MIDI (
Musical Instrument Digital Interface), , is an industry-standard
protocol that enables
electronic musical instruments (
synthesizers,
drum machines),
computers and other electronic equipment (
MIDI controllers,
sound cards,
samplers) to communicate and synchronize with each other. Unlike
analog devices, MIDI does not transmit an
audio signal — it sends
event messages about
pitch and intensity, control signals for parameters such as volume,
vibrato and
panning,
cues, and clock signals to set the
tempo. As an electronic protocol, it is notable for its widespread adoption throughout the music industry. MIDI protocol was defined in 1982.
All MIDI-compatible controllers, musical instruments, and MIDI-compatible software follow the same MIDI 1.0 specification, and thus interpret any given MIDI message the same way, and so can communicate with and understand each other. MIDI composition and arrangement takes advantage of MIDI 1.0 and General MIDI (GM) technology to allow musical data files to be shared among many different devices due to some incompatibility with various electronic instruments by using a standard, portable set of commands and parameters. Because the music is stored as instructions rather than recorded audio waveforms, the data size of the files is quite small by comparison. Individual MIDI files can be traced through their own individual key code. This key code was established in early 1994 to combat piracy within the sharing of .mid files.
History
By the end of the 1970s, electronic musical devices were becoming increasingly common and affordable. However, devices from different manufacturers were generally not compatible with each other and could not be interconnected. Different interfacing models included analog control voltages at various standards (such as 1
volt per
octave, or the logarithmic "
hertz per volt"); analog clock, trigger and "gate" signals (both positive "V-trig" and negative "S-trig" varieties, between −15V to +15V); and proprietary digital interfaces such as
Roland Corporation's
DCB (digital control bus), the
Oberheim system, and
Yamaha's "keycode" system.
Following several months of discussion between US and Japanese manufacturers, in November 1981, audio engineer and synthesizer designer Dave Smith of Sequential Circuits, Inc. proposed a digital standard for musical instruments at the Audio Engineering Society show in New York. By the time of the January, 1983 Winter NAMM Show, Smith was able to demonstrate a MIDI connection between his Prophet 600 and a Roland JP-6. The MIDI Specification 1.0 was published in August 1983. (See MMA)
In the early 1980s, MIDI was a major factor in bringing an end to the "wall of synthesizers" phenomenon in progressive rock band concerts, when keyboard performers were often hidden behind huge banks of analog synthesizers and electric pianos. Following the advent of MIDI, many synthesizers were released in rack-mount versions, which meant that keyboardists could control many different instruments (e.g., synthesizers) from a single keyboard.
In the 1980s, MIDI facilitated the development of hardware and computer-based
sequencers, which can be used to record, edit and play back performances. In the years immediately after the 1983 ratification of the MIDI specification, MIDI features were adapted to several early computer platforms including
Apple Macintosh,
Commodore 64,
Commodore Amiga and the
PC-DOS. This allowed the development of a market for powerful, inexpensive, and now-widespread computer-based MIDI sequencers. The standard
Atari ST came equipped with MIDI ports and was commonly used in recording studios for this reason. Synchronization of MIDI sequences is made possible by the use of
MIDI timecode, an implementation of the
SMPTE time code standard using MIDI messages, and MIDI timecode has become the standard for
digital music synchronization.
In 1991, the MIDI Show Control (MSC) protocol (in the Real Time System Exclusive subset) was ratified by the MIDI Manufacturers Association. The MSC protocol is an industry standard which allows all types of media control devices to talk with each other and with computers to perform show control functions in live and canned entertainment applications. Just like musical MIDI (above), MSC does not transmit the actual show media — it simply transmits digital data providing information such as the type, timing and numbering of technical cues called during a multimedia or live theatre performance.
Small file sizes made MIDI files a popular way of sharing music on the Internet in the early to mid 1990s, before broadband connections made it practical to share files in the mp3 format. Many gopher, and later web, sites hosted directories of MIDI files created by fans, thus avoiding the copyright issues that would later plague other forms of online music sharing.
MIDI initially made no provision for specifying timbre. In other words, each MIDI synthesizer had its own methods for producing the sound from MIDI instructions, with no standard sounds at all. For example, a producer might want a MIDI file played back through the Microsoft MIDI Synthesizer (included in any Windows operating system) to sound the same or similar on all machines. But because the quality of synthesis hardware might vary widely between machines — one might use a generic sound card, another might use professional-quality synthesis — there was no way to assure that what the listener heard was anything like what the producer intended.
This situation was the impetus for the introduction of General MIDI (see below) in 1991. It created a standard set of 128 familiar sound types (piano, organ, guitar, strings). While manufacturers were still unable to decide what 'piano' sounded like, they at least had a standard to aim for and a location in which to place it.
In the early decades of MIDI, computer hardware was not able to play many samples or synthesize quality sounds. Quality hardware was too expensive; sound cards kept the price down, but many relied on unsophisticated synthesis methods to produce audio. As a result "the "MIDI sound" acquired a poor reputation with some critics. Today's fast, great-sounding
software synthesizers, typically driven by MIDI data, prove that MIDI was not at fault.
Implications of MIDI
One of the implications of MIDI technology is the blurring of the roles for studios and instruments and the roles of musicians and producers. The adaptability of MIDI and the universal features has allowed for a rise not only in electronic music, but also ‘bedroom producers’. The rise of MIDI has allowed musicians without formal engineering or production training to create their own music. Suddenly, a technology like MIDI allowed entire musical pieces to be recorded on a synthesizer or keyboard without the aid of producer. The keyboard becomes the studio and the musician the producer and vice versa. Over the past few decades there have always been cheap or affordable ways to record and produce music but never with such quality. MIDI allows the transfer of tracks between devices without degradation and allows an individual to create high quality professional tracks from their own home. MIDI has played an extremely large role in the ‘digitization’ of music.
Interfaces
The original physical MIDI connection uses
DIN 5/180° connectors.
Opto-isolating connections are used, to prevent
ground loops occurring among connected MIDI devices.
The MIDI transceivers physically and logically separate the input and output lines, meaning that MIDI messages received by a device in the network not intended for that device must be re-transmitted on the output line (MIDI-OUT) by means of a "soft through". This can introduce a delay, one that is long enough to become musically significant on larger MIDI chains.
MIDI-THRU ports started to be added to MIDI-compatible equipment soon after the introduction of MIDI, in order to improve performance. The MIDI-THRU port avoids the aforementioned retransmission delay by linking the MIDI-THRU port to the MIDI-IN socket almost directly.
The difference between the MIDI-OUT and MIDI-THRU ports is that data coming from the MIDI-OUT port has been generated on the device containing that port. Data that comes out of a device's MIDI-THRU port, however, is an exact duplicate of the data received at the MIDI-IN port.
Such chaining together of instruments via MIDI-THRU ports is unnecessary with the use of MIDI "patch bay," "mult" or "Thru" modules consisting of a MIDI-IN connector and multiple MIDI-OUT connectors to which multiple instruments are connected. MIDI Thru Boxes also clean up any skewing of MIDI data bits that might occur at the input stage.
Some equipment has the ability to merge MIDI messages into one stream; this is a specialized function and is not universal to all equipment. Such MIDI Merge boxes digitally merge all MIDI messages appearing at its inputs to its output, which allows a musician to plug in several MIDI controllers (e.g., two musical keyboards and a pedal keyboard) to a single synth voice device such as an EMU or Proteus.
All MIDI compatible instruments have a built-in MIDI. Some computers' sound cards have a built-in MIDI, whereas others require an external MIDI which is connected to the computer via the newer D-subminiature DA-15 game port, a USB connector or by FireWire, ethernet or by MADI (RME standard).
MIDI connectors are defined by the MIDI standard. In the 2000s, as computer equipment increasingly used USB connectors, companies began making USB-to-MIDI audio interfaces which can transfer MIDI channels to USB-equipped computers. As well, due to the increasing use of computers for music-making and composition, some MIDI keyboard controllers were equipped with USB jacks, so that they can be plugged into computers that are running "software synths" or other music software.
Controllers
In popular parlance, piano-style musical keyboards are called "keyboards", regardless of their functions or type. Amongst MIDI enthusiasts, however, keyboards and other devices used to trigger musical sounds are called "controllers", because with most MIDI set-ups, the keyboard or other device does not make any sounds by itself. MIDI controllers need to be connected to a voice bank or sound module in order to produce musical tones or sounds; the keyboard or other device is "controlling" the voice bank or sound module by acting as a trigger. The most common MIDI controller is the piano-style keyboard, either with weighted or semi-weighted keys, or with unweighted synth-style keys. Keyboard-style MIDI controllers are sold with as few as 25 keys (2 octaves), with larger models such as 49 keys, 61 keys, or even the full 88 keys being available.
MIDI controllers are also available in a range of other forms, such as electronic drum triggers; pedal keyboards that are played with the feet (e.g., with an organ); EWI wind controllers for performing saxophone-style music; and MIDI guitar synthesizer controllers. EWI, which stands for Electronic Wind Instrument, is designed for performers who want to play saxophone, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, and other wind instrument sounds with a synthesizer module. When wind instruments are played using a MIDI keyboard, it is hard to reproduce the expressive control found on wind instruments that can be generated with the wind pressure and embouchure. The EWI has an air-pressure level sensor and bite sensor in the mouthpiece, 13 touch sensors arrayed along the side of the controller, in a similar location to where sax keys are placed, and touch sensors for octaves and bends.
Pad controllers are used by musicians and DJs who make music through use of sampled sounds or short samples of music. Pad controllers often have banks of assignable pads and assignable faders and knobs for transmitting MIDI data or changes; the better-quality models are velocity-sensitive. More rarely, some performers use more specialized MIDI controllers, such as triggers that are affixed to their clothing or stage items (e.g., magicians Penn and Teller's stage show).
A MIDI foot-controller is a pedalboard-style device with rows of switches that control banks of presets, MIDI program change commands and send MIDI note numbers (some also do MIDI merges). Another specialized type of controller is the drawbar controller; it is designed for Hammond organ players who have MIDI-equipped organ voice modules. The drawbar controller provides the keyboard player with many of the controls which are found on a vintage 1940s or 1950s Hammond organ, including harmonic drawbars, a rotating speaker speed control switch, vibrato and chorus knobs, and percussion and overdrive controls. As with all controllers, the drawbar controller does not produce any sounds by itself; it only controls a voice module or software sound device.
While most controllers do not produce sounds, there are some exceptions. Some controller keyboards called "performance controllers" have MIDI-assignable keys, sliders, and knobs, which allow the controller to be used with a range of software synthesizers or voice modules; yet at the same time, the controller also has an internal voice module which supplies keyboard instrument sounds (piano, electric piano, clavichord), sampled or synthesized voices (strings, woodwinds), and Digital Signal Processing (distortion, compression, flanging, etc). These controller keyboards are designed to allow the performer to choose between the internal voices or external modules.
Messages
All MIDI compatible controllers, musical instruments, and
MIDI-compatible software follow the same
MIDI 1.0 specification, and thus interpret any given MIDI message the same way, and so can communicate with and understand each other. For example, if a note is played on a MIDI controller, it will sound at the right pitch on any MIDI instrument whose MIDI In connector is connected to the controller's MIDI Out connector.
When a musical performance is played on a MIDI instrument (or controller) it transmits MIDI channel messages from its MIDI Out connector. A typical MIDI channel message sequence corresponding to a key being struck and released on a keyboard is:
#The user presses the middle C key with a specific velocity (which is usually translated into the volume of the note but can also be used by the synthesizer to set characteristics of the timbre as well). The instrument sends one Note-On message.
#The user changes the pressure applied on the key while holding it down - a technique called Aftertouch (can be repeated, optional). The instrument sends one or more Aftertouch messages.
#The user releases the middle C key, again with the possibility of velocity of release controlling some parameters. The instrument sends one Note-Off message.
Note-On, Aftertouch, and Note-Off are all channel messages. For the Note-On and Note-Off messages, the MIDI specification defines a number (from 0–127) for every possible note pitch (C, C, D etc.), and this number is included in the message.
Other performance parameters can be transmitted with channel messages, too. For example, if the user turns the pitch wheel on the instrument, that gesture is transmitted over MIDI using a series of Pitch Bend messages (also a channel message). The musical instrument generates the messages autonomously; all the musician has to do is play the notes (or make some other gesture that produces MIDI messages). This consistent, automated abstraction of the musical gesture could be considered the core of the MIDI standard.
Composition
MIDI composition and arrangement typically takes place using either
MIDI sequencing/editing software on PC-type computers, or using specialized hardware
music workstations. Some composers may take advantage of
MIDI 1.0 and
General MIDI (GM) technology to allow musical data files to be shared among various electronic instruments by using a standard, portable set of commands and parameters. On the other hand, composers of complex, detailed works to be distributed as produced audio typically use MIDI to control the performance of high-quality
digital audio samples and/or
external hardware or
software synthesizers.
MIDI data files are much smaller than recorded audio waveforms. Many computer-sequencing programs allow manipulation of the musical data that composing for an entire orchestra of sounds is possible. This ability to manipulate musical data has also introduced the concept of surrogate orchestras, providing a combination of half sequenced MIDI recordings and half musicians to make up an entire orchestral arrangement; however, scholars believe surrogate orchestras have the possibility of effecting future live musical performances in which the use of live musicians in orchestral arrangements may terminate entirely because the composition of music via MIDI recordings proves to be more efficient and less expensive. Further, the data composed via the sequenced MIDI recordings can then be saved as a Standard MIDI File (SMF), digitally distributed, and reproduced by any computer or electronic instrument that also adheres to the same MIDI, GM, and SMF standards.
Another MIDI instrument that follows such standards of transferring musical compositions as previously mentioned is the MIDI harp. The MIDI harp possesses a piezo transducer that touches each string, allowing an electrical current to escape. The piezo pickup then outputs a current that is corresponding to the vibration when the string is plucked. Once this occurs, the MIDI harp’s microprocessor that converts the analog signal to digital instruction devises a MIDI message that is sent by means of the MIDI-out port. In turn, the MIDI message can process the musician’s “pluck” and decipher the volume of it and the duration of the “pluck.” Once the harpist is satisfied with the music being created, the specific sounds are stored within the instrument’s memory, similar to a computer file. The harpist may then proceed to transferring his or her composition by connecting the MIDI harp to a computer (preferably a PC). With sufficient software, the harpist can apply the use of the MIDI harp’s “sustain petal” in which it will successfully transfer the harpist’s composition measure-by-measure, and in its entirety.
Although a music distribution format, the Standard MIDI File was more attractive to computer users before broadband internet became widespread due to its much smaller file size. Also, the advent of high quality audio compression such as the MP3 format has decreased the relative size advantages of MIDI-encoded music to some degree, though MP3 is still much larger than SMF.
File formats
Standard MIDI (.mid or .smf)
MIDI messages (along with timing information) can be collected and stored in a
computer file system, in what is commonly called a MIDI file, or more formally, a Standard MIDI File (SMF). The SMF specification was developed by, and is maintained by, the
MIDI Manufacturers Association (MMA). MIDI files are typically created using computer-based sequencing software (or sometimes a hardware-based MIDI instrument or workstation) that organizes MIDI messages into one or more parallel
"tracks" for independent recording and editing. In most sequencers, each track is assigned to a specific MIDI channel and/or a specific instrument
patch; if the attached music synthesizer has a known instrument palette (for example because it conforms to the
General MIDI standard), then the instrument for each track may be selected by name. Although most current MIDI sequencer software uses proprietary "session file" formats rather than SMF, almost all sequencers provide export or "Save As..." support for the SMF format.
An SMF consists of one header chunk and one or more track chunks. There exist three different SMF formats; the format of a given SMF is specified in its file header. A Format 0 file contains a single track and represents a single song performance. Format 1 may contain any number of tracks, enabling preservation of the sequencer track structure, and also represents a single song performance. Format 2 may have any number of tracks, each representing a separate song performance. Sequencers do not commonly support Format 2. Large collections of SMFs can be found on the web, most commonly with the .mid
but occasionally with the .smf
. These files are most frequently authored with the (rather dubious) assumption that they will only ever be played on General MIDI players.
A number of music file formats have been based on the MIDI bytestream. These formats are very compact; a file as small as 10 KiB can produce a full minute of music or more due to the fact that the file stores instructions on how to recreate the sound based on synthesis with a MIDI synthesizer rather than an exact waveform to be reproduced. A MIDI synthesizer could be built into an operating system, sound card, embedded device (e.g. hardware-based synthesizer) or a software-based synthesizer. The file format stores information on what note to play and when, or other important information such as possible pitch bend during the envelope of the note or the note's velocity. Small MIDI file sizes have also been advantageous for applications such as mobile phone ringtones, and some video games.
MIDI Karaoke (.kar)
MIDI-Karaoke (which uses the ".kar" file extension) files are an "unofficial" extension of MIDI files, used to add synchronized lyrics to standard MIDI files. SMF players play the music as they would a .mid file but do not display these lyrics unless they have specific support for .kar messages. These often display the lyrics synchronized with the music in
"follow-the-bouncing-ball" fashion, essentially turning any PC into a
karaoke machine. None of the MIDI-Karaoke file formats are maintained by any standardization body.
XMF
The MMA has also defined (and AMEI has approved) a new family of file formats, XMF (Extensible Music File), some of which package SMF chunks with instrument data in
DLS format (Downloadable Sounds, also an MMA/AMEI specification), to much the same effect as the
MOD file format. The XMF container is a binary format (not
XML-based, although the file extensions are similar).
RIFF-RMID
On
Microsoft Windows, the system itself uses proprietary
RIFF-based MIDI files with the
.rmi
extension. Note, Standard MIDI Files are not RIFF-compliant. A RIFF-RMID file, however, is simply a Standard MIDI File wrapped in a RIFF (Resource Interchange File Format) chunk. For compatibility reasons many digital musicians overlook this format. One solution to this incompatibility is to extract the data part of the RIFF-RMID chunk, the result will be a regular Standard MIDI File. RIFF-RMID is not an official
MMA/
AMEI MIDI standard.
Extended RMID
In recommended practice RP-29 (
), the MMA defined a method for bundling one Standard MIDI file (SMF) image with one Downloadable Sounds (DLS) image, using the RIFF container technology. However, this method was deprecated when the MMA introduced the
Extensible Music Format (XMF) which, because of its many additional features, is generally preferred for MIDI-related resource-bundling purposes in the future.
Extended MIDI (.xmi)
The XMI format is a proprietary extension of the SMF format introduced by the
Miles Sound System, a
middleware driver library targeted at
PC games. XMI is not an official MMA/AMEI MIDI standard.
Usage and applications
MMA and AMEI
MIDI technology was standardized and is maintained by the
MIDI Manufacturers Association (MMA). All official MIDI standards are jointly developed and published by the MMA in
Los Angeles, California, USA (http://www.midi.org), and for Japan, the MIDI Committee of the
Association of Musical Electronics Industry (AMEI) in Tokyo (http://www.amei.or.jp).
Primary reference for MIDI is The Complete MIDI 1.0 Detailed Specification, document version 96.1, available only from MMA in English, or from AMEI in Japanese. Though the MMA site formerly offered free downloads of all MIDI specifications, links to the basic and general detailed specs have been removed. Printed documents can be purchased. However, considerable ancillary material is available at no cost on the website.
Extensions of the MIDI standard
Many extensions of the original official
MIDI 1.0 spec have been standardized by MMA/JMSC. Only a few of them are described here; for more comprehensive information, see the MMA web site.
General MIDI
The
General MIDI Level 1 ("GM") specification defines the feature set important for MIDI content interoperability across multiple players. It addresses the indeterminacy of the basic
MIDI 1.0 protocol standard regarding the meaning and behaviour of Program Change and Control Change messages. Without GM, different synthesizers can, and actually do, sound completely different in response to the same MIDI messages.
The GM standard mandates:
An assignment of specific instruments to each Program Number in Program Change messages (for example, Program Number 3 is "Electric Grand Piano")
The mapping of several controller numbers to important effects
Use of channel 10 for percussion only (a specific unpitched percussion sound in place of each note)
Various minimum specifications such as number of simultaneous voices/notes and channels/parts
General MIDI 1 was introduced in 1991.
GM Common Misconceptions
Although the GM and GM2 specifications are dependent on the basic
MIDI 1.0 protocol specification, they are separate standards from MIDI 1.0. As a result, MIDI products may legitimately implement MIDI 1.0 but not GM and/or GM2. Although GM is an important feature for MIDI content interoperability across multiple players, many important MIDI applications do not require such interoperability. For example, MIDI and the SMF format are used in professional music recording production where the MIDI file content will never be distributed, and custom or specialized synthesizers are used much more commonly than GM or GM2. As a direct consequence, not all SMF content is authored for GM or GM2 synthesizers. Because of the inherent risk of generating unintended and incorrect sounds as a result of
playing any SMF- or MIDI-message stream on synthesizers other than originally intended, it can not be safely assumed that a given MIDI-message stream or MIDI file will be compatible, as a practical matter, with GM or GM2 synthesizers. In particular, it is a common misconception that all or nearly all SMF content anticipates being played using a GM- or GM2-compatible synthesizer. There is no such dependency in the actual MMA/AMEI specification; indeed, it is quite legitimate for SMF content to be written for non-GM synthesizers.
With the exception of RTP MIDI and the audio/sp-midi MIME type definition, there is currently no technical standard for indicating in advance what kind of synthesizer(s) a given SMF- or MIDI-message stream is intended to drive.
GS and XG
In order to improve upon the General MIDI standard, and to take advantage of the advancements in newer synthesizers, both Roland and Yamaha introduced new, proprietary, extended MIDI specifications – dubbed "
GS" and "
XG", respectively – along with numerous products based correspondingly upon them, designed with stricter requirements, new features, and backward compatibility with the GM specification. GS and XG are not mutually compatible, nor are they official MMA/AMEI MIDI standards. Adoption of each has been limited in general to its respective manufacturer; however, most popular MIDI/music software offerings now include them as built-in selectable options.
General MIDI Level 2
Later, after the success of General MIDI was firmly established, member companies of Japan's
AMEI developed the
General MIDI Level 2 (GM2) specification:
incorporating and harmonizing aspects of the Yamaha XG and Roland GS formats;
further extending the instrument palette;
specifying more message responses in detail;
defining new messages for custom tuning scales and other new functionality, thereby * improving sound-editing features and quality.
In order to enable these new enhancements, new control messages needed to be incorporated into the MIDI specification; these include:
controller directives,
Registered Parameters (RPNs),
MIDI tuning, and other
MIDI Machine-Control (MMC) messages, including the notion of
Universal Real-Time System-Exclusive (SysEx) messages.
The GM2 specs are maintained and published by the MMA and AMEI. General MIDI 2 was introduced in 1999 and is now implemented in many newer synthesizers.
SP-MIDI
Later still, GM2 became the basis of the instrument selection mechanism in Scalable Polyphony MIDI (SP-MIDI), a MIDI variant for mobile applications where different players may have different numbers of musical voices. SP-MIDI is a component of the
3GPP mobile phone terminal multimedia architecture, starting from release 5.
GM, GM2, and SP-MIDI are also the basis for selecting player-provided instruments in several of the MMA/AMEI XMF file formats (XMF Type 0, Type 1, and Mobile XMF), which allow extending the instrument palette with custom instruments in the Downloadable Sound (DLS) formats, addressing another major GM shortcoming.
Alternative Tunings
By convention, most MIDI synthesizers generally default to the conventional Western 12-pitch-per-octave,
equal temperament tuning system. This tuning system makes many types of music inaccessible, because they depend on different intonation systems. To address this issue in a standardized manner, in 1992 the MMA ratified the
MIDI Tuning Standard, or MTS. Instruments that support the MTS standard can be tuned to any desired tuning system by sending the MTS System Exclusive message (a Non-Real Time Sys Ex).
The MTS SysEx message uses a three-byte number format to specify a pitch in logarithmic form. This pitch number can be thought of as a three-digit number in base 128. To find the value of the pitch number p that encodes a given frequency f, use the following formula:
:
For a note in A440 equal temperament, this formula delivers the standard MIDI note number as used in the Note On and Note Off messages. Any other frequencies fill the space evenly.
While support for MTS is at present not particularly widespread in commercial hardware instruments, it is nonetheless supported by some instruments and software, for example the free software programs TiMidity and Scala, as well as other microtuners.
MIDI Show Control
The
MIDI Show Control (MSC) protocol (in the Real Time System Exclusive subset) is an industry standard ratified by the
MIDI Manufacturers Association in 1991 which allows all types of media control devices to talk with each other and with computers to perform
show control functions in live and canned
entertainment applications. Just like musical MIDI (above), MSC does not transmit the actual show media — it simply transmits digital data providing information such as the type, timing and numbering of technical
cues called during a
multimedia or live
theatre performance.
MSC can be seen with the creation of a Halloween haunted mansion designed by Brent Ross at his Mountain View, CA home in October 2007. The haunted mansion was solely run on MIDI in which Ross converted “real-time” recordings of MIDI musical notes and converted them into electrical signals to operate and turn pneumatic valves on and off. Using Cubase software for MIDI sequencing, Ross’s MIDI entertainment haunted mansion performance could be played, recorded and edited by manually pushing a specific control button. Ross could then access his “MIDI to switch” technology, further allowing him to send MIDI messages to turn a “note on or off” while controlling the activation of the various props, movements, theatrical lighting, and sounds for entertainment.
Console Automation
Audio mixers can be controlled with MIDI during
console automation.
Alternative hardware transports
In addition to the original 31.25 kbits/sec (baud is the signalling rate and is the reciprocal of the shortest signalling element; bits/sec is the data rate) current-loop transported on
5-pin DIN, other connectors have been used for the same electrical data, and transmission of MIDI streams in different forms over
USB, IEEE 1394 a.k.a
FireWire, and
Ethernet is now common (see below).
USB
A standard for MIDI over USB was developed in 1999 as a joint effort between IBM, Microsoft, Altec Lansing, Roland Corporation, and Phillips. To transmit MIDI over USB a Cable Number and Cable Index are added to the message, and the result is encapsulated in a USB packet. The resulting USB message can be double the size of the native MIDI message. Since USB is over 15,000 times faster than MIDI (480,000 Kbits/sec vs 31.25 Kbits/sec,) USB has the potential to be much faster. However, due to the nature of USB there is more latency and jitter introduced that is usually in the range of 2 to 10ms, or about 2 to 10 MIDI commands. Some comparisons done in the early part of the 2000s showed USB to slightly slower with higher latency, and this is still the case today. Despite the latency and jitter disadvantages, MIDI over USB is increasingly common on musical instruments.
XLR3
Some early MIDI implementations used
XLR3 connectors in place of the
5-pin DIN. The use of XLR3 connectors allowed the use of standard low-impedance microphone cables as MIDI cables. As the 31.25 Kbits/sec current-loop requires only three conductors, there was no problem with the loss of two pins. An example of this use is the Octave-Plateau
Voyetra-8 synthesizer.
Over a computer network
Compared to USB or FireWire, the
computer network implementation of MIDI provides network routing capabilities, which are extremely useful in studio or stage environments (USB and FireWire are more restrictive in the connections between computers and devices). Ethernet is moreover capable of providing the high-bandwidth channel that earlier alternatives to MIDI (such as
ZIPI) were intended to bring.
After the initial fight between different protocols (IEEE-P1639, MIDI-LAN, IETF RTP-MIDI), it appears that IETF's RTP MIDI specification for transport of MIDI streams over computer networks is now spreading faster and faster since more and more manufacturers are integrating RTP-MIDI in their products (Apple, CME, Kiss-Box, etc.). Mac OS X, Windows and Linux drivers are also available to make RTP MIDI devices appear as standard MIDI devices within these operating systems. IEEE-P1639 is now a dead project. The other proprietary MIDI/IP protocols are slowly disappearing, since most of them require expensive licensing to be implemented (while RTP MIDI is completely open), or the MIDI implementation does not bring any real advantage (apart from speed) over original MIDI protocol.
RTP-MIDI transport protocol
The RTP-MIDI protocol has been officially released in public domain by
IETF in December 2006 (IETF RFC4695). RTP-MIDI relies on the well-known
RTP (Real Time Protocol) layer (most often running over
UDP, but compatible with
TCP also), widely used for real-time audio and video streaming over networks. The
RTP layer is easy to implement and requires very little power from the microprocessor, while providing very useful information to the receiver (network latency, dropped packet detection, reordered packets, etc.). RTP-MIDI defines a specific payload type, that allows the receiver to identify MIDI streams.
RTP-MIDI does not alter the MIDI messages in any way (all messages defined in the MIDI norm are transported transparently over the network), but it adds additional features such as timestamping and sysex fragmentation. RTP-MIDI also adds a powerful 'journalling' mechanism that allows the receiver to detect and correct dropped MIDI messages.The first part of RTP-MIDI specification is mandatory for implementors and describes how MIDI messages are encapsulated within the RTP telegram. It also describes how the journalling system works. The journalling system is not mandatory (journalling is not very useful for LAN applications, but it is very important for WAN applications).
The second part of RTP-MIDI specification describes the session control mechanisms that allow multiple stations to synchronize across the network to exchange RTP-MIDI telegrams. This part is informational only, and it is not required.
RTP-MIDI is included in Apple's Mac OS X since 10.4 and iOS since 4.2, as standard MIDI ports (the RTP-MIDI ports appear in Macintosh applications as any other USB or FireWire port. Thus, any MIDI application running on Mac OS X is able to use the RTP-MIDI capabilities in a transparent way). However, Apple's developers considered the session control protocol described in IETF's specification to be too complex, and they created their own session control protocol. Since the session protocol uses a UDP port different from the main RTP-MIDI stream port, the two protocols do not interfere (so the RTP-MIDI implementation in Mac OS X fully complies to the IETF specification).
Apple's implementation has been used as reference by other MIDI manufacturers. A Windows XP RTP-MIDI driver for their own products only has been released by the Dutch company Kiss-Box , another Windows RTP-MIDI driver compatible to Windows XP up to Windows 7 (32bit and 64bit) has also been released and a Linux implementation is currently under development by the Grame association. So it seems probable that the Apple's implementation will become the "de-facto" standard (and could even become the MMA reference implementation).
Converting instruments to MIDI
Some older instruments, for example electronic organs built in the 1970s and 1980s, are becoming beyond repair, due to lack of spares and/or of technicians trained on such equipment. The best candidates for upgrade are what are referred to as "Console" sized, or have at least 2x keyboards of 61 notes, and at least a 25 note (preferably 32 note concave) pedal board. Smaller "Spinet" sized organs are probably not considered worthy of conversion.
In some cases, they can be modified into MIDI instruments. Terms coined from
MIDI +
modification are often used, such as
midification or
to midify.
An old electronic organ could have almost all of its discrete component electronics replaced by modern circuitry which will cause the instrument to output MIDI signals. The instrument would then become a specialised MIDI keyboard. Its MIDI output would need to be fed to a MIDI engine of some sort.
See for example: Midification of an Organ
In modern times new music keyboards have MIDI functions as standard and can be connected to the computers with a PC-to-MIDI circuit or simply via USB.
Other forms of MIDI controllers include wind controllers, drums, guitars, accordion and many others.
Old synthesizers are not often modified to transmit MIDI but people sometimes modify them to receive it. The modification involves adding a circuit board that converts digital MIDI signals into analog control voltages, as well as a MIDI jack. The circuit boards are usually designed specially for one model of synthesizer and it takes some expertise to install them. This allows pre-MIDI analog synthesizers to be controlled by digital sequencers, whereas they formerly required the user to actually play them.
Other applications
MIDI 1.0 is also used as a control protocol in applications other than music, including:
show control
theatre lighting
special effects
sound design
VJ-ing
recording system synchronization
audio processor control
Digital DJing otherwise known as Controllerism
computer networking, as solely demonstrated by the early first-person shooter game MIDI Maze, 1987
animatronic figure control
animation parameter control, as demonstrated by Apple Motion v2
lighting control is accomplished through the MIDI Show Control protocol which was standardised in 1991.
Beyond MIDI 1.0
Although traditional MIDI connections work well for most purposes, a number of newer message protocols and hardware transports have been proposed over the years to try to take the idea to the next level. Some of the more notable efforts include:
OSC
The
Open Sound Control (OSC) protocol was developed at
CNMAT. OSC has been implemented in the well-known
software synthesizer Reaktor, in other innovative projects including
SuperCollider,
Pure Data,
Isadora,
Max/MSP,
Csound,
vvvv,
ChucK, and
LuaAV as well as in many general purpose programming languages such as
C (liblo),
Python (pyliblo),
Haskell (hosc),
Scheme (sosc) and
Pure (pure-liblo). The
Lemur Input Device, a customizable touch panel with MIDI controller-type functions, also uses OSC. OSC differs from
MIDI 1.0 over traditional 5-pin DIN in that it can run at broadband speeds when sent over
Ethernet connections, however the differences are smaller compared to MIDI when run at broadband speeds over Ethernet connections. Few mainstream musical applications and no standalone instruments support the protocol so far, making whole-studio interoperability problematic. OSC is not owned by any private company, however it is also not maintained by any standards organization. Since September 2007, there is a proposal for a common namespace within OSC for communication between and controllers, synthesizers and hosts, however this too would not be maintained by any standards organization.
mLAN
Yamaha has its
mLAN protocol, which is based on the
IEEE 1394 transport (also known as
FireWire) and carries multiple
MIDI 1.0 message channels and multiple audio channels. mLAN is not maintained by a standards organization as it is a proprietary protocol. mLAN is open for licensing, although covered by patents owned by Yamaha.
HD Protocol
Development of a version of MIDI for new products which is fully backward compatible is now under discussion in the MMA. First announced as "HD-MIDI" in 2005 and tentatively called "HD Protocol" since 2008, this new standard would support modern high-speed transports, provide greater range and/or resolution in data values, increase the number of Channels, and support the future introduction of entirely new kinds of messages. Representatives from all sizes and types of companies are involved, from the smallest speciality show control operations to the largest musical equipment manufacturers. No technical details or projected completion dates have been announced. Various transports have been proposed for use for the HD-Protocol physical layer, including a call for
ACN to be used as the sole or primary transport in show control environments.
MIDI software
There is a wide range of MIDI software available such as auto accompaniment applications, notation programs, music teaching software, music producing, games, DJ/remix environments, etc.
Sample Standard MIDI files
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, with piano, jazz guitar, a hi-hat and four extra measures added to complete the short song, in A minor.
See also
List of MIDI editors and sequencers
Comparison of MIDI standards
MIDI 1.0
MIDI Machine Control
MIDI Show Control
MIDI timecode
MIDI controller
MIDI usage and applications
MIDI Tuning Standard
MIDI beat clock
General MIDI
General MIDI Level 2
DIN sync
Midiboard
MIDI mockup
Open Sound Control
Multitrack recording
Music sequencer
Show control
Sound design
SoundFont
LRC (file format)
Module file
Tracker (music software)
References
External links
Official MIDI Standards Organizations
MIDI Manufacturers Association (MMA) – Source for English-language MIDI specs
Association of Musical Electronics Industry (AMEI) – Source for Japanese-language MIDI specs
Unofficial Sources
Hinton Instruments' MIDI Protocol Guide
Hinton Instruments' Professional MIDI Guide
The MIDI Show Control (MSC) standard
MIDI Cable Length limitations
Scheme of PC MIDI cable
MIDI to USB adapter not working under Windows XP, when installed on a PC with dual-core processor
MIDI Tutorials, Guides, Tunings, Examples, MIDI Samples and Latest News
MIDI how-to database
MIDI tournaments for composers of original MIDI music
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Category:Computer and telecommunication standards
Category:Serial buses
Category:Music notation file formats