How MIDI Works

Perhaps the best way to understand what MIDI is to first understand what it is not:

MIDI is nothing more than data -- a set of instructions. MIDI data contains a list of events or messages that tell an electronic device (musical instrument, computer sound card, cell phone, et cetera) how to generate a certain sound. Here are a few examples of typical MIDI messages:

[source: MIDI Manufacturers Association]

When you record music onto a computer using MIDI, the software saves this list of messages and instructions as a .MID file. If you play the .MID file back on an electronic keyboard, the keyboard's internal synthesizer software follows the instructions to play back the song. The keyboard will play a certain key with a certain velocity and hold it for a specified amount of time before moving on to the next note.

But .MID files aren't restricted to keyboards or other electronic musical instruments. They can be played on any electronic device that contains synthesizer software. Any computer with a sound card can play back .MID files. Cell phones use .MID files to play elaborate ringtones. MIDI data files are perfect for karaoke machines, because they allow the machine to easily change pitch for different vocal ranges. The .MID file will sound a little different on each device because the audio sources are different.

The karaoke example highlights one of the advantages of .MID files. Since the .MID file contains no actual music or sounds, it can be modified without having to re-record any audio. You can speed up the tempo of a MIDI file without the "Chipmunks effect" of warping the pitch, and you can play it with any MIDI compatible musical instrument or device.

And since MIDI files don't contain sampled audio like MP3 or WAV files, they're comparatively much smaller than audio files. A minute of compressed audio adds up to around 10Mb (megabytes) of data, while a minute of sound translated into MIDI only takes up 10Kb (kilobytes) [source: MIDI Manufacturers Association]. This makes MIDI a great choice for memory-starved devices like cell phones and video games.

Now let's look at the difference between MIDI instruments and MIDI controllers.

There are two basic types of devices that generate MIDI data: MIDI musical instruments and MIDI controllers. MIDI musical instruments, also known as synthesizers, come in all different shapes and sizes. Their chief characteristic -- or what differentiates them from MIDI controllers -- is that they generate sound as well as MIDI data.

The classic MIDI synthesizer is the electronic keyboard, resembling a small piano. When you press a key on the keyboard, you hear a tone. Most new keyboards come with hundreds of different preset instrument sounds and effects from which to choose.

But when you press a key on a MIDI synthesizer, in addition to creating an audible tone, you also create MIDI data. If you connect the keyboard to a computer, you can record that MIDI data onto a sequencing program. Or you can connect that keyboard to another device, like a drum machine or sampler, and control that device through MIDI commands.

Over the years, many conventional instruments have been converted into MIDI synthesizers. There are special guitar synthesizers that have touch-sensitive pads instead of frets. On stringed instruments, frets are the raised portions on the neck that divide it into musical fixed elements. On a guitar, for example, each fret represents one semitone.

There are wind instrument synthesizers that look like plastic clarinets, but can be adjusted to play like a saxophone. And full drum sets can be constructed of MIDI drum pads, cymbals and high-hats.

So what's a MIDI controller? A MIDI controller looks just like a MIDI synthesizer, except it doesn't emit any sound by itself. Think of it like a joystick or a mouse. A MIDI controller only generates pure MIDI data that's interpreted by either a computer or an audio-enabled MIDI synthesizer.

Let's use an example. As we mentioned earlier, the original motivation for inventing MIDI was that musicians wanted to be able to control multiple electronic instruments from one device. This device, usually a keyboard, is called the controller. Different sections of the keyboard can be assigned to control different instruments. Perhaps the lower register controls the drum machine, the middle register controls a Moog synthesizer, and the upper register plays an electronic flute. The controller itself doesn't generate any sound. It just sends out the MIDI messages telling the other instruments what to play.

Today, there are special MIDI controllers -- still mostly keyboards -- that come equipped with multiple knobs and faders to manipulate the instruments they're emulating or controlling. These MIDI controllers don't come with hundreds of preloaded sounds and effects because they generate all of their audio through third-party hardware and software.

MIDI controllers, like MIDI synthesizers, come in all shapes and sizes. There are MIDI controllers that look like guitars, clarinets and drums. Plus there are special foot pedals and elaborate control consoles with dozens of knobs and faders for professional quality mixing. There are even special MIDI consoles to control stage lighting during a show.

Now let's look at the basics of MIDI sequencers, also known as multi-track recording software.

Multi-track recording software -- or sequencing software -- replicates the tools and functions of a professional recording studio on a home computer. It's called a sequencer because the software records a time-stamped sequence of MIDI events and plays them back in the same exact order [source: The Java Tutorial].

For a simple MIDI recording setup, all you need is a MIDI synthesizer or controller connected to a computer, plus some kind of sequencer software. The standard MIDI connector is the five-pin MIDI DIN that attaches to the joystick port of a PC soundcard. Or you can invest in a small MIDI USB or Firewire adapter that easily plugs into the USB or Firewire port of a desktop PC or laptop. For a more complicated MIDI recording setup, you might need a multi-port MIDI interface that allows you to connect several MIDI devices to a computer at the same time.

Like traditional studio recording, software sequencers record audio onto individual tracks. There's a separate track for the percussion, another for guitar, another for piano, another for vocals, and so on. Most modern sequencers can record both digital audio and MIDI data. A vocal track, for example, would be recorded with a microphone and represented in the sequencing program as sound waves. A MIDI track recorded from a keyboard would be represented as dots and bars corresponding to MIDI events.

To record a song on a sequencer, you typically lay down one track at a time. Once the percussion track is recorded, for example, you can play it back and record over it with the bass line. This is called real-time recording.

But since MIDI data is digital, it's also extremely easy to edit. The visual layout of a sequencing program is chronological, displaying recorded audio from left to right, beginning to end. You can grab chunks of audio -- say a drumbeat -- copy it and paste it 100 more times. Or you can take the entire chorus, including 16 different tracks, and drag it back 12 bars.

Most sequencing software also comes with a host of virtual knobs, faders and effects. You can adjust the volume, stereo pan and audio effects of each track to create the perfect mix. The software allows you to export your file as an MP3 or WAV and burn them onto a a CD.

Now let's talk about virtual instruments, one of the coolest advantages of making music with MIDI.

Any synthesizer, like an electronic keyboard or MIDI guitar, is made up of both hardware and software. The synthesizer software runs on a tiny computer installed inside the musical instrument. But it's also possible to take that same synthesizer software -- which contains all of the code that produces the unique sounds of an electronic instrument -- and run it on a normal home computer.

This type of software-only synthesizer is called a soft synth and is one of several so-called virtual instruments. Let's say you have an audio editing and sequencing program like Pro Tools. You're writing a song that would sound awesome with a jammin' solo on a 1975 Moog synthesizer with Taurus bass pedals. You don't have to go on eBay and drop a couple thousand dollars on a vintage synthesizer. Instead, you can buy an inexpensive software plug-in for Pro Tools that allows you to emulate the exact sound of the 1975 Moog.

A virtual instrument that replicates the sound of an existing hardware instrument is called an emulator. The cool thing about these emulator plug-ins is that they include a graphical interface that looks exactly like the original instrument, right down to all the crazy knobs and faders. And since this is a MIDI interface, you can even add extra effects and capabilities -- like the ability to play more notes at the same time.

You play a soft synth emulator through the same MIDI keyboard or MIDI controller you use to record the rest of your MIDI data. Or you can buy special controllers that are meant to have the look and feel of a classic keyboard or organ, with all the physical knobs, buttons and drawbars. There are also plenty of soft synths that are original creations, rather than emulating an existing musical instrument.

Another type of virtual instrument is a software sampler. A sampler allows you to press a button to play back a sound file, maybe a vocal shout or an audio quote from a movie. Software samplers can be loaded with bits of original recorded audio, but are most useful when loaded with tremendous third-party sample libraries containing thousands of drumbeats, sound effects and vocal clips [source: Sweetwater].

Most virtual instruments and sampler plug-ins are programmed using something called Virtual Studio Technology (VST), an open codec introduced by Steinberg in 1996. VST plug-ins can be dragged and dropped directly into Steinberg's sequencing and recording programs, Cubase and Neundo. Although a program like Pro Tools doesn't recognize VST files, there are special downloads that repackage VST files as Pro Tools plug-ins [source: YouTube].

We hope this has been a helpful introduction to the miraculous world of MIDI. For more information on music technology and related topics, check out the links on the next page.