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Moreover, you can store information like the change of a program. Let’s say that when you record your MIDI track, you tell your devices: “Dear computer, please order my dearest piano to play staccato sixteenths in the second bar and ritenuto in the eighth, and to change tempo in bar number 45.“ Thus creating a MIDI file is essentially creating instructions for a computer on how to order an electronic instrument to play sounds. When you play this MIDI file back from your host program or other MIDI player, your computer sends these MIDI messages back to your instrument, telling it what and how to play. All these messages are sent to your computer and recorded as a MIDI file.
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When you press a key on your keyboard, a sustain pedal, or use any other controller that your instrument has, you generate MIDI messages that tell which key was pressed, how much pressure was used for it, how long a note was held, etc. It was invented in the 1980s and is a protocol that allows computers and electronic musical instruments to communicate with each other. So, what is MIDI and how you can use these files? Let’s break it down and you’ll see that it’s much easier to understand than you think.įirst of all, MIDI is an abbreviation for Musical Instrument Digital Interface. On the other hand, when recording a MIDI track, you are recording MIDI data. Thus, when recording an audio track, you are recording the sound. Instead, MIDI contains the information of the MIDI messages that are generated by your electronic musical instrument when you are playing it. The principal difference between audio and MIDI data is that audio consists of information on sound, like frequencies and amplitude, while MIDI data doesn’t. If you are a musician and are going to make recordings, a good starting point is to understand the difference between audio and MIDI formats.
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