How To: Fix Glitches in Midi Files using Anvil Studio

Sometimes, when loading a midi file into another program (such as VLC Media Player), the midi file may end up loading up incorrectly; the drums load up as Grand Acoustic Piano instead, making the midi file sound like a mess. An example of a midi file loading up incorrectly in VLC is Passport.mid and Canyon.mid. Strangely, the Alternative versions of Passport and Canyon load up fine in VLC, but the standard versions do not.

However, using Anvil Studio, a free midi editing program, this problem of a midi file incorrectly loading in VLC can be fixed.

Step 1: Open the Midi file into Anvil Studio. This can be done either by loading up the midi file in Anvil Studio, or by pressing the arrow on "Open" when the midi file is selected.

Step 2: Find the Drums track (Drums are always Channel 10), and then click on the "Edit track" Button. This will display the Drums track in the Staff Style.

Step 3: Make sure the drum track is displayed in the Staff style (which will be displayed by default), and then highlight all the drum notes using Ctrl & A.

Step 4: After using Ctrl & A to select all the drum notes, right-click on the staff, and then select "Move Selection to another track...", then press the OK button without changing anything. All the drum notes will then be moved to a new track found below the original Drums track as "Grand Acoustic Piano".

Step 5: Find the new Grand Acoustic Piano track and change the instrument to match the one the original drum track has.(E.g: Acoustic Guitar (Steel)). If the old drums track is set to Grand Acoustic Piano (standard kit), then the new track must stay as Grand Acoustic Piano.

If the new Grand Acoustic Piano track isn't found located near the original drum track, right-click the new track, and then press "Move track up in list" until the new track is below the old drum track.

Step 6: Next, change the volume and pan sliders to match the original drum track (which will now be blank).

Step 7: Delete the blank Drums track by right-clicking on it, and click on "Delete track". Click the Yes button, and the old corrupted Drums track will be deleted, removing the corruption that causes the drum track to fail to play.

Step 8: Change the Channel of the new track to Channel 10. This will convert the new track into drums.

Step 9: Click on "File", then click on "Save Song As".

Step 10: Add "(Fixed)" to the midi file's name to avoid overwriting the original file (For example, "passport.mid" must be saved as "passport.mid (Fixed)"). Click the Save button.

Step 11: Load the midi file in VLC. If the midi file's drums are functional, then the fix has worked. (When fixing passport.mid and canyon.mid, the drums worked.)