Playing with a drum track?

[CalebBX]

I want to be able to have a way to play piano being acompanied by a midi drum track created in another software. I am completely new to keyboards in general so i am going to need specific instructions or a link to specific intructions. The drum track should be triggered by pressing a certain key and i would like to play another instrument along with the drum track. I dont know if i have to make a setting for this or what. I dont even know how to play a phrase. Could someone please help me.

[Display Name]

The answer to your question is specific to your software, not the PX-5S. The PX-5S will just send data - it's up to your software to determine what happens when that data is rcvd. You may want to check the documentation or user forums for your drum SW. 

[Choppin]

@CableBX

Hello,

 

Depending on what you are trying to do:  Are you talking about creating or building a MIDI file of  a drum track and having the PX-5s play it on-board using the Px-5s drum sounds?  Are you talking about the scenario Scott suggested where you are sending drum information from the PX-5s to an external source and having the external source play the drum sounds?

 

There are many ways the Px-5s can be used to play along with a drum track.  Since you say you are completely new to keyboards, you may not be familiar with MIDI.  In short, MIDI allows electronic instruments and devices to talk to each other.  Check out this basic guide, it should get you up and running conceptually so you may know better what you actually want to happen:

 

http://tweakheadz.com/how-to-get-started-with-midi-and-the-difference-between-midi-and-audio-is-explained-along-with-many-other-core-concepts-for-building-a-home-recording-studio/

 

Back to the PX-5s specifically: the PX-5s has several drum kits on board.  You can have the Px5s play "phrases".  These are patterns that play back MIDI data.  Phrases can play back music, drums, controller information, just about any midi data.  If you create drum patterns, they can be looped or chained in different ways, or triggered when playing the keyboard, using pedals, or pressing start/stop.

 

You can have a phrase play back PX-5s sounds, or you can send the information through MIDI to play your external software.  But using a phrase is only 1 way to play a drum track.  What do you want to do?

[CalebBX]

No i am famillier with midi I have done a lot of midi recording and editing. What i want to do is to play the midi drum track through my keyboard. eg Import a midi track onto my keyboard, then play the drum track through the keyboards internal sounds while playing piano along with it. So i want to use phrases. I need to know how to make a phrase and use it along with another sound on the keyboard.

[Brad Saucier]

The data editor will convert a midi file to phrases.  Have it convert it then load the phrase to the px5. 

 

Using a phrase in a stage setting where a key can trigger it is done using the arpeggiator.  Some stage settings are already setup for this. Choose one that has a drum pattern that starts by a key press.   Press and hold the arpeggio button and choose the phrase you created and loaded.

[CalebBX]

thanks for the response

[CalebBX]

Oh and do you need a usb cable to do this or can you just use the usb flash drive

[Brad Saucier]

I would get a usb cable and use it.  Much easier.  

[CalebBX]

I tried converting my file into a phrase but it says the file is to large.

Its a drum track for the whole song, its not meant to be looped.

[Brad Saucier]

Oh.  Sorry.  Phrases are short. They are allowed approx 1600 notes before running out of memory.  They are not designed for the entire song. On the PX-5s, phrases are the only way to trigger a drum beat by pressing a key on the keyboard.  I would try choosing a common section of the beat and loop that as a phrase.   

 

If you don't want to loop the drum track, then I would play it back directly from the usb thumb drive using the SMF playback function. If the file has other instrument tracks, especially on channels 1 thru 4 since those share the stage setting zones 1 thru 4, I would edit the midi file in cakewalk (or other editor)  deleting all tracks except for the drum the save it to the thumb drive MUSICDAT folder.  Press and hold the media button on the px-5s. Scroll to SMF play and press enter.  Choose the midi file and press the start/stop button. 

 

Other than that, a much more complex method is available using the song sequencer. It however uses phrases as well.   A song is made up of phrases chained together.  In theory, you could split up your drum track into many phrases and then recombine them into the song sequencer, but it would offer no real advantage other than one of the pedals can be assigned to start/stop the song sequencer unlike the SMF play.  
 

Another alternative is to make an audio wav file of the drum track and place it onto the usb thumb drive and play it back with the px-5s audio player.

Another lastly, you can play back a drum beat from an ipad or iphone or anything with audio outs really and run it into the audio input jacks in the rear of the PX-5s. 

[Gerlynch]

Hi,

 

Being a complete novice I take it the Casio has no built in rhythms to play along to

[Brad Saucier]

You mean on the PX-5S.   No.  It has no rhythms.   It's really designed to be a performance piano for playing in a band or studio.   You may want to look at the PX-350.  It has built in rhythms.  

[Hugh O Kelly]

This may be no help to you at first

But I tried all the usual ways to get midi drums and phrases in

but in the end

I wrote all my own

(which is a real pain at first and lots of trial and error,mostly error)

and the funny thing 

your own will work best for you