Post by debert on Jul 24, 2012 9:30:14 GMT -5
The word MIDI stands for Musical Instrument Digital Interface. That might sound more confusing than it is.
Here's the best way I have found for a lay person to understand what MIDI is and what it does.
Do you remember the old player pianos where you would put a song roll on the available spool, start the vacuum motor or physically pump the pedals to create the vacuum necessary to cause the instrument to play, adjust the tempo, and a song would play out, moving the keys as if there were an invisible player sitting at the piano?
MIDI is like that concept only performed electronically with digital information.
With the old player pianos, as the open holes, cut out of the song roll, would move past the holes in the tracker bar, each opened hole would allow air to suck in and cause a valve to trip, which would lower the corresponding key and cause the note to play. In this manner the entire song would perform from beginning to end.
Well, MIDI basically does the same thing when it comes to an electronic keyboard, only it is not designed to physically lower the keys of the instrument. It causes the keyboard to play without a physical player sitting at it. Instead of using a song roll it uses a midi file. Instead of using a vacuum motor it uses a sequencer to drive the midi file, corresponding to the way the motor would turn the song roll in the player piano.
The advantage of MIDI, if you acquire what is called a MIDI editing program (many free ones available) you can cause your keyboard instrument to play many different instruments including rhythm all at the same time. A MIDI file can be like a player piano times 10 or more, depending on the design of your keyboard and the capabilities of your sequencer. A simple computer can serve as a sequencer but a midi editing program gives you much more versatility of working with midi files.
Plus, not only does midi perform like a multi-player piano, it also can serve as a means to record your own songs and performances. In other words, it is like making your own song rolls for a player piano, only in an electronic fashion. If you hit a wrong note during the recording, don't stop, you can actually go into the editor later and correct the note so that it plays back properly. The potentials available via midi files and a midi editor and recording programs are virtually endless when it comes to playing and creating music on your own instrument.
You could make a 10 track recording of ten different instruments, tweak it and correct it, create fade-ins or fade outs, etc., and then play it back over your keyboard instrument and you will hear the song in its full orchestration. Some midi reocrding programs also allow you to record vocal tracks (audio tracks) and have them sync with the instrument tracks. Then the entire thing can be recorded and converted to CD format or MP3 format and you can create your own set of songs for a CD or MP3 collection.
If you have more than one MIDI capable instrument, they can also be "daisy-chained" together so that all of them can play back simultaneously. Almost all of the keyboard instruments that one can purchase today come with MIDI, even the very inexpensive ones. Most are employing a USB style MIDI hookup which makes "daisy-chaining" more difficult. For "daisy-chaining" instruments together it is best to employ "NON-USB" midi ports. Initially, all MIDI ports were NON-USB as USB had not entered the computing scene at that time. Now, however, most are USB, which limits the "daisy-chain" capability. What is best is to purchase a keyboard with NON-USB ports or a combination of USB and NON-USB ports.
However, if your going to keep it simple with just one instrument, USB MIDI is just fine. Plus, they are developing more and more USB-MIDI interfaces so that both USB and NON-USB instruments can be employed together.
Seriously, when it comes to MIDI, the sky is the limit for music creativity, instruction and simple entertainment. 1000's of free simple midi files can be found on the internet and more sophisticated and professional files can be purchased here and there online as well. Instead of buying piano rolls you are buying midi files!
More info to follow about MIDI. Any questions, please join the board and ask away.
Thanks,
Dan
Here's the best way I have found for a lay person to understand what MIDI is and what it does.
Do you remember the old player pianos where you would put a song roll on the available spool, start the vacuum motor or physically pump the pedals to create the vacuum necessary to cause the instrument to play, adjust the tempo, and a song would play out, moving the keys as if there were an invisible player sitting at the piano?
MIDI is like that concept only performed electronically with digital information.
With the old player pianos, as the open holes, cut out of the song roll, would move past the holes in the tracker bar, each opened hole would allow air to suck in and cause a valve to trip, which would lower the corresponding key and cause the note to play. In this manner the entire song would perform from beginning to end.
Well, MIDI basically does the same thing when it comes to an electronic keyboard, only it is not designed to physically lower the keys of the instrument. It causes the keyboard to play without a physical player sitting at it. Instead of using a song roll it uses a midi file. Instead of using a vacuum motor it uses a sequencer to drive the midi file, corresponding to the way the motor would turn the song roll in the player piano.
The advantage of MIDI, if you acquire what is called a MIDI editing program (many free ones available) you can cause your keyboard instrument to play many different instruments including rhythm all at the same time. A MIDI file can be like a player piano times 10 or more, depending on the design of your keyboard and the capabilities of your sequencer. A simple computer can serve as a sequencer but a midi editing program gives you much more versatility of working with midi files.
Plus, not only does midi perform like a multi-player piano, it also can serve as a means to record your own songs and performances. In other words, it is like making your own song rolls for a player piano, only in an electronic fashion. If you hit a wrong note during the recording, don't stop, you can actually go into the editor later and correct the note so that it plays back properly. The potentials available via midi files and a midi editor and recording programs are virtually endless when it comes to playing and creating music on your own instrument.
You could make a 10 track recording of ten different instruments, tweak it and correct it, create fade-ins or fade outs, etc., and then play it back over your keyboard instrument and you will hear the song in its full orchestration. Some midi reocrding programs also allow you to record vocal tracks (audio tracks) and have them sync with the instrument tracks. Then the entire thing can be recorded and converted to CD format or MP3 format and you can create your own set of songs for a CD or MP3 collection.
If you have more than one MIDI capable instrument, they can also be "daisy-chained" together so that all of them can play back simultaneously. Almost all of the keyboard instruments that one can purchase today come with MIDI, even the very inexpensive ones. Most are employing a USB style MIDI hookup which makes "daisy-chaining" more difficult. For "daisy-chaining" instruments together it is best to employ "NON-USB" midi ports. Initially, all MIDI ports were NON-USB as USB had not entered the computing scene at that time. Now, however, most are USB, which limits the "daisy-chain" capability. What is best is to purchase a keyboard with NON-USB ports or a combination of USB and NON-USB ports.
However, if your going to keep it simple with just one instrument, USB MIDI is just fine. Plus, they are developing more and more USB-MIDI interfaces so that both USB and NON-USB instruments can be employed together.
Seriously, when it comes to MIDI, the sky is the limit for music creativity, instruction and simple entertainment. 1000's of free simple midi files can be found on the internet and more sophisticated and professional files can be purchased here and there online as well. Instead of buying piano rolls you are buying midi files!
More info to follow about MIDI. Any questions, please join the board and ask away.
Thanks,
Dan