Sunday, August 29, 2010
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
All About MIDI
Special thanks to Deejay Jai on the posting.
As progressively more music is produced digitally, MIDI equipment has become a standard, even a necessity. MIDI, which stands for Musical Instrument Digital Interface, is a means of sending digital information from one electronic device to another. For example, sending music from a keyboard to a computer for recording.
Digital music technology first gained momentum in the 1970s as electronic instruments became more widely available and affordable. While the advancement of digital technology helped music progress rapidly, there was still a disconnect between many different manufacturers' equipment. Issues with the original equipment range from analog control voltages at various standards (one volt per octave or hertz per volt), and proprietary digital interfaces, such as Roland Corporation's DCB (Digital Control Bus) and Yamaha's "keycode" system.
In 1981 Dave Smith of Sequential Circuits submitted a request to the Audio Engineering Society for the MIDI standard, which would require certain specifications that allowed electronic equipment to be used together. The proposal was met with enthusiasm, and Dave Smith is known today as the "Father of MIDI." Today, MIDI technology has been standardized and is maintained by the MIDI Manufacturer's Association (MMA). Part of MIDI's success is that the technology has remained essentially unchanged in the face of technological developments since its introduction in 1983. As Smith himself says, "People don't realize how much MIDI has been integrated into computers and even cellphones ... It's just as viable today as it was 25 years ago."
Even at MIDI's conception, cables and ports were created with five pins and ports, even though only three were needed. These extra pins were added to ensure MIDI's ability to operate with the development of new technology, which still, after 25 years, has not been developed.
MIDI synthesizers are extremely versatile and can be built into an operating system, sound card, embedded device (e.g. hardware-based synthesizer) or a software-based synthesizer. The file format stores information on what note to play and when, or other important information such as possible pitch-bend during the envelope of the note or the note's velocity. This is advantageous for applications such as mobile phone ringtones and some video games, however, it may be a disadvantage to other applications because the information doesn't guarantee an accurate waveform will be heard by the receiver.
Another way MIDI improved the presence of digital music is in size. Prior to the MIDI standard, musicians were often hidden behind a large wall of synthesizers and equipment. MIDI technology allows artists to control more instruments from one place.
Almost all music recordings today use MIDI devices. In addition, MIDI is also used to control hardware, including recording devices and sound effect modules, as well as live performance equipment such as stage lights and effects pedals. MIDI allows computers, synthesizers, MIDI controllers, sound cards, samplers and drum machines to control one another, and to exchange system data. Another important result of MIDI has been the development of hardware and computer-based sequencers, which can be used to record, edit, and play back performances.
Because MIDI is a means of communicating data, and not a transfer of actual sound, MIDI makes it possible to control and synchronize various instruments as well as "event messages" like pitch, intensity, volume, and tempo. With MIDI, a synthesizer is plugged into a computer and recorded in real time without the distraction of background noises or feedback from microphones and other analog hardware. MIDI doesn't "pick up" a sound, it merely transmits digital information from one source to another.
The fact that each MIDI synthesizer has its own methods for producing the sound from the MIDI instructions provided could be considered a disadvantage. Often, when the same MIDI byte stream is outputted from one machine to another on a generic sound card or even a MIDI synthesizer on another operating system, the actual audible result may differ from the original. One sound card's synthesizer might not reproduce the exact sounds of another synthesizer. This is also a key reason that the idea of a "MIDI sound," meaning poor audio quality, is incorrect. The misconception is likely a result of the poor sound synthesis provided by many early sound cards, which relied on FM synthesis (a form of audio synthesis where the quality of a musical note, or simple wave form, is changed by frequency modulating it) instead of wavetables (a series of sampled notes from an analog instrument) to produce audio.
Both software and hardware available for MIDI is extensive. Almost any instrument imaginable has an electronic counterpart and many software programs exist to perform tasks such as converting files from MIDI format to .wav or .MP3. In many ways, MIDI has revolutionized the frontier of digital music, both in recording and performing, and has made the production of high-quality music accessible to even the casual musician. Smith says, "[MIDI] started the whole home recording phenomenon ... it was actually possible to record at home by yourself."
Source:
Tatiana Ryckman, Open Labs Staff Writerhttp://openlabs.com/all-about-midi.html
As progressively more music is produced digitally, MIDI equipment has become a standard, even a necessity. MIDI, which stands for Musical Instrument Digital Interface, is a means of sending digital information from one electronic device to another. For example, sending music from a keyboard to a computer for recording.
Digital music technology first gained momentum in the 1970s as electronic instruments became more widely available and affordable. While the advancement of digital technology helped music progress rapidly, there was still a disconnect between many different manufacturers' equipment. Issues with the original equipment range from analog control voltages at various standards (one volt per octave or hertz per volt), and proprietary digital interfaces, such as Roland Corporation's DCB (Digital Control Bus) and Yamaha's "keycode" system.
In 1981 Dave Smith of Sequential Circuits submitted a request to the Audio Engineering Society for the MIDI standard, which would require certain specifications that allowed electronic equipment to be used together. The proposal was met with enthusiasm, and Dave Smith is known today as the "Father of MIDI." Today, MIDI technology has been standardized and is maintained by the MIDI Manufacturer's Association (MMA). Part of MIDI's success is that the technology has remained essentially unchanged in the face of technological developments since its introduction in 1983. As Smith himself says, "People don't realize how much MIDI has been integrated into computers and even cellphones ... It's just as viable today as it was 25 years ago."
Even at MIDI's conception, cables and ports were created with five pins and ports, even though only three were needed. These extra pins were added to ensure MIDI's ability to operate with the development of new technology, which still, after 25 years, has not been developed.
MIDI synthesizers are extremely versatile and can be built into an operating system, sound card, embedded device (e.g. hardware-based synthesizer) or a software-based synthesizer. The file format stores information on what note to play and when, or other important information such as possible pitch-bend during the envelope of the note or the note's velocity. This is advantageous for applications such as mobile phone ringtones and some video games, however, it may be a disadvantage to other applications because the information doesn't guarantee an accurate waveform will be heard by the receiver.
Another way MIDI improved the presence of digital music is in size. Prior to the MIDI standard, musicians were often hidden behind a large wall of synthesizers and equipment. MIDI technology allows artists to control more instruments from one place.
Almost all music recordings today use MIDI devices. In addition, MIDI is also used to control hardware, including recording devices and sound effect modules, as well as live performance equipment such as stage lights and effects pedals. MIDI allows computers, synthesizers, MIDI controllers, sound cards, samplers and drum machines to control one another, and to exchange system data. Another important result of MIDI has been the development of hardware and computer-based sequencers, which can be used to record, edit, and play back performances.
Because MIDI is a means of communicating data, and not a transfer of actual sound, MIDI makes it possible to control and synchronize various instruments as well as "event messages" like pitch, intensity, volume, and tempo. With MIDI, a synthesizer is plugged into a computer and recorded in real time without the distraction of background noises or feedback from microphones and other analog hardware. MIDI doesn't "pick up" a sound, it merely transmits digital information from one source to another.
The fact that each MIDI synthesizer has its own methods for producing the sound from the MIDI instructions provided could be considered a disadvantage. Often, when the same MIDI byte stream is outputted from one machine to another on a generic sound card or even a MIDI synthesizer on another operating system, the actual audible result may differ from the original. One sound card's synthesizer might not reproduce the exact sounds of another synthesizer. This is also a key reason that the idea of a "MIDI sound," meaning poor audio quality, is incorrect. The misconception is likely a result of the poor sound synthesis provided by many early sound cards, which relied on FM synthesis (a form of audio synthesis where the quality of a musical note, or simple wave form, is changed by frequency modulating it) instead of wavetables (a series of sampled notes from an analog instrument) to produce audio.
Both software and hardware available for MIDI is extensive. Almost any instrument imaginable has an electronic counterpart and many software programs exist to perform tasks such as converting files from MIDI format to .wav or .MP3. In many ways, MIDI has revolutionized the frontier of digital music, both in recording and performing, and has made the production of high-quality music accessible to even the casual musician. Smith says, "[MIDI] started the whole home recording phenomenon ... it was actually possible to record at home by yourself."
Source:
Tatiana Ryckman, Open Labs Staff Writerhttp://openlabs.com/all-about-midi.html
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