MIDI - how pianos talk
It's all the notes and controls that a piano keyboard can send to a sound synthesizer over a wire.
Digital pianos have both a keyboard and a built in synthesizer. There are also synth keyboards without sound (cheaper) that will use a software synthesizer on your PC (better).
Anything you can DO on the keyboard, midi can do too.
When you pick a sound, a teeny message goes across the USB midi cable.
When you press a key down, a teeny message goes across midi.
When you release a key, well, you get the idea...
for notes, midi sends:
which one? Octave and note.
down or up? So there are 2 midi events per note. One down. One up.
how hard pressed/released? The "velocity" - a number from 1 to 127. 1=soft.
127=loud. (0 is used for note off.)
which "channel" - a number that ties the note to a particular
sound and sound controls. Like a mixer channel but for notes.
for controls, midi sends:
which one? a not very standard id number for
hold pedal, keyboard pressure, mod wheel, program change, etc.
set it to what value? Usually a number from 0 to 127.
which "channel" - again, ties this sound control to the notes playing on
that channel.
These "midi events" can also be stored in a .mid or .KAR file. Events over a wire happen in real time. In a midi file, these events are stamped with the exact time they happen.
These days midi cables are almost always USB. And connect a keyboard to a PC. There are synth modules still. But most aren't as good as a PC :)
Computer programmers will enjoy Jeff Glatt's site
The official midi site is kinda meh midi.org
We're only gonna chat about the useful stuff, and try to keep it short.
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