manual/include/edit-midi.html

<p>
  Ardour's handling of MIDI and how it allows the editing of MIDI data differs
  in key ways from most other DAWs and MIDI sequencers. Also, unlike its
  handling of audio data, the editing of MIDI data in Ardour is necessarily
  <em>destructive</em> by nature.
</p>

<h2>Key features of Ardour MIDI editing</h2>

<ul>
  <li>
    All editing is done in-place, in-window; there is no separate piano roll
    window or pane. Notes are edited right where they appear.
  </li>
  <li>
    Editing note information in Ardour occurs in only a single
    region. There is no way currently to edit note data for multiple
    regions at the same time; so, for example, notes cannot be
    selected in several regions at once and then all deleted. However
    they can they be copied and pasted from one region to another.
  </li>
  <li>
    Every MIDI track has its own MIDI port for input; it may have an
    arbitrary combination of audio and MIDI outputs, depending on the signal
    processing in the track.
  </li>
  <li>
    Full automation for MIDI tracks, integrated with the handling of all MIDI
    CC data for each track.
  </li>
  <li>
    Controllers (CC data) can be set to discrete or continuous modes (the
    latter will interpolate between control points and send additional
    data).
  </li>
  <li>
    There is a Normal and a Percussive mode for note data editing.
  </li>
  <li>
    The visible note range is controlled by a
    <dfn>scroomer</dfn> widget, which is a combination scroll/zoom tool for
    altering the zoom level and range of visible MIDI data. When in
    internal edit mode, you can also use scroll operations to adjust
    the visible range in various ways.
  </li>
</ul>