3 Ardour's handling of <dfn>MIDI editing</dfn> differs from most other DAWs
7 <h2>Key features of Ardour MIDI handling</h2>
10 All editing is done in-place, in-window. There is no separate piano roll
11 window or pane. Edit notes right where they appear.
14 MIDI, just like audio, exists in regions. MIDI regions behave like audio
15 regions: they can be moved, trimmed, copied (cloned), or deleted. Ardour
16 allows either editing MIDI (or audio) regions, or MIDI region content (the
17 notes), but never both at the same time. The <kbd class="menu">e</kbd> key
18 (by default) toggles between region level and note level editing
21 Editing note information in Ardour occurs in only a single region. There is
22 no way currently to edit in note data for multiple regions at the same time,
23 so for example notes cannot be selected in several regions and then all
24 deleted, nor can they be copied-and-pasted from one region to another.
25 Region(s), though, can be copy-pasted just as with audio.
28 When using jackd as the audio server for Ardour, all MIDI I/O is done
29 via JACK for sample accurate timing and maximal efficiency when communicating
30 with external software synthesizers. Otherwise, Ardour connects to midi
31 via the existing OS MIDI system.
34 Every MIDI track has its own MIDI port for input; it may have an
35 arbitrary combination of audio and MIDI outputs, depending on the signal
36 processing in the track.
39 Full automation for MIDI tracks, integrated with the handling of all MIDI
40 CC data for each track.
43 Controllers (CC data) can be set to discrete or continuous modes (the
44 latter will interpolate between control points and send additional
48 There is a Normal and a Percussive mode for note data editing.
51 The <dfn>scroomer</dfn> is a combination scroll/zoom tool for altering
52 the zoom level and range of visible MIDI data.
56 <h2>Notable Differences</h2>
59 Fader (volume) control currently operates on transmitted MIDI data, not by
63 All note/data editing is per-region. There are no cross-region operations at
67 By default, copying a MIDI region creates a <dfn>deep link</dfn>—both
68 regions share the same data source, and edits to the contents of one will
69 affect the other. Breaking this link is done by selecting <kbd
70 class="menu">MIDI > Unlink from other copies</kbd> from the region
71 context menu, after which the selected region(s) will have their own copies
72 of <em>only</em> the data that they visually display on screen. The region
73 will no longer be trimmable back to its original length after an Unlink
74 operation, and the operation cannot be undone.