The Wind Cries MIDI
I come from a very musical family. My father was a professional woodwind player and music educator, and my mother was a gifted coloratura soprano, so it's no surprise that I was bitten by the musical bug at an early age. However, I've always been a keyboard klutz, so I gravitated toward woodwind and brass instruments, for which I have a natural aptitude.
When I discovered synthesizers in college, I immediately longed for a way to play them with a wind-style controller instead of the ubiquitous keyboard, but such instruments were very rare and expensive. So, I plodded along on the monophonic keyboard instruments that inhabited the electronic-music lab.
Fortunately, things have changed quite a bit since then. Today, there are several MIDI controllers that resemble woodwind and valved-brass instruments and send MIDI messages in response to different fingerings and varying breath pressure. They also sport other controls that send various messages to enhance the expressive capabilities of those instruments. In fact, anyone who thinks that electronic music is inherently lacking in expression hasn't heard a good wind-controller player in action.
BASIC ISSUESA number of issues face those who want to play a MIDI wind controller (MWC). First and foremost, an MWC is not an acoustic wind instrument; it makes no sound of its own. As a result, it doesn't feel the same as playing a saxophone or other wind instrument. You must develop new playing techniques if you want to get the most out of an MWC.
For example, most wind instruments rely on overblowing to play in different octaves, and the fingering of a particular note is often different in one octave than another. On an MWC, however, different octaves are played by pressing octave keys with the left thumb. Other than that, each note is fingered the same way in every octave. This gives an MWC a much greater pitch range than most acoustic instruments, although it takes some getting used to.
MWCs that emulate a saxophone often include a reed on the mouthpiece. However, that reed doesn't vibrate like the reed on an acoustic sax. Instead, it is used to send Pitch Bend or other MIDI messages when the player bites on it. Many MWCs also provide a control under the right thumb that sends Pitch Bend or other messages. These controls should be used to generate vibrato with the jaw or right thumb, because this sounds much more natural than using the synth's low-frequency oscillator (LFO) for vibrato.
Another important issue is a controller's MIDI implementation. Of course, all MWCs send Note On, Note Off, and Pitch Bend messages, as well as at least one continuous controller message, in response to changing breath pressure. Most modern MWCs can send several messages in response to breath, including Channel Pressure (Aftertouch), Modulation (CC 01), Breath Controller (CC 02), Volume (CC 07), and Expression (CC 11), which affords a great deal of expressive potential. Some instruments can even send several of those messages at once, but this can clog the MIDI bandwidth, causing the receiving sound module to choke. Besides, there's not much point in sending multiple continuous controller messages with the same values unless different parameters in the receiving synth can respond only to certain messages and not others.
As you might expect, the Velocity portion of each Note On is derived from the initial breath pressure for each note. But what if you play a sustained note with a low Velocity and then try to crescendo to full volume? In most cases, you won't get very far. For sustaining sounds, it's important to have an MWC that lets you disable Velocity sensitivity and send all Note On messages with a fixed Velocity of 64 to 127. (Alternatively, you may be able to disable the sound module's Velocity response.) When playing instruments that have percussive sounds with naturally decaying envelopes, such as piano, guitar, or drums, it's best to leave Velocity sensitivity on, although these sounds are more prone to glitching with their quick attacks. Velocity can also be used to bring layered sounds into and out of a multitimbral setup.
Most MWCs provide some way to adjust the instrument's sensitivity to breath and reed pressure; after all, each player is different, and their particular style of playing must be mapped to a linear range of MIDI values. Some MWCs even provide several response curves to tailor the response of the controller to different players.
Unless they are played using multiphonics, most acoustic wind instruments can produce only one note at a time. On the other hand, MWCs can play several notes at once by sending the appropriate Note On and Note Off messages. There are several specific harmony functions available on different controllers. For example, some MWCs let you start one or more drone notes that are held while you play melodic lines over them. Others offer the ability to play user-specified parallel chords above or below the performed notes.
FINGERS FLYINGOne of the most vexing problems facing MWC players is called glitching. When moving from one note to another on any wind instrument, several fingers often have to move simultaneously to press or release their respective keys. Unfortunately, it is difficult, if not impossible, to do this perfectly. In the case of an acoustic instrument, it takes a couple of milliseconds for the air column to reach full resonance between notes, so slight inaccuracies in fingering are not noticeable.
On an MWC, however, each combination of keys — no matter how short its duration — is counted as a note, and the instrument sends a corresponding Note On. As a result, you often hear many unwanted, short “glitch” notes between the notes you intended. Fortunately, most MWCs now include a parameter that lets you set the instrument's response speed; at slower speeds, the instrument ignores very short notes, which greatly reduces glitching. (If you set the response speed too slow, you won't be able to play fast passages; the trick is to find the right balance.) Glitching is also affected by the envelope attack of the sound you're playing; the faster the attack, the more glitching you will hear.
As with any MIDI controller, the ability to send any Program Change is very important. In most cases, this is done by pressing a special button with a specific combination of note keys on the instrument. Some instruments also provide a program increment/decrement control, which is handy if you store the programs you will need in consecutive memory locations of the synth.
FIELD OF MIDI WINDSAs of this writing, there are four commercially available MWCs designed for professional applications. (A couple of controllers are designed for the educational market, but they are quite limited, so I won't cover them here.) The first three are woodwind-like instruments that more or less resemble a saxophone, and the last one is based on the valved-brass paradigm.
Yamaha WX5Yamaha has been in the MWC business for many years, starting in 1989 with the WX7. That model was replaced in 1993 by the WX11, which was quite a bit more limited than the original WX7. Fortunately, Yamaha removed those limitations and added a number of new features to its current MWC model, the WX5 ($750).
The WX5's key layout is much like that of a standard saxophone, and there are four selectable fingering patterns (see Fig. 10). In addition, you can select three transpositions — C, B
The sax mouthpiece includes a reed that sends Pitch Bend or Modulation messages when you bite it. In addition, you can set the instrument to send General Controller 3 (CC 18) along with Pitch Bend or Modulation in response to lip pressure. The range of values can be normal (restricted range) or wide (full range).
You can set the instrument to play in Tight Lip or Loose Lip mode. Tight Lip mode requires moderate nominal pressure on the reed while playing; more pressure bends pitch up, less pressure bends pitch down. This mode more closely resembles sax technique, but it's difficult to maintain a steady pitch. In Loose Lip mode, you apply no nominal pressure while playing. When you do apply pressure, the pitch bends up only. (If you set the instrument to send Modulation from the reed, nominal pressure sends a value of 64 in Tight Lip mode and a value of 0 in Loose Lip mode.)
You can set the WX5 to send Breath Controller, Volume, or Expression messages in response to breath pressure, but you can't send more than one of these messages at a time. The Velocity of each Note On message can be determined by initial breath pressure or fixed at a value of 100.
The Response mode determines how quickly the WX5 responds to each note as it's played. In Fast mode, a new Note On is sent the instant any key is pressed or released, which contributes to glitching. In Slow mode, fewer glitch notes are generated by imprecise playing. This feels more like an acoustic instrument, and it doesn't seem to impede playing speed.
One of the most significant improvements over Yamaha's previous MWC models is the presence of a MIDI Out jack on the body. There's also a WX output, which uses the same type of multipin cable and connector found on the WX7 and WX11. You can use this output to control a Yamaha VL70-m sound module instead of using MIDI, which is advantageous because the cable supplies power to the instrument. When using the MIDI output, power is normally supplied by six AAA batteries in the instrument body.
In addition to the lip sensor under the reed, the WX5 includes a spring-loaded rocker under the right thumb. This rocker can be set to send Pitch Bend up and down, Modulation up and Pitch Bend down, General Controller 1 (CC 16) up and General Controller 2 (CC 17) down, or Brightness (CC 74) up and down.
The high D and D
The WX5 has four Hold modes. Normal Hold mode sustains one note while you play other notes over it. Follow Hold mode plays a second note at a fixed, user-specified interval from the fingered note, resulting in a parallel melodic line. (Of course, those modes only work with a sound module that can play polyphonically.) Sustain mode sends a Sustain On/Off message (CC 64) each time the Key Hold button on the underside of the instrument is pressed, and Portamento mode sends a Portamento On/Off message (CC 65) each time the button is pressed.
Unlike its predecessors, the WX5 can send any Program Change and Bank Select message. However, it takes practice to learn the required fingering combinations. You can also increment and decrement the program number in the receiving synth.
The soft case that comes with the WX5 offers little protection from bumps; the keys are particularly vulnerable to damage. Fortunately, Yamaha now offers an optional hard-shell case, the YCWX5 ($150), which includes molded foam compartments for the instrument itself, an extra set of batteries, a wall-wart power supply, cables, and other accessories.
The WX5 can be used with any MIDI sound module, but it is ideally suited to the VL70-m ($800; see Fig. 11). This half-rack monophonic module uses Yamaha's physical-modeling technology, which is expressly designed to respond to breath-controlled messages. Together, these two devices make an excellent portable MIDI-wind system.
Akai EWI3020Akai has also been in the MWC business for many years, and its EWI electronic woodwind instrument has been through several generations. Like its predecessors, the current EWI3020 model (see Fig. 12) is based on a design by controller developer Nyle Steiner.
Instead of moving keys that simulate the feel of a saxophone or clarinet, the EWI's keys are capacitive touch-sensitive metal buttons that don't move (although an optional Finger Rest kit is available to add moving keys). The touch sensitivity is adjustable, and you can specify a delay between fingering a note and sending Note On. Both of those controls can help reduce glitching.
In another departure from tradition, the mouthpiece does not resemble a sax or any other acoustic instrument. It's a flattened plastic tube with an internal sensor to detect the player's bite pressure. The EWI3020 also has an airway that lets the player's breath pass through the instrument, although previous generations of the EWI did not have an airway.
As usual, the left thumb operates the octave keys, which are rollers on the EWI. Those rollers give the instrument a normal playing range of eight octaves, which can be further shifted down a minor sixth or up a minor third in half-step increments using the transposition function. A metal strip runs alongside the rollers and is used to send Portamento On/Off and Rate. The right thumb rests on a grounding plate, which is flanked by separate Pitch Bend Up and Down plates.
The EWI3020 is the only available MWC that must be used with a particular sound module (see Fig. 13); you can purchase the controller with the EWI3020m analog module ($1,399) or the EWI3030m sample-based module ($1,785). You can also buy those modules separately, and you can control several modules with one EWI. Both modules are basically monophonic, although the two oscillators can be tuned to different pitches. More importantly, they are designed specifically for the EWI. For example, breath pressure and Pitch Bend can be used as modulation sources for as many as ten sound parameters.
The controller connects to either module with a multipin cable, which conveys the player's breath pressure, fingering, mouthpiece pressure, and other performance gestures to the module. In addition, both modules include a MIDI Out port, which lets the instrument control other MIDI synths, and a MIDI In port, which means you can sequence parts for them.
The mouthpiece is sensitive to changes in biting pressure rather than the absolute amount of pressure; changing pressure bends the pitch in the Akai modules and sends Pitch Bend messages from the MIDI Out. If you bite harder, the pitch goes up; if you reduce bite pressure, the pitch goes down. Once the bite pressure stops changing, the pitch returns to its nominal value. This lets you bend up and down from the mouthpiece without having to maintain a specific nominal pressure, but the pitch does not stay bent for long. Breath pressure can be set to send Aftertouch, Modulation, Breath Controller, or Volume but not multiple streams.
Velocity can be determined by initial breath pressure or fixed at any value from 1 to 127. However, there is a slight bug in the EWI3020m: if Velocity is set to vary depending on breath pressure, it is not updated for any slurred notes, even if you play them with more or less pressure. This bug has been fixed in version 1.02 of the software, but the new software is not shipped with the unit because it hasn't been bug tested; you must request the updated chip from Akai and use it at your own risk.
The EWI3020m module can send Program Changes 1 to 100; the EWI3030m can send 1 to 128. Bank Select is not supported. The bend plates and mouthpiece pressure send only Pitch Bend messages; they cannot be programmed to send other messages.
Although the Akai modules are basically monophonic, they can transmit four simultaneous Note Ons in chords. This function is quite flexible; you program as many as 16 different chords based on interval relationships with the note you play on the controller, and then you assign one of these chords to each note in the chromatic scale.
One of the EWI's coolest features is the ability to process an external sound source through the module's signal path. This lets you send the external sound through the filter and amplifier while controlling them with the EWI, providing analog changes in timbre and volume with no MIDI stair-stepping effect. You can also combine the external sound with one of the internal oscillators. To use this feature, you connect the MIDI Out from the EWI to an external synth's MIDI In and the audio output from the synth to the audio input on the Akai module.
Softwind SynthophoneFor those who really want an instrument that feels exactly like a saxophone, there is only one alternative: the Softwind Synthophone ($3,150-$4,395; see Fig. 14). Switzerland-based Softwind starts with a Yamaha YAS-275 or Selmer Super-Action II alto sax (the price depends on which model you choose) and crams the body full of sensors and electronics. Of course, the instrument no longer plays acoustically (in fact, the bell is completely sealed with a metal plate), but it is arguably the most sophisticated saxlike MWC on the market.
The removable bell plate hides an EPROM chip that can be replaced when new software is developed, and all functions are activated and controlled by specific command fingerings. The MIDI Out jack at the base of the bell is connected to the MIDI In on an outboard box, which supplies power to the instrument through the two unused conductors in a standard MIDI cable. The power supply also includes two MIDI Out jacks, which send the MIDI messages from the Synthophone to external MIDI devices.
Each key includes its own sensor, and there are five Key Speed settings to minimize glitching. Like the other sax-oriented MWCs, the Synthophone can be transposed into C, B
The specially adapted mouthpiece includes two sensors: one for breath pressure and one for lip pressure on the reed. There's also a special sensor for the right thumb. This Thumb-X-Press is pressure-sensitive and can be programmed to do a variety of tasks, such as raise the pitch one octave, send on a different MIDI channel, or affect the harmony function. It can also be programmed to send Pitch Bend, Aftertouch, or Sustain On/Off.
Lip pressure on the reed can be programmed to send Modulation and Pitch Bend at one of six sensitivity settings, from 1/16 range to full range. If Pitch Bend is selected, increasing pressure on the reed can send Pitch Bend up or down; alternatively you can select a symmetrical mode that bends the pitch up or down by increasing or decreasing a nominal pressure on the reed. The symmetrical mode implements a dead zone in the middle of the range, making it a much easier matter to maintain a constant nominal pitch on the Synthophone than on the Yamaha WX5.
In addition to sending Pitch Bend and Modulation, lip pressure can also be programmed to perform one of several switching functions. These include changing MIDI channels, Sustain On/Off, Portamento On/Off, or various harmony functions.
Breath pressure can be programmed to send Aftertouch and Breath Controller at one of six sensitivity settings, from 1/16 range to full range. Breath pressure can be programmed to send Volume; in this case, one of five exponential response curves can be selected, or the Volume can be fixed at 127.
All of the continuous MIDI messages sent in response to lip and breath pressure can be programmed separately, so you can select multiple streams and specify their sensitivities. You have a lot of flexibility here, but again, some synthsesizers will choke if you send too much data at once.
You can choose from five limited Velocity ranges, each of which encompasses about 30 values. The Velocity of each note is variable in the selected range, and it's derived from initial lip pressure when you attack new notes and from initial breath pressure when you play legato. The instrument cannot send the full range of Velocities, nor can it be fixed to a single value.
The Synthophone's harmony functions are very sophisticated, with the ability to play up to five-note chords. The simplest mode is Freeze harmony, which generates completely parallel chords based on the intervals of the last chord played. Lip pressure, Thumb-X-Press, or a specific command fingering can be used to enable or disable Freeze harmony.
Dynamic harmony plays chords based on a user-selected diatonic key that can be changed on the fly. In addition, there are nine harmonization tables — three presets in ROM and six user tables in RAM — that define the harmony for each note in the chromatic scale. Finally, lip pressure can vary the chords as you play in one of five basic ways: it can change the harmony table being used, change the inversion of the chord, play a
All Synthophone parameters are stored in one of 32 user Patches, which can be recalled at any time. Each Patch can include a Program Change number that is sent when the Patch is called up, but you can't send arbitrary Program Change messages directly from the instrument. However, you can increment and decrement the program number of any connected synths.
At the 2001 Winter NAMM convention, Softwind introduced a new software program for Windows 95/98 computers. MIDI Sax Editor provides full onscreen access to all Synthophone parameters, making configuring the instrument much easier; any changes you make on the screen are immediately sent to the Synthophone and vice versa. You can also create as many custom harmony tables as you want and store them along with your Patches on your computer.
Steiner MIDI EVINyle Steiner is one of the early pioneers in the development of MWCs. As a professional trumpet player, he wanted to play synthesizers with a valved-brass — type instrument controller, so he designed the electronic valve instrument, or EVI, in the 1970s. Soon, woodwind players wanted something similar, so he developed the EWI in 1981. In their initial incarnations, both instruments controlled a dedicated analog sound module and had no MIDI capabilities.
Steiner later licensed both instruments to Akai, which has continued to develop and market the EWI. However, the EVI was discontinued not long after its initial release. Eventually, Steiner decided to make MIDI-capable EVIs for anyone who places an order with him directly.
Steiner's philosophy has always been to build an instrument that only loosely resembles an acoustic trumpet, but that offers maximum flexibility as a MIDI controller. This means that his controllers require more time to learn than those that more closely resemble their acoustic counterparts, but that time pays off in far greater capabilities.
The MIDI EVI ($750) is a compact, self-contained, battery-powered instrument (see Fig. 15). Like the Akai EWI, it uses touch-sensitive buttons instead of moving keys, and their sensitivity is adjustable. The three main buttons on the top behave like the first, second, and third valves of a trumpet, lowering the pitch by a whole step, half step, and minor third respectively. By pressing them in various combinations, you can lower the pitch by as much as a tritone, but what about the rest of the octave? Acoustic trumpets depend on overblowing to excite different resonant modes, and different notes within one octave are fingered identically.
The solution is to add a fourth valve that lowers the pitch by a perfect fourth. This valve is much like the fourth valve on many tubas and other low brasses. In the case of the EVI, the “valve” is actually a metal strip that extends around the barrel-shaped octave controller at the end of the instrument. This barrel is manipulated with the left hand; rotating it moves the left thumb over a series of rollers much like the octave rollers on the Akai EWI. With the main valves, these controls let you play seven chromatic octaves, and you can further transpose the instrument's pitch by more than three octaves in semitone increments in either direction.
Unlike any acoustic brass instrument, the MIDI EVI includes three “trill” buttons next to the main valves. The first, second, and third trill valves raise the pitch by a whole step, half step, and major third, respectively. These buttons make certain trills much easier than they would otherwise be, and they provide alternate fingerings.
The instruments' response time is user adjustable, and Steiner presets it to the valve he has determined to minimize glitching. This control is not mentioned in the documentation, but users can contact Steiner if they want to change the setting.
On the underside of the instrument, bend-up and -down plates for the right thumb operate in a manner similar to that used with the Akai EWI. There's also a button that reduces the pitch-bend range by half. Between the bend plates is a vibrato sensor that is sensitive to motion and sends Pitch Bend values in response to movements of the right thumb.
The mouthpiece is a simple plastic tube and includes breath-pressure and bite-pressure sensors, but unlike other current MWCs, the MIDI EVI does not pass the player's breath through the instrument. To simulate this feeling, you must let some air escape from the corners of your mouth while playing. (To see what this is like, lightly bite the tip of your smallest finger with your teeth and blow air past it.) On the other hand, you can play phrases of any length by sealing your lips around the mouthpiece and breathing through your nose, which is a variation of the technique known as circular breathing.
In response to breath pressure, the MIDI EVI can send any combination of Aftertouch, Breath Controller, Volume, and Expression. Velocity can be derived from breath pressure or fixed at any value between 1 and 127.
Biting the mouthpiece does not send Pitch Bend; instead, it sends Portamento On, and changing the bite pressure changes the Portamento Rate. Reducing the bite pressure to zero sends a Portamento Off message. You can disable the mouthpiece's ability to send Portamento messages if you wish.
The MIDI EVI's chord modes include Slur Sustain, which sends a Sustain On message when you tongue a note. After that, all notes played without tonguing are sustained until you stop blowing, at which time a Sustain Off message is sent. As many as the last ten notes played in a single Slur Sustain passage are stored in a memory buffer, and the intervals between these notes can be used to play strictly parallel chords in Parallel mode. The EVI's other chord mode is Sub Octave mode, which plays notes one octave below the fingered notes. Interestingly, you can engage Slur Sustain and Sub Octave modes simultaneously, but in that case the sustained notes are not stored in the memory buffer.
The MIDI EVI can send any arbitrary Program Change number from the instrument. You can also increment and decrement the program number in the receiving synth.
PROGRAMMING TIPSPlaying on an MWC is only half the story — you must also think about the sound module you're controlling and how it is programmed. There are three basic sound module types to consider: samplers and sample-based synths, analog synths (either real or modeled), and Yamaha's VL series of physical-modeling synths. (Yamaha's older FM synths can also be used to good effect with MWCs, but they are no longer manufactured.)
As mentioned earlier, the VL-series synthesizers are expressly designed to respond to breath-controlled messages, so they work extremely well with all MWCs. The current model VL70-m offers many useful presets, but the original VL1 keyboard and VL1-m rack-mount module are even better, with two sound-generating Elements instead of one and better effects. However, these synths are not made anymore, and they were much more expensive than the current model. In addition, the VL synths are generally quite difficult to program well, even with the available computer-based editors.
If you're not a programmer, there is one third-party sound company that specializes in patches optimized for MWCs. Patchman Music offers a wide variety of wind-controller sound banks for many current and past synths, including the VL1 and VL70-m. Be sure to check out Patchman's Web site (see the sidebar “MIDI Winds on the Internet”).
On the other hand, if you want to try your hand at programming your synth for an MWC, here are a few tips to get you started. These general ideas apply to all sample-based, analog, and FM modules, but the specific procedures for implementing them vary from one instrument to the next.
First, it's important to understand that most wind-oriented sounds do not have preprogrammed envelopes. Instead, they are sustained and vary their amplitude and timbre over time according to the breath pressure. Therefore, intermediate envelope decays in the patch should be disabled, and the sustain portions should be maxed out. The attack and final decay portions should be relatively fast, but if the attack is too fast, you may experience more glitching. If the final decay is too fast it will sound unnatural; if it is too slow the notes will overlap, which is inappropriate for sounds that emulate acoustic wind instruments. (Don't forget that the MWC's Velocity should be fixed at a high value when playing these sounds.)
The message generated by the MWC in response to breath pressure can (and should) be routed to control a variety of parameters in the synth. At minimum, it should be used to modulate the final amp stage in order to control volume. Another significant parameter to modulate with breath pressure is filter cutoff; this is especially important for brass sounds, but less so for strings. Other possibilities include effects parameters and any other parameter that responds to continuous control.
To maximize the expressiveness of an MWC performance, it's critical that you turn off LFOs in a program and generate vibrato with the jaw or right thumb sending Pitch Bend. (You can also generate tremolo or wah-wah with the breath by assigning its messages to control amplitude or timbre.) This is far more expressive than an LFO, which most people immediately identify as synthetic.
When playing a sample-based synth, the Pitch-Bend setting is also important. For most acoustic-instrument emulations, the Pitch-Bend range shouldn't be more than a whole step or so. This not only simulates the capability of the acoustic instrument but also prevents the sample from being transposed too far from its root pitch, which sounds very unnatural.
Except for the VL series and the Akai EWI modules, most synths are polyphonic, which is critical when using an MWC's harmony functions. However, many synths can be set to a mono mode, which can be useful, especially with analog synths, because the envelope doesn't reattack when slurring. That can sound unnatural when you play samples over a wide pitch ra
