Connecting Midi Instruments - Roland KR-11 Owner's Manual

KR-11 Owner's Manual—Connecting MIDI instruments

13. Connecting MIDI instruments

MIDI is a language that translates every action relating
to music into binary digits that can be transferred via a
MIDI cable. It is a universal standard, which means
that musical data can be sent to and received by
instruments of different types and manufacturers.
MIDI allows you to connect your KR-11 to a com-
puter or hardware sequencer.
MIDI messages are transmitted and received using
three connectors and special MIDI cables:
• MIDI IN: This connector receives messages from
other MIDI devices.
• MIDI OUT: This connector transmits MIDI messages
generated on your KR-11
• MIDI THRU: This connector "echoes back" all MIDI
messages received via MIDI IN. The KR-11 does not
provide a MIDI THRU connector.
Here is how to connect the KR-11 to an external
sound module, sequencer, etc. When working with an
external sequencer, be sure to establish both connec-
tions and to set Local Control (see page 50) to Off.
KR-777/177 External MIDI device
KR-11
Note: You don't always need two MIDI cables. Just look at
the arrows in the above illustration for deciding which ports
you need to connect the cables to.
52
External MIDI device
Caution
The KR-11 only transmits "realtime" MIDI data.
Thus, only the notes you play on the keyboard as well
as the Pitch Bend, Modulation, and pedal data are
transmitted (but not the Arranger or Composer data).
If you want to use the data of a Music Style (notes and
sound select messages) on your computer, you can
record them (see page 31), save them to disk, and then
import them into your sequencer (software) as Stan-
dard MIDI File.
The KR-11 does not receive SysEx messages when the
Composer is being used.