Thread: MIDI2KEY - MIDI keyboard to LOTRO music system utility (v0.9.0.0)

Hi all,

Backstory
So, a few days ago I started playing LOTRO and immediately fell in love with the music system. I found the keyboard input a little awkward to use, though, as it seems many of you have. I wanted to use my MIDI-capable keyboard instead. So today I wrote a small utility that accepts MIDI data in real-time from all MIDI input devices on your computer and translates the notes into something applicable to LOTRO.

MIDI files to ABC files
If you're looking to convert MIDI files into ABC files playable on LoTRO's music system, this is not the tool you need. Try this one created by Digero!

Usage
These instructions assume you already know how to connect your MIDI keyboard to your computer and have already done so.
1. Download.
2. Unzip to anywhere.
3. Run program and follow the instructions that appear on the window for mapping your keys in-game (unless you want your own keymapping, in which case edit the accompanying .ini file).
4. Then, with the utility running in the background, start up the music system in LOTRO and play your MIDI keyboard.

Turbine's Terms of Service Concerns
I do not believe this violates (technically nor intentionally) those terms as it does not modify gameplay in any way, does not interact with the game software in any way, except to send it key events by way of LoTRO being the active application at the time, and does not allow any kind of scripting activity. This is simply a real-time converter from MIDI events to keyboard events so that musicians have a more familiar style keyboard to use for music. However, that is their call, not mine and I have notified them of this utility and thread for them to do with what they please. Turbine has informed me that this tool likely falls under "hardware support" category, which they have already stated is acceptable.

Source Code
You may find the source for version v.0.9.0.4 here. Please send me any changes you'd like added to the main release and I'll get them in there with appropriate credit.

Updates/Revision History
I'll come back to this post and edit in updates as I have them.

Release notes for v0.9.0.4:
- Added ability to customize key mapping via a MIDI2KEY.ini file in the same directory as the executable. Several example ini files are included. To use one of them, rename it to "MIDI2KEY.ini" and restart the program. The program will use a default key mapping if no "MIDI2KEY.ini" file is present.
- This version allows a full 3-octave mapping by using one of the supplied .ini files as mentioned above.

Release notes for v0.9.0.3:
- Includes a simple arpeggiator function. When enabled, simply hold down several keys on your MIDI keyboard for the arpeggiator to walk through them. You may choose to limit the arpeggiator to only the lower-octave notes by checking the "Freehand high octave" option. Also, by default, the arpeggiator walks down the note scale but you can have it walk up the scale instead by checking the "Crawl Up" option.
- Included some basic filtering for notes so that the same keyboard event is not sent to the application multiple times simultaneously. (This was only creating lag issues and didn't actually affect the music being played since it was essentially the same note overlapped.)

Release notes for v0.9.0.2:
- Included the use of Q, the note "B" just below middle-C.
- Included option to alternate or not alternate each octave.

Release notes for v0.9.0.1:
- Remapped octaves such that each octave alternates the use of LOTRO's low or high-octave note sets. This creates a more "varied" sound more easily.

Release notes for v0.9.0.0:
- Initial release.

[removed - these notes no longer apply to the most recent version]

Nolaquen, YOU DA MAN!

After spending several hours and not getting GlovePIE to see my midi notes, yours did it in the 2 minutes it took me to download it, run it, and create a text file to test it on. Tarindel - and any others who haven't been able to get GlovePIE to work - this little gem might be the answer to your problems as well! (I sure hope so.)

One thing I noticed, although my midi kbd C4 is LOTRO's lowest note, and my C5 is the octave up from that, my C6 is LOTRO's lowest note again, not its highest. (Confirmed this also in a text file test. You need to let C6 output the "3rd octave C.")

I *sure* hope you upgrade this to support all 3 full octaves when the June patch comes out! Actually, for testing in text files, you could support 3 full octaves now; just let us assign the keymapping that your program uses.

Thank you so *very* much for this!

Sincerely;
Kwee

P.S. For reference, I'm running WinXP Pro, E-MU MidiX 1X1 USB/Midi converter.

Hi Kwee...glad this works for you! I was a bit nervous about how well this would work for most people since I only have one configuration of hardware to use to test with.

Originally Posted by Kwee

One thing I noticed, although my midi kbd C4 is LOTRO's lowest note, and my C5 is the octave up from that, my C6 is LOTRO's lowest note again, not its highest. (Confirmed this also in a text file test. You need to let C6 output the "3rd octave C.")

Try downloading and using the 0.9.0.0 version. I made this change on purpose in v0.9.0.1 to make it easier to add a bit of depth while I'm keying on my MIDI keyboard.

Originally Posted by Kwee

I *sure* hope you upgrade this to support all 3 full octaves when the June patch comes out! Actually, for testing in text files, you could support 3 full octaves now; just let us assign the keymapping that your program uses.

Definitely (to both).

Nola, 0.9.0.0 has the high C correct, but the low B is still wrong.

That is, B3 on the midi keyboard should output a Q. It's outputting the octave J.

Don't want to sound negative; I *really* appreciate this tool!

By the way, I haven't gotten my game key from EBGames yet (it's "in the mail" HA!) But I'll be more than happy to test any future releases in text files til I can get back in the game.

Originally Posted by Kwee

Nola, 0.9.0.0 has the high C correct, but the low B is still wrong.

That is, B3 on the midi keyboard should output a Q. It's outputting the octave J.

Ah, I see what you're saying. I assumed that Q would produce the same note as J in-game, just like R is the same as D, and I is the same as J. I didn't realize Q was a whole new note in the octave below middle-C. I'll fix that right now. Too bad it's the only note available in that octave. ;-)

Originally Posted by Kwee

Don't want to sound negative; I *really* appreciate this tool!

Oh not at all! I appreciate and encourage the feedback.

Originally Posted by Kwee

By the way, I haven't gotten my game key from EBGames yet (it's "in the mail" HA!) But I'll be more than happy to test any future releases in text files til I can get back in the game.

I would like this very much! Thank you! Incidentally, we are both using the same hardware. I, too, have an EMU Xmidi 1x1 USB/MIDI converter. :-)

Ok, v0.9.0.2 is up.

Nice job Nolaquen, I know Kwee is happy! And the community will really benefit from this overall.

Originally Posted by Kwee

Tarindel - and any others who haven't been able to get GlovePIE to work - this little gem might be the answer to your problems as well! (I sure hope so.)

I'll test it out tonight! I am excited at the prospect of getting this working!

Very nice! It works like a charm. Much much easier to use than Glovepie, and it actually works.

For what it's worth, I'm using a Midisport Midiman 2x2 with a Novation Supernova II keyboard.

Thank you so very much, NolaquenTaurina. I am going to have a great amount of fun with this!

I'm glad it worked for you, Tarindel!


Release notes for v0.9.0.3:
- Includes a simple arpeggiator function. When enabled, simply hold down several keys on your MIDI keyboard for the arpeggiator to walk through them. You may choose to limit the arpeggiator to only the lower-octave notes by checking the "Freehand high octave" option. Also, by default, the arpeggiator walks down the note scale but you can have it walk up the scale instead by checking the "Crawl Up" option.
- Included some basic filtering for notes so that the same keyboard event is not sent to the application multiple times simultaneously. (This was only creating lag issues and didn't actually affect the music being played since it was essentially the same note overlapped.)

Excellent job NolaquenTaurina!

I've tested it in notepad, and I'll try it in LOTRO later. Works like a charm!
I've been waiting for someone with good programing skills to write a standalone program that emulates a piano.

For the record: I use a midisport uno usb and a casio keyboard, worked the first time with no hitch!

Just wanted to say thanks again for this utility. I spent probably an hour last night playing music in Combe, just for kicks. I was playing 4-note chords and they sounded great (well, they worked great!).

Much, much appreciated.

Thank you Nolaquen! This works awesome!

OMG! I'm going to have to dust off my old keyboard (and it's think dust I might add) and find a USB/Midi converter. This sounds like fun.

This utility rocks. Haven't tried it yet but instead remapped my keyboard more like a piano. How do you deal with the lack of flats in the higher octave? Maybe we should ask the devs nicely for a complete and proper 2 octave range.

Originally Posted by Dorim

This utility rocks. Haven't tried it yet but instead remapped my keyboard more like a piano. How do you deal with the lack of flats in the higher octave? Maybe we should ask the devs nicely for a complete and proper 2 octave range.

They're going to do even better -- in the upcoming music patch, we'll get all notes in a 3 octave range!

so with this program, I'd be able to use my Yamaha PSR320 or 520 (one is in my room, one is in my garage - forget which) get a MIDI to USB cable and go to town?

Been wanting to hook the keyboard back up to my pc for recording purposes, just havn't taken the time to do so.

Funny how a game inspires me to get it going.

hi all

this is a great program!

i have a few question though, as it will not work with my setup.

first, will it work with standard MIDI cables (in/out) into a soundcard? or do you need a midi to USB cable?

i have 2 physical soundcards with 4 "virtual" cards that i can pick from to record. will there be a release to force the program to use a certain card?

i mapped the keys correctly in game, but can not get it to sync with my main card (a M-Audio audiophile 24/96 with MIDI). i also use a M-Audio Delta 44, which could be getting something screwed up in my patch setup.

any help would be appreciated.

thanks

LB

LiquidBronze,

Theoretically, it should still work with your setup. To make it a simple setup, I just open up all available MIDI-IN devices in your system at once and accept input from all of them.

Do you get any warning or error messages from the program when you try to run it?

Originally Posted by Dorim

This utility rocks. Haven't tried it yet but instead remapped my keyboard more like a piano. How do you deal with the lack of flats in the higher octave? Maybe we should ask the devs nicely for a complete and proper 2 octave range.

I basically just repeat the lower-octave accidentals. I'm (slowly) working on a version that is configurable, though.

Originally Posted by Lichbane

OMG! I'm going to have to dust off my old keyboard (and it's think dust I might add) and find a USB/Midi converter. This sounds like fun.

i ahve a KB that says MIDI on it.. has jacks in the back.. how do i go about hooking it up to the PC???

Originally Posted by Cookierawks

i ahve a KB that says MIDI on it.. has jacks in the back.. how do i go about hooking it up to the PC???

Go to your local music shop or browse online for a USB MIDI INTERFACE. You could probably go with a MidiSport Uno 1X1, or any 1-in/1-out interface. It should come with the drivers on a CD.

Originally Posted by Morgaelin

Go to your local music shop or browse online for a USB MIDI INTERFACE. You could probably go with a MidiSport Uno 1X1, or any 1-in/1-out interface. It should come with the drivers on a CD.

thx for the info.. this rawks. back 10 years ago i paid like 900$ for that KB and didnt even know why it had MIDI on it. i knew what it was for PC but didnt for the KB

anyway, for that adapter, how much does it run for?

is this it?
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...0723&CatId=449

Based on advice Kwee gave me:

Originally Posted by Darnieq

I ended up buying the Yamaha UX16, which was the only thing my local music store carried. That and Nolaquen's MIDI2KEY worked beautifully!

Have only had the game a couple of days now but am loving the musical possibilities. Anyway, I don't have a keyboard but am curious about line 6 stuff. I have an HD147 that has midi in/out on back and a UNO 1x1 for programming my sounds. I know my amp is really just a linux box doing digital emulation so maybe there is a possibility of actually using it for this? I don't know, seems far fetched, I will try tonight though.

Originally Posted by JSpurgeon

Have only had the game a couple of days now but am loving the musical possibilities. Anyway, I don't have a keyboard but am curious about line 6 stuff. I have an HD147 that has midi in/out on back and a UNO 1x1 for programming my sounds. I know my amp is really just a linux box doing digital emulation so maybe there is a possibility of actually using it for this? I don't know, seems far fetched, I will try tonight though.

So I guess it's officially ok to use a midi keyboard. Not against the TOS or the EULA? Just making sure as im going to be getting one myself.

Any idea how I would transform the signal that I put into my Line In on the back of my sound card into a MIDI signal than this can read? This is using a 1/4" jack to plug into the back of the card.

Ok i have one of these...http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...C-pr1c3grabb3r


Just got it today. For some reason, the notes are not mapping properly to the keys on my keyboard. I hope it's something that I can work around.

Thanks

Loony

WoW OP,

That is really some fantastic stuff!

Release notes for v0.9.0.4:
- Added ability to customize key mapping via a MIDI2KEY.ini file in the same directory as the executable. Several example ini files are included. To use one of them, rename it to "MIDI2KEY.ini" and restart the program. The program will use a default key mapping if no "MIDI2KEY.ini" file is present.

Edit: Forgot to mention. Since the entire MIDI note range is now configurable, this version will now support the 3-octave version of LOTRO's music system.
Edit 2: Also, this version doesn't currently support special keys, like delete, insert, backspace, numpad keys and the like. I'll try to work on an update that will allow such keys to be used soon.

For those of you new to the music system in Lotro, please visit
http://www.thebrasse.com/lotro/music.php

What Nolaquen's simple, small utility allows us to do is to use a midi keyboard to play notes in LOTRO in real-time.

There are many folks who don't have a midi-keyboard. That's OK! I would not expect you to buy one just for this.

There are folks that will script music instead. Ok

There are many folks who have a midi kbd and like to play and want to play in LOTRO. Nolaquen's MIDI2KEY is a GEM! It is better than GLOVEPIE because it has worked for a greater percentage of folks. It does NOT need MidiOX, etc. to work. (If you don't know what that is, don't worry.)

AND, in it's latest version, MIDI2KEY can work with any keyboard binding you want! I'm not gonna explain keyboard binding here, though I will later. Suffice it to say Nola gave us rebel programming that WORKS! If you have a midi kbd, want to play music LIVE in LOTRO, use MIDI2KEY. It's as transparent as you're gonna get.

(I say "transparent" instead of "simple" because of what making music is in LOTRO. To make a distinct sound in LOTRO, you have to hit a certain key on your PC keyboard. Many of us found that bulky and unwieldy. There are certain solutions out there that require 2 or more sets of freeware programs to allow you to use a midi keyboard with the game. That's unwieldy. But EVERY solution requires you to do something called "keymapping" - associating a sound in the LOTRO>KEYMAPPING menu with a certain key on your PC keyboard. I believe Nola's MIDI2KEY is the most straightforward, smallest and simplest solution.)

I'll post a guide later as we get closer to the Shores of Evendim launch, similar to the one already at TheBrasse.com

Til then, I just want to say, THANK YOU Nolaquen! You've made a simpler, less intrusive alternative to GLOVEPIE available to us all! I think you're great!

Sincerely,
Kwee

Kwee said it all, couldn't agree more. Thanks for keeping this going!

NolaquenTaurina,

This is extremely cool of you to do. Thank you !!! This thread should really be stickied.

I don't play keyboards, but I do play guitar. If I had a midi pickup for my guitar, will this work? I assume so.

Can you help me understand what limitations there are in what notes are available for me to play? In other words, I understand the music system will support three octaves, but I'm trying to understand which ones.

Sorry for the ignorance, but I learned to play by ear 40 yrs ago, so need a little insight. My daughter plays piano, so if you can't explain in terms of a guitar fret board, perhaps I can have her read your reply from the perspective of a keyboard and she can explain how that translates to the guitar. I've taught her how to play guitar so she should be able to help.

Thanks again, and in advance for any info.

The idea of playing my old favorites in game owns me. Will be really funny when after a wipe, I rip into a passage of Greensleeves =)

-Zafu

Does anyone know if this USB guitar will work with this program?


http://www.musiciansfriend.com/produ...393?sku=519751

Hey buddy!
Here's then notes available in LOTR online. I'm bored at work, looking up info on how to connect my digital keyboard to the game, and figured i'd take a min to help ya out

You get -
two complete octaves of what would be white notes on a keyboard, plus one note below the bottom c. On the lower octave, you can play what would be black notes a.k.a. sharps and flats

so playable, in order from lowest to highest, are -

B,C,C#,D,D#,E,F,F#,G,G#,A,A#,B ,C,D,E,F,G,A,B,C

Cant wait for them to upgrade this, cause I don't know many songs that use that few of notes, time to do some improvising I guess

Originally Posted by valadra

Does anyone know if this USB guitar will work with this program?


http://www.musiciansfriend.com/produ...393?sku=519751

From what I could tell, the guitar itself doesn't have MIDI-based pickups, but rather sends the waveforms to the computer via USB or, optionally, standard electric guitar outputs. The editing software seems to be audio-track based versus MIDI-track. You would still need something that will change the voiced notes into keyboard presses (such as MIDI pickups and the utility mentioned ITT).

(Heh. MF is where I got my MIDI controller.)

I'll have to research an algorithm for a spectrum analyzer so I can take audio input. Currently, there is no support for audio-based music devices, only MIDI. (If it doesn't explicitly say MIDI, it most likely will not work with this tool.)

Very nice. I love the addition of configurable maps.

Suggestion for the next release: Can you allow new maps to be hot-swapped without having to restart? It's a minor thing, but it would save a step or three.

Where I'm coming from is this: Once you have your in-game mapping set, you can use different ini files to effectively turn your keyboard into a transposing instrument!

Example:

Here's a chromatic mapping I use for my default
C2=Z
CS2=X
D2=C
DS2=V
E2=B
F2=N
FS2=M
G2=A
GS2=S
A2=D
AS2=F
B2=G
C3=H
CS3=J
D3=K
DS3=L
E3=Q
F3=W
FS3=E
G3=R
GS3=T
A3=Y
AS3=U
B3=I
C4=O
CS4=P
D4=1
DS4=2
E4=3
F4=4
FS4=5
G4=6
GS4=7
A4=8
AS4=9
B4=0
C5=-

And here's the Key of D version:
C2=c
CS2=v
D2=b
DS2=n
E2=m
F2=a
FS2=s
G2=d
GS2=f
A2=g
AS2=h
B2=j
C3=k
CS3=l
D3=q
DS3=w
E3=e
F3=r
FS3=t
G3=y
GS3=u
A3=i
AS3=o
B3=p
C4=1
CS4=2
D4=3
DS4=4
E4=5
F4=6
FS4=7
G4=8
GS4=9
A4=0
AS4=-

By switching out ini files, I can play the exact same melody, in the exact same way, but in a different key.

Originally Posted by Northwoods

By switching out ini files, I can play the exact same melody, in the exact same way, but in a different key.

This sounds like a great idea for a feature request, the ability to quickly switch between INIs from within MIDI2KEY. EDIT: The reason being beyond just transposing, but actually arranging your MIDI device differently. I can see a use for that.