default midi velocity

[Martin Tarenskeen]

Hi,

I have created an arrangement for 4 pianos. My score does not contain 
any dynamics markings. Now I have noticed that in the MIDI output all 
notes have the maximum Note-On midi-velocity value of 127! With 4 
piano's this gives a LOT of noise. 

Another thing I have noticed: Lilypond uses real MIDI Note Off commands 
to end notes with a default Note-Off-velocity value of 64. Note Off 
commands have always existed in the Midi Specification but are rarely 
used in the MIDI world. Almost every MIDI soft- and hardware that I have 
seen uses Note On commands with velocity=0. No big deal, it just surprised me.

Questions: 

1. How can I change the default MIDI velocity from 127 to a more modest 
value, without adding dynamic marks in the printable score ?

2. Shouldn't it be a good idea to lower midi-velocity values for 
lilypond's MIDI output by default ? In other words: If no dynamics are 
specified, shouldn't the default be mezzoforte ?

( BTW: I'm using Lilypond 2.13.0 on Fedora 10 )

-- 

Martin Tarenskeen