Basic MIDI programming question

[Superhuman]

I've been using Cubase (yes, it's a registered version) exclusively for direct recording guitars and creating drum tracks etc and have spent very little time on midi, so this may be a very basic question.... or not.

I'm writing a composition at the moment in midi using MOTU Symphonic and EastWest Symphonic Orchestra (heavy duty packages that use real samples triggered by midi). Say I'm writing a part for a violin that has an up and down stroke choppy feel to it. I write the part on one track but then everything on that track is either up stroke or all down stroke... Do I really have to go to the bother of creating another part, copying and pasting the melody in, then deleting all of the notes and changing the channel for upstroke to compliment the other which would then be down strokes???

It sounds like far too much work, how can it be done more economically? I probably haven’t described what I want to do very well, hope you can see what I mean. Any help would be appreciated!

It would be so much easier if you could write a melody in midi and use a color code to signify different sample banks (eg, up/down stroke, vibrato, level of attack etc). So the part would have say twenty notes in it as per usual, but each of the little boxes symbolising the note would be colour coded to match the sound wanted. Or can this allready be done? I'm crap at midi and the manual is no help, so if you know how to do this and can explain it in basic terms, I would appreciate it. Thanks!

 

[altitude909]

Well midi cannot manipulate the actual sample out side of velocity, aftertouch and pitch bend so if you want a vibrato type string, you will need a sample of it. You should be able to run mutiple channels into whatever sampler you are using and use two different patches at once. If your getting choppy ends, just open up the decay somewhat

It would be so much easier if you could write a melody in midi and use a color code to signify different sample banks

then do it

 

[Halion]

I'm not sure how those particular libraries work with upbow/downbow stuff, but I use Garritan Personal Orchestra and it automatically afternates upbow/downbow when using the same not in succesion. My guess is there must be a controller that takes care of the upbow/downbow, or perhaps a keyswitch (simple midi notes in a lower octave that trigger the kind of stroke instead of an actual note). I wouldn't belief that the motu and eastwest libraries don't offer this, since Garritan Personal Orchestra is a relatively small and light library, but if does offer upbow/downbow alternation.

You'd have to check the manual though, no escaping that.