Tutorial - Print:  use Tinker to print midi files as sheet music

I'm not a big fan of standard sheet music format...:(

Those lines and spaces and sharps and flats and key signatures
require too much interpretation for the novice at piano.

We just wanna see where to put our fingers.
We'll figure out the theory in our own time, thanks very much.
(Music theory is important - if you don't know it, you're lame.)

Piano roll format isn't as good as standard sheet music format when it comes to
precise durations and seeing rhythm, but that's better left to HEARING the midi
file anyway.

If it were up to me, all standard sheet music would already have been converted
to midi files so that:
- it's easier to see fingering.
- we don't have to learn a WHOLE song to preview if it sounds good enough to be
  worth learning.

I guess some sequencers can scan standard sheet music and turn it into a midi
file.  But, well, I don't want to buy em.
I use Txt2Trak (see reference) to turn sheet music typed into a text file
into a midi file.  It works.
Although this can be a bother,
it sometimes beats learning a whole song and finding out the song is lame.

It's pretty rare to not find midi files for modern sheet music.
(That's what the sheet music is usually created from in the first place.)
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Fingering:

Tinker let's you enter fingering next to the notes.
1..5 for right hand are thumb, index, middle, ring and pinky.
5..1 for left hand are the same (5=pinky .. 1=thumb)

When you have one track displayed, Click the bottom area so the => becomes green
and then use the mouse scroll wheel to put in fingering numbers by a note.
You can also enter "transfer" fingering.
Ex:  23 means press note with 2 and move 3 to hold it
     (to slide your right hand left in prep for future notes, etc.)
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Tinker can print out your midi file in piano roll format.
Including fingering numbers (but not shown below).




warning - this can currently take up a LOT of memory and
thrash the heck out of older machines.
Sorry bout this, but I needed the functionality IN there.
I'll optimize it when I get time :(

Printing uses the 2 Zoom controls just like the screen does.
Try with different magnification.
You probably want to color by track when printing.
Having left hand in one track and right in another and coloring the
tracks by hand helps you during piano practice.

I'd advise using zoom of 3 for note and time on your 1st print preview.
higher zoom amounts squish things more.  lower amounts expand the notes/time.

Once printed, you can clip and staple the printouts together like:
(better resolution on your printer, of course:)


columns of piano roll bars are printed out as played on keyboard.
Imaging your 2 hands going straight down the left hand page column then
starting again the next column over.

I use the printouts for piano practice.
It works for me - you got ideas?  I wanna hear em...;)

Next up, ditty and soundfonts.