10 thoughts on “MIDI Explained

  1. That was a good short description. The only other little phrases that should have been included are:

    “Though it was released decades ago, it remains an incredibly powerful format for devices to interact.”

    And as a side note, I find it funny that some folks park their mod wheels at the “half-way up” point– presumably so it will look nice next to the pitch wheel.

  2. I would like to see a MIDI application that reads a direct audio monotonic melodic phrase and notates it. For songs for which I can’t find sheet music, or to find out the key in which a song is written.

    1. There are several good apps out there that do this. It is a sophisticated process, as certain things like “knowing” where the beat is (both tempo and the relationship of incoming pitches to the beat), as well as determining the key– especially if there are accidentals– can be a little tricky.

      It is likely that a two-step solution is the cheapest & best optionl. If you have an iPhone or iPad, MIDImorphosis is a very cost effective way to get your melodies into a MIDI file. From there, you can export the file as a “Standard MIDI File” (.smf, or .mid) and use iTunes to bring that file to your computer.

      From there, you could use something like Muse Score (open source notation software) or a more fancy notation software or DAW to import the MIDI sequence file and convert that midi info into notation (edit, change key, etc.).

    2. Get Melodyne. Cheapest version can convert monophonic audio to midi, higher versions can convert polyphonic audio and have midi export. You cannot expect miracles but it works surprisingly well.

  3. Yeah, MIDI is great, but it seems like posting this video on this site is just preaching to the choir. I can’t imagine regulars ’round these parts not knowing what MIDI is (and isn’t). Also, this guy is a total wiener.

  4. Lots of people think they understand midi but in reality they do not. For example, your playing a midi sequence and after the midi clip has finished the vst synth continues to play and doesn’t stop. What’s wrong. If you understand midi you know midi needs a note on signal and a note off signal. Commonly the note off is not signalled and the vst will continue to play. Lots of people have no real idea how midi works bar it let’s me play my keyboard on the computer.

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