Roland FR-7 Working with a sequencer and other tone generators, Midi data always go from OUT to

FR-7/FR-5V-Accordion

MIDI functions About MIDI

The FR-7/FR-5’s sections use the following MIDI chan- nels:

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 and	13
sending program changes)

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).

Working with a sequencer and other tone generators

The FR-7/FR-5 can be used as “input device” for record- ing 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 used. There are actually two kinds of master key- boards: those that only transmit MIDI data and contain no tone generator, and those that can also be used for playing back music (synthesizers, digital pianos, organs, etc.).

Sequencers do not record the audio of the notes you play. They only register “events” whose position and distance specify when the notes are to be played. The sequencer as such usually cannot sound what you record – you need an instrument with a tone generator for that. A sequencer must therefore be connected to an electronic sound source, like your FR-7/FR-5, for example.

The FR-7/FR-5 can be used for two things: to “input” new parts (i.e. MIDI events) and to play them back.

r

When you play on the FR-7/FR-5’s keyboards, it sends MIDI data to the FBC-7’s MIDI OUT socket. That socket must be connected to the sequencer’s MIDI IN port.

MIDI data always go from OUT to IN:

		External sequencer
MIDI IN		MIDI OUT
	(FBC-7)	FR-7/FR-5’s tone
		generator
MIDI OUT

If the FR-7/FR-5 is used as tone generator for an exter- nal sequencer, you must connect the sequencer’s MIDI OUT socket to the FBC-7’s MIDI IN port (because MIDI data always go from OUT to IN).

Though you can also play the FR-7/FR-5 from another MIDI instrument, we do not really recommend doing so, because your V-Accordion has far more versatile per- formance functions than any other MIDI controller available today: the FR-7/FR-5 translates all known accordion techniques and physical effects into MIDI messages to precisely reproduce the natural behavior of an acoustic accordion. Conversely, it might be interest- ing to try out the FR-7/FR-5 with a Roland Fantom-XR module (or a DisCover 5M), because the FR-7/FR-5’s countless expressive “gizmos” are bound to further enhance the stunning realism of the module’s sounds. If you use the FR-7/FR-5 as a MIDI controller while recording a sequence, all actions you perform on the FR-7/FR-5 (including the bellows pressure strength) are included in the recorded part. They can therefore be sent back to the FR-7/FR-5 (by the sequencer) – and then, all expression details are preserved. Be aware, however, that you also need a versatile sound source (like the FR-7/FR-5’s) to use the recorded MIDI events to their full potential.

A “sequencer” can also be a software program running on a computer. Most computers do not have MIDI sock- ets to which you can connect the FBC-7’s MIDI IN and OUT sockets. You therefore also need one of the follow- ing:

•A sound card with a joystick port to which you can connect MIDI cables;

•A card called a “MIDI interface” that is installed in your computer;

•An external device to which you connect the MIDI cables coming from the FBC-7 at one end and whose other end is connected to the computer’s USB port

(companies like Edirol, www.edirol.com, offer several models with a varying number of inputs and out- puts).

You also need a software program that allows you to record and play back your music. Such programs are available from companies like Cakewalk. Please ask your

80