FREE MIDI FILES

GREEK MIDI - ALL OTHER MIDIFILES  - GUITARPRO FILES
 

MIDI CONTROLLERS

MIDI controllers which are hardware and software

Note: The term MIDI controller is used in two different ways. (1) In one sense, a MIDI controller is a hardware or software entity able to transmit MIDI messages via a MIDI Out connector to other devices with MIDI In connectors. (2) In the other (more technical) sense, a MIDI controller is any parameter in a device with a MIDI In connector that can be set with the MIDI Control Change message. For example, a synthesizer may use controller number 18 for a low-pass filter's frequency; to open and close that filter with a physical slider, a user would assign the slider to transmit controller number 18. Then, all changes in the slider position will be transmitted as MIDI Control Change messages with the controller number field set to 18; when the synthesizer receives the messages, the filter frequency will change accordingly.

The following are classes of MIDI controller (using definition 1 above):

The human interface component of a traditional instrument redesigned as a MIDI input device. The most common type of device in this class is the keyboard controller. Such a device provides a musical keyboard and perhaps other actuators (pitch bend and modulation wheels, for example) but produces no sound on its own. It is intended only to drive other MIDI devices. Percussion controllers such as the Roland Octapad fall into this class, as do guitar-like controllers such as the SynthAxe and a variety of wind controllers.

Electronic musical instruments, including synthesizers, samplers, drum machines, and electronic drums, which are used to perform music in real time and are inherently able to transmit a MIDI data stream of the performance.

Pitch-to-MIDI converters including guitar/synthesizers analyze a pitch and convert it into a MIDI signal. There are several devices which do this for the human voice and for monophonic instruments such as flutes, for example.

Traditional instruments such as drums, pianos, and accordions which are outfitted with sensors and a computer which accepts input from the sensors and transmits real-time performance information as MIDI data.

Sequencers, which store and retrieve MIDI data and send the data to MIDI enabled instruments in order to reproduce a performance.

The MIDI Show Control (MSC) protocol (in the Real Time System Exclusive subset) is an industry standard ratified by the MIDI Manufacturers Association in 1991 which allows all types of media control devices to talk with each other and with computers to perform show control functions in live and canned entertainment applications. Just like musical MIDI (above), MSC does not transmit the actual show media — it simply transmits digital data providing information such as the type, timing and numbering of technical cues called during a multimedia or live theatre performance.

MIDI Machine Control (MMC) devices such as recording equipment, which transmit messages to aid in the synchronization of MIDI-enabled devices. For example, a recorder may have a feature to index a recording by measure and beat. The sequencer that it controls would stay synchronized with it as the recorder's transport controls are pushed and corresponding MIDI messages transmitted.

MIDI controllers in the data stream

Note: The term MIDI controller is used in two different ways. (1) In one sense, a MIDI controller is a hardware or software entity able to transmit MIDI messages via a MIDI Out connector to other devices with MIDI In connectors. (2) In the other (more technical) sense, a MIDI controller is any parameter in a device with a MIDI In connector that can be set with the MIDI Control Change message. For example, a synthesizer may use controller number 18 for a low-pass filter's frequency; to open and close that filter with a physical slider, a user would assign the slider to transmit controller number 18.

This section uses the second definition of "MIDI controller".

Performance modifier controls such as modulation wheels, pitch bend wheels, sustain pedals, pitch sliders, buttons, knobs, faders, switches, ribbon controllers, etc., can alter an instrument's state of operation, and thus can be used to modify sounds or other parameters of music performance. Because MIDI includes messages for representing such controller events, they can be sent in real time over MIDI connections. MIDI makes approximately 120 virtual controller numbers (addresses) available for this purpose, i.e. connecting the actual buttons, knobs, wheels, sliders, etc. with their intended actions within the receiving device. In MIDI, the value data range of the Control Change message is 128 steps (0 to 127), and the first 32 controller numbers (including, for example, Volume) are allocated an additional 7 bits of "Least Significant Bits" precision for a total of 14 bits or a range of 0-16383 (although many manufacturers do not implement this increased resolution).

Some controller functions, such as pitch bend or key pressure, are special, with a dedicated MIDI data range of 16,384 steps. This higher resolution makes it possible to, for example, produce the illusion of a continuously sliding pitch, as in a violin's portamento, rather than a series of zippered steps such as a guitarist sliding fingers up the frets of the guitar's neck. At the MIDI message stream level, pitch bend and key velocity use different, dedicated messages (Polyphonic Key Pressure, Channel Pressure, or Pitch Bend Change) instead of the ordinary Control Change message. There is a trade-off, however: the pitch wheel and/or key pressure functions of a MIDI keyboard can, depending on the performance, generate large amounts of data which can in turn lead to a slowdown of data throughput on the MIDI connection. This can be remedied by using a sequencer to "thin" pitch-bend (or any other continuous controller) data down to only a limited number of messages per second, or down to only messages that change the controller value by at least a certain amount.

The original MIDI spec included approximately 120 virtual controller numbers for real time modifications to live instruments or their audio. MIDI Show Control (MSC) and MIDI Machine Control (MMC) are two separate extensions of the original MIDI spec, expanding the MIDI protocol to become far more than its original intent.

Learn About the Various Midi Formats & Extensions
Learn MORE About the Various Midi Formats & Extensions
Learn About Midi Transport Protocols
Learn About Midi Tuning & Applications
Learn About Midi Controllers

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIDI_usage_and_applications

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musical_Instrument_Digital_Interface