- Keyboard Midi Controller
- Free Keyboard Midi Files
- How To Use Yamaha Keyboard Midi On Fl Studio Mac Demo
I want to use my keyboard or potentially a game controller as a MIDI controller. My main goal is to mcgeiver a sustain pedal for my MIDI piano or just to input drums / samples. Sep 15, 2017 Return to FL Studios and select 'Midi Options' from the menu. Choose your keyboard, listed in the 'Remote Control Input' section, to enable use of your midi keyboard in FL Studios. Load an instrument into the Step Sequencer, then press keys on your keyboard. You should hear notes every time a key is pressed. What you’ll have to do is to connect the MIDI in of the cable to the MIDI out of your keyboard. Connect the USB end to an available USB port on your computer. At this point, you can hit the keys on your keyboard and check the indicator on the adapter, checking to see if any MIDI signal is being sent.
A good MIDI keyboard to consider when you are using FL studio would be the Nektar IMPACT LX25+ MIDI Controller. It’s compatible with any Mac, Windows and iOS system so you can use it even on an FL Studio for Mac! Mio is a 1 in 1 out USB 16 channel MIDI interface to connect your MIDI compatible controller, keyboard, synthesizer, or drum machine to your computer. Mio is USB bus powered and is plug and play compatible with Windows and Mac computers.
How to Connect a Midi Keyboard to an Audio Interface
You might be wondering how to connect midi keyboards to audio interfaces.
If so, I have you covered. Keep reading and I’ll show you how to do it.
Why I love midi keyboards
Midi keyboards are great for small studios.
The possibilities of what you can do with midi keyboard will blow your mind.
Most people will have access to some virtual instruments in your DAW.
Or maybe you’ve purchased a suite of instruments.
There are all kinds of virtual instruments, synths, and instruments libraries available.
IF you want to see how I produce songs in FL Studio, check this Free course out:
Why I love virtual instruments
I fell in love with instrument libraries.
All of sudden, I could now add in drums, strings, bass, keys, or a dang oboe!
All without owning a single one of those instruments.
It’s amazing how many kinds of instruments you can bring into your songs and projects.
All those virtual instruments can all be controlled with this simple midi keyboard.
But you have to be able to connect the midi keyboard into your studio setup.
And this can seem like a daunting process when you first look at it.
Maybe your midi keyboard only has a USB output. Or maybe it only has midi input and output. Or maybe it has both! Ahhh!!
So what do you do?
Well let’s step back and talk about midi for just a second. And then we’ll dive into how to get it all connected.
What is midi?
Midi at its most basic level is like a small machine that is telling a software program what to do.
Think of it like a drill instructor, who is calling out commands.
The piece of software, the VST, is what is receiving the commands.
The host software is the DAW. And in our case the midi keyboard is what is issuing the commands.
You have a virtual instrument. Let’s say a piano. You load this into your digital audio workstation.
Then you set up your keyboard so that it can give commands to the instrument you loaded in the DAW.
Your midi keyboard is a like a micromanager in a corporation.
You have a virtual instrument, that does the actual work (putting out the sound).
But the micromanager is telling it what to do in the background.
So if you record a midi track, it is just a set of commands.
This is usually in the form of the chords or notes that you are playing.
And parameters like how hard you are playing them, and when you change to the next note or chord.
All of those commands are coming from the keyboard.
The beauty of midi, is that you can take all that stored information and give it to another instrument.
So let’s say you recorded all the midi information for a piano part.
Well later you can transfer that midi to another instrument, like a string section.
Or a dang oboe if you feel like it!
A lot of people will start composing songs on a piano.
Then use what they have created via MIDI and break that out to different instruments.
This can create a more full sound. It’s pretty amazing when you think about it.
So now you know the basics about MIDI is and what it does.
Let’s talk about how to physically attach a midi keyboard.
How to connect midi keyboard to audio interface
First we are going to figure out what outputs we have on the midi keyboard.
Then we will figure out what kind of inputs are available on the audio interface or computer.
And then we’ll figure out the right solution for you.
What kind of outputs do you have on your midi keyboard
Keyboard Midi Controller
Usually on a midi keyboard there are going to be 2 different kinds of outputs available.
If the keyboard you are using has its own built in sounds, it may also have a third output output option.
But we’re not going to talk about the third output option here.
We’re going to focus on two of the output options first, since they relate directly to MIDI.
So here are the two connection types:
- MIDI inputs and outputs
- USB output
MIDI Input/Ouput
These are pretty recognizable, because they are an unusual looking connection. Just look for the circle with the 5 pins. Like this image below:
USB Output
This will usually be a USB-A type connection on the back of your midi keyboard.
It will most of the time look like this:
Different ways to connect a midi keyboard to a computer
So with these two basic output types, there are three ways that you can connect the midi keyboard.
- Connect the midi keyboard directly to audio interface
- Midi keyboard connecting directly to computer
- Or midi keyboard to midi adapter/midi hub to computer
MIDI Keyboard to an Audio Interface
Do you have the MIDI input/output on your midi keyboard, and midi input/output on your interface?
Then in this scenario, you can directly attach the midi keyboard to your audio interface with a pair of midi cables.
The weird part about how you connect the wires is the opposites.
You connect the output from your keyboard, to the input of the midi interface.
You connect the output of the audio interface to the input of the keyboard.
Why?
Well you have to think of it as a loop
The midi keyboard is giving commands.
Those commands are leaving the keyboard via the output.
The audio interface has to receive the commands. It receives them through the input.
And vice versa.
So you are creating a loop for the keyboard and the audio interface to talk to each other.
It might seem a little confusing to set up. But once you have it all connected, you’re good to go.
The upside to this is that you still only have one attachment to your computer through the audio interface.
But now you have an access to an additional controller inside your DAW.
The downside to this setup, is that you have to have a power adapter for your midi keyboard.
I think this is where the USB connection to a computer has an advantage.
USB connection from keyboard directly to computer
So if your midi keyboard has a USB connection on the back, you’re in luck.
You just use a USB cable and attach directly to your computer.
You don’t have to worry about the inputs and outputs. There’s only one cable.
But wait, you might say. I was trying to attach the midi keyboard to my audio interface.
Well you are in this scenario. It’s just a little bit of a roundabout way.
You’ve attached the midi keyboard to the computer.
Setting it up in the DAW
Now when you go into your DAW, navigate to the settings window.
Let’s assume you’ve already setup your audio interface.
Then all the audio from the DAW is passing through the audio interface.
Now when you go to the MIDI settings, you enable your keyboard to give commands in the DAW.
When you do that, you have effectively connected your midi keyboard to your audio interface.
When you load a VST in the DAW, now you can play it with your midi keyboard.
And the sound that you have played, will pass through the audio interface.
You’ve basically made a virtual connection between the midi keyboard and the audio interface.
It sounds complicated, but it’s not.
Think of the micromanager example from earlier.
The midi keyboard is the micromanager.
The DAW in the computer is like the building that the micromanager works in.
He’s been assigned to micromanage a few workers (Virtual instruments) inside this building.
Now that he’s been assigned the work inside the building, he can go about barking his commands to the virtual instruments.
This is probably the most common setup for midi keyboards in small studios.
There is another advantage to this setup as well.
The USB cable can actually supply power to the midi keyboard.
So you don’t need to purchase a power adapter.
One cable attaches the keyboard to the computer, and powers the keyboard! Sweet!
Connecting MIDI Keyboard to Computer through MIDI HUB
There is another option for connecting your midi keyboard to the computer.
This is would be the scenario where you only have midi inputs and outputs from your keyboard, but you have no midi inputs/outputs on your audio interface.
You would need to get a Midi to USB adapter.
Or a Midi hub. If you had multiple keyboards or other midi instruments that you wanted to be able to bring into your music production setup.
So how this works.
You would have midi cables coming from your keyboard.
These would attach to the midi inputs and outputs on the adapter or the midi hub.
The adapter then has another end. Usually USB.
That USB cable would attach to the computer.
So basically this adapter or midi hub has converted your midi keyboard to have a USB connection to the computer.
You can then use your midi keyboard inside your DAW.
RECOMMENDATIONS
If you are reading this because you are trying to figure out what kind of midi keyboard to purchase, then here’s what I’d say. Look for the USB connection if you can find it. The reason I would recommend this option over the others is the ease of connection and use.
With the USB setup, you have built in power. Which means you don’t have to purchase a separate power adapter.
And I personally have moved to using a smaller 25 key midi controller.
Now this is totally a personal preference, but I’ll tell you why I decided to go this route.
I initially had a 49 key midi controller. But I didn’t have a dedicated space that I could setup it up. So every time I wanted to use it, I would have to break out a keyboard stand. Get it all connected to the computer, and then start using it.
It just created another layer of resistance to me using it.
Why I like smaller midi controllers
So I opted for a smaller keyboard. I could set it up permanently on my desk. It’s always connected to the computer. And it’s ready for me to use. Which means I can immediately lay down ideas that I have.
I don’t have to go through a setup process. It makes it easy for me to get ideas down quickly and be able to develop songs faster than I could before.
That’s the reason I chose to use this smaller setup.
If your primary instrument is a keyboard, then you may not like the smaller key setup.
You may want to go for a larger model, like an 88 key variation. These larger midi keyboards usually have hammer action built in, which makes them feel more like a regular keyboard.
Plan according to the space you have
Just keep in mind your setup and what you have space for.
If you have to set it up and tear it down every time you want to use it in a project, it can be a pain. I think the best tools are the ones we use the most often. So make sure that you can set it up in a way that it’s accessible to you at all times.
NOTE : if you want to see how I produce songs in FL studio, check out my free class below:
Otherwise you might just find it sitting in a corner. And you won’t want to go through the effort to set it up to use it.
Think about your studio space, and what will be most beneficial to your workflow.
So now we’ve covered how to connect midi keyboard to audio interfaces and so much more.
Hopefully this has been helpful you.
I received an email from a blog reader who had recently bought a MIDI keyboard so they could start practicing a bit of piano at home.
My previous blog posts on MIDI keyboards had all said something along the lines of “plug in your MIDI device and open up you DAW software to play”. But what if you don’t want to purchase any expensive software for writing and producing whole musical tracks? What if you just want some free software for practicing piano or messing around?
So following that I set out to find the best FREE MIDI keyboard software out there on each of the most common platforms Windows, Mac/ Apple and Android so you can plug in your MIDI keyboard and start playing straight away. This article summarises what I found.
But first, some context:
How does MIDI Work?
First things first, I always find it useful to briefly explain how MIDI works. If you, like me, came from playing a traditional acoustic instrument such as a piano or guitar, the world of MIDI and digital music production may be a little confusing. If you already know how it works feel free to skip this section!
MIDI is a digital signal, basically a series of 1s and 0s that allows different electronic devices to communicate with one another (I know, it sounds very dystopian!). This code communicates all manner of things from the note pressed, to how hard it is pressed and when it is released.
This is different to traditional instruments that produce an audio signal you can hear either straight away for acoustic instruments or through an amplifier for electric ones.
With a MIDI keyboard or other MIDI device not producing an audio signal, it needs to be plugged into another device which can convert the code into something we can hear. In the modern era this is usually a laptop or computer.
Modern MIDI devices pretty much always plug in and communicate via a USB connection. But simply connecting the device isn’t enough. The computer will receive the code but to produce a sound it will need software of some sort.
That is where I hope this article will help.
Best Free Midi Keyboard Options – Windows
1) Piano Time for Windows 10
Piano time is a nice option if you simply want to plug in and play the piano.
It is an “app” but that doesn’t mean you need a tablet or phone to use it. Windows is changing to become more similar to Apple in the way they present software creating less of a disconnect between computers, tablets and phones. This means if you have Windows 10, you can now head to the Microsoft store and download apps to your computer.
There are paid apps in the windows store but as with the Apple and Android “stores” that you may be more familiar with on your phones and tablets, many of the apps are free to download and use.
Ease of Use
Piano time is really easy to plug in and get going. I plugged in my Novation Impulse MIDI keyboard and it instantly recognized it without me having to go into the settings.
Features
Piano time is meant to be simple and for mimicking the sound of a piano. For this reason, you can’t really adjust the sound. You won’t find different instrument sounds, reverb or delay for example. But this might be a good thing if all you want to do is play the piano.
You can record and save clips of what you are playing which is a nice feature, and this allows you to record one part, play it back and then play something else over the top. Handy if you are doing a bit of songwriting. However, be warned, on the free version these clips will only remain in place whilst the program is open, to save or export the tracks you record as MP3 files you will have to pay a small fee to upgrade.
It comes pre-loaded with a few very basic tracks for you to play along with, think Amazing Grace or Mary Had a Little Lamb. The keys will light up and show you how to play along and you can slow it down or speed it up to suit. Perhaps this is most suitable for the absolute beginner or for a child learning the piano. Also useful for anyone using this to learn the piano are a few basic scale exercises you can play along with.
Other features include a metronome that can be adjusted. I did find the clicking a bit annoying but it does the job.
As with most pieces of MIDI software, you can use your computer keyboard to play if you don’t own a MIDI keyboard. I would not recommend this as it is very hard to do, but Piano Time does have a feature called “key mapping” which will show the corresponding keyboard letters above the relevant keys to help you play.
Sound and Performance
I found the sound to be ok. A nice bit of sustain and reverb make it sound quite realistic. However, the lower notes can sound a bit quiet compared to the higher notes and chords don’t sound that great. This is annoying if you are trying to play notes with the left and right hand, as the right hand notes tend to drown out those of the left.
This can be frustrating as a quick ‘stacatto’ press of a key isn’t any different from when you hold it down. This makes notes merge together when you don’t want them to or not ring out for as long as you might have hoped.
For me, the app had virtually no latency (time between pressing a key and hearing the sound). This is partly due to the app, but will also be due to your computer. If you are trying to use it with a computer or laptop that doesn’t have much RAM or has a slow processor then this may not be the case. If you are experiencing MIDI delay check out this article.
Other people have noted that when adverts load it can cause the app to crash. This did happen to me once which was a pain. You can get rid of the ads by paying just a small fee so this might be worth doing if you are having this issue.
2) Piano 10 for Windows 10
Piano 10 is very similar in many ways to Piano Time. It is available for download from the Windows app store on any windows device.
Ease of Use
I plugged my keyboard in and it didn’t work straight away this time. The menus in the app are also not the easiest to find with a series of symbol buttons to press, so I had to do a bit of random clicking to find out how to do it.
A button saying “general MIDI” brings up a menu when clicked where you should be able to turn MIDI support on and then select your MIDI keyboard from the list.
So once you figure out what each button symbol means it isn’t too hard to use.
Features
Free Keyboard Midi Files
Different to Piano Time, Piano 10 has a few different effects and amazingly 126 different sounds for you to chose from. Including reverb, sustain and echo but unfortunately only one of these can be turned on at once.
An auto-chords function is pretty cool and is a great way to help learn different chords and chord types as the keys of the chords light up whilst you play.
As with piano time you can record short clips of yourself playing. You can save these clips but only as .xscore files to re-open in Piano 10 another time.
A metronome is also included with adjustable bpm.
Sound and performance
When testing the default piano sound it was ok, but pressing the keys too lightly meant no sound was played. So if you are trying to practice playing softly you may find this frustrating.
However, when the sustain effect is turned on I thought it sounded much more realistic and it felt nice to play.
Although it is cool having 126 different sounds to choose from, be warned, most of them sound pretty terrible. Fun to mess around with but you would never want to use them in a performance.
Probably the most annoying thing about Piano 10 is the fact you can’t change the key size or get more keys to show on the screen. The whole keyboard will still play but you won’t see all the keys light up on screen.
Being a free app it also has a banner with ads at the top but these are fairly standard and don’t really interfere with the usability.
3) MidiEditor
How To Use Yamaha Keyboard Midi On Fl Studio Mac Demo
If you want something a bit more advanced which will allow you to edit and export your MIDI tracks then MIDI Editor is free software that is a great introduction to some more advanced techniques.
Ease of Use
In terms of downloading and installing things are fairly simple. However, unlike the previous two options, this is a more traditional piece of software that you download from a website rather than the Windows App Store.
Once downloaded the settings are easy to find and here you can select your MIDI device and connect.
You should then hear a basic piano sound.
So in terms of getting a sound, it is fairly simple. However, if you are not familiar with MIDI you may find the software slightly confusing due to the more advanced features it has….
Features
The screen shows what is known as a ‘piano roll’. This is something to get familiar with if you plan on using MIDI in production.
As you play on your MIDI keyboard and press record you will see lines appear on the screen. This is a visualization of the digital code for each note. You can see it shows which note was played, how long for and other parameters such as velocity (how hard you played that note).
This is what separates digital MIDI data from a traditional audio recording. It is stored as a series of numbers (note, note length, etc) and then a sound is ‘overlayed’ on top of that. So you could play the original notes with a piano sound but then change that to strings or a flute for example.
Features such as quantize, which automatically moves mistimed notes onto the correct beat are cool to mess around with.
Sound and performance
As a basic free introduction to MIDI editing software, MidiEditor does a pretty good job.
There are a couple of things that frustrated me though.
For example, when you record a track you can’t see the notes appearing on the screen, you have to wait till you have finished recording and then they will appear. This just felt weird compared to the MIDI input I’m used to in a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW).
There are also no other built-in sounds to test apart from the piano and I couldn’t find a way to import my own sounds either. Perhaps I’m expecting too much from free software.
Best Free Midi Keyboard Software on Mac (and Apple devices)
1) Garageband
Garageband has to be my favorite of all the free music making software available. I’ve written entire songs on the bus using this software on my iPad and have been happier with the sound than some tracks I spent weeks on in the studio!
It comes pre-installed on most Apple products but if not it can be downloaded from the app store for free.
Ease of Use
Garageband is quite a bit more advanced than some of the simple piano apps already mentioned in this article.
It is the closest you are going to get to proper a DAW without having to pay. A DAW is a Digital Audio Workstation. It is where all song artists create songs by piecing together tracks. There are many different ones with different people having different preferences. But if you are new to the music recording world then Garageband is a great place to start.
For this reason, it has massive potential but it does make it a bit confusing for the beginner. For example, when I connected my keyboard, it didn’t work straight away. I had to navigate to preferences and select my device and I also had to change the output so I could hear the sound.
It is a similar process when connecting to an iPad, however, you will have to buy a USB to lightning adapter (such as this one).
All that said it is still very easy to get started in comparison to most DAWs which can be very overwhelming. There are plenty of great videos on Youtube to help you if you get lost.
Features
This is where Garageband excels over the other simpler apps. The possibilities are almost limitless.
You can choose from hundreds of pre-loaded MIDI sounds. There are pre-made drum loops to add in and play along to. Then when you want to add even more sounds or effects you can download free ‘plug-ins.
Because it is a DAW you can layer up multiple tracks, MIDI or Audio to create full songs and there are great built-in features such as EQ and compression so you can even try your hand at mixing!
Sound and Performance
The pre-loaded sounds do sound quite robotic and it is hard to compose a full song that will sound professional using just the MIDI samples. That does, of course, depend on your genre, for some electronic music you can do a pretty good job.
This may not bother you if you just want to practice the piano.
The performance is pretty good, I rarely ever experience any latency when playing. This is dependent on your laptop age and spec.
2) Pianu.com
This option technically applies to Windows too but I couldn’t find another free app on the Apple app store that wasn’t either terrible or tried to give me a virus.
So Pianu.com is actually a web-based MIDI keyboard and is a great option if you don’t want to mess around downloading software and just want to get playing right away.
Ease of Use
This software is so simple to use (at least it was for me anyway!) Just head to pianu.com/keyboard-page and there you will see a big yellow button that says “Detect My Keyboard”. Press this and you will see the following screen.
You are then ready to start playing
Features
Pianu is not very complex and won’t give you all the features of Garageband. But many people have written to me to say they don’t want something as complicated as that and just want to play some piano. For this it is perfect.
What Pianu is really meant for though is learning the piano. For this it has lots of built-in lessons, starting with the absolute basics and building you up from there. What I like most is you can play along with a lot of contemporary songs (Coldplay, Taylor Swift etc.) rather than the usual Ode to Joy or Amazing Grace which you get on most apps.
Sound and Performance
You would never want to use this piano for recordings or live performances, but it sounds fine for learning. The one annoying thing is the notes don’t fully ring out and eventually just stop suddenly. But this is a minor issue when you are just practicing.
For a web-based application I expected performance to be dodgy, but it really wasn’t. In fact I would say I noticed less latency than many other apps and my laptop fan was whirring away.
Best Free Midi Keyboard Software on Android
Yes, that’s right, these days you don’t even need a computer to use a MIDI device. You can now plug your MIDI keyboard directly into your phone or tablet and use that to create music.
I bought this simple USB C to USB adapter for under $10 and it allows me to play my 49 key MIDI keyboard through my phone.
As with the other devices mentioned above, you will need to download some software (an app) to do this and there are plenty of great free options to choose from.
1) Perfect Piano
Ease of Use
You may already know how to connect your android device to a MIDI keyboard, but if you don’t it is very simple (you can find out in this step by step guide).
Once plugged in the Perfect Piano app should automatically detect that a MIDI keyboard is connected and it should work straight away without you having to mess around with any setup! A real bonus for those who just want to plug in and play.
Features
The app has a keyboard that is set as default to a piano sound. But additionally, you get the choice of many more from strings to synths and loads of additional free sounds to download.
There is a sustain button to create the effect of using a piano pedal and you can record your efforts either in MIDI format or in audio format.
The app has some nice additional features such as ‘learn to play’. Where you can play along as notes descend on the screen, very similar to guitar hero (if you remember that game) except you are actually learning a real instrument.
Sound and Performance
With my android phone (which is a few years old now) I had no noticeable lag which amazed me. I’ve experienced many issues with MIDI latency using computers and laptops over the years. I can’t guarantee you won’t have issues but if your phone is newer than mine I’m sure it will be fine!
The sounds are really quite impressive. The piano does have that programmed sound but no more so than most other MIDI pianos out there. The synths and strings are great fun to mess around too.
I like how you can adjust the number of keys on the screen. A feature often lacking from many mobile MIDI apps.
Concluding Remarks
Nowadays there are plenty of free MIDI apps and software programs to choose from. The key thing is to ask yourself, what do I need the software to do? If it is to simply practice piano or mess about then stick to something simple. But if you think you might want to create full tracks or use more advanced techniques there is probably something out there for you too.
Once you are ready to progress the best option is to move to a DAW of your choice. I personally use Ableton Live which is particularly good for MIDI. But there are loads of others to choose from. My suggestion would be to download a free trial, watch a few ‘how-to’ videos and see which one you find best.
The possibilities of music production using MIDI are pretty endless!
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