Mixpad - copying notes between midi files

John_Goddard

I am a new Mixpad user and I apologise if this is a silly question but I have been trying without success to find a way of copying and pasting notes from one midi file into another. Is it possible to have two sessions of the clip midi editor open at the same time ?

borate

AI, which isn't guaranteed 100% accurate, offers these suggestions...

"To copy and paste notes from one MIDI file into another in NCH Mixpad, select the desired notes in the MIDI editor, press the Copy button, then open the target MIDI file and use the Paste button to insert those notes wherever needed on the timeline. Multiple notes can be selected using the Ctrl key before copying.

Copying and Pasting MIDI Notes

Select individual notes by clicking on them in the MIDI editor.

Hold the Ctrl key and click to select multiple notes at once.

Press the Copy button to place the selected notes on the clipboard.

In the destination MIDI editor (in another file or track), position the cursor, then press Paste to insert the notes.

Multiple MIDI Clip Editor Sessions

It is possible to leave the MIDI editor window open while working on the main Mixpad project. However, it is not documented that two separate instances of the clip MIDI editor can be open at the same time; rather, the standard workflow is to keep the MIDI editor open and work between clips within the same session. Opening two MIDI editors simultaneously for side-by-side editing is not supported.

Practical Workflow

Keep the MIDI editor window open and toggle between clips for copying and pasting.

All changes made in the MIDI editor are instantly reflected in the main window, simplifying the process of transferring notes between clips within one project.

In summary, copy-pasting notes between MIDI files is supported in Mixpad. Simultaneous side-by-side MIDI editor sessions are not natively documented as a feature."

The shortcuts for Copy/Paste are <ctrl-C> and <ctrl-P> respectively.

John_Goddard

Thanks for the response. Yes, as per the second of the AI suggestions above, I've now found that you can copy notes within a session, then reload the same session with a different file, and paste the copied notes into this different file.

-0-

Following on from from my last comment I found that the notes as pasted in were much shorter in length compared to what they were in the source file i.e. only roughly ten percent. From a separate piece of software I was able to establish that the "pulses per quarter note" figure for my source file was 96 whereas in the destination file the figure was 960, which I assume explains the difference. The destination file was definitely created using Mixpad whereas the source file may have originated elsewhere, I can't remember. I was wondering if Mixpad always defaults to 960, and if so would this mean that it is only "safe" to copy and paste between midi files created using Mixpad?

borate

AI - not always 100% accurate - seems to offer a reasonable explanation, similar to your conclusion...

"NCH Mixpad by default appears to use a pulses per quarter note (PPQN) resolution of 960 PPQN for MIDI timing, which matches the resolution commonly used in some MIDI software like DrumThrash. The PPQN determines the "tick" resolution per quarter note. Lower PPQN values like 96 (found in your source file) represent a lower timing resolution, which can make MIDI note lengths appear shorter when imported or pasted into a system using a higher default PPQN like 960. This essentially means time values are scaled differently.

The difference you observed—notes pasted into a Mixpad-created file being about one tenth the length of the original file—is due to the PPQN resolution difference (96 vs. 960). Mixpad likely defaults to 960 PPQN internally, so when copying MIDI notes from a file with 96 PPQN into one with 960 PPQN, the playback timing must be interpreted accordingly.

Thus, copying and pasting MIDI notes between files with different PPQN values can lead to differences in note timing and length interpretation. It is safest to copy/paste MIDI notes between MIDI files that share the same PPQN or ones created by the same software to avoid timing scaling issues.

There is no universal standard PPQN value, and while Mixpad seems to default to 960 PPQN, other software may use lower or higher values. This difference is the cause of the disparities you see in note lengths after pasting between MIDI files with different PPQN values.

In summary:

Mixpad defaults to 960 PPQN.
Your source file's 96 PPQN vs. Mixpad's 960 PPQN causes a factor of 10 difference in note timing.
Copying/pasting between files with different PPQN leads to noted length discrepancies.
It is safest to copy and paste MIDI notes between files with the same PPQN, typically those created within the same software environment.

This explains why notes pasted from your source file appear much shorter in Mixpad, and that the PPQN difference is the root cause of this behavior."

For more insight, try contacting NCH.