WK240: How to output built-in song as MIDI commands?

[Little-Acorn]

Just got a Casio WK-240. It has a number of built-in songs, obviously, including Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, which my 8-year-old loves.

I connected the keyboard by USB (midi) to our Windows 7 system running Finale 2011b. Now when you hit keys on the keyboard, we can watch Finale put the notes up on a blank piano score, and sound the notes through the computer's speakers (as well as the keyboard's speakers), lots of fun for him. Obviously each key we hit on the Casio keyboard, is being translated to a MIDI command and sent down the USB cable to the computer.

But when we make the keyboard automatically play its "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star", no notes appear on the Finale score, and the notes aren't played through the computer's speaker, only through the keyboard's speakers. It looks to me that built-in songs aren't translated to MIDI commands, the way individual keyboard-played notes are.

Is there a way to make the keyboard send MIDI commands for every note in the built-in Twinkle Twinkle, as it plays them?

 

[SeaGtGruff]

On my Yamaha keyboards there's a function called "Song Out" that controls whether the keyboard outputs recorded songs as MIDI data when they're played back-- although it can't be used to output the built-in songs as MIDI data, presumably because they're protected by copyright (although you can record the audio output from those songs, so go figure). I don't see any comparable function in the User's Guide for the Casio WK-240, but I think most keyboards that have built-in songs have a similar built-in restriction from outputting MIDI data for the built-in songs.

Your best bet would be to search the web for MIDI files of the songs you're interested in. They might not be in the same keys and tempos as the Casio's built-in versions, but you should be able to change the tempo, and possibly transpose the notes to a different key, using DAW software.

 

[Little-Acorn]

Thanks, SeaGtGruff. Unfortunately that does make some sense.

I've listened to the version of TTLS coming out of the speakers, and wrote out the melody (with intro and ending) and put block chords in to make it sound somewhat production-like. My 8-year-old immediately protested, "But that doesn't sound anything like what the keyboard is playing!"

Sigh. Kid has far too good an ear.

 

[happyrat1]

While I realize it may not be the answer you're looking for, you can find the MIDI version of virtually ANY song on Google usually available as a free download.

Perhaps you should simply seek out the titles you like, load them up in your favorite MIDI player and then point the output at your WK and be done with it.

Here's the MIDI version of Twinkle Twinkle (hundreds of them)

https://www.google.ca/search?num=100&newwindow=1&safe=off&site=&source=hp&q=twinkle twinkle little star midi&oq=twinkle twinkle little star midi&gs_l=hp.3..0j0i22i30l6.1735.10014.0.12554.12.12.0.0.0.0.207.1660.0j10j2.12.0.msedr...0...1c.1.60.hp..1.11.1456.0.uPLgM6LwQRw

And here's the sheet music in PDF format.

https://www.google.ca/search?num=100&newwindow=1&safe=off&q=twinkle twinkle little star sheet music piano pdf&oq=twinkle twinkle little star sheet music piano &gs_l=serp.3.1.0l2j0i22i30l8.67509.90946.0.94489.17.14.2.1.1.0.163.1648.5j9.14.0.msedr...0...1c.1.60.serp..0.17.1659.T9itHo6rivw

Knock yerself out with any song you'd care to name

Gary