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How to Turn Your Computer Into a Synthesizer Piano

A personal computer offers a wealth of opportunities, from creating word processing documents to surfing the Web. Among its myriad capabilities, your computer can also function as a digital music synthesizer, generating realistic piano sounds and more, which serves you whether you want to record original music or perform in a live setting. Best of all, you can make the appropriate modifications with little or no money at all.

Instructions

    • 1

      Download a MIDI-compatible digital audio program with built-in piano sounds. MIDI simply refers to digital-music notation (the ability to emulate sounds using virtual instruments), and most popular digital audio programs support MIDI. For example, you can generate piano sounds using Cubase, GarageBand, Logic, Reason and other programs. If you cannot afford to purchase any of these programs, you can also choose from a variety of free MIDI-friendly programs (see Resources).

    • 2

      Turn your computer keyboard into a MIDI controller. A MIDI controller is any instrument or device that you can use to "control" or play the digital music notes through your selected digital audio software. To use your keyboard in this capacity, you will need to download a program that converts your keyboard into a MIDI device. See Resources for some good examples to get your started.

    • 3

      Open your digital audio software and create a virtual instrument (MIDI) track. To play piano sounds, you must create a track, which is an audio layer for playing and recording music, and assign a piano sound to your track. The track-creation process varies from program to program. In GarageBand, you would click the "+" button on the left side of your project window. In Logic, you would click the "Track" menu and select "New Track." In Cubase, click the "Project" menu and select "Add Track." Look for the "New Track" option on your own software, and choose "MIDI" as your track type.

    • 4

      Assign a piano sound to your MIDI track. Double-click the track name (such as "Track 1," "or "MIDI 1") in the left column of your window to access your track options. In some cases, the options may already appear on your screen by default, or under your menu bar. Depending on your software, your instrument options may read as "Software Instruments," "Virtual Instruments," "Software Synthesizers" or "Inputs." Select a "Piano" preset from your instrument options to assign a piano to your track.

    • 5

      Open your MIDI controller program to enable keyboard playback. An animated piano or music keyboard will appear on your screen with a letter on each key to guide you as to how to play. For example, the "A" on your computer keyboard will typically correspond to a "C" on the piano, with the "S" key corresponding to "C#."

    • 6

      Play the keys on your computer keyboard to emulate the sounds of a live piano.

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