Setting up MIDI for LMMS
MIDI controllers come in all kinds of shapes and sizes. Most virtual studio applications are based around the MIDI keyboard as a primary source of MIDI input. In LMMS we don't necessarily need a keyboard to write electronic music. We can write MIDI data in one of LMMS' many editors. Sometimes entering MIDI data from a keyboard is faster, though. Here are some examples of MIDI controllers:
MIDI keyboards
Some MIDI keyboards are built solely for the purpose of entering MIDI notes into your music program, but others have a bit more going on than that. Here are some MIDI keyboard controllers that pack in some additional hardware such as knobs and sliders to allow us to control LMMS' parameters:
- M-Audio Axiom Pro:
- Novation SLmkII:
- Akai MPK49:
Control surfaces
MIDI control language allows us to automate knobs and sliders in LMMS using real physical knobs and sliders out here in the real world. Some control surfaces these days don't even have a keyboard, since many of us want just the knobs and sliders. A lot of electronic music artists prefer to write note information rather than play the notes from a keyboard. Here are some controllers without piano keys. We call them control surfaces:
- KORG nanoKONTROL 2:
- Novation Zero SLmkII:
- Akai MPD32:
Setting up MIDI in Windows
Setting MIDI up in Windows requires us to do a little bit of work. Here is how we get it done:
