CarolPlayMidi

CarolPlayMidi began as an app allowing you to play Christmas carols. Since then it has expanded to include classic hymns as well. These instructions will help you get started.

One Important Concept to Understand

CarolPlayMidi is a special kind of app called a “midi controller.” It’s important to understand that a midi controller doesn’t make any sound on its own. The job of the midi controller is to tell a synthesizer app which notes to play.

Picture it like this. Suppose your friend was seated at a piano, and you were standing in the next room. Whenever you called out a note, your friend would play it. If you said, “Play middle C,” your friend would put his finger down on middle C. If you said, “Now stop playing middle C,” your friend would lift his finger off the piano.

That might not work very well with two people, but with electronic devices and apps it works very fast and very well.

So How Does that Relate to CarolPlayMidi?

CarolPlayMidi is “you standing in the next room.” The synthesizer app is the “friend seated at the piano.” This means you will be using a synthesizer app to create the sounds for you as you play.

There are many choices for synthesizer apps. One I’ve experimented with is called ThumbJam. Another one is SampleTank. There is a free synth app called Synth One. The list goes on and on. When you have chosen a synthesizer app to work with, it listens for instructions coming from the midi controller.

If you already have synthesizer apps on your iPhone or iPad, and you know how to use them, these are the steps to follow:

1 - Open the synthesizer app first and select a sound.

2 - Play a few notes to make sure you hear it playing.

3 - Find the setting for “Background Audio” and make sure it’s on. (With some synth apps, you may also have to turn on Virtual Midi.)

4 - The midi channel should be set to 1, not “Omni.”

5 - Finally, open CarolPlayMidi. With most synth apps, opening CarolPlayMidi last will establish the midi connection.

6 - Touch "Setup" at the top right. Choose either "Christmas Carols" or "Classic Hymns." Then touch "Done."

Three Other Observations for Midi Musicians

First, if you open CarolPlayMidi first, and the synth app later, touch “All Off” to open the midi connection to recently opened synth apps.

Second, midi channels 2 and 3 can be used to layer sounds. For example, you could have a string sound on channel 1 and a brass sound on channel 2.

Third, pipe organ apps usually have “combinations,” collections of stops, which can be called up at the touch of a button. The 12 buttons going across the CarolPlayMidi screen can be assigned to combinations if you are using a pipe organ app.

What if I Don’t Have a Synthesizer App Yet?

Another choice you could try, if you would like to, is a free app called JeuxdorgMini. This is a synthesizer app that recreates the sound of a pipe organ. You are not required to use JeuxdorgMini, but it is an option if you would like to try it.

If you decide to try using JeuxdorgMini, and you have already installed it, there is a slightly different set of steps to follow. Here they are.

A - Open CarolPlayMidi.

B - Touch the “Setup” button in the top right corner.

C - Select either "Christmas Carols" or "Classic Hymns."

D - Then scroll down the screen until you see “Optional Setup Path.” Touch the button labeled “Optional Setup."

E - The Setup screen will return after a few seconds. When it returns, scroll back up and touch “Done” at the top left.

All Set to Begin Playing

7 - The first song CarolPlayMidi loads is the carol “Angels We Have Heard on High” (or, if you have chosen to play classic hymns, "Holy, Holy, Holy").

8 - With your right hand index finger, touch the buttons labeled “An-““gels” (or "Ho-""ly"). You should hear the synthesizer app playing. (If you don’t hear any sound, check to make sure the iPhone volume is on.)

9 - We recommend setting the iPhone volume at a reasonable level: somewhere between 1/2 and 3/4.

10 - Important: notice that the button BC is on. BC stands for “Bass and Chord.” BC must be on for the synthesizer app to sound.













How to Play Smoothly

11 - Tap a few of the words in the song. You’ll notice that the chords stop playing as soon as you lift your finger from the screen. Most of the time you will want to play more smoothly than this. Here’s how.

12 - Hold the iPhone with your left hand, and place your left thumb on the “Sus” button. Sus stands for “Sustain.” When you are touching the Sustain button, the current chord will keep playing until the next chord is played.

13 - The Sustain button also controls volume. When you slide your thumb up, the sound opens up. When you slide your Thumb down, the sound closes down.

14 - There may be some situations where you will want sustain to be on automatically, without your left thumb holding the Sustain button. In these cases, tap “Hold.” When the Hold button is green, the current chord will keep sounding until the next chord is played.

Giving “Space” and “Definition”

15 - It’s good to play smoothly, but sometimes you may want a little space between phrases, to give the music a chance to breathe, or there may be times when you would like to accent individual chords by playing them and letting go briefly before hitting the next chord.

16 - To give the music a chance to breathe, let go of the Sustain button at the same time you let go of the current chord. In other words, your left thumb and your right index finger will both come off the screen at the same time. Then they can both go back down again for the next chord.

17 - If Hold is on, you can create space by tapping the Sustain button once. This turns off the chord until the next chord is played.

Selecting a Carol or Hymn

18 - There are four things to know about the Title Bar.

     A - Tapping the Title Bar at the right edge moves forward through the list.

     B - Tapping the Title Bar at the left edge moves backward through the list.

     C - Sliding your finger across the middle of the Title Bar scrolls through the song titles. (After you begin scrolling, you can pull your finger down just below the Title Bar. That way, while you are sliding back and forth, you can see the titles as they are displayed.)

     D - When the carol or hymn you are looking for is shown in the Title Bar, touch “Enter.” Enter loads the selected song into the playing area of the screen.