What is MIDI?

Excerpts for the MIDI Sequencing - Made Easy Book

What is MIDI Sequencing?

MIDI Sequencing is the art of programming a computer to playback music to you; not using real audio, but MIDI data which contains only instructions on what notes to play and how to play them. A MIDI Sequencer is a computer program that records these instructions and lets you edit them. It is similar to a recording studio in that you can layer different musical parts to make up your final piece. Throughout this book, we will help you understand what MIDI is, how to edit.

What will I need?

• A computer
• A MIDI keyboard to connect to it with the correct cables
• A device to hear the sounds from your computer (speakers or headphones)

What is MIDI?

MIDI is an acronym, in other words it stands for Musical Instrument Digital Interface. That sounds difficult to understand, but it really means: a way for computers and electronic musical equipment (MIDI instruments) to communicate. There is lots of very useful information that computers and MIDI instruments can send to each other and we will be exploring many of these throughout the book.

What is General MIDI?

General MIDI is an agreed standardisation of equipment bearing the GM logo. It means that no matter what manufacturer makes your equipment, if it bears the logo it will have all its sounds and all its effects in the same place. So when you select sound number 1, it will be an Acoustic Grand Piano on everyone’s equipment.

 What is a MIDI file?

A MIDI file is a set of instructions for a computer or synthesizer to play a musical piece. The MIDI file does not include actual sounds like an mp3, but information on how to trigger the sounds that are already in your computer or synth.

The MIDI instructions include:
• what notes to play
• how long the notes have to be held on
• the instrument sound the notes are to be played by
• the volume
• the note rhythms, and many other pieces of information

This sounds like a lot of information, but MIDI files are tiny compared to audio files. They are small because they don’t actually contain any sounds. Remember: they just contain the
instructions for triggering the sounds that are already in your computer or synth.

MIDI files are very much like old fashioned Pianola rolls (ask a music teacher about these!). They contain the instructions about the notes to play, but not the actual sounds themselves.

You can download MIDI files from the Internet and play them through Windows Media Player, QuickTime and lots of other software, but to edit a MIDI file or create one, we need a MIDI Sequencer program like Cubase.