The MIDI Manufacturers Association (MMA) has officially released the MIDI Capability Inquiry (MIDI-CI) specification.
MIDI-CI was adopted by the organization at the 2018 NAMM Show.
The new spec promises to make it possible for MIDI gear and apps to automatically ‘talk’ to each other, exchange capabilities information and configure for better compatibility.
For example, an MPE MIDI controller might exchange information with a software synth, and they could automatically configure themselves to work together effectively.
The standard also establishes a starting point for a ‘next generation’ MIDI protocol.
MIDI-CI enables 3 main areas of new functionality:
- Profile Configuration – Profiles are defined sets of rules for how a MIDI device sends or responds to specific MIDI messages to achieve a specific purpose or suit a specific application. Profiles make products easier to configure and provide better interoperability.
- Property Exchange – Property Exchange (PE) messages can get and set device properties including but not limited to product name, configuration settings, controller names, controller values, patch names and other meta data, etc.
- Protocol Negotiation – MIDI-CI defines a method for two devices to negotiate to use a future industry standard “Next Generation” MMA/AMEI protocol that is planned as an extension of MIDI 1.0 with high priority given to translation to/from MIDI 1.0 messages. The new protocol will enable new devices that have more Channels, higher resolution Controllers, and Per-Note Controllers, among other new features.
MIDI-CI itself does not define these new features, just the way to negotiate them. Documents defining specific profiles, specific properties and values, and a new industry standard protocol are still to come.
The MIDI-CI Specification is available as a free download, via MIDI.org. Registration at the site is required.
A step in right direction. Make it happen.
It’s not true this spec makes instruments talk to each other ‘automatically’. MIDI was created to let them talk to each other. and they do for 30+ years. This spec provides ways for multiple ways for devices to talk to each other. Actually its just Sysex which makes it possible for once device to say ‘I speak English and I have this vocabulary’, and the other to say ‘I speak French and I have this vocabulary’. So, will they then start talking to each other? The vocabulary itself is still to be defined. In the meantime manufacturers will hijack this and define their proprietary undisclosed protocol under MIDI-CI so they can market (monetize) it as MIDI-CI compliant while still using that proprietary undisclosed protocol. It’s the same trick as stating ‘MIDI USB compliant’ which can mean many different things. it might be win for manufacturers (marketing wise) but it’s a real question if there is a win for consumers and smaller companies and for the community wishing open, well documented and transparent implementation of their instrument how it communicated to the outside world but instead may end up with a non-free or non-open MIDI As A Service. (Subscription anyone ?). All will highly depend how manufactures are going to work together with each other to implement this. Without any ROI, would they ?
Dude, did you even read the article before launching into the conspiracy theories?
make my stuff just work, without cables, without lag. right now i run four cables for each synth and i have around 15 of them. power,audio, midi in, midi out. totally crazy.
Hahaha it’s so true. I really hope that low energy wireless signals like WiFi and Bluetooth prove to be harmless, so we can get the chord spaghetti out of the way once and for all. I mean, for modular stuff, cool, but when connecting synths to sequencers, synths to DAWs, all the long and tangled chords just impede the creativity, and force hardware to static — as in less mobile, etc. — unless one wants to do the tangle tango all over again.
I hear THAT, but its a First World Problem I’m glad to have. I gradually cut back on my hardware over time, because it seems easier and more fun to do most of it in the box. I still love my hardware, but I couldn’t get a Hammond, CS-80 or Mellotron on my desk unless it was in software. A hybrid rig is working well for me. Again, the new spec’s features are simply defined, not baked-in. It seems aimed more at pros than hobbyists. You still gotta set up your parameter chains, same as anyone else. The additions make sense, though, especially if you are a power user. People on tour or in busy studios will probably end up with some real work-saving templates they’ll appreciate. I also think the MMA is about as far from conspiracy activity as you can get. C’mon!:P
@S-Trigger Dave: Possibly your reply is not to blackbauble, but to someone else?
Hahaha it’s so true. I really hope that low energy wireless signals like WiFi and Bluetooth prove to be mostly harmless, so we can get the chord-spaghetti out of the way once and for all.
I mean, for modular stuff, it can be cool, but when connecting synths to sequencers, synths to DAWs, etc., all the long-and-tangled chords just impede the creativity. They also tend to make hardware more stationary — unless one wants to do the un-tangle-tango with each new physical configuration.
Let’s upgrade MIDI to make music again ….
Let´s Make MIDI Great Again