How to add Pedal to Synthesia

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J. Baker
Posts: 25

Post by J. Baker »

After using Notion 6 to create MIDI files for Synthesia, I figured out how Synthesia could display pedal information. Synthesia does respond to pedal information in MIDI files. You can see and hear longer notes. Which is nice but it doesn't display proper note length. Here's how...

On the far right of the (falling note) screen, should be a red (or what ever color) falling bar, that is the length of the pedal press. When the bar reaches the bottom, you press the pedal. When the bar has passed, you release the pedal. You would just have to adjust the keyboard to the left a bit and put a pedal graphic in the space.

This would correct note lengths, sheet music, and teach pedal technique at the same time. Now if a user/customer doesn't have a pedal, an option to display the longer note lengths would be good. The current way Synthesia does it.

Just a thought. ;)
Nicholas
Posts: 13135

Post by Nicholas »

J. Baker wrote: 12-02-19 3:28 pmWhich is nice but it doesn't display proper note length...
This can get a little tricky. For Synthesia's part, it's showing exactly the "when the key is pressed" until "when the key is released" that is stored in the MIDI file, regardless of pedal usage. I think the habit virtually every MIDI author has gotten into is stretching the notes out as long as they'd like them to sound (again, regardless of pedal usage), so when you finally get to see the contents of the MIDI file in Synthesia, it looks like it's augmenting note lengths when the pedal is held.

It would be tough to reverse engineer that sort of information. When the pedal is held, of course notes can be shorter than they were specified originally, but how short? Without the file author specifying the real length, I'm not sure Synthesia would be able to guess it correctly.
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J. Baker
Posts: 25

Post by J. Baker »

In Notion 6, there is a pedal on and off option/symbol. I know Synthesia sees the pedal on (Ped) via midi data but does it not see the pedal off data via midi data? The pedal off/release looks like a flower head in Notion 6. Not sure what the midi data is or if there is even one for it. If so, the time/length could be calculated easily.
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