4.2 Importing a Midi file
There are midi files you can download like song.mid or lots of well known pop, rock, and classical songs. Midi file loops are also widely available to import into your DAW. This would be a great method to fast track the note entry, say if you don’t have a keyboard controller.
Search the web for “Midi files Beatles” and you will probably find hundreds of musician Beatles fans who have made midi files of all their songs.
Download the midi file. Sometimes you will need to right click on the midi file link and choose “save link as” save this file to your local disk.
In Pro Tools, File / Import / Midi - navigate to where you downloaded your midi file and import the file. This will make new instrument or midi tracks based on what is in the midi file. You can also choose instrument or midi tracks or if you want the tempo in the midi file as well.
Route the instrument tracks to instrument plug-ins. You may need to see the midi routing portion of your instrument tracks. View / Mix / Instruments. This will allow you to point the midi data to the appropriate instrument and channel.
Midi files can come with lots of weird stuff like program changes - these are midi instructions that tell the midi file to change the sound / patch / bank etc. So you may need to strip out this info, from the instrument track view where it says clips - find the word “program change” select and delta this data.
Type 0 midi files include an entire session’s midi tracks in one file
Type 1 midi files are all separate tracks
In general use type 0 files
Pro Tools can also save midi sessions as midi files for playback in other DAWs.