Need help: Multi-Channel, Multi-Instrument Single MIDI to Separate MIDI Tracks

Performance & Techniques Music Production
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Need help: Multi-Channel, Multi-Instrument Single MIDI to Separate MIDI Tracks

Here’s my current situation…

I have an idea for reviving and updating an old song for a possible Electro House / Dubstep cover. After looking around, I bought the MIDI of the song I want to rework for $5 USD. When I unzipped the MIDI backing track, I found that all of the MIDI info for ALL of the instruments (drums, guitar, synths, vocal, and bass) is on a singular track. All I really want is the synths, the drums (but only to use as a reference, because I plan to replace and reprogram the drums myself), the bass, and the guitars…and I need to be able to manipulate the MIDI for each instrument in separate MIDI clips on separate channels. (I hope that made sense.) The zip file also includes a numbered list indicating what channel on the MIDI represents what instrument, so that’s a plus.

So…

Is there a DAW function or VST that can split the channels on the MIDI track that I was given into individual MIDI for each instrument? I’m half tone-deaf and can’t read music, so sitting for hours guessing what MIDI notes to delete and what needs left alone seems to be a bit more frustrating and time consuming than necessary. Since I’m a firm believer in working smarter, not harder…I hope there is a way to automate this task somehow so I can actually expedite hearing my idea out loud. Just FYI, I am using Ableton Live Suite 8 and Suite 9 (on 64-bit WIN 7).

Any suggestions?

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In Ableton you can specify the MIDI channel for each MIDI track. So you could copy that MIDI file to mutiple midi tracks, and set each one to a different midi channel to hear only that channel’s midi. Assigned to an instrument first of course.

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Not the best qualities to have to be a producer if I’m honest.

You have to work hard, and put effort in.

And being tone deaf, really will not help.

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I’m well aware. …Maybe I shouldn’t have described myself as tone deaf. Maybe I should have said, “Key Identification Challenged” instead.

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So just to clarify… I should duplicate the MIDI file to multiple MIDI tracks in Ableton then Right click each duplicated MIDI clip… deactivate all the MIDI notes except for ones in each channel I want to continue hearing via that instrument assigned to that unmuted portion, correct?

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…anyone?