Make a MIDI file for GAGE Sampler
A MIDI file in GAGE is a part's own music. It plays from its first note when the part comes in, and when it reaches the end of its last note, it starts again. These five habits keep your parts tight.
You can do all of it in the MoonTech MIDI Editor, a free tool from MoonTech Studios. It runs in your browser with nothing to install, and it has a piano roll, key and scale highlighting, a loop and end point, and real tracks. Any MIDI editor or DAW will do the same job.
1. Start on the first note
Leave no empty measures in front of the music. A file that opens with 8 empty measures plays 8 measures of nothing every time the part comes in.
In the editor: right-click and choose Start on first note. Everything moves together, on every track, so the first note lands on beat 1. A pickup becomes beat 1, so the bar lines move with it. A muted note at the front counts as the first note, so delete it first.
2. End where the last note ends
Leave no empty measures after the music either. A file that is a whole number of measures long loops cleanly. If your music ends on a pickup or a tail, end the file at the last note anyway, and GAGE rounds the loop up to the next beat.
In the editor: leave the End fields empty and the file ends with its last note. If an end point is already set, right-click the measure ruler to clear it. To end on a bar line or a certain beat instead, click that spot in the ruler. Turn on Loop to hear how it comes back around.
3. One theme per file
Two themes with empty measures between them belong in two files. GAGE can then place each one where you want it.
In the editor: use Save As to make a copy, delete the second theme from one file and the first theme from the other, then use Start on first note in each file, as in step 1.
4. Put the key in the file name
Name the file with its key, like Bell Melody - A Min.mid. GAGE reads the name so it can transpose the part to your template’s key.
In the editor: pick the Key and Scale so the notes in key light up and any stray ones stand out. Save As then suggests a name with that key in it, like Theme - C Min.mid, and you can change the name before you save.
5. Set the timing in GAGE, not in the file
When a part comes in, how long it plays and when it rests all live in GAGE, so never add silence to the file to get them. Click + Part, choose MIDI part from a file, then set:
| You want | Set |
|---|---|
| The part to come in on measure 9 | Enter At = 9 |
| It to play for 4 measures, then pause | Play For = 4, and Rest For = the length of the pause |
| It to come back every 16 measures | Play For + Rest For = 16 (for example, 4 and 12) |
Good to know
- Several tracks: GAGE merges all the tracks of a file into one MIDI part. To give each line its own part, save each one as its own file: use Save As, delete the other tracks, and repeat.
- Changed your mind? Right-click the part’s file name in GAGE and choose Replace MIDI File to swap in a newer version. Everything else on the part stays.
- Loudness: GAGE follows each note’s velocity. A track’s volume, program change and other controller settings in the file are ignored; the part’s level is set with its Volume knob in GAGE.
- Which GAGE: MIDI parts come with GAGE Pro and the free trial, not with Lite.
Try it with your own melody
The free 7-day trial plays nearly everything but can’t save or export, so it is an easy way to hear your file in GAGE.