Musical Instrument Digital Interface

(MIDI)

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 Overview

 What is MIDI?
 MIDI benefits
 MIDI configuration
 MIDI ports
 MIDI interface
 Limitations of MIDI
 MIDI message types
 MIDI H/S
 MIDI application

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 What is MIDI?

 MIDI stands for Musical Instrument Digital Interface

Some Clarification:
 MIDI doesn’t directly describe musical sound
 MIDI is not a language
 It is a data communications protocol
 The MIDI protocol — lets synthesizers, computers and other
devices talk to each other.
 MIDI is a technical standard that describes a communications
protocol, digital interface, and electrical connectors and allows a wide
variety of electronic musical instruments, computers and other related music
and audio devices to connect and communicate with one another. A single
MIDI link can carry up to sixteen channels of information, each of which can
be routed to a separate device.

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 MIDI Channels

MIDI cable carries 16 channels

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 What is MIDI?

Messages use MIDI cables.

Audio uses audio cables.

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 What is MIDI?
 MIDI carries event messages that specify pitch,
notation and velocity (loudness or softness), control signals
for parameters such as volume, vibrato, audio panning from left to
right, cues in theatre, and clock signals that set and
synchronize tempo between multiple devices. These messages are sent
via a MIDI cable to other devices where they control sound generation
and other features. A simple example of a MIDI setup is the use of a
MIDI controller such as an electronic musical keyboard to trigger sounds
created by a sound module, which is in turn plugged into a keyboard
amplifier. This MIDI data can also be recorded into a hardware or
software device called a sequencer, which can be used to edit the data
and to play it back at a later time.
 Advantages of MIDI include small file size, ease of modification and
manipulation and a wide choice of electronic instruments
and synthesizer or digitally-sampled sounds.

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 What is MIDI?
IN
OUT

IN
OUT

Audio
MIDI
USB

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 MIDI Benefits

 It represents musical data in an extremely efficient way, leading to

drastic reductions in file sizes compared to sampled audio. For
instance, files containing high quality stereo sampled audio require
about 10 Mb per minute of sound, while a typical MIDI sequence
may need less than 10 Kb.

 The secret to this phenomenal size reduction is that a MIDI

sequence stores 'instructions' for playing the music rather than the
music itself. A simple analogy is that a sequence is the written
score for a piece of music rather than a recording of it.

 The drawback is that the sequence must be converted to audio

output at run-time. This is achieved using a sequencer and
synthesizer.
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 MIDI Configuration

A MIDI sequencer allows MIDI data sequences to be captured, stored, edited,

combined, and performed, while the MIDI data's transformation into audio is
carried out by the synthesizer.

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 MIDI Ports
 Serial transfer, data are sent bit by bit
Hence:
- transmission rate is slow at only 31,250 bits/sec.
- Too slow to transmit samples in real-time
- have to do off-line sample dump

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 MIDI Interface
MIDI cables connect instruments by means of MIDI IN, MIDI OUT, and
MIDI THRU jacks.

MIDI In
 The MIDI IN port receives incoming MIDI messages.

MIDI Out
 MIDI OUT port transmits actions of the keyboard to other keyboards or a
computer.
A common error for MIDI setup is: inverted connection of MIDI IN/OUT

MIDI Thru
 The MIDI THRU jack provides a direct copy of data coming into the MIDI
IN jack, providing the ability to "daisy chain" several instruments and
devices together.

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 Connecting Devices Using MIDI Thru

IN

OUT
IN
IN THRU
THRU

• THRU port transmits copy of messages from IN port

• The 3 devices must share 16 channels
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 Limitations of MIDI

1. Slow -- Serial transfer

 When there have too much continuous data transfer

(e.g. a lot of control data) MIDI choke

 Solution: can be solved by EVENT FILTERING

 e.g., discard less important messages (esp.,

system exclusive messages)

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 Limitations of MIDI

2. Slow -- MIDI is only control information (like

Csound score), and time is needed to synthesize
the sound
 computation time  MIDI lag

 Solution: users have to avoid using patch

(instrument) which uses a lot of memory

 e.g. Cymbal in channel 10 of Nokia Cellular

phone

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 Limitations of MIDI

3. Sound quality varies

 It depends on which synthesizer you use

Solution:
 users have to judge by ear, to see which sound is

good
 Standardized with General MIDI (GM)
(discussed later)

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 Limitations of MIDI

3. Sound quality varies

 the size of MIDI file is very small!
 e.g. :

 a three minutes wav file, 48kHz, stereo:

 size of 40MB

 a three minutes MIDI file, with 10 channels:

 size of 40kb

 It is because MIDI file doesn’t actually contain

audio data, but only control information (like
Csound score)

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 MIDI Transmission Protocol

MST
1 0 LST

 MIDI messages are used by MIDI devices to communicate

with each other.
 Each message begin with ONE start bit (logical 0)
 Then followed by EIGHT message bits
 End with ONE stop bit (logical 1)
 Each 8-bit MIDI message byte, specifies either a status
value, or data value
 A MIDI message is made up of an eight-bit status byte
which is generally followed by one or two data bytes.

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 Structure of MIDI messages
 MIDI message includes a status byte and up to
two data bytes.
 Status byte
 The most significant bit of status byte is set

to 1.
 The 4 low-order bits identify which channel it

belongs to (four bits produce 16 possible

channels).
 The 3 remaining bits identify the message.

 The most significant bit of data byte is set to 0.

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 MIDI message types

MIDI Messages
Channel
Mode
Voice
System
Real Time
Common
System Exclusive

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 MIDI Messages
 Channel messages are those that are transmitted on
individual channels rather that globally to all devices in the
MIDI network.
 System messages are not Channel specific, and no
Channel number is indicated in their status bytes.
 Channel Messages may be further classified as being either
Channel Voice Messages, or Mode Messages.
 Channel Voice Messages carry musical performance data,
and these messages comprise most of the traffic in a typical
MIDI data stream.
 Channel Mode messages affect the way a receiving
instrument will respond to the Channel Voice messages.

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MIDI message types:
Channel voice messages

• Note on
• Note off
• Program change (patch change)
• Pitch bend
• Controller change
• Polyphonic pressure (aftertouch)
• Monophonic pressure (aftertouch)

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 MIDI message types:
Channel voice messages
a. Note On
 A note-on message is created when pressing a key (or
pad). To start a note, with particular pitch and
velocity, on a particular channel.

 1st byte: Status byte

1 0 0 1 c c c c
 1001 means “note on”.
 cccc is the binary representation of the
message channel

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 MIDI message types:
Channel voice messages
a. Note On
 2nd byte: Pitch Data byte

0 d d d d d d d
 0 means “it is a data byte”
 ddddddd is the binary representation of the pitch.
(decimal 0-127).
 A particular MIDI note number does not designate
a particular pitch.
 But most commonly, for example, for GM, 60 =
Middle C (C4), then 59 = B just below middle C
(B3), 62 = D just above middle C (D4).

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 MIDI message types:
Channel voice messages

a. Note On
 3rd byte: Velocity Data byte

0 v v v v v v v
 vvvvvvv is the binary representation of velocity
(loudness) of the note (decimal 0-127).
 The velocity value does not specify a particular
loudness. It depends on velocity map of the
synthesizer/sampler, but 0 is typically silence and 127
is typically loudest.

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 MIDI message types:
Channel voice messages
b. Note Off
 a note-off message is created upon release.
 To end a note, with particular pitch, on a particular channel
 Its structure is very similar to Note On, except that the 1st
byte (status byte) is 1000cccc.
 2nd and 3rd byte remain as it is in Note On.
 Note off message will stop a presently playing note of the
same pitch.

 The velocity data byte of note off, however, does not mean
“to end a note with a particular velocity”.
 It describes how to release a note instead.
 For example, end velocity = 127, means to release the note
immediately. End velocity = 0 means to die away slowly.
 “End velocity” is not implemented on many synthesizers

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 MIDI message types:
Channel voice messages
 Aftertouch: Some MIDI keyboard instruments have the ability to
sense the amount of pressure which is being applied to the keys
while they are depressed. This pressure information, commonly
called "aftertouch", may be used to control some aspects of the
sound produced by the synthesizer (vibrato, for example). If the
keyboard has a pressure sensor for each key, then the resulting
"polyphonic aftertouch" information would be sent in the form of
Polyphonic Key Pressure messages. These messages include separate
data bytes for key number and pressure amount. It is currently more
common for keyboard instruments to sense only a single pressure level
for the entire keyboard. This "Channel aftertouch" information is sent
using the Channel Pressure message, which needs only one data byte
to specify the pressure value.

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MIDI message types:
Channel voice messages
 Pitch Bend: The Pitch Bend Change message is designed to produce a
change in pitch in response to the movement of a pitch bend wheel or
lever. The pitch bend information is used to modify the pitch of
sounds being played on a given Channel. The Pitch Bend
message includes two data bytes to specify the pitch bend
value. Two bytes are required to allow fine enough resolution to make
pitch changes resulting from movement of the pitch bend wheel seem to
occur in a continuous manner rather than in steps.
 Program Change: The Program Change message is used to specify the
type of instrument which should be used to play sounds on a given
Channel. This message needs only one data byte which specifies
the new program number.

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MIDI message types:
Channel voice messages
 Control Change: MIDI Control Change messages are used to
control a wide variety of functions in a synthesizer. Control
Change messages, like other MIDI Channel messages, should only affect
the Channel number indicated in the status byte. The Control Change
status byte is followed by one data byte indicating the "controller
number", and a second byte which specifies the "control value". The
controller number identifies which function of the synthesizer is to be
controlled by the message. A complete list of assigned controllers is
found in the MIDI 1.0 Detailed Specification.

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Channel voice messages

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MIDI message types:
System messages
System Common Messages provide some standardized features that
are used for controlling the playback of songs in MIDI format and some
other miscellaneous features.
System-common messages are a hodge-podge of messages that are used

for purposes other than controlling MIDI voices and channels. All System-
common messages have the first nibble of the first byte equal to F (i.e.,
1111).

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MIDI message types:
System messages
 System Real Time Messages provide some MIDI features for
synchronizing the internal timing clocks of connected MIDI devices and
for controlling the playback of sequences/songs in MIDI format.
 The System Real Time messages are the Timing Clock, Start, Continue,
Stop, Active Sensing, and the System Reset message. The Timing Clock
message is the master clock which sets the tempo for playback of a
sequence. The Start, Continue, and Stop messages are used to control
playback of the sequence.
 System Exclusive (SysEx) Messages are generally longer MIDI
messages that are used for a variety of purposes. One of the primary
purposes of the SysEx message is to send manufacturer-specific data to
a MIDI synthesizer. Manufacturer-specific data can be used for
describing configuration data, sounds samples or timbre, or could
provide other specialized command-extensions to a MIDI device.

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System messages

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System messages

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 Applications of MIDI

1. Studio Production
 recording, playback, cut-and-splice editing

 creative control/effect can be added

2. Making score
 with score editing software, MIDI is excellent in

making score
 some MIDI software provide function of auto

accompaniment/intelligent chord arrangement

3. Learning
 You can write a MIDI orchestra, who are always

eager to practice with you!

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 Applications of MIDI

4. Commercial products
 mobile phone ring tones, music box music…..

5. Musical Analysis
 MIDI has detailed parameters for every input

note
 It is useful for doing research

 For example, a pianist can input his performance

with a MIDI keyboard, then we can analyze his

performance style by the parameters

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