MUSICAL INSTRUMENT DIGITAL INTERFACE
Just as computers have revolutionized banking and commerce (not to mention communication and entertainment), MIDI has revolutionized music making. Most people are not aware of what MIDI is, how it is used, and how often they hear it in the music they listen to. In this page, I plan to describe as fully as possible, without getting too technical or boring, everything you need to know about MIDI (but didn't know to ask). Actually, I plan to use every good link I can find to fill in all the stuff that is readily available on the internet, and then add extra stuff on my own where applicable.
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| From: http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/M/MIDI.html Definition: "Pronounced middy, an acronym for musical instrument digital interface, a standard adopted by the electronic music industry for controlling devices, such as synthesizers and sound cards, that emit music. At minimum, a MIDI representation of a sound includes values for the note's pitch, length, and volume. It can also include additional characteristics, such as attack and delay time. The MIDI standard is supported by most synthesizers, A number of software programs are available for |
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Now, the definition to the left,
although essentially correct, is a little brief on a couple of points. First
of all, the characteristics of a midi "representation" it talks about are
called controllers. There are many, many of these controllers are they can
be used to define any individual note. This means that in a midi data
file that defines a melody line, each individual note can be
made to represent how a not would be played in real life by a real person.
Every nuance, every shade. This, in effect is what happens when MIDI is used to record a live performance using a MIDI keyboard. But it goes farther than that. It can be used to perfect a live performance. Mistakes can be edited out, and nuance can be added in. |
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| From: http://www.physik.rwth-aachen.de/~harm/aixphysik/ sound/midi/pages/midicntr.html |
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This definition uses the term controllers
to mean the interface that is used to create the MIDI data stream. You will
often see the term used in this way, especially if you are talking with someone
who uses MIDI in a performance situation. However, the information provided
in the definition to the right does tell you a number of important things:
There are lots of ways to create a MIDI data stream, and there are lots of
ways to use it. |
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The MIDI
controllers I am talking about are the parts of the data that control the
individual sounds themselves. Here are a few examples: (Believe it
or not, there are many more) |
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| Now, getting back to the idea of a MIDI
Interface. The most important MIDI interface of them all is the computer,
and just like a computer takes the letter of each keystroke you make and changes
it into a binary code, a MIDI bitstream can also hold information concerning
keystrokes. In other words, MIDI files can contain words, as well as musical
information, so MIDI Files can contain the Authors and arrangers name, along
with Lyrics. |
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| From: http://www.finalemusic.com/ "Instantly orchestrate your piano score to multiple staves. For a handwritten look, use Finale’s Jazz font or 3rd-party fonts to create medieval, Gregorian, Franconian, contemporary, or avant-garde styles. If you can imagine it, Finale can create it. Easily type or import lyrics. Unlimited number of verses. Rhyming dictionary. Piano Music * Cross-staff and cross-bar beaming; smart pedal, articulation and dynamic markings. * MIDI files import into two staves with adjustable split point. Jazz Music * Percussion clef, drum mapping and note heads; mix special drum font with other music fonts. * New Jazz font gives your music the look of a hand-written chart. Vocal Music * Type lyrics directly into score or import with a single click. * Automatic syllable alignment and word extensions; unlimited number of verses with mixed fonts. Avant-Garde Music - Anything you can imagine, Finale can create." |
O.K. Now we're getting into the interesting
stuff. What do the movies Gladiator, Star Wars II, A Beautiful Mind, and Harry
Potter I and II have in common? The scores for these movies were all written
and printed using a program called Finale. It uses MIDI information as well
as proprietary software to generate written music. It also can play the music. I have been using Finale since 1994. I have used it to make scores from everything from Sacred Choral Music to Marching Band Instrument Charts. So, basically what we're talking about here is a way to use a computer to write music, print it out so that live musicians can play it, and have what you've written and printed. Plus, this aforementioned music can played 'automatically' through a synthesizer. However, the word 'synthesizer' does not even begin to encapsulate the next bit of information I will attempt to impart to you. |
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| From: http://www.rolandus.com/ Overview The XV-5080 is Roland's ultimate sound module, based on the best-sounding, most expressive and expandable new synthesizer/sample player architecture in Roland history. This flagship module offers 128 voices, true stereo waveforms per Tone, expressive Matrix Control, expandability via new 64MB* SRX- and popular SR-JV80-Series wave expansion boards, Roland/Akai sample library compatibility and a host of new studio-quality effects. Features
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Let me just explain what these specs.
mean: 128 voices basically means that it can play 128 separate parts at one time. 1,200 factory patches means that there are 1,200 stored digital samples of instruments on-board. (That's 1,200 different instrument sounds) 'Load samples' means that you can record not only your own sounds to play back, but also quite a bit of sound. For instance, you could record yourself saying "Hi my name is suzy." and then the module could either play it back for you as you recorded it, or faster, slower, higher or lower and triggered by either a computer or a musical keyboard. Expansion slots are sockets for cards holding thousands of other samples. Built in SCSI and wordclock input means that not only can you load data directly from a computer, but you can have a computer activate (in perfect timecode synchronization) this module along with any other modules. |
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| MIDI can
also be used to activate sound and lighting effects, not only in terms of
a digital production, but mechanically as well. I have heard of instances
where MIDI has been used to trigger fountains, fireworks, and even robots.
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| At the heart
of MIDI however, is the music. It is literally impossible these days to listen
to the radio for more than ten minutes without hearing some use of MIDI.
Most people would swear they knew the sound of a real piano if they heard
one, but hardly any new music being recorded today uses a real piano. Most
drum and Bass lines used in Hip-hop, rap and a lot of top-forty pop are MIDI
instruments played by a sequencer. Even Hollywood is big on MIDI. There is
hardly a movie playing today that does not use MIDI in it's soundtrack one
way or another. |
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