[Ardour-Dev] let's talk about MIDI regions

[Robin Gareus]

[re-arranged to avoid top-posting]

On 03/03/2017 04:17 PM, nick mainsbridge wrote:
> 
> On 3 March 2017 at 21:02, Paul Davis <paul at linuxaudiosystems.com> wrote:
> 
>> one idea that is in the air for Ardour 6.0 is to move away from the idea
>> of MIDI regions entirely. in the simplest terms:
>>
>> pro-regions:
>>      makes editing MIDI more like editing audio
>>      allows easy copying of motifs, themes, drum fills etc. without having
>> to select stuff
>>
>> anti-regions:
>>      greatly complicates the basic nature of MIDI tracks
>>      hard to overdub MIDI - does this create a new region, or edit an
>> existing one
>>      MIDI CC data ("automation") always needs a region, somewhat
>> counterintuitively
>>      MIDI data is much more discrete than audio, and can be easily
>> selected, then
>>           copied, moved, pasted etc.
>>
>> without regions, a MIDI track would just be a single context for MIDI
>> data. each new overdub would add more MIDI data to that context (possibly
>> replacing or altering existing notes in the case of MIDI-illegal note
>> overlaps). edits would be done via cut-n-paste. MIDI CC data ("automation")
>> could be added to a track at any point.
>>
>> discuss.

Making this even more destructive strikes me as backwards. Now it's not
only regions that are edited destructively but whole tracks.

It would really be nice if midi editing would be non-destructive.  One
possible way: write a new .mid for every change-set (or on every
session-save).


> i would like to add:
>
> pro-regions:
>  - the audio/midi similarity extends to recording also
>    e.g. ad hoc take management is simple (mute the last take of
simultaneous
>    audio + midi recording and go again)
>  - lock to audio / music is al least partially possible
>  - regions may be positioned at sample resolution
>  - most anti-region arguments look like decisions that are yet to be made.
>  - solving 'MIDI CC data ("automation") always needs a region' seems
easier
>    than removing complexity (are we overwhelmed by this?).
>
> anti-regions
>  - regions are difficult to get right.

and
   - quantization

select 2 linked regions. one starting at 1|0|0, one at 3|2|123. quantize
to grid.  It's ambiguous what should happen and it gets worse if there's
a tempo/meter change in between.

ciao,
robin

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