Keyboard detection issues

The first and most important point: If your MIDI keyboard is not being detected, please do NOT assume it is a fault with the Musiah software. In all honesty, this particular issue is NEVER due to a fault with the Musiah software. It is always due to issues such as those described below.

Quick Question:
Are you currently in Lesson 01 and believe your MIDI keyboard (which was working previously) has stopped working?

If yes, please see My keyboard stopped working in Lesson 01

If this is not your issue, please continue reading and go through each of the following points carefully.

If you require further assistance, we will be happy to help....

To start with, make sure that your keyboard is connected to your computer at that the keyboard's power switch is set to "ON".

Note: Always turn your MIDI keyboard "ON" first, then start the Musiah app. If you turn your MIDI keyboard on after starting the Musiah app, the app may not see your keyboard until you have restarted the app.

Next, if your keyboard has its own sounds/speakers, turn your keyboard volume down to ZERO so you will be able to hear the Virtual instruments within the Musiah app.

Then check that your MIDI Device is shown as "detected" on the Settings screen within the Musiah app.

If the keyboard is not being detected or the app is not responding when you press the keys on your keyboard, try/check the following:

• If you are using a MIDI-to-USB cable, try switching the two plugs around at the back of your keyboard.
• Regardless of what type of cable you are using, there could be an issue with the USB port on your computer. Try plugging the cable into a different USB port. Desktop users please note: Usually the usb ports at the back of your tower are more reliable than the ones at the front.
• If trying different USB ports does not resolve the issue, please also make sure your computer has the latest driver(s) for the each of your USB ports.
• If your keyboard is reasonably sophisticated, it may have a setting called "Local ON / OFF". If you just want to play your keyboard away from the computer, you would normally have it set to "Local ON". Usually, "Local" needs to be set to "OFF" when using Musiah (or other MIDI software). For the sake of completeness, whether Local is currently ON or OFF, try changing the setting. (If changing this setting does not resolve the issue, be sure to put the setting back the way originally found it).
• Some makes and models of keyboard have two different modes of operation, sometimes referred to as usb 'device' modes. If this applies to your keyboard, make sure your your keyboard is operating in 'MIDI mode' (sometimes this is called 'usb-to-host') as opposed to 'storage mode' (a mode for backing up song / instrument data to your computer).
• If you are unfamiliar with the general functions / settings of your keyboard, please refer to your keyboard manual. If you don't have a copy of the manual, google it online, e.g. "Roland RD64 manual". When the search results are displayed, always choose one from the keyboard manufacturer's website in preference to other websites claiming to offer the same manual.

If you're using a USB 2.0 cable:

Instances of keyboards with USB 2.0 not being detected are pretty rare. Assuming there are no faults with your computer or keyboard, and no settings on your keyboard that are preventing it from sending MIDI data to your computer, there are only a few issues that can cause this.

• If you have a 64 bit operating system, check that your MIDI keyboard is compatible with your Operating System. Occasionally, we have come across instances where customers had a keyboard with drivers that were not compatible with a 64 bit operating system, so no matter what music software they used, the keyboard would not work.
• There may a fault with the socket on the back of your keyboard. The cable plug should fit firmly in the socket. If it is loose, this could be the issue.

If you're using a MIDI-to-USB cable/converter:

The most common cause of issues with this type of cable is an incompatibility between the MIDI-to-USB cable and the keyboard. If you have tried/checked all the above points and your issue is still persisting, the fact that your keyboard is not being detected does not mean there is anything wrong with your MIDI keyboard, or with your cable for that matter.

One of our earliest customers had a 17 year old digital piano, and initially she tried a MIDI-to-USB cable that did not work. Because one of our team members happens to live not far from the family, he went to her house and tried a different MIDI-to-USB cable which worked fine. But the interesting part was, he took her original cable away and tested it with a different keyboard and it worked fine. So there was nothing wrong with either the keyboard or the cable. It was just a minor incompatibility issue which raises its head from time to time.

For this reason, we recommend using a keyboard with USB 2.0 capability (if possible).

If your keyboard requires you to use a MIDI-to-USB cable (i.e. it doesn't have a USB 2.0 port), we recommend buying a good quality cable (do not buy the really cheap cables on e-bay).

For Yamaha keyboards, ideally you should use a Yamaha MIDI-to-usb cable such as the Yamaha UX16. For Roland keyboards, try the Roland UM-ONE.

If these cables are not available in your area, a make / model of MIDI-to-usb cable that seems to work with just about every make / model of keyboard (including Yamaha / Roland) is the M-Audio UNO. Please note: This observation is based on feedback / experience from our customers. It is not a recommendation.

With any keyboard / cable model you may buy, there is always a 1-2% chance that there may be an issue of some sort and if this happens with a product that we recommend, it has been our experience that folks are inclined to say, "but you recommended it".

Other things to try:

• Make sure the MIDI in/out connectors are plugged in correctly at the back of your keyboard. If in doubt, try switching the connectors around.
• Also make sure you are using the latest drivers for your MIDI-to-USB cable/converter.

On the topic of drivers, if you happen to be using a Yamaha keyboard OR a Yamaha MIDI-to-usb cable, I can honestly say that we have more customers with Yamaha driver issues than all the other makes and models of MIDI keyboard / MIDI-to-usb cable put together. Not only are Yamaha (in my opinion) not on top of their driver management, many of the pages on the Yamaha web site that are supposed to bring you to the relevant driver are broken — and have been broken for several years.

If you need a Yamaha usb-MIDI driver, here is a page that contains some generic Yamaha drivers that should work with all their keyboards / cables. (Mac users will notice that, at the time of writing, this page doesn't contain any drivers beyond OSX 10.9. That's because Yamaha still haven't bothered to produce drivers for OSX 10.10).

Yamaha MIDI Drivers

If none of the above suggestions / steps resolves your issue, you may find it useful to test your keyboard with MIDI-OX (Windows users) or with MIDI Monitor (Mac users) or with MIDI Wrench (iPad users can get this on the app store).