[sdiy] Bunching of MIDI clock messages

[Richie Burnett]

Hi all, and thanks for the wealth of replies about this and links that I'm 
still reading through...

Florian Anwander wrote:

> I would make the timer toggle each 6 or 8 clocks (depending on the
> measure system - whether its 16th based or triplet based). Then you have
> a 16th notes clock, which is widely usable, and your are not bound to
> quarter beats.

And this is where my potential problem starts...

Because my audio is synthesised in 2ms blocks, I could potentially have 
*seven* midi clock events arrive end-to-end in one big burst over 2ms. 
(Unlikely?, but maybe it could happen if a software sequencer lags and then 
tries to clear it's output buffer?)

If I simply set a flag that says "A quarter note beat has occurred" in the 
MIDI interrupt service routine I will fall behind time because two quarter 
note events have actually occurred in rapid succession between my 2ms 
polling points.  So it looks like I need to keep track of how many clocks 
arrive over each 2ms synthesis block and then quickly process them between 
each block of synthesis.  By "process them" I mean update the current "song 
position pointer", and fire off any drum sounds that occurred at all the 
MIDI clock steps in between.  The later being needed to make sure no beats 
in the pattern are skipped.

And, before anyone says that it's the 2ms polling that's the problem... It 
has been implemented this way because the real instruments I'm modelling 
(TR-808 and TR-909) have a CPU that runs on a 2ms interrupt clock.  All of 
their instrument triggers being synchronised to this internal 2ms interrupt 
clock.  I'd like to retain this as it is one of the things that gives these 
instruments their much sought after "groove".  I guess I'm basing my model 
on archaic technology and then trying to think of how to make it handle a 
modern problem like MIDI clock bunching as gracefully as possible :-)

-Richie,




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> Florian
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