MIDI2KEY - MIDI keyboard to LOTRO music system utility (v0.9.0.0)

[JSpurgeon]

Have only had the game a couple of days now but am loving the musical possibilities. Anyway, I don't have a keyboard but am curious about line 6 stuff. I have an HD147 that has midi in/out on back and a UNO 1x1 for programming my sounds. I know my amp is really just a linux box doing digital emulation so maybe there is a possibility of actually using it for this? I don't know, seems far fetched, I will try tonight though.

[Deadchef]

Have only had the game a couple of days now but am loving the musical possibilities. Anyway, I don't have a keyboard but am curious about line 6 stuff. I have an HD147 that has midi in/out on back and a UNO 1x1 for programming my sounds. I know my amp is really just a linux box doing digital emulation so maybe there is a possibility of actually using it for this? I don't know, seems far fetched, I will try tonight though.

So I guess it's officially ok to use a midi keyboard. Not against the TOS or the EULA? Just making sure as im going to be getting one myself.

[gshredderjon]

Any idea how I would transform the signal that I put into my Line In on the back of my sound card into a MIDI signal than this can read? This is using a 1/4" jack to plug into the back of the card.

[Deadchef]

Ok i have one of these...http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...C-pr1c3grabb3r


Just got it today. For some reason, the notes are not mapping properly to the keys on my keyboard. I hope it's something that I can work around.

Thanks

Loony

[Sacrificial]

WoW OP,

That is really some fantastic stuff!

[NolaquenTaurina]

Release notes for v0.9.0.4:
- Added ability to customize key mapping via a MIDI2KEY.ini file in the same directory as the executable. Several example ini files are included. To use one of them, rename it to "MIDI2KEY.ini" and restart the program. The program will use a default key mapping if no "MIDI2KEY.ini" file is present.

Edit: Forgot to mention. Since the entire MIDI note range is now configurable, this version will now support the 3-octave version of LOTRO's music system.
Edit 2: Also, this version doesn't currently support special keys, like delete, insert, backspace, numpad keys and the like. I'll try to work on an update that will allow such keys to be used soon.

[Kwee]

For those of you new to the music system in Lotro, please visit
http://www.thebrasse.com/lotro/music.php

What Nolaquen's simple, small utility allows us to do is to use a midi keyboard to play notes in LOTRO in real-time.

There are many folks who don't have a midi-keyboard. That's OK! I would not expect you to buy one just for this.

There are folks that will script music instead. Ok

There are many folks who have a midi kbd and like to play and want to play in LOTRO. Nolaquen's MIDI2KEY is a GEM! It is better than GLOVEPIE because it has worked for a greater percentage of folks. It does NOT need MidiOX, etc. to work. (If you don't know what that is, don't worry.)

AND, in it's latest version, MIDI2KEY can work with any keyboard binding you want! I'm not gonna explain keyboard binding here, though I will later. Suffice it to say Nola gave us rebel programming that WORKS! If you have a midi kbd, want to play music LIVE in LOTRO, use MIDI2KEY. It's as transparent as you're gonna get.

(I say "transparent" instead of "simple" because of what making music is in LOTRO. To make a distinct sound in LOTRO, you have to hit a certain key on your PC keyboard. Many of us found that bulky and unwieldy. There are certain solutions out there that require 2 or more sets of freeware programs to allow you to use a midi keyboard with the game. That's unwieldy. But EVERY solution requires you to do something called "keymapping" - associating a sound in the LOTRO>KEYMAPPING menu with a certain key on your PC keyboard. I believe Nola's MIDI2KEY is the most straightforward, smallest and simplest solution.)

I'll post a guide later as we get closer to the Shores of Evendim launch, similar to the one already at TheBrasse.com

Til then, I just want to say, THANK YOU Nolaquen! You've made a simpler, less intrusive alternative to GLOVEPIE available to us all! I think you're great!

Sincerely,
Kwee

[Psomm]

Kwee said it all, couldn't agree more. Thanks for keeping this going!

[Zafu]

NolaquenTaurina,

This is extremely cool of you to do. Thank you !!! This thread should really be stickied.

I don't play keyboards, but I do play guitar. If I had a midi pickup for my guitar, will this work? I assume so.

Can you help me understand what limitations there are in what notes are available for me to play? In other words, I understand the music system will support three octaves, but I'm trying to understand which ones.

Sorry for the ignorance, but I learned to play by ear 40 yrs ago, so need a little insight. My daughter plays piano, so if you can't explain in terms of a guitar fret board, perhaps I can have her read your reply from the perspective of a keyboard and she can explain how that translates to the guitar. I've taught her how to play guitar so she should be able to help.

Thanks again, and in advance for any info.

The idea of playing my old favorites in game owns me. Will be really funny when after a wipe, I rip into a passage of Greensleeves =)

-Zafu

[valadra]

Does anyone know if this USB guitar will work with this program?


http://www.musiciansfriend.com/produ...393?sku=519751

[mewingkitty]

Hey buddy!
Here's then notes available in LOTR online. I'm bored at work, looking up info on how to connect my digital keyboard to the game, and figured i'd take a min to help ya out

You get -
two complete octaves of what would be white notes on a keyboard, plus one note below the bottom c. On the lower octave, you can play what would be black notes a.k.a. sharps and flats

so playable, in order from lowest to highest, are -

B,C,C#,D,D#,E,F,F#,G,G#,A,A#,B ,C,D,E,F,G,A,B,C

Cant wait for them to upgrade this, cause I don't know many songs that use that few of notes, time to do some improvising I guess

[Northman]

Does anyone know if this USB guitar will work with this program?


http://www.musiciansfriend.com/produ...393?sku=519751

From what I could tell, the guitar itself doesn't have MIDI-based pickups, but rather sends the waveforms to the computer via USB or, optionally, standard electric guitar outputs. The editing software seems to be audio-track based versus MIDI-track. You would still need something that will change the voiced notes into keyboard presses (such as MIDI pickups and the utility mentioned ITT).

(Heh. MF is where I got my MIDI controller.)

[NolaquenTaurina]

I'll have to research an algorithm for a spectrum analyzer so I can take audio input. Currently, there is no support for audio-based music devices, only MIDI. (If it doesn't explicitly say MIDI, it most likely will not work with this tool.)

[Northwoods]

Very nice. I love the addition of configurable maps.

Suggestion for the next release: Can you allow new maps to be hot-swapped without having to restart? It's a minor thing, but it would save a step or three.

Where I'm coming from is this: Once you have your in-game mapping set, you can use different ini files to effectively turn your keyboard into a transposing instrument!

Example:

Here's a chromatic mapping I use for my default
C2=Z
CS2=X
D2=C
DS2=V
E2=B
F2=N
FS2=M
G2=A
GS2=S
A2=D
AS2=F
B2=G
C3=H
CS3=J
D3=K
DS3=L
E3=Q
F3=W
FS3=E
G3=R
GS3=T
A3=Y
AS3=U
B3=I
C4=O
CS4=P
D4=1
DS4=2
E4=3
F4=4
FS4=5
G4=6
GS4=7
A4=8
AS4=9
B4=0
C5=-

And here's the Key of D version:
C2=c
CS2=v
D2=b
DS2=n
E2=m
F2=a
FS2=s
G2=d
GS2=f
A2=g
AS2=h
B2=j
C3=k
CS3=l
D3=q
DS3=w
E3=e
F3=r
FS3=t
G3=y
GS3=u
A3=i
AS3=o
B3=p
C4=1
CS4=2
D4=3
DS4=4
E4=5
F4=6
FS4=7
G4=8
GS4=9
A4=0
AS4=-

By switching out ini files, I can play the exact same melody, in the exact same way, but in a different key.

[Northman]

By switching out ini files, I can play the exact same melody, in the exact same way, but in a different key.

This sounds like a great idea for a feature request, the ability to quickly switch between INIs from within MIDI2KEY. EDIT: The reason being beyond just transposing, but actually arranging your MIDI device differently. I can see a use for that.

[Northwoods]

Come to think of it, transpoing could be added internally without the need to swap ini files.

Assuming some sort of table wherin the keystroke echoed back is indexed by the midi note received:

keypress[midi_value]

so if midi_value is a C2, for example, the table returns a Z. C2_sharp and it returns X, and so forth. To transpose, just add an offset equal to the number of half steps between keys.

keypress[midi_value+key_offset]

For Key C, offset is 0. D, offset is 2. F, offset is 5. And so forth.

edit: Been playing with this idea some more, and have ini files in 7 different keys now. It's a great way to completely change the tone of the melody without having to relearn it. It also give you more flexibility. Narnia Lullaby starts off on a B, so you can't play it on the lowest octave. Transposing to Eb, puts the two "breath notes" of the clarinet on the A and Bb keys, making the B the first playable note. Sounds very haunting played that low, too.

[Northman]

Transpose trick:
Since the program is so small, it shouldn't bother too many people to have several copies of it.

What you do is have different MIDI2KEY.ini in different folders in different transpositions (say folders labeled C or D or E or F or FS or etc. for each key) as well as a copy of MIDI2KEY (0.9.0.4) in each. To start in a different key, launch the program from the folder in that key.

[Northman]

YES! Stickied!!!!

This is an official nod that this type of stuff is acceptable!

(Sorry. I couldn't resist. Well... I could, but I didn't wanna.)

[Tarindel]

Oh man, I can't wait to try out the new music system tonight!

Edit: Having 3 octaves is glorious! However, the bottom octave doesn't sound that good on the lute. The notes kind of blend together. The clarinet is much crisper and more distinguishable.

[Northman]

However, the bottom octave doesn't sound that good on the lute. The notes kind of blend together. The clarinet is much crisper and more distinguishable.

I would not recommend going below LotRO's E2 for the Lute or the Theorbo (bass) for the best sound. For historic accuracy, you might not want to go below LotRO's G2 on the Lute or Theorbo.

[Stalarian]

This program support keys such as = and - ? how about ; , . ?

i read it doesnt support extended keys. Not sure what keys all fall into that category.

[XMark]

Wow! This rocks! It's sooo much easier playing on a MIDI keyboard than a regular one. I might spend more time playing my instruments than questing now

[Lilfurbal1]

To seem to be having a very bad time trying to get this setup.

It finds my keyboard and all and plays notes, though regardless of what keymap .ini file I edit / change or just a default renamed to midi2key.ini it seems to stay at the exact same key setting after the program is restarted.

When I go up all 3 octaves on my keyboard it looks like this is notepad:

awsedftgyhuj 1w2e34t5y6u7 8w2e34t5y6u7

The first octave works, but the second and third have tons of repeat numbers and letters and I can't figure out how to change it D:

The ini file APPEARS like it should be totally different, but it's not.

Any help would be appreciated

EDIT: ugh, nevermind. after the reinstall of windows I forgot that the extensions were still hidden so things were being named midi2key.ini.ini
My bad. All is good now :O

Works great

[Alegard]

This program support keys such as = and - ? how about ; , . ?

i read it doesnt support extended keys. Not sure what keys all fall into that category.

Yes, it supports ,.;`-=\[] (not sure about "? { } < >") Does not support shift, ctrl, enter, backspace, etc...

However, you only need 37 keys. So I used 0-9, A-Z and , to map my keyboard. Just did them left-right top-bottom since I won't be using my computer keyboard to play the instruments anymore.

[Alegard]

Bravo!

Thank you, NolaquenTaurina, this works fabulous and was very easy to install and configure. (well, setting the key bindings in LOTRO was tedious, but I had midi2key installed and set up in about five minutes)

P.S. I have this installed on Windows Vista in case anyone's wondering if it's compatible.