Hi, thanks for that link.
Just had a chat to my dad about Hex. F#0 appears as "0X1E" ("0X" stating that the command is in Hex and "1E" being the number). 1E is the Hex for "30". F#5 appears as "0X5A" which is the Hex for "90".
If MIDI works from Octave -1 then 0 then 1, then F#0 would be 18 and F#5 would be 78. But thanks to your chart, Midi note 30 is "F#1" and 90 is "F#6". So that has got the first bug out of the way (the wrong octaves given to the notes!).
Thanks to both the chart and a book I've found I now know which note is which Hex value, which really simplifies things. I've also found the Midi implementation chart for the SP-404 sampler I'm using, which gives the Hex value for each function or Pad as well as the Midi note number. Only problem is that it seems to stop after bank G, something about "Pad Base Channel +1". http://lib.roland.co.jp/support/en/manuals/res/1811320/SP-404_e6.pdf (Midi implementation chart).
The sampler functions start at note 46, so A#2 so a fair way up already, and ends on 118 (A#8). It would be silly to start the pedal on 0 and have to press up 46 times to get to the start so it seems sensible to write a program for each note I'll use then use the right switch to move up a program, left to go down a program and the center switch to transmit the program. So I would have to write a lot of programs!
In the tutorial on Midi here: http://arduino.cc/en/Tutorial/Midi the the octave of the notes seem wrong (F#-0 and not even F#0 would be "1E", F#1 is). But it also mentions that instead of writing "note off", people just tend to make velocity = 0. I was thinking, if I use a momentary switch, it would just stop transmitting anyway, but would it be worth telling the board that velocity = 0 when the switch is released? Also the tutorial is to make the board loop a chromatic scale of notes, when I would only want to play one note, not a sequence. How easy would the code be to modify to make each program play the next note up from the program before? And how easy is it to make the left and right switches tell the board to move up to the next program? Also does the Arduino have enough space for all these programs?
Would the "Pro" board be the one to get if trying to add a MIDI shield and send MIDI information?
Many thanks,
Eric Heath