Connecting Bluetooth Midi to A Computer: Introduction
I found it very hard to connect my FP10 to my Mac when I first did it, and many of the articles available were either offtopic or unhelpful. So I’ve created a simple 2 step protocol to set up your Digital Piano as a MIDI Controller. It will take 25 seconds.
What you need
- A Computer with Bluetooth
- A Roland FP10
Instructions:Connecting Bluetooth Midi to A Computer Completed!
One section for Mac and one for Windows!
1) Make Sure Bluetooth is On
Roland Piano Instructions
- Turn on the Roland FP10, if the function/piano button blinks 3 times while it turns on then Bluetooth is On.
- If it does not, hold the function button and C#7, aka the highest C# on the piano. Function and D7 will turn off bluetooth, do not accidentally hit that.
- Ok your bluetooth is now good to go, get out your macbook
Other Pianos
Overall most of them will already have Bluetooth enabled. If you try these steps and don’t see your piano, then you should google the specific model.
This tutorial uses the FP10 because it’s the digital piano I had at the time!Other pianos may be app operated or have interfaces that you can tap, just make sure the Bluetooth is actually on.
2) MacBook: Connecting Bluetooth Midi To A Computer
- Press Cmd+SpaceBar, open up Audio Midi Setup
- Go to: Window>Show MIDI Studio
- Go to: Configure Bluetooth
- Connect to the FP10, It should show up. inyour Bluetooth Configuration Screen and you should be set.
Ok, you are ready to use the Keyboard as a MIDI Controller!
2) Windows:Connecting Bluetooth Midi to A Computer
- Download Loop Midi
- Open Loop Midi, and press the + in the bottom left corner
- Download MIDIberry
- Open Up MIDIberry
- Pair your device in your windows settings.
- Select the device on MIDIberry for INPUT
- Select the loopmidi channel you made when hitting “+” earlier for OUTPUT
- Finally, go to your DAW and connect the loopmidi port
Alternatives
Buy a USB-A to USB-B off the internet, they are usually priced anywhere from $5-$15, and will not have any latency. Well not any noticeable latency, unlike Bluetooth where you can hear the difference.
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This is my personal one that I use, but seriously they all work the same. Like I mentioned earlier the main advantage to these is only the latency difference between playing a key and when the key is registered in the computer. This can be useful if you are recording an important session or performing live, as latency can cause quite a few issues.
I wouldn’t use Bluetooth midi in a high-stakes scenario where it could disconnect and be hard to reconnect quickly, or if your computer has a technical problem. It’s just easier to fix and prevent any technical difficulties if you use a cable, but it also might be one more connection to worry about. So it’s up to you if you want to use Bluetooh Midi connection or a a USB-A to USB-B cable or whatever.
Connecting Bluetooth Midi to a computer can be difficult, but you are done and have gotten it over with now. I hope you enjoyed this article, you’ve probably clicked off by now but if you want to check out more articles feel free to visit the posts page and look at some of the more recent articles at parlours music!
Mark D.
Hi, I'm Mark. I've been playing instruments since I was just a little kid. I've played cello and piano for a few years, and recently picked up guitar. I've produced bad music. I also run this blog where I share interesting things I've learned. I hope you Enjoy my posts!
