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MIDI parameters
V-Accordion
r
45
MIDI parameters
Your FR-3 can also transmit or receive MIDI data. In
this section, we’ll look at what MIDI is and does and
which MIDI functions are available on the FR-3.
IMPORTANT REMARK
: The FR-3 only has one MIDI
socket that can be used to either send (“OUT”) or
receive (“IN”) MIDI data.
Connect the FR-3 as follows to
transmit
MIDI data to
an external device:
Then, set the “MId” parameter (see p. 48) to “Out”.
Connect the FR-3 as follows to
receive
MIDI data from
an external device:
Then, set the “MId” parameter (page 48) to “In”.
Even though your FR-3 is already a remarkably flexible
instrument (quite unlike any other accordion available
today), you may also want to use it with other MIDI-
compatible instruments, sequencers and computers to
record your performances in the same way as keyboard
players, drummers, guitarists, etc., have been doing for
a while.
Another important application for the FR-3’s MIDI
functions is controlling an arranger module that sup-
plies the accompaniment. “Arranger modules” use short
accompaniment patterns that can be selected in real-
time and whose key depends on the note information
they receive.
All MIDI-compatible sound sources allow you to use the
FR-3’s Treble and Bass keyboards for playing sounds the
FR-3 does not provide.
This is possible thanks to a common language for musi-
cal applications, which is called “
Musical Instrument
Digital Interface
”, or “
MIDI
” for short. MIDI has a lot in
common with the internet: you can link one or several
instruments to one another via a cable (but you don’t
need a telephone line).
You can also use the FR-3 as “master keyboard”, i.e. an
instrument that transmits MIDI messages to a device
(or software program) that can record MIDI messages.
Such a device or program is called a “sequencer”.
To take advantage of the FR-3’s MIDI functions, you
must connect it as shown above.
MIDI can simultaneously transmit and receive messages
on 16 channels, so that up to 16 instruments (or parts
of a module or synthesizer) can be controlled. Nowa-
days, most instruments –like your FR-3– are multitim-
bral, which means that they can play several musical
parts with different sounds. This requires the use of
several MIDI channels. The FR-3, for instance, has sev-
eral accordion and orchestral sections that can be
played simultaneously. They can transmit and receive
on different channels.
The FR-3’s sections use the following MIDI channels:
As you see, there are separate channels for the chord
and bass buttons, even though they both belong to the
Bass section. That separation may look distracting at
first, but it actually makes sense. It allows you to use
the bass buttons for controlling an external bass sound,
while the chord buttons could control a piano sound,
for example. If they used the same MIDI channel, the
bass line would have to be played by a piano, or the
chords would be played by a bass sound (unless you
own a MIDI instrument that allows you to program
note ranges for incoming MIDI messages).
The FR-3 can be used as “input device” for recording
your music. In the case of a keyboard instrument, such
a device is usually called a “master keyboard”. For other
kinds of MIDI input sources, the term “controller” is
About MIDI
MIDI OUT MIDI IN
External MIDI device
MIDI OUT MIDI IN
External MIDI device
Part Channel
Treble 1
Bass/Free Bass 2
Chord 3
Orchestra (Treble) 4
Orchestra Bass 5
Orchestra Chord 6
Orchestra Free Bass 7
Basic channel (for selecting Sets) 13
Control channel (for the “SPC” function) 13
Working with a sequencer and other tone
generators