Re: uncertain about MIDI dynamic scaling

[Graham Percival]

On 25-Apr-06, at 4:36 AM, Sean Reed wrote:

> Is there documentation somewhere on how the .midiMinimumVolume and 
> .midiMaximum values specifically effect the velocity scaling? I 
> expected it to scale #0.0=0 to #1.0=127, but I discovered that you can 
> go above 1.0 and below 0.0 into negative values. For now I used a hit 
> or miss approach to gradually tweak the scaling to my taste, opening 
> the MIDI files in Digital Performer and looking at the values in the 
> event lists.

From the most recent docs, 10.7.1 Creating MIDI files.  I think I added 
this info in the last few weeks, so it might not appear in the online 
docs.

----
Ties, dynamics, and tempo changes are interpreted. Dynamic marks, 
crescendi and decrescendi translate into MIDI volume levels. Dynamic 
marks translate to a fixed fraction of the available MIDI volume range, 
crescendi and decrescendi make the volume vary linearly between their 
two extremes. The fractions can be adjusted by 
dynamicAbsoluteVolumeFunction in Voice context. For each type of MIDI 
instrument, a volume range can be defined. This gives a basic equalizer 
control, which can enhance the quality of the MIDI output remarkably. 
The equalizer can be controlled by setting instrumentEqualizer, or by 
setting

\set Staff.midiMinimumVolume = #0.2
\set Staff.midiMaximumVolume = #0.8
----

> Through experimenting I also discovered that the dynamic range in 
> LilyPond is
> \ppppp to \ffff.  The current downloadable PDF version of the manual 
> still states this range as \ppp to \fff (with a typo as well, I think, 
> since \fff is listed twice).

\ffff also works; the typo is that the second \fff should be \ffff.  
Fixed, thanks.
- Graham