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What causes stuck notes?
I've been getting more into MIDI workflows with AB3 and I've been struck by how many times I have to find a panic button or other way to silence stuck notes. What causes these events and why do they seem to be related to certain parts and presets in apps--but not others?
Comments
Stuck notes occur when a synth either is never sent a note off message or if it is sent one but fails to process it...
This most commonly happens if you are working with non-quantised midi and then slice up a longer piece....you can leave the midi note off message in the section after your slice....
You can see this if you have ModStep...add a part and make it it 2 bars, record a note that starts in the first bar and finishes in the second bar....
Mute the second bar.....you will now have a stuck note as the synth is sent the note on but never gets the note off.
This can also be cause when there is a lot of MIDI traffic (tons of CC controllers) as the synth may not be able to keep up with the speed of the messages it is receiving.
It can also happen when you change a preset in a midi recieving app (f.e. a synth) while a midi generating app (f.e. a sequencer) is 'playing'.
+1 for a Panic button in AB3!
You can sometimes clear them by running your finger up/down the keyboard and sending a noteon/noteoff for all notes.
Panic button in your choice of host is the easiest though.
Another example situation: I perform a lot with note mappings on a pad controller. If I change pad bank while I'm sustaining a note, that note will hang (never having received a note off message). This can actually be used performatively to create faux-counterpoint phrasing, but it's usually just an annoyance that requires a quick pad bank change back to get rid of the note.
Thanks for the explanation @AndyPlankton. But here's why I'm perplexed: same three-note (i.e., simple) MIDI sequence playing the same preset--nothing changes--and randomly I'll get a stuck note. Why does it happen randomly given the note-off or complexity circumstances you mentioned not seeming to be applicable?
What are you sending MIDI from and what are you sending it to ?
Beathawk to beathawk.
Um, confused.
Wouldn't Beathawk just be activating it's synth internally with no need for MIDI?
I mean are you sending MIDI from Beathawk and receiving it with Beathawk on the same device?
More than one device?
I don't think I've ever had a stuck note with mpk mini + Sunrizer combo, The I tried the newest Arturia keylab and got them all the time. So it could be hardware related if you've recently added any.
This plus what have you got in between ?
Same device. But it exhibits same issue sending midi to another device.
That question is kind of like asking "what causes traffic jams?" There can be many reasons. The question above is spot-on. If there's not much in between, then the most likely culprit is probably Beathawk itself. Being brand new with its midi implementation, I'd be pretty surprised if it didn't have bugs.
On a related note (pun intended), Beathawk through midiFILTr-PG into Ruismaker, Troublemaker, and two instances of Phasemaker was kinda cool last night, except for Troublemaker, which would regularly get stuck notes leading to loss of all output until restarting the app. It works perfectly with midiFILTr-PG not involved. So, there you have three apps by the same developer, but one of them having some kind of an issue.
That could be an issue with midiFILTr-PG or Troublemaker. I lean toward Troublemaker since MF Randomizer caused the the same behavior. But - could be AUM or Beathawk as well. Only more isolating of the problem will tell.
Troubleshooting is an art sometimes.
I was wondering why you even need MIDI, wouldn't you be able to do what you're doing with Beathawk prior to MIDI being added? Then I started thinking, maybe you have a Beathawk AU instance you're trying to play with MIDI from a standalone Beathawk (which presumably is also making it's own audio output as well, or what's the point... but I digress). Perhaps you could give a more specific outline of all the apps and AUs involved here?
Well, in this case, it's clearly a beathawk issue since it occurs when using BH all by itself.