I discovered a nifty program that makes it a cakewalk to transform any GM, GS, XG MIDI File or even an MXL File into a genuine Yamaha XF MIDI File with a few mouse clicks.

The resulting MIDI File will display the Chords and Lyrics on your Yamaha Arranger and the Style will follow the Chord symbols.

This was exactly what I was hoping to find.

This program is called Notation Composer 4

https://www.notation.com/notation-software_musician_composer.php


To put this to the test, I used a few MXL Files that were generously provided as a zipped download by Scott Langholff.

http://www.synthzone.com/Files/Wikifonia/Wikifonia.zip

This contains an excellent collection of 6,675 Lead Sheets with Melody Lines and Chords.


Larry Hawk was kind enough to convert 6,233 of them into clear high resolution PDF Files that you can download here:

https://app.box.com/s/h4a8x8w01e70grijkaw0


You can use the FREE software MuseScore 3.6.2 to generate these PDF Files from the source MXL Files.

https://musescore.org/en


I loaded one of these source MXL Files into Notation Composer 4. The Staff Notation along with the Chords and Lyrics were displayed similar to what you see in the PDF.

I exported that as a MIDI File selecting XG as an option.

To my surprise, this program actually went a step ahead and embedded the XF Chord Events making this a bonafide Yamaha XF MIDI File!

I was not expecting this


When I played back this XF MIDI File on my CVP 609 Clavinova, the Lyrics and Chords showed up in the display.

I could play back the melody line backed by any appropriate style which faithfully followed the chord changes.

This hidden feature makes Notation Composer 4 an indispensible tool for Yamaha Arranger Players.


What about Standard MIDI Files with no Meta Chord Events?


I took a Tune 1000 General MIDI File which has Lyrics but no Chords.

As expected the Lyrics were displayed within Notation Composer. I ran the Transcribe Chord Function which analyzed the tracks and inserted the Chord symbols.

I could click on any of these Chord symbols and hear the sound.

When I exported the MIDI File, the software inserted the Yamaha Meta Chord Events turning this into an XF MIDI File.

Once again, the Clavinova displayed the Lyrics along with the Chords which triggered the chord changes during Style Play.

This program is not free. It costs $98.

However, it does this special trick which even the industry leaders Sibelius and Finale cannot do.

This is strictly a Notation program. It does not have any OCR capabilities.

If you have a score sheet in PDF format, Notation Composer would not be able read it. For this part, you still need to load the PDF File into SmartScore X Pro first and output that as an MXL File.

If you have a hard copy of a Score Sheet like a Fake Book, you would still need to capture the image as a TIFF or a PDF and load that into SmartScore X Pro.

Once you export that as an MXL File, you are golden. Notation Composer can take it from there and create a Yamaha XF MIDI File with Chords and Lyrics playable on any Yamaha Arranger.

I think I have found the optimal workflow. There is no need to use GNMIDI. Just these two programs will do the complete job:

1.
SmartScore X by Musitek

2.
Notation Composer 4

Your source can be a:

Printed Score Sheet
PDF File
MXL File
General MIDI File
GS MIDI File
XG MIDI File

If your source does not have the Lyrics, you can use the user friendly Lyrics Editor inside Notation Composer.

You can also add the Band In A Box plug-in for $69 to play back your melody lines with a full backing accompaniment within Notation Composer.

I would like to publicly thank the efforts of Scott Langholff and Larry Hawk for making this mega collection of Wikifonia Lead Sheets available as MXL and PDF Files.

Now I can sit back any enjoy listening to them on my Yamaha Arranger without having to play a single note

You got to marvel at the advancement of technology.

Hi
Very interesting subject.
Many years ago (2003) I created my "Lyrics Finder" software - check http://www.jososoft.dk/yamaha/software/lfind/index.htm
This was the "opposite" way of manipulation: Extract the XF embedded text to sheet song text.
But I have not met much interest in the XF format in past years untill now. Maybe I should take a look about what can be done!
Regards
Jørgen

Hi
Sorry, did not see the message at page 2 before answering above.
Seems like the solution is found...
Jørgen

Personally, having to listen to sheet music converted to MIDI or styles is as painful as sticking needles in my eyes! And automatic analysis of chord structure from SMF’s or sheet music is still a LONG way from being perfect.

Sheet music is an abstraction, a shorthand, an imperfect way to express the inexpressible. To hear it interpreted literally only exposes how much is lost in the desire to notate it without it becoming unreadable. Even today, there is a huge gulf between what the sheet says and what a computer can interpolate from it and still sound human. While other systems have been cracked, and computers can fool humans reading text or writing as if human, the art of music still defies machine learning so far. Maybe a few more generational leaps forward in machine learning are needed, maybe it will never come.

But put the same sheet music in front of two different pianists, both will do something different. But put it into any sheet music to MIDI translator and it will always sound the same, and nothing like either pianist!

It’s a nice pipe dream, but I think it might be easier to learn how to play from the sheet than wait for a machine to do it well!

Hi Jørgen,


Thanks a million for all your excellent MIDI Tools and supporting the Yamaha Arranger Community for over 30 years!!

The XF Format is critical to Yamaha Arranger Players. This allows embedded meta Chord Events to drive the accompaniment. The Chord Symbols and Lyrics also show up on the display screen.

So far I have found 6 ways to convert a General MIDI File into the Yamaha XF MIDI Format.


1.

Yamaha XF Tool (FREE)

http://www.jososoft.dk/yamaha/psr_soft/xftool.zip

Thanks Jørgen for keeping this link alive!

This light weight MIDI Editor lets you add Chords to a MIDI File along a time line on every Measure or every Beat.

You can also enter Slash Chords like G/A, Bm/A

You can also enter Lyrics.

It saves to an XF MIDI File.

This program has the simplest interface.

The only downside is that Yamaha never published any updates to XF Tools. You can run XF Tools on Windows XP but not 7, 8 or 10.

I just verified this on an old desktop running Win XP (32-bit).

The XF Tool Manual can be downloaded from Heiko Plate's website.

https://www.heikoplate.de/xftool-manual.html




2.

XGWorks 3.0.7E (FREE)

This software can convert a Standard MIDI File into a Yamaha XF MIDI File.

You may also include meta events to control the Styles complete with Intros, Endings, Fills and Variations.

This software had the most potential. It runs on Windows XP, 7, 10.

Imagine if Yamaha released an update to XGWorks to work with the Yamaha GENOS.


3.

PSRUTI Tool by Heiko Plate (FREE)

This program analyzes the MIDI tracks and computes the Chords. The saved MIDI File contains the XF meta chords and lyrics.


4.

GNMIDI 3 by Dr. Gunter Nagler ($44)

This program computes the chords in a general MIDI File and inserts the XF meta events.
It saves to a true Yamaha XF MIDI format.

It comes with an elegant Chord Editor and Lyrics Editor for manual input if necessary.


5.

MuseScore 3.2.6 (FREE)

This software can import a Music XML File (MXL).

If the source contains Chords, they are displayed.

The nice part is that this program embeds the actual notes of each chord when saved as a MIDI File.

It does not make a true XF MIDI File. However you can see the chord notes being played on any keyboard. When the Arranger is set to full scanning mode, it picks up the chord changes. So in essence it still mimics the function of an XF MIDI File.


6.

Notation Composer 4 ($98)

This is the best solution.

This program reads an MXL File. When exported as an XG MIDI File, it embeds the XF Meta Chord Events as an added bonus.

It also reads standard MIDI Files and auto computes the Chords. When saved, you get an XF MIDI File.

You also get an elaborate Chord Editor and Lyrics Editor.

If you load a lead sheet in the MXL Format, it could also generate the backing tracks using any style you select from the Band-in-a-Box plugin ($69).

I think it is worthwhile purchasing Notation Composer. It opens up the world of General MIDI Files that can be played with chord changes on any Yamaha Arranger Keyboard with just a few mouse clicks.

Professionally developed Yamaha XF Files are expensive. They sell around $6.99 each.


Best regards,

David Das

Hi David

Thanks for this great status report about the XF format tools.
For those more interested you can check the original format specifications found at my site - http://www.jososoft.dk/yamaha/docs_specs.htm
Regards
Jørgen

Hi Jørgen,


Thanks for the link to the XF Format Specifications.

I thought you may like to add to your INS Files repository with some more Cakewalk Instrument Definition Files on your website:

http://www.jososoft.dk/yamaha/ins_files.htm

These are INS files for the following manufacturers.

• Alesis
• E-mu
• Ensoniq
• General Music
• Roland
• Korg
• Kurzweil
• Yamaha

Within each of these INS files there is a collection of keyboards and sound modules made by the manufacturer.

I have mailed you INS.zip

Your website has a treasure trove of information.

Thank you for sharing all of these useful tools with the Yamaha Arranger Community.

Best regards,

David Das

Hi
No file has arrived yet...
Be sure to spell the mail address correct.
jo so so ft @ gm ail . com - WITHOUT spaces.
And no, I am not stammering, it reads "so" twice...
Address is short from my firm "Jørgen Sørensen Software Development". But as the Danish "ø" was not allowed I had to use "o" instead...
Jørgen

Hi Jørgen,

I am so sorry the first email did not go through.

I have sent you a second email making sure I got your address right.

The size of INS.zip is 1,486KB

David

Hi Jørgen,

I think the ZIP attachment is getting stripped off.

So, let's try another approach which will definitely work!

Please download INS.zip from here.

http://davidapps.net/INS.zip

David