How We Fixed ProPresenter and LightKey MIDI Light Control Chaos

When Full Life Family Church called TechHand Pro, they were dealing with a maddening lighting issue: ProPresenter’s light MIDI notes weren’t communicating reliably with LightKey, and whenever they did, every light on the board would flash at once. The symptom was clear—lights went “very crazy”—but the root cause required a deeper dive into the software’s MIDI configuration.

Identifying the Real Problem

During the on‑site visit, technician jeremiah opened ProPresenter’s Devices menu and examined the MIDI Map dialog. He discovered that the default MIDI note values assigned to the lighting cues overlapped with the trigger notes programmed in LightKey. Because both applications were listening on the same note numbers, a single command from ProPresenter unintentionally activated multiple LightKey cues, creating the chaotic light show.

Step‑by‑Step Resolution

1. Launch ProPresenter and go to Devices → MIDI.
2. Select the connected MIDI controller and click MIDI Map.
3. Locate every light‑related MIDI note that matches a LightKey trigger.
4. Reassign each conflicting note to a higher, unused MIDI value (e.g., 70‑127) to avoid overlap.
5. Save the new mapping and close the dialog.
6. Run a test: trigger a single light from ProPresenter and confirm that only the intended fixture responds in LightKey.

After the remap, all lights behaved exactly as programmed, and the worship team regained confidence in their live‑production workflow.

What Went Wrong and How to Prevent It

• Overlapping MIDI notes: Using default note numbers in both ProPresenter and LightKey caused unintended cross‑talk.
• Lack of documentation: Without a clear mapping sheet, the conflict went unnoticed until it manifested during a service.

To avoid similar incidents, we recommend documenting your MIDI note assignments in a shared spreadsheet, reserving distinct note ranges for each lighting software, and periodically verifying mappings after firmware or software updates.

Outcome

Technician jeremiah confirmed that the remapped MIDI notes restored reliable communication between ProPresenter and LightKey, eliminating the erratic lighting behavior. Full Life Family Church can now run seamless worship services with precise light control.