MIDI I⧸O

Scale Workshop can behave like a MIDI tuning box, allowing for MIDI input into the app and then outputting MIDI notes plus multichannel pitch bend messages, thereby allowing you to hear your scale on a supported MIDI synth.

Before getting started, make sure that your web browser is web-MIDI compatible. Not all browsers support MIDI I/O.

Scale Workshop tries to automatically adjust the pitch bend range on your MIDI synth device, but you may need to set it manually to ± 2 semitones.

Connect your MIDI device(s) to your computer, then click the MIDI I/O tab in the top menu. Then select your input or output device in one of the drop down menus. Only one input and one output device can be used at a time. File a feature request if you need more.

Individual channels can be enabled or disabled by the check boxes. The number of output channels determines maximum microtonal polyphony.

Color mapping

You can change how the keys of an untransposed MIDI keyboard are mapped to scale degrees.

• Chromatic: Consecutive keys correspond to consecutive scale degrees.
• White only: Consecutive white keys correspond to consecutive scale degrees.
• White w/ interpolation: Same as above, but additional intervals are added to your scale between scale degrees on black keys.
• White key to white color: The key colors of your scale determine how white keys are mapped. Black keys make sound only if there is a corresponding black-colored scale degree. This can vary depending on the octave if your scale doesn't have exactly seven white degrees.

Troubleshooting

• I cannot see my connected devices: Try a different browser. MIDI is known to work on Chrome.
• I cannot hear anything (input): Try selecting different input channels. Try un-checking the "Use velocity" option.
• I hear multiple instruments (output): Make sure all of your channels are assigned the same patch for multi-channel pitch bend to work correctly.