| How can I change a song's title?
You can change a song's title and many other song properties by opening the song's properties window. Right-click on the song title in the Songs and Markers view and select "properties." The following window will open:
By default, MIDI Maestro will attempt to rename the MIDI file to match the title that you specify here. To disable this behavior, use the Setup/Options/Save command.
Technical stuff: There is a standard MIDI "meta" event used for the title and copyright fields. The "subtitle" however is actually a second title field. The author and memo fields are actually meta "text" events at the beginning of the song. This is a scheme that many popular MIDI editing software packages employ, but it is not a "standard." Therefore, if your MIDI file was created with another software package, you may see extraneous bits of information here (like a text marker, or a lyric). There are standard meta events for lyrics and markers, but some software packages have chosen to use "text" events instead.
What are ticks and the MIDI time base?
A tick is simply the smallest unit of time in a MIDI file. Its size can vary from song to song. The "time base" is the number of ticks in one quarter note. You will see song positions and durations shown throughout MIDI Maestro in the format "1:2:000" meaning tick 0 of beat 2 of measure 1. In general, a higher time base is better if you want to capture the timing nuances in a human's playing. There is no performance "hit" for a higher time base (in MIDI Maestro).
Technical stuff: There is a practical limit--most PCs have a multimedia timer with a 1 millisecond resolution. As playback proceeds, the appropriate MIDI notes are turned on and off as each millisecond passes--you can say that playback is "quantized" in 1 millisecond intervals. This limit is reached at a tempo of 250bpm with a time base of 240 ticks per quarter note. With these values, 1 tick passes each millisecond. Anything faster, and ticks begin to be lose their uniqueness.
What does MIDI "Format 1" mean?
MIDI files are either "format 0" or "format 1." The difference is that "format 1" supports tracks, and "format 0" does not. Many dedicated MIDI hardware devices (keyboards with disc drives and sequencer boxes) support only "format 0."
When MIDI Maestro open up a "format 0" file, it separate MIDI events into tracks by channel (there are up to 16 channels per MIDI device). A 17th track may be created if lyrics or other "meta" events are detected. When MIDI Maestro saves a file as "format 0," all track distinction is lost (all tracks are essentially combined into 1 track).
WARNING: format 0 does not support track names, or most of MIDI Maestro's track-specific settings, like color, clef, etc. If you save a "format 1" file as "format 0," this information will be lost.
Can I specify the song's initial tempo here?
Yes. MIDI Maestro generates the tempo that you specify here by setting the "tempo multiplier" to an appropriate value when the song is opened. The tempo multiplier is graphically represented by the vertical slider tool in the metronome view. The song's actual tempo values are not altered by this "initial tempo" setting.
Note that if you use the "normal tempo" command while the song is playing, the tempo will be restored to the tempo specified in the MIDI file, not the "initial tempo" setting on the song's property page.
This song is louder (or softer) than others in the set. What can I do?
You could change the volume setting for each track in the song. Or, you can move one slider. Too easy? The center position (as shown by the larger tic mark) represents the song's "normal" volume setting.
Does MIDI Maestro support SMPTE?
Yes. Use the Setup/Synchronization command to specify SMPTE, and to specify whether MIDI Maestro is the master or a slave. Each song may have a SMPTE offset, and may specify its SMPTE time format (there are a number of standards). This offset is used in both master and slave modes to determine the song position.
I am tired of re-entering all of these settings every time I start a new song.
Don't do it! Well, do it once, then click the "set at default" button and never do it again | 
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