MIDIviaTEXT (aka MVT) is a software package that allows MIDI files to be
edited as simple text files (with extension .mvt).  It uses the free midicsv
utilities (http://www.fourmilab.ch/webtools/midicsv/) to do a lot of the work.

This archive contains the following:

     README.txt             this file
     csv2mvt.pl             a Perl script to translate CSV files to MVT files
     mvt2csv.pl             a Perl script to translate MVT files to CSV files
     mvt-mode.el            a major mode of Emacs for editing MVT files
     doc/                   a subdirectory with documentation
     overlap.pl             a Perl utility to check for note overlaps in CSV
     scar87.mvt             an example MVT file for solo piano
     MIDIControllers.txt    a file with names for the MIDI controllers
     mvt-spurt.scm          a Scheme program for playing/recording MVT files
     spurt.scm              the scheduler used by mvt-spurt
     midi-io.scm            the MIDI interface used by mvt-spurt
     portmidi/              a subdirectory for low-level MIDI input/output
     rec-csv2mvt.pl         a Perl script to move recorded CSV tracks to MVT

I assume the reader is already familar with the ideas behind MIDI files in
general, but there is also a quick intro in doc/midi-file-basics.txt.

While I have used and continued to use full-service MIDI sequencers like Logic
Pro and Pro Tools, I have found it frustrating that these tools are so hard to
extend and customize.  I do tend to spend a lot of time fiddling with MIDI
events in these sequencers (not being much of a piano player) and so I wanted
an editor that I could easily adapt to suit my (changing) tastes.

The MVT file format (described in the doc/file-format.txt) is like the CSV
text format used by the midicsv utilities (see its online docs), but with a
few small changes to make the files easier to work with by hand. To wit:

    1. Instead of noteon and noteoff events, notes with a duration are used
    2. Tempo is specified in BPM instead of microseconds per quarter note
    3. MIDI channels range from 1 to 16 instead of 0 to 15
    4. Timing uses Bar:Beat:Unit instead of units of MIDI clocks.
    5. Beats are always divided into 960 units of MIDI clock.
    6. The names of notes and controllers are used instead of numbers 0-127.
    7. Pitch bend is in the range -8192 to 8191 instead of 0 to 16383.
    8. Tracks can be marked as muted or soloed.

To produce an MVT file from a MIDI file, the midicsv utility is first used to
make a CSV file and then piped through my csv2mvt Perl filter. This filter has
a mvt2csv inverse to produce a changed MIDI file.  Here's a typical routine:

     cat old.mid | midicsv | csv2mvt.pl > old.mvt
        ... Then edit old.mvt to produce new.mvt. Then ...
     cat new.mvt | mvt2csv.pl | csvmidi > new.mid

The MVT files can be edited using any text editor or even changed using batch
scripts. (See the midicsv docs for some example scripts.)

For Emacs users, however, it is possible to go much further. I have prepared
an Emacs mvt-mode for editing MVT files, and especially for selecting and
modifying groups of MIDI events interactively (see doc/emacs-mvt-mode.txt for
details). It even has a way of playing and recording MIDI notes using an
auxiliary Racket Scheme package called mvt-spurt (see doc/mvt-spurt.txt). So
Emacs in MVT mode is like a poor man's MIDI sequencer!  What's more, anyone
familiar with Emacs Lisp should be able to extend and customize it.

As for installation, Perl, Emacs, and midicsv must all be installed (duh).  My
Perl is version 5.12, Emacs is 24.2.1, and midicsv is 1.1.  To record and play
MIDI notes using mvt-spurt, a bridge is required between Racket Scheme and the
MIDI input and output devices.  This is a more complex installation and is
described in detail in the portmidi/ area.

So that's the deal.  Send me email if you spot bugs, but as usual, the
secretary may disavow any knowledge of the package.