Apogee Expanded MIDI
Apogee Expanded MIDI (EMIDI) API v1.1
Specifications created by Lee Jackson and Jim Dosè
Apogee Sound System Support coded by Jim Dosè
First public release 1997.
Copyright (c) 1995,1997 Apogee Software Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
Instrument Definitions
The following instruments are currently defined as valid for data entry events:
| Value | Instrument |
|---|---|
| 0 | General MIDI |
| 1 | Roland Sound Canvas (GM only) |
| 2 | Sound Blaster AWE32 |
| 3 | Wave Blaster and Compatibles (SCD-10, etc.) |
| 4 | Sound Blaster and Compatibles (OPL-2 and OPL-3) |
| 5 | Media Vision Pro Audio series |
| 6 | Logitech Sound Man 16 |
| 7 | Adlib and Compatibles |
| 8 | Ensoniq Soundscape |
| 9 | Gravis Ultrasound, Ultrasound Max, Ultrasound ACE |
| 127 | All (see Controller Definitions) |
Note: Although the Roland Sound Canvas is supported, it is only supported in GM mode. The Apogee Sound System does not support the direct sending of System Exclusive messages required for GS mode support.
Controller Definitions
The following controllers are currently defined as valid:
110: Track Designation
- Required: Yes
- Multiples allowed: Yes
- Format: 110 nn (where nn is a defined instrument)
Controller 110 determines which instruments will receive data for this track. Multiple instances may be used to designate multiple instruments. If the track is designated for all instruments, Instrument 127 may be used. This instrument may also be used in conjunction with Controller 111 to exclude a single instrument or group of instruments.
111: Track Exclusion
- Required: No
- Multiples allowed: Yes
- Format: 111 nn (where nn is a defined instrument - instrument 127 is invalid)
Controller 111 excludes an instrument from receiving the data for this track. Multiple instances may be used to exclude multiple instruments. Instrument 127 is not valid for this controller.
112: Program Change
- Required: No
- Multiples allowed: Yes
- Format: 112 nn (where nn is a GM program change)
Controller 112 is the same as the standard MIDI program change event. It may be inserted at any point a program change is required. If it does not exist, standard MIDI program change events will be recognized for this track. If it does exist, standard MIDI program change events will not be recognized for this track, and all program changes for the track must be entered using Controller 112.
113: Volume
- Required: No
- Multiples allowed: Yes
- Format: 113 nn (where nn is between 0 and 127)
Controller 113 allows different volumes to be inserted in the same manner as Controller 7. It should be used only if designation/exclusion groups exist on the same MIDI channel. If Controller 113 does not exist at the beginning of the track, Controller 7 events will be recognized. If Controller 113 does exist at the beginning of the track, Controller 7 events will be ignored.
116: Loop Begin
- Required: Yes
- Multiples allowed: Yes (see below)
- Format: 116 nn (see below for definition)
Controller 116 indicates the beginning of a sequence to be looped. Values for this controller are as follows:
- 0 - infinite loop
- 1 - loop once
- 2 - loop twice
- x - loop x times
A song should have a Master Start point and a Master End point. The start point should occur after the InitBeat (see section III) and after any introduction you wish to have played only once. Any controller information (patch changes, pitch bend info, etc.) required for the loop should be entered and/or repeated after the loop's Master Start event (see also Section III, "InitBeat", below). Likewise, any "reset" events required should be entered either just after the loop's Master Start event or just before the loop's Master End event.
Multiple non-infinite loop start/end pairs (see Controller 117 below) may occur at any point inside the Master Loop. Only one infinite loop may be defined per song. Nested loops are not yet supported.
IMPORTANT: Any event to be included within the loop must fall after the Loop Begin point and end before the Loop End point. If you are using Cakewalk Pro for Windows, you can verify this by looking at the Event List view. SIMULTANEOUS TIMES FOR LOOP POINTS AND EVENT DATA DO NOT GUARANTEE THAT AN EVENT IS INSIDE THE LOOP. If in doubt, set the event one tick after the Loop Begin or have it end one tick before the Loop End.
117: Loop End
- Required: Yes
- Multiples allowed: Yes (see below)
- Format: 117 127
Controller 117 indicates the end of a looped segment of a song, or in the case of a Master Loop, the end of the entire song. This controller signals that the Apogee Sound System should immediately loop back to the nearest non-resolved loop begin event (i.e., the nearest Controller 116 event that does not have a matching Controller 117 event).
Loop End events should not occur at the exact time of a Loop Begin event.
Note: Loop Begin/End pairs only affect the track they are placed on. If an entire song is to be looped through a segment, all tracks must contain Loop Begin events and Loop End events which occur on the same tick across all tracks, or should use Global Loop Controllers 118/119 instead.
Be careful how you use non-synchronous single track loops - the composer is responsible for making sure that everything stays in sync.
See Controller 116 above for important information regarding placements of events to be included within loops.
118: Global Loop Begin
- Required: Yes
- Multiples allowed: Yes (see below)
- Format: 118 nn (see Controller 116 for definition)
119: Global Loop End
- Required: Yes
- Multiples allowed: Yes (see below)
- Format: 119 127
Controllers 118 and 119 are global versions of Controllers 116 and 117. Instead of controlling a single track's loop points, these control every track's loop points. The same rules that apply to 116/117 also apply to 118/119, with these exceptions:
- If you use 118/119 in a song, you cannot use 116/117 (and vice versa).
- You can only place one 118/119 event at any single point in a song. Recommended placement is on the first track.
InitBeat Format
Each song should begin with an InitBeat. In terms of standard musical notation, an example of this would be a single 1/4 measure where the rest of the song is in 4/4, or a single 1/8 measure when the rest of the song is in 6/8. In MIDI terms, this is equivalent to one full cycle of the current timebase (e.g., for timebase 120, a single beat, 120 ticks long). Each track used should have its own InitBeat. This beat should not contain any note on/off data, sysex dump data, Loop Begin/End events (Controllers 116 and/or 117), or other non-Controller events. It may, however, contain MetaEvents such as text, copyrights, markers, program changes (normal or Controller 112), and the like.
The InitBeat should contain any needed Controller 110, 111, 112, or 113 events needed to set up each track for the song. It may also contain other Controllers (pitch wheel, modulation, RPN/NRPN data, etc.) as desired. Keep in mind that you will need to repeat these controller values at some point within the Master Loop if you change them at any point in the song (and you rely on the original values when the song goes back to the Master Start point).
If no special handling is required for a track (i.e., the track is to be played by all instruments and no Controller resets/setups are desired), the InitBeat for that track may be left blank. It is advisable, however, to at least insert a single Controller 110 event with value 127, indicating that the track is to be played by all instruments. This is more a matter of personal preference, but it can come in handy for setting up templates with Cakewalk Pro for Windows and other programs that support default song templates.
If none of the tracks in a song require any special handling, all InitBeats may be left blank. Do not delete the InitBeat measure - just leave it blank.
Controller events may be spread throughout the InitBeat as desired. You may place them all on a single tick, or on separate ticks. Some instruments will behave unpredictably if all events for a track are placed on the same tick (e.g., the 5-6 events needed to adjust pitch bend parameters, especially if controllers 100 and 101 are set with value 0 and then reset with value 127 as recommended by Roland), so composer discretion is advised. At this time, simultaneous events across multiple tracks are not known to cause a problem.
The InitBeat may be inserted in any way desired. If you are using Cakewalk Pro for Windows, it is simplest to make the first measure a 1/4 measure (one beat @ 4 per measure) and then switch the meter to whatever you want to use for the remainder of the song right at measure 2. Meter changes within the song are not affected by this, of course.
Support
This version of the EMIDI API is being released on a "use at your own risk" basis. No support is provided, and Apogee Software Ltd. and 3D Realms Entertainment may not be held responsible for any problems or damage you incur as a result of using this API or any programs written to support it.
Games
The following games use EMIDI: