# A funny thing happened when saving my song to MIDI format **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 26, 2016, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-funny-thing-happened-when-saving-my-song-to-midi-format/750271 "2016-03-26T20:34:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2016, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-funny-thing-happened-when-saving-my-song-to-midi-format/750271/1 "2016-03-26T20:34:41Z")
Here’s the original (2 minutes long): > **[Bennie was Inexorable - Noteflight Community](https://www.noteflight.com/scores/view/7ca286f5f0d85ba876f0edc48f6e956e159dea96)** > > Noteflight online music notation software allows you to create, view, and share music with the Noteflight Community. You may also buy and sell music on Noteflight Marketplace. Sign up to get started! I tried “save as MIDI” in noteflight’s browser UI, and this file was the result (also two minutes long): > **[Bennie\_was\_Inexorable.mid](https://www.dropbox.com/s/6oqotn22yayvwwj/Bennie_was_Inexorable.mid?dl=0)** > > Shared with Dropbox Some funny stuff happened to the drums there! I’m actually wondering I how I can do this on purpose because honestly I kind of like a lot of it. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2016, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-funny-thing-happened-when-saving-my-song-to-midi-format/750271/2 "2016-03-26T20:36:13Z")
(Also, yes I’m askin’, how do you like the music?) ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-funny-thing-happened-when-saving-my-song-to-midi-format/750271/3 "2016-03-27T17:56:23Z")
I don’t know midi well enough to know exactly what it is but in case there’s a midi guru out there who’s too lazy to listen to both files, I’ll describe it. The original file has a drum track that uses the sounds of a basic drum kit: base drum, snare, high hat, cymbals, toms etc. The exported file has different sounds; a more Latin bunch of rhythm instruments. If I’ve heard it right, one of the toms in the original is a latin “scratchy stick” (don’t know the name.) Base drum in the original is a cymbal in the exported file. The exported file has a police whistle in there somewhere and a bunch of sounds I don’t know the names of. It could be dumb luck that the the new batch of instruments sounds really good. I don’t know. And I don’t know details about how midi maps notes in a drum track to sounds. In answer to your other question, I liked it a lot although it may not be for everyone. I envy your talent for dissonant harmony, chromatic melody and unexpected rhythms. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-funny-thing-happened-when-saving-my-song-to-midi-format/750271/4 "2016-03-27T19:35:45Z")
> [@74westy](#): > > I envy your talent for dissonant harmony, chromatic melody and unexpected rhythms. You literally just named _exactly_ the three things I want people to like about my stuff, because it’s what just naturally “comes out” of me so to speak when I sit down and really work on things, so goddamn I appreciate that. 🙂 And yeah, the mistake-drums do work pretty well in a lot of places don’t they! I almost feel like I’m plagiarizing if I incorporate them officially but, I probably will. (That whistle stands to be toned down a bit. 😉 ) ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-funny-thing-happened-when-saving-my-song-to-midi-format/750271/5 "2016-03-27T19:41:15Z")
Weird, and I like it. I’m guessing something went wrong with the encoding - maybe a big vs small-endian issue in the actual data rather than mapping to the wrong instrument set (General Midi is supposed to have standardised instrument sets) Do you have a market outlet for your music? ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-funny-thing-happened-when-saving-my-song-to-midi-format/750271/6 "2016-03-27T19:45:30Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Weird, and I like it. > > I’m guessing something went wrong with the encoding - maybe a big vs small-endian issue in the actual data rather than mapping to the wrong instrument set (General Midi is supposed to have standardised instrument sets) > > Do you have a market outlet for your music? Nossir (or ma’am), I would love such a thing but these days it seems like every tom dick and harriet can do production-quality stuff from home and I just tinker around with midi-type stuff so I have not felt that a market probably exists. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-funny-thing-happened-when-saving-my-song-to-midi-format/750271/7 "2016-03-27T19:59:18Z")
It seems to me that their export function did something screwy with channel 10 of the midi, adding large offsets to the instrument code. The reason you’re getting multiple instruments is because toms are mapped as different instruments, based on pitch. E.g., your high tom is code 50 and your low tom is 45. If they’re just adding 20 to the instrument code for some daft reason, your high tom notes would get translated into maracas and your low toms into timbals. (I’m not sure it’s a straight +20 offset, but that’s the idea.) Here’s a [list](http://www.ccarh.org/courses/253/handout/gminstruments/) of general midi instrument codes, if you want to try to match them up. Edit: I would have titled this thread “A funny thing happened to MIDI on the way to the format”. My sense of humor is more than a little weird, though. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-funny-thing-happened-when-saving-my-song-to-midi-format/750271/8 "2016-03-27T20:00:11Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > I almost feel like I’m plagiarizing if I incorporate them officially but, I probably will. (That whistle stands to be toned down a bit. 😉 ) Plagiarism schmagiarism. Your ideas come from where they come from. It’s not like you took someone else’s idea. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-funny-thing-happened-when-saving-my-song-to-midi-format/750271/9 "2016-03-27T20:07:37Z")
There are sites like Soundsnap where you might be able to sign up as a contributor. There might be others where you don’t have to apply and be accepted (that is, maybe you can just join and upload and set a price and licence type)