Midi Functions; Channels; Midi Function Parameters - Roland Interactive Arranger EXR-46 OR Owner's Manual

14. MIDI functions

MIDI is short for "Musical Instrument Digital Interface". The word refers to many things, the most obvious being a connector type that is used by musical instruments and other devices to exchange messages
relating to the act of making music.
Each time you play on the EXR-46 OR's keyboard or start the
Arranger (or Song), your instrument transmits MIDI data to its
MIDI OUT. If you connect the MIDI OUT socket to the MIDI IN
socket of another instrument, that instrument may play the
same notes as one of the EXR-46 OR's parts, select sounds, etc.
MIDI is a universal standard, which means that musical data can
be sent to and received by instruments of different types and
manufacturers. Furthermore, MIDI allows you to connect your
EXR-46 OR to a computer or hardware sequencer.
Connect your EXR-46 OR as shown below.
The EXR-46 OR receives data External MIDI instrument/computer
EXR-46 OR
The EXR-46 OR transmits data
—OR—
EXR-46 OR (using the supplied USB cable)
The EXR-46 OR transmits and receives data
(*) If you connect the EXR-46 OR's USB port to a computer, etc., the
MIDI IN and OUT ports are no longer used. This only works when
the icon is NOT displayed.

Channels

MIDI can simultaneously transmit and receive messages on 16
channels, so that up to 16 instruments can be controlled. Now-
adays, most instruments –like your EXR-46 OR– are multitim-
bral, which means that they can play several musical parts with
different sounds.
Note: All EXR-46 OR parts are set to receive MIDI messages. If
they do not seem to respond to the messages you send from the
external controller, you should check whether the external con-
troller's MIDI OUT is connected to the MIDI INput of your
EXR-46 OR.
The EXR-46 OR's transmit and receive channels of all parts
have been set in keeping with a tacit Roland standard and
are therefore shared by all recent EM, E, G, and RA series
instruments. You cannot change them. They also correspond
to the track assignments of the 16-track Recorder:
Accomp 1
1
Arranger bass
2
Accomp 2
3
k Main
4
5 Accomp 3
k Dual
6
Accomp 4
7
8
Accomp 5
(*) If you assign a Drum Kit to the Main part.
Computer

MIDI Function parameters

See "Editing parameters (general procedure)" (p. 39) for how to
select and set these Function parameters (they belong to the
"MIDI" family).
Note: With the exception of "Local", all MIDI parameter settings are
saved as soon as you leave the Function mode.
I Local
(On/Off, Default setting: On) The Local parameter allows you to
establish or remove the connection between the EXR-46 OR's
keyboard/Recorder and the internal tone generator.
When set to "ON" (default), playing on the EXR-46 OR's key-
board or playing back a Recorder song will cause the corre-
sponding notes to sound. If you select "OFF", the corresponding
MIDI messages are no longer sent to the internal tone genera-
tor – but they are still transmitted to the MIDI OUT or USB port
and hence to external MIDI instruments.
Accomp 6
9
Note: The setting of this parameter is not memorized when you
Arranger drums
10
switch off the EXR-46 OR.
k Split
11
k Auto Bass
12 I MIDI TxRx° (MIDI transmission and reception)
13 V-Link
This parameter allows you to specify which EXR-46 OR parts
V-Link
14
should transmit and receive MIDI messages:
Melody Intell. (see p. 27)
15
Option
16
( k Main*)
ALL
KBD
STL
SNG
OFF
I Sync Rx° (MIDI synchronization)
Use this parameter to specify how the EXR-46 OR should be
synchronized (as slave) to an external MIDI sequencer, com-
puter, drum machine, etc.
"Synchronization" is a learned term for the fact that one device
(or function) is set to start and stop at the same time as
another device (or function), and to run at the same tempo
(BPM).
EXR-46 OR
Sound source Sound source
Meaning
All parts.
Only the Keyboard parts (see "k" in the table above).
Only the Arranger parts (AccDrums~Accomp 6).
Only the Song parts (1~16).
None of the EXR-46 OR's parts transmits/receives
MIDI messages.
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