Sending Bank Select Messages

Sending Bank Select Messages

Bank Select messages consist of a series of MIDI messages. For example, Controller 0 followed by Controller 32 selects a new bank on the Roland Sound Canvas; on certain Yamaha gear, two Program Changes sent in succession select a new bank and program number. Since there is no universal standard for Bank Select messages, be sure to consult your MIDI device's user manual for specific instructions.

Metro is capable of creating Bank Select messages that incorporate any number of MIDI events - including Controllers, System Exclusive, Program Changes, and more. Bank Select messages are port and channel specific.

To create a Bank Select message:

You must first enter and select data in a track that will comprise the Bank Select message itself.
Choose the proper port from the pop-up menu.
Choose Program Names from the Setup menu.
Within the Program Names dialog, select the Program Name list from the Assign pop-up for which you wish to create the Bank Select message (you may need to Open or click New to create a Program Name list if nothing is available under the Assign pop-up).
If you desire, type in an abbreviated name for the Bank Select Message in the Abbrev field. The abbreviated name will appear in the Instruments Mixer window’s Bank pop-up menu. Otherwise, the Bank Select message's name will default to the first 6 characters derived from the name of its assigned Program Name list.
Choose the Channels checkboxes that you want the Bank Select message to affect.
Click the Bank Selection button to open the Bank Selection dialog.

Note: The Bank Selection button will be inaccessible if a Program Name list has not been selected in the Assign pop-up menu.

Within the Bank Selection dialog box, choose the Use selected MIDI data to access bank 'N' button to create a new Bank Select message (based on the selected Program Name list in the Assign pop-up menu), and click OK.
A new Bank Select message is created using the name derived from the Abbrev field corresponding with the selected Program Name list. Click OK to close the Program Names dialog.

The Clear bank select access data button in the Bank Selection dialog (in the Program Names dialog) clears an existing Bank Select message from memory. The Bank Select message associated with the Program Name list selected in the Assign menu will be deleted after clicking OK. Click OK again to close the Program Names dialog.

All created Bank Select messages are accessible within the Instruments Mixer, Tracks and Graphic Editor windows’ Bank pop-up menus. Since Bank Select messages are port and channel specific, they will only be accessible in the Graphic Editor window when the selected track’s Output assignment is identical to the port and channel of the Bank Select message itself. Within the Instruments Mixer window, Bank Select messages are always accessible within the Bank pop-up.

From within the Tracks and Graphic Editor windows, choosing a Bank Select message from the Bank pop-up menu immediately sends out the corresponding MIDI data to the port and channel of the selected track’s Output.

From within the Instruments Mixer window, choosing a Bank Select message from the Bank pop-up menu immediately sends out the corresponding MIDI data to the port and channel of the current Output.

You can also use the Insert pop-up menu in the Event Editor to insert a Bank Select message at any location within a track (Bank Select messages are dependent on a track's port and channel assignment). The Bank Select message currently displayed in the Graphic Editor window's Bank pop-up determines which message will be inserted when choosing Bank Select from the Insert pop-up menu in the Event Editor window.

With a little trickery, Metro can use Bank Select messages to send out any type of MIDI message or data packet. For example, you could create a Bank Select message to send an All Notes Off Message only to a single port, or to send out the System Exclusive data to initiate a MIDI device's bulk dump.