MIDI usb

MIDI

MIDI stands for the Musical Instrument Digital Interface is a communication standard develop in the early 1980s for electronic musical instruments and computers.This protocol designed for recording and playing back music on digital synthesizers that is supported by many makes of personal computer sound cards.
                     

Features of MIDI

• MIDI allows a multiple instruments to be played from a single controller which makes stage setups much more portable.
• It allows a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, computers and other related devices from different manufactures to connect and communicate with one another by sending messages along cables connected to the devices.
• A MIDI file is a list of time stamped commands that are recording of musical actions,like the pressing down of a piano key.when MIDI file sent to a MIDI playbacks devices,this results in sound.
• The MIDI standard is supported by many synthesizers,so sounds created on one synthesizers can be played and manipulated on another  synthesizer.
• composing your own original score can be one of the most creative and rewarding aspects of building a multimedia project,and MIDI is the quickest,easiest and most flexible tool for the task .
• A number of software programs are available for composing and editing music that confirmed to the MIDI standard.They offer a variety of functions for instance,when you play a time on a keyboard connected to the computer a music program can translate what you play into a written score.
• A MIDI keyboard is also useful for simplifying the creation of musical scores.
• MIDI does not record analog sound wave like a tape recorder.
• one of the important features of MIDI files is that they are meant for music only.
• MIDI is device dependent because the quality of playback depends upon the end user's MIDI device rather than the recording.
• MIDI data can be transmitted electronically between MIDI compatible musical instrument.

Components of MIDI
                            

• Synthesizer: It is sound generator A good synthesizer often has a microprocessor,keyboard,control panel,memory etc.
• Sequencer:It can be stand alone unit or software program for a personal.It is used to be a storage server of MIDI data. Nowadays it is more a software music editor on the computer.
• Track:Track in sequencer is used to organize the recordings,tracks can be turned on or off on recording or playback. 
• Channel:MIDI channels are used to separate information in MIDI system.There are16 MIDI channels in one cable.Channel numbers are coded into each MIDI message.
• Timber:The quality of the sound,e.g. flute sound,cello sound,etc.An electronic musical instrument may be multi timberal ,which means it can produce two or more timbers at the same time.
• Pitch:Pitch is the musical note that the instrument plays.  
• Voice:Voice is the portion of the synthesizer that produces sound.Synthesizer can have many voices.Each voice works independently and simultaneously to produce sounds of different timber and pitch.
• Patch:The control settings that defines a particular timber.