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A:
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1. M.I.D.I. is short for Musical Instrument Digital Interface.
2. MIDI can be used to connect any two or more compatible devices so that information can be transmitted and received between the devices.
3. A “compatible” device is any product that has a 5 pin din connection that is labeled “MIDI IN” “MIDI OUT” or “MIDI THRU”.
4. These devices are connected using “MIDI” cables, which can be up to 50 feet in length.
5. Common MIDI devices include electronic keyboards, synthesizers, drum machines, mixers, lighting consoles, electronic drum pads, wind controllers, and computers equipped with a MIDI interface.
6. MIDI does NOT make any sound. It only carries information from one device to another, telling the other device what to do (for example, play a note, for how long, at what velocity, etc...).
7. If you had a computer with a MIDI interface (NOT a sound card) connected to a MIDI compatible keyboard, and recorded MIDI information into the computer, the computer could only transmit that information back to the keyboard. The computer would not make any sound, the sound must come from the keyboard itself.
8. If MIDI doesn’t make any sound, what information is sent along the cable(s)? MIDI sends digital information messages. These “messages” can contain various types of data such as note on/off (when a key is pushed down and released), MIDI note number (every key on a keyboard has a note #), velocity (how soft or hard a key is struck), pitch bend, modulation, sustain pedal, program change, various other controller messages, and finally the MIDI channel that the information is being transmitted.
9. How many MIDI channels are there, and why do we need different channels ? There are 16 MIDI channels (according to the MIDI spec version 1.0). Each part that is “recorded” into the computer must be done using a different “channel” so that the software can treat each channel as a different instrument or “player”.
10. Important terms you should know: Polyphony=how many notes can be played or heard at once. Multi-Timbral=how many sounds or instruments can be heard at once. General MIDI (or GM)=a device that is capable of producing a minimum of 24 notes poly, and 16 part multi-timbral, that has a standardized group and order of sounds. These products also have a logo stamped on them for easy identification.
Standard MIDI File(or SMF)= a computer music file format that is compatible and transferable between software programs, computer platforms, and keyboard workstations that can read a DOS compatible diskette.
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