How to Separate MIDI Drum Parts
- 1). Open a digital audio program that has MIDI editing capabilities, such as GarageBand, Adobe's Audition, Apple's Logic or Roland's Sonar. You can also select and download a free program online (see Resources). Download a program that supports both MIDI editing and multi-tracking.
- 2). Create a new MIDI track. Some programs will use the term "Software Track, "Software Instrument Track" or "Virtual Instrument Track," and you can find the option on your menu bar at the top of your screen. When you create your track, a new horizontal bar, or "track," will span across your project window.
- 3). Load your MIDI drum sequence file into your program by dragging the file from your hard drive directly onto the newly-created track. In some programs, you can also click File > Import and select the file from your hard drive. If you have already recorded a MIDI drum sequence onto one MIDI track using the software, you can skip this step.
- 4). Create a MIDI track for each drum part that you want to have separate. For example, if your MIDI drum sequence uses a kick drum, snare drum and cymbal, create two additional tracks, so that you have one track for each drum part.
- 5). Double-click your original drum MIDI track to see an expanded view, which includes a horizontal layout with each note displayed on a grid, and a vertical keyboard along the left side of your editor. If double-clicking the track does not expand your view, determine what menu option opens a MIDI track editor in your program and select that.
- 6). You will see multiple horizontal rows of notes on your MIDI editor view, each horizontal row corresponding to a particular MIDI note, and therefore to a particular drum part. Select an entire row of notes by double-clicking the corresponding key on the vertical keyboard on the left side of your screen. For example, if the snare drum part is on D1, double-click the key D1 on the vertical keyboard to select the entire snare drum part. If your program does not support double-clicking on the vertical keyboard to select notes, use your mouse to drag a selection around all the notes in that row, avoiding notes on any other row.
- 7). Cut the row of selected notes by selecting Edit > Cut from the menu bar. Click on your second MIDI track to select it, and paste the row by selecting Edit > Paste from the menu bar. This MIDI track will now contain only the part you cut from the original drum sequence. Repeat this cut-and-paste process to place each drum part on a different track, until only one row remains on your first track. Name each MIDI track to reflect the separate drum parts you have created.
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