PXR MIDI Player Wiki
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Glossary

MIDI comes with a fair bit of jargon, so here are plain-English definitions of the terms and abbreviations you will come across in PXR and in MIDI files. No prior knowledge assumed. For the bigger picture on formats and hardware, see MIDI & Sound Standards.

  • Bank / Program (Patch): A program (or patch) is a single instrument sound, identified by a number. Banks group sets of programs, so a bank selection plus a program change together pick one specific voice. PXR shows the bank and program for each channel.

  • BPM (Beats Per Minute): The tempo, how fast the music plays. Shown live on the LCD.

  • Channel: A MIDI stream is divided into 16 channels, each usually carrying one instrument. Channel 10 is reserved for drums. PXR supports up to 64 channels across four ports.

  • CHORD: A live readout of the chord currently sounding as the file plays.

  • Control Change (CC): Messages that adjust things while the music plays, such as volume, pan, modulation, and sustain.

  • DLS: A sound-bank file format (.dls), similar to a SoundFont, that PXR can load for the built-in synth.

  • Drum channel: Channel 10, where each note triggers a percussion sound instead of a pitched note.

  • GM / GM2 / GS / XG: The main sound standards. See MIDI & Sound Standards.

  • KEY: A readout of the song's key signature. PXR uses the file's own key if present, otherwise it works it out from the notes.

  • Marker: A named point in a file. PXR can jump between markers and chapters.

  • Modulation: A control (often a wheel) that adds vibrato or movement to a sound.

  • MT-32: An early Roland sound module with its own instrument layout, common in older games. See MT-32 Support.

  • MTC (MIDI Time Code): Timecode used to lock PXR's playback to another device, such as a DAW. See External Sync.

  • MTS (MIDI Time Stamping): A feature of some USB MIDI interfaces that improves timing accuracy. PXR uses it automatically when available.

  • Pan: The left-to-right stereo position of a channel.

  • Pitch bend: Smoothly bending a note's pitch up or down.

  • PLG boards: Yamaha expansion boards (DX, VL, SG) that add extra synthesis engines. See PLG Daughterboards.

  • Polyphony: How many notes can sound at once. Hardware has a limit (for example 64 on an SC-55), which you can tell PXR in settings.

  • Port (A / B / C / D): A MIDI connection carrying its own 16 channels. PXR handles up to four ports, for up to 64 channels in total.

  • PPQN (Pulses Per Quarter Note): The timing resolution of a MIDI file, that is, how many internal ticks it uses per quarter note. Shown in File Info.

  • Reverb / Chorus: Built-in effects that add a sense of space and richness. How much of a channel is fed to them is called the send level.

  • Send: The amount of a channel routed to an effect such as reverb or chorus. Adjustable in the Mixer.

  • SoundFont (.sf2): A file of sampled instrument sounds you can load for the built-in synth. See SoundFonts.

  • Standard MIDI File: The common MIDI file format (.mid, .midi). Type 0 holds everything on one track; Type 1 uses multiple tracks. .kar is a karaoke variant with embedded words.

  • Sustain: Holding notes ringing after the key is released, as a piano's sustain pedal does.

  • SysEx (System Exclusive): Manufacturer-specific setup messages, used for things like reverb types, drum kits, and channel parameters. See the SysEx Console.

  • Tempo: See BPM.

  • Time signature: How beats are grouped into bars, for example 4/4 or 3/4.

  • Transpose: Shifting the whole song up or down in pitch.

  • Variation: An additional Yamaha XG effect type, alongside reverb and chorus.

  • Velocity: How hard a note is struck, which affects its loudness and often its tone.

  • Voice: An instrument sound. Often used interchangeably with program or patch.

  • XF: A Yamaha extension to MIDI files that adds song sections and chord symbols. See Yamaha XF.

  • XG modes (NATIVE / BASIC / MU100+ / XG MODERN): Badges and compatibility modes for Yamaha XG hardware. See MIDI Output & Devices.