Roland CM-500 - 5. About The GS Format; (1) Parts; (2) Number of Sounds That Can Be Played At The Same Time (Maximum Polyphony)

5, About Тһе GS Format
(1) Parts
The
primary
advantage
of
the
GS
Format
is
that
song
data
written
for
one
GS
Format
sound
source
can
be
reproduced
almost
exactly
on
any
other
GS
Format
sound
source.
We'll
be
explaining
more
about
the
GS
Format
and
MIDI
later,
but
even
if
you're
not
familiar
with
these
things,
it’s
still
possible
to
use
the
GS
Format
sound
source
to
create
your
own
music.
A
sound
module
(or
sound
source)
that
can
handle
GS
Format
data
will
have
the
GS
n
trademark on И. We'll call them “GS sound sources” from now on.
Be
sure
to
use
Mode
C
when
playing
back
song
data
that
has
been
written
for
the
GS
Format.
The
GS
sound
source
can
play
16
“parts”.
Part
number
10
is
for
playing
the
rhythm
instrument.
A
part
is
something
like
an
orchestral
part;
think
of
it
as
a
group
of
musicians
all
playing
a
particular
instrument.
The
big
difference
from
a
regular
orchestra
is
that
you
are
completely
free
to
decide
what
kind
of
instrument
they
will
be
playing.
In
addition,
you
can
change
that
instrument
midway
through
a
song
(as
many
times
as
you
want)
for
every
different
part.
You
could
think
of
this
group
ав
being
made
up
of
incredible
multi-instrumentalists
who
can
play
any
instrument
you
give
them.
There
are
many
different
kinds
of
performance
data
in
MIDI,
but
probably
the
most
basic
is
the
note
message
determining
which
key
to
play,
how
hard,
for
how
Jong,
and
when
to
start.
Every
part
has
its
own
MIDI
“channel”
over
which
it
receives
performance
data
and,
unless
you
reset
it
for
some
reason,
the
channel
number
is
the
same
as
the
part
number.
Each
part
plays
by
following
the
instructions
in
the
performance
data
on
its
own
channel,
and
pays
no
attention
to
the
data
in
other
channels
intended
for
other
parts.
So
thanks
to
this
MIDI
channel
scheme,
you
can
play
each
part
completely
independently
of
the
others,
like on multitrack recorder.
(2)
Number
of
Sounds
That
Can
Be
Played
At
The
Same
Time
(Maximum
Polyphony)
14
Just
as
there
are
limits
to
the
number
of
people
іп
an
orchestra,
there
are
limits
to
the
number
of
sounds
that
can
be
played
at
the
same
time
on
a
GS
sound
source.
И
note
message
is
received
asking
for
more
notes
than
are
possible,
some
parts
are
going
to
lose
their
note.
With
the
GS
Format,
you
can
count
on
а
certain
minimum
number
of
voices
always
being
available.
These
should
be
used
for
the
most
important
parts
in
your
music
(like
the
nelody
line)
so
that
they
don't
accidentally
lose
their
note
when
some
less
important
part
comes
in
later.
И
you
rank
your
parts
ahead
of
time
in
"Part
Sounding
Priority"
order,
he
GS
sound
source
will
know
what
the
most
important
parts
are.
Then,
if
vou
try
to
send
data
for
more
notes
than
can
be
played
at
one
time,
the
lower
priority
parts
will
be
the
first
о lose their note.
Part Sounding Priority is set up as follows: