MIDI Facts
MIDI Facts
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| Interesting MIDI Facts: |
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| Many confuse MIDI with digital but they are not the same. Digital audio is a method of recording that represents the note's sound while MIDI represents the note itself. |
| The purpose of creating MIDI was to make it possible for instruments to communicate and it also allows for one instrument to control another. |
| MIDI can be a software program on a computer or it can be a hardware workstation that acts as a physical interface. |
| One of the benefits of MIDI is that the composer can quickly change the key or other elements of sound to hear the effects, while pre-recorded audio cannot be manipulated in this way. |
| MIDI has a file format called SMF (Standard MIDI File) that allows a sequence to be saved and then transferred and opened on another system. SMF are compact which makes it possible to transfer them and transport them easily. They are the file often used in musical greeting cards. |
| Because a MIDI file is not a recording and is only a set of instructions it does not use up as much space and makes it easy to share music. |
| MIDI software installed on computers makes it possible to share data between programs. |
| One of the benefits of MIDI is that when a musician plays a keyboard the notes can be automatically transferred to sheet music for future use and composition changes. There is also software that can transfer the notes to braille. |
| Software also exists that take transfer sheet music and produce MIDI files. |
| A MIDI controller for music purposes is called a performance controller. The most common MIDI controller for music is the keyboard, and others are referred to as 'alternative' controllers. |
| Alternative MIDI controllers include guitars, drums, and a variety of wind and string instruments. |
| A MIDI instrument can be a separate module that has a MIDI soundboard, with onboard editing capability, with a screen to view information, and it may have a harmonizer as well. Karaoke uses MIDI and a scrolling lyric feature that makes it possible for Karaoke singers to sing along as the song is played. |
| MIDI can be used for more than music. It is commonly used to control lighting shows and displays and in theatre productions for cuing specific events in a show. |
| MIDI is also used to control home appliances and lighting systems today. |
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