driver application.

There’s no hardware driver support and I’m sure it’s not a full implementation as I only have limited details but it works. What it really needs is a USBMidi driver module. I’ve written a dummy driver module with just the driver in. All it needs some kind soul to add the USB part of their MIDIUSB module to it! I haven’t got round to having a go myself yet.

I will upload a snapshot of it all. It will take a few days to tidy it up but I’ll post here when I’m done.

Nice,
Midisupport
The version I have is from 2007, it was for my Iyonix with the AKA16 card, so 32 bit.

I’ve written a dummy driver module with just the driver in.

I would be interested , I have already made successful attempts in USB (Audio recording).

I will upload a snapshot of it all. It will take a few days to tidy it up but I’ll post here when I’m done.

Thanks

I’ve uploaded a snapshot of my midi support system. It’s based on how the 26bit version I have works, plus information from Lenny’s archived website for the 32bit version, and the MIDISupport Functional Spec issue 7 dated 1 Mar 2003. I’ve currently only tested it on my PI4 and many things may not work properly. There’s more information in the ReadMe within the zip.

MidiSupport development snapshot 06/04/23

Thanks Peter,

I will take a look, ESP’s work should not be lost and MIDISupport adds possibilities.

I’ve done about all I can with my PI version of ESP’s Midi Support system and
it now has a working USB driver module. I’ve only tested it on my PI4 and it
needs Risc OS 5.

All the driver modules need some sort of timing and I had been using the system
ticker at 10ms. This was not ideal and it soon became apparent that I had to
have a 1ms timer for the USB driver module. On my PI there is only timer 1
spare and in order to make it available to all the modules I’ve implemented a
timing facility in a separate module that can call any module at any multiple
of 1ms. This has the advantage that all the drivers use the same time stamp
making it easy to measure delays. If you want to try any of the drivers with
ESP’s midi support you will need the timer module as well.

The USB module copes with composite devices where the Midi interface might not
be the first.

For delay measurement, this is the most extreme test I did, using a couple of
usb midi adapters.

DigitalCD -> MPlay -> MidiSupport -> USBMidi(port 0) ->
  h/w midi adapter 1 -> (first 32.5k serial link) -> h/w midi adapter 2 ->        
    USBMidi(port 1) -> MidiSupport -> USBMidi(port 1) ->
      h/w midi adapter 2 -> (second 32.5k serial link) -> h/w midi adapter 1 ->  
        USBMidi(port 0) -> MidiSupport -> MidiSynth

Round trip delay from the MPlay module to the MidiSynth module is 3ms, 2 of
these are the 2 serial links at 923us each for a 3 byte midi message. For a
single 32.5k link looped back, the measured delay is 2ms.

For the 2 loop test, I also passed the second serial link into a Roland JV1080
and out through its midi thru, which won’t have added any delay and was to
confirm that the midi file played correctly.

Here’s the zip of my MidiSupport 19/6/23.

When it rains, it pours, right? ;)

https://heyrick.eu/blog/files/usbmidi010.zip (~201KiB)

Loads of fixes and enhancements by Ian Stanley…

• Revamped connection to search for endpoints, fixed some scanning bugs.
• Seperated the concept of MIDI devices and ports to allow on-the-fly remapping.
• Comes with a little Mapper app to allow you to fudge what inputs go to what outputs (in both directions, obviously).
• Running status can now be sent.
• SysEx now supported.
• ActiveSensing implemented (in both directions).

I wish to take a moment here to thank Dave and Ian for their enhancements to by MIDI code. We now have useful MIDI drivers for RISC OS that work well with Rhapsody4 on a variety of RISC OS 5 systems.

If you have a simple MIDI setup (a keyboard/synth and something like Rhapsody4), this is the simplest solution. Just drop the module into !System.500.Modules.MIDI and ensure it’s loaded before you start Rhapsody4 (JLB’s versions do this) or, god help you, Maestro. MIDI will just magically work, but note that both programs may need additional setting up in order to make best use of MIDI.

For more complex setups or to replace an existing ESP multi-part system, Peter’s post above may be of interest.

I’m pleased to see a renewed interest in using MIDI with RISC OS.

but note that both programs may need additional setting up in order to make best use of MIDI.

For Rhapsody4, the MIDI setup is kind of complex. At the very least, for a generic MIDI device, the last four lines of Setup should say:

#1/1-9,11-16            :"GM"
#1/10                   :"GMDrumKit"
#2/1-9,11-16            :"GM"
#2/10                   :"GMDrumKit"

This defines a General MIDI device on ports 1 and 2, with standard voices on all channels (1-16) except channel 10 which is the drumkit. This is normal.

Before you try customising to your specific hardware, ensure it works as a standard MIDI device.

Well I’d just like say thank you Rick and to Dave and Colin for all your work on usb midi and all the posts on the subject over the years. I really was a great help.

And as you say, when it finally stops pouring down with rain, 3 buses turn up.

That’s a lot of great news/updates all together, thanks everyone involved! Awesome work! :)

Is there such a thing as a USB stick – Midi sync generator with sound out?

Is there such a thing as a USB stick – Midi sync generator with sound out?

I keep half expecting one of the innovative pi-in-a-box suppliers to create a “hat” to do that.
That would be rather interesting

Why a hat? You just need something that can read in the MIDI data and then push it out to a synth chip. The VS1053 (IIRC) has a MIDI mode.

Of course, the reason why these things don’t exist is twofold:

Firstly, most other systems have ways of playing MIDI natively. Android can directly play .mid files, for example.
Maybe some day in the future, one might envisage something like RDSP they can play MIDI using SoundFont samples… But for now, I plug in my keyboard.

Secondly, a simple synth like that would sound crap. Like a toy keyboard from the 80s. Slightly better is a wavetable synth. Then we’ll start to head into samples of actual instruments (with varying degrees of realism ¹).

What differentiates a €15 chip from a €200 keyboard from a €2,000 keyboard is, in large part, the quality of the reproduction.
Are you happy with it sounding like an Amiga playing an envelope (attack, sustain, release, decay) they is supposed to sound like a slapped bass, or do you want it to actually sound like a slapped bass?

¹ I think my keyboard has partial samples, the grand piano seems to have slight differences in the audio in groups of an octave, so I think each octave has a base sample that is sped up progressively until the next octave. Other instruments (like honky tonk) might work by modifying the grand piano. I think the onboard ROM is 2MB, that doesn’t sound enough for full samples of some 500 instruments.

I think the onboard ROM is 2MB, that doesn’t sound enough for full samples of some 500 instruments.

ROFL – no indeed. Some pretty impressive data compression tricks to do that, whose expansion would probably need >2MB of code…

I think each octave has a base sample that is sped up progressively until the next octave

A whole octave is a bit much to do that with, although even a real piano has a step change or two in sound where the number of strings per key changes.

I keep half expecting one of the innovative pi-in-a-box suppliers to create a “hat” to do that.

Like this?

https://raspiaudio.com/

Or better this: https://www.koopinstruments.com/information/raspberry-pi-midi-synthesizer

Or any Roland Canvas Synth (they are very small, half a rack, easy to keep on a desk)

But, before the discussion goes nuts (like in another topic), I agree with Rick, why a hat? There are so many great sounding synths of all sizes (so no lack of space is not a good excuse to justify a hat!), some of which is very cheap as well (so no, price also does not justify a hat), and having their own MIDI unit means you can combine multiple of them to have even more amazing results (not all synth have the best sound quality for all instrument’s sound).

So why a hat? What does it brings in terms of value? (genuine question from a musician. I am askign because I keep seeing this thing about a synth hat for the Pi)

Some pretty impressive data compression tricks to do that

Looks like the ROM might be 8MiB (found a service manual).
But still, hundreds of instruments and multiple possible note velocities plus sustain or not, there’s no way it’s straight PCM samples.

A whole octave is a bit much to do that with

Trade offs. You want better than an octave range per sample, buy a more expensive model. ;)

There are so many great sounding synths of all sizes

A basic actual keyboard costs €200-300, with MIDI inputs this can double up as a synth plus you can enjoy it without the computer just messing around playing stuff (or randomly prodding the keys, in my case :( ). Just get one with touch sensitivity, it really does make a difference to how it feels and sounds.

I am askign because I keep seeing this thing about a synth hat for the Pi

There’s this, but it’s not what is being asked for.
https://www.tindie.com/products/retrofletch/roland-mt-32-emulator-pi-hat-mt32-pi-midi-mt32/

Because, really, given the price, turns out that it’s far simpler to accept MIDI data and get the Pi to perform the synthesis in software rather than bolt on some hardware that might end up costing rather more than the Pi itself.

Nobody needs a hardware hat to play MIDI on RISC OS. We just need a halfway competent software player.

A few years ago I wrote a command line program to read DLS sound font files and export the waves. This is what it gave for the Roland Sound Canvas file gm.dls used by the microsoft build in synth. It’s a big list so I’ve just picked a few instruments.

-----------------
 DLS File Reader
v0.1  Mar 26 2021
-----------------

       File: gm.dls
       Size: 3440660 bytes
Instruments: 235
    Version: 1.0.16.2
      Waves: 495
    Comment: 960920 ver. 1.00.16
  Copyright: Copyright 1996 Roland Corporation U.S.
   Engineer: Roland Corporation
       Name: GS sound set (16 bit)
   Software: dls_cnv v0.27y
    Subject: 226 melodic + 9 drum instruments

     [---Patch---]
 Ins  BHi BLo Prg  Rgn Name       (Instrument,Bank Hi,Bank Lo,Program,Number of Regions)
 ---  --- --- ---  --- ----
   0 [  0,  0,  0]  10 Piano 1     
 Rgn Klo Khi Wav Name             (Region,Key Lo,Key Hi,Wave number)
 --- --- --- --- ----
   0   0  38 289 PIANO36
   1  39  43 290 PIANO41
   2  44  50 291 PIANO48
   3  51  59 292 PIANO56
   4  60  67 293 PIANO64
   5  68  74 294 PIANO73
   6  75  81 295 PIANO78
   7  82  88 296 PIANO84
   8  89  97 297 PIANO92
   9  98 127 298 PIANOA3

  72 [  0,  0, 36]   4 Slap Bass 1 
 Rgn Klo Khi Wav Name
 --- --- --- --- ----
   0   0  38 372 SLPBS31
   1  39  67 373 SLPBS43
   2  68 104 374 SLPBS84
   3 105 127 403 STLGT84B

 174 [  0,  0,114]   2 Steel Drums 
 Rgn Klo Khi Wav Name
 --- --- --- --- ----
   0   0 106 397 STLDR72
   1 107 127 191 HARP_96A

Each instument has a number of “regions” and each region covers a number of keys with a wave number in the wave pool. Waves are quite often used for a number of instruments especially at the high end where there are less harmonics, so less differences. Drum kits are a single instrument with a single key region for each percussive part.

 226 [  0,  0,  0]  61 Kit: Standard    
 Rgn Klo Khi Wav Name
 --- --- --- --- ----
   0  27  27 196 HI_Q_60
   1  28  28 371 SLAP_60
   2  29  29 381 SPUSH60
   3  30  30 380 SPULL60
   4  31  31 396 STICK64
   5  32  32  93 CLICK60
   6  33  33 359 SIDE_60
   7  34  34 233 METRO60
   8  35  35 220 KICK264
   9  36  36 376 SOLKK60A
  10  37  37 359 SIDE_60
  11  38  38 161 FATSD60A
  12  39  39 193 HCLAP60
  13  40  40 474 T_SNR60A
  14  41  41 444 TOM__60
  15  42  42  83 CHH__60A

I’ve not listed the whole kit. If a key is not within any region for an instrument, no sound is produced. Each region has a set of “Articulation” parameters that tell the synth how to play the wave, which bit can be repeated, filtering, modulation etc. I think SF2 sound font files are similar.

Bonjour,
@ Rick,Thanks for the MIDI explanations for users.
In the Rhapsody4 folder the MidiSetup directory contains the definitions for various expanders.You can use the utility found in the Support directory: !MIDI_cfg
This reads the MidiSetup file and allows you to assign an expander to each MIDI port (4 for Rick’s module). The result of the selection is saved in the !Setup file.
(Keep a copy of the original which by default is the GM MIDI standard)

@Pete,Your MIDI module is MIDI_GM compatible I think, otherwise it would be easy to add the definitions in the MIDISupport directory.

I built a few years ago a control interface for my expander (which still works very well: a Roland MGS64). I updated it with mute and solo functions.(My first ToolBox application )
I think it’s used during the play of Rhapsody4 (or others), we can act dynamically. The functionality is almost the same as Pete’s MidiMon…
The app works with Rick’s Module and Pete’s Module. Thanks for testing.

ESP MIDIsynth.
The ESP synth module is very interesting and uses sound banks, it would be nice to be able to reuse these programs, especially since it belongs to ROOL.
Unfortunately the source files are missing. Not very easy to adapt. If there are volunteers…I think what interests MIDI users has been done and we can certainly improve it, for example using DLS files..

@Jean-Michel,

Thanks for the update.

Your MIDI module is MIDI_GM compatible I think

Yes my MidiSynth is GM compatible, the sound set built into the module code is the GM1 standard, 1 bank of melodic instruments and 1 drum kit. It supports up to 127 banks and 127 drum kits. I will include a patch list next time.

I built a few years ago a control interface for my expander

The app works with Rick’s Module and Pete’s Module.

I take it you mean my midisupport system, going into a midi port then routed to a usb midi port? If so it means your app works with my midi module and my usb module works with your expander which is great.

Recently I have spent so much time writing code that I’ve had no time to improve existing and create additional sounds. I do have a sound set with extra banks and many extra instruments that I’d been playing with a few years ago and the plan is to stop fiddling with midisupport and hopefully bug fixing for a while and get back to sound creation. After all that’s what has always interested me.

As for ESP’s MIDIsynth, I would guess the best way forward is to port something. My synth is not a wavetable synth so could never use DLS or any sound font format files.