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[Graham]

Just wondering if anyone could explain MIDI for me? Like what its about and what it can be used for. I noticed that my sampler has MIDI ports on the back of it and I'm also getting a Microkorg synth in the next few days and I think its MIDI compatible, but I was wondering what this will enable them to do? At college we did some basic MIDI stuff but it was just recording a song using a keyboard and cubase, but I'm guessing there is more that can be done with it.

[spellchecker]

I think it stands for Musical Instrument Digital Interface. MIDI is actually little more than a protocol, it's about 20 years old as well. The MIDI protocol typically includes information about notes being played or actioned, attack velocity (how hard the note was played), transpose information (e.g. a pitch bend wheel) and modulation information (modulation wheels).

Typically, you may have a MIDI controller, such as a keyboard. On its own, the MIDI controller makes no music, it simply speaks the MIDI protocol. However, if you connect the MIDI controller keyboard to a sound module, it associates sounds with the different keys pressed, and may alter the sound in different ways depending on what octave you play, whether or not you use the pitch bend/modulation, etc. etc.

I think MIDI can actually be used for controlling devices as well. I'm not quite sure how this works, but it can only use the MIDI protocol as far as I know, so much the same way i suppose. For example many drum machines and/or samplers can be controlled by MIDI. However, I think they would be considered MIDI output devices as well as MIDI input devices.

Say you had a drum machine that had MIDI input and MIDI output. It may be the case that you could control the drum machine from a remote MIDI console - e.g. you could program patterns and songs, start and stop playback etc. etc. using MIDI. However, you could also have the MIDI output of the drum machine coming back to your MIDI interface (a device that receives MIDI input/output signals) - this could then be translated by some computer program as a drum rhythm, from the MIDI output.

So typically, you always have :

A MIDI interface
A MIDI input or output device

As an example, if you had a MIDI controller keyboard plugged into a Midisport 2x2, which is in turn plugged into a PC running PropellerHeads' Reason, then your controller keyboard is the input device, because it is generating the MIDI protocol messages. The Midisport 2x2 would be the MIDI interface, because it is connecting the input device to something that can process the protocol messages, namely the PC running Reason. Reason will then make sounds by translating the MIDI protocol messages into the corresponding waveforms in whichever sound bank is selected. Reason could also record the MIDI protocol messages so that you try playing back your piece using different sound banks, without having to play the piece again.

Some of this may not be correct, but it's a general jist of how it works.

[soundian]

Originally posted by Graham:
Just wondering if anyone could explain MIDI for me? Like what its about and what it can be used for. I noticed that my sampler has MIDI ports on the back of it and I'm also getting a Microkorg synth in the next few days and I think its MIDI compatible, but I was wondering what this will enable them to do? At college we did some basic MIDI stuff but it was just recording a song using a keyboard and cubase, but I'm guessing there is more that can be done with it.

If your samplers got a sequencer you can play the keyboard with that, leaving your hands free for other musical mischief. Your manuals for both the sampler and the keyboard should have some basic info on how to hook it up.

The Foyer is running a basic MIDI course soon. There's info on a thread on this forum.

[Graham]

Thanks for the info! Its a bit clearer now.

[soundian]

Originally posted by Graham:
Thanks for the info! Its a bit clearer now.

I hope your not talking about Spellcheckers post. Confused the fuck out of me.

[spellchecker]

Originally posted by soundian:
I hope your not talking about Spellcheckers post. Confused the fuck out of me.

yeah sorry about that, kind of rambled on in a backwards direction from a programmer's point of view. anyway, found this interesting link, just thought i'd share it.

http://www.tweakheadz.com/guide.htm