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Beyond being able to call up any sound or instrument imaginable during live performance, MIDI violin is a highly useful tool for recording and notating music in the studio.
Recording
There are two different ways you can record MIDI sounds and in Matt's MIDI demo track he uses both:
Playing MIDI patches in a synthesizer (such as the Roland GR-55) and then using the analog output from the synthesizer to record a standard audio track in your recording software.
Using a MIDI controller (Roland GR-series synths, ZETA Synthony or ZETA VC-220 or 225) to send digital MIDI data to a digital audio workstation (DAW), where you can then trigger different instrument sounds in your computer.
In order to be able to manipulate MIDI data or notate your playing within software you will need to use the second option above. MIDI--an acronym for musical instrument digital interface--encodes three parameters of the notes you perform on your violin: pitch, strength (or dynamic level) and length (or duration). Once your MIDI performance is recorded in your DAW, you will be able to adjust any of these parameters for each note you played. This is helpful for correcting performance errors or changing arrangements slightly without having to rerecord. Your MIDI notes for each recorded track will appear as a 'piano roll' that displays each pitch and its duration.
To capture an authentic sounding performance you may need to adapt your style and technique to mimic the instrument you are recording. Remember, you're not really playing the violin--you're playing a synthesized instrument voice. Therefore, percussive instruments like piano, guitar and drums may trigger better by plucking rather than bowing your strings. For woodwind and brass instruments, consider the attack, phrasing and breathing techniques players of the real instrument would use and try to simulate that in your bowed playing. The result will be a more convincing, more musical performance or recording.
Notation
For workstations and other musical software that accept MIDI input and offer musical transcription, notating is as simple as recording a MIDI performance. Select you key signature, time signature and tempo before recording so that the software knows where to place the notes you play on the staff and within the measure. In DAWs you can toggle between the piano roll and standard musical notation views with the click of the mouse (see 5:09 in the video above).
If your DAW shows staff notation for MIDI, as Logic Express does in the video above, you may be able to print the notated parts from within the software. Another option is to output the track(s) as a .midi file, which you can then import into music publishing software such as Finale or Sibelius. The advantage of doing this is greater control over layout, appearance and notation options.
