Blog

Image by Elviss Railijs Bitāns on Pexels

 

Making music on a computer gives way to a workflow that was seemingly impossible just a few decades ago. Without the modern MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) protocol, we wouldn’t be able to integrate our instruments into the digital realm and synchronise our instruments with the same efficiency. Instead, we’d be left with a rather bleak and frustrating electronic musical production experience, limiting our creative potential and rendering our advanced computer technology futile in the face of music composition. That or we’d have the same thing as MIDI, invented under a different name.

 

 

Loopcloud Now Offers 150,000+ MIDI Files

 

We’ve just updated Loopcloud to offer a huge number of MIDI files right alongside your samples! Using the Loopcloud app or sounds.loopcloud.com, you can search for files using the MIDI or MIDI Files tag.

 

There are tags for type to further refine your choice of MIDI (keys, drums and so on). You can filter by intended tempo, key, and lock to your currently selected key before dragging files into your project.

 

 

So what is MIDI and how does it work? 

 

In short, MIDI is a technical standard that allows our various pieces of music technology to communicate with one another, which in the virtual realm or electronically through cables, expanding our creative control. It relies on transmitting sonic information in the form of electronic data. We’ll break it all down piece by piece in the following article.

 

Image by Alexey Demidov on Pexels

 

Once you’ve sailed your way through the contents of this article, you should be better equipped to speed up your work efficiency in the studio. However, if you’re interested in taking it a step further, why not check out our 9 Workflow Tips to Help You Produce More Tracks.

 

 

How did MIDI originate?

 

If we hopped in a time machine and travelled back to the early 1980s, we’d be positioned right at the dawn of the MIDI protocol. During a time when hardware synths were becoming increasingly popular, producers were getting their hands on some meaty kit to upgrade their studio setups. However, there was a problem: with all of these synths, from an array of different manufacturers, much of the hardware was incompatible.

 

Image by Kaiser Leo Xiv on Pexels

 

That’s where MIDI came into the picture. Originally, it served as a solution; a universal standard for music tech developers to adhere to in order to make the lives of studio producers easier. Dave Smith – from Sequential Circuits – first proposed the idea in 1981, and in collaboration with Ikutaro Kakehashi of Roland Corporation, they developed the specifications and went on to announce the tech to the world at the Winter NAMM Show in 1983.

 

The first hardware synths to connect through MIDI were the Sequential Circuits Prophet-600 and Roland’s Jupiter-6. Both of these synths were offspring of Smith and Kakehashi’s companies, so it made sense for them to be the guinea pigs of the newborn MIDI protocol. After a successful demonstration, MIDI became publicly available and widespread, causing an electronic music technology revolution, and giving birth to future tech advancements like the MIDI 2.0 announcement in 2020.

 

 

Fun fact: The more recent MIDI 2.0 protocol was released in January 2020, at the very same annual Winter NAMM show that its long-lived parent was demonstrated at in 1983.

 

 

How does MIDI connect?

 

MIDI can use both 5-pin DIN cables, USB cables, wireless or networked connections for transmission. From the start, MIDI cables used a 5-pin DIN cable to connect hardware instruments together and allow them to communicate. This was the chosen standard to increase affordability and it allowed analogue synths, drum machines, sequencers and more to connect with one another.

 

It wasn’t until 1999 that the Universal Serial Bus (USB) connection came into effect, which led to MIDI-controller developers integrating USB-type connectors into their products. Before the USB plug, MIDI devices could be connected to computers using specialised MIDI interfaces, most commonly connected through serial ports or other proprietary connections. To summarise: the USB port made connecting MIDI devices to computers much easier, streamlining the process and increasing data transmission speeds.

 

 

This development coincided with the advent of VST virtual instruments (The first digital plugins), which further progressed technology toward the more familiar primarily computer-based setups we see across the board in the modern world. This made music production much more accessible to the general public.

 

On a computer, MIDI functions in the same way, it is the same technical standard allowing the computer to understand musical information like velocity, pitch, note on/off, etc. across numerous instances of digital instruments. The virtual instruments are often controlled via an external hardware MIDI controller, connected via USB. You might have your hands on a MIDI controller or two yourself. These are usually in the format of keyboards, drum machines, or sequencers, similar to analogue counterparts.

 

 

In 2015, BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) MIDI connectivity was also standardised as a common connection type, allowing developers to feature Bluetooth, wireless connections on their hardware.

 

 

How does MIDI work?

 

Here’s how circuits, standards and music all come together to form something we can listen to.

 

The foundation: notes

Fundamentally, MIDI works by transmitting performance data (not audio) between musical devices. Let’s say you have a MIDI keyboard, connected to your computer. You press the key G3 softly. The controller detects the press of the G3 key, as well as how hard it was pressed, and transmits this information to your computer to be translated into a virtual note in your DAW, ready for use by any virtual instrument you might have loaded up.

 

Notes are the primary foundation for MIDI information. The original MIDI protocol had 128 notes registered (from C0 to G#9), spanning nine octaves. It also has 127 values for velocity. By default, when hooking up a MIDI keyboard, value 60 of the MIDI protocol is registered as middle C, however, you can also reassign MIDI values for different purposes. For example, you might import a digital sample pitched at F. When imported to a sampler instrument, by default, it will be mapped to C3, so you’ll need to reassign it to MIDI value F3 instead.

 

 

Another usage for these 128 possible notes is for drum machines and sequencers. As you can imagine, pitch is not as important when working with a drum machine. You don’t need to have one instance of your kick drum spanning 128 different pitches. Rather, you can map a different percussion sound to each value. Most drum machine controllers feature a 4x4 (16) pad grid with up/down octave controls, allowing users to map samples to different MIDI values.

 

Continuous Controllers

Continuous Controllers (CC) work by adding variable controls that can change a MIDI value continuously over time. Just like our MIDI note values, we also have 128 CC values that can be used to adjust various sound parameters across real-time. Examples of CCs would be C1: Modulation Wheel, CC7: Volume, CC10: Pan and CC64: Sustain Pedal. These can be in any position at any time, and if changed, their number will be updated and sent as a CC message.

 

For example, some MIDI controllers feature a wheel-type control that can be assigned to a CC value. This allows users to assign the wheel to any parameter within their DAW and have precise control over its modulation across time. CCs can be extremely useful when recording live automation.

 

Image by Cottonbro Studio on Pexels

 

Other MIDI messages

Alongside the note and CC messages in the MIDI protocol, there are also a handful of other important ones too. These consist of the following: 

• SysEx, used to send device-specific data
• Aftertouch, used to detect expressive pressure applied to a key after it’s pressed
• Pitchbend, used to smoothly alter the pitch of a note and glide between values
• Program Change, essential for switching between presets and different saved states
• Control Change, used to add additional controls for CC parameters.

 

 

What are MIDI files?

 

MIDI files, or .mid or .midi files, contain musical performance data used for electronic music production, such as note pitch, note velocity, etc. They differ from files like MP3, AIFF and WAV because they don’t contain actual audio. Rather, they’re used inside of music production software (usually DAWs, Digital Audio Workstations) to transmit musical instrument information. 

 

For example, you can compose a specific sequence of chords inside of your DAW and export it as a MIDI file, so that another user (or yourself) can import it to a different project, using a completely different instrument later on. MIDI files are useful for users who’re not as fluent in music theory and want to get complex melodies and chord patterns brewing with minimal effort.

 

 

Or, if you’re a talented composer, capable of writing complex chords and melodies, it might even be worth trying your hand at authoring and publishing your own MIDI packs for sale. There’s a huge sub-industry online just for selling MIDI file packs alone.

 

 

Do DAWs use MIDI?

 

In short, yes. DAWs absolutely use MIDI data as an essential part of their functioning. However, technically, there’s a bit more to the story than this as DAWs are complex and intricate pieces of computer software that rely on advanced internal processes to execute commands effectively and efficiently, whilst delivering a seamless user experience.

 

Alongside MIDI, most DAWs also depend on their own internal data formats under the hood to process information and get all of their parts working in unison. This often means that behind the curtain, DAWs are converting information to and from MIDI format when necessary. This process allows all DAWs to integrate the universal standard of MIDI into their workflow–giving users the most peace of mind and hassle-free experiences, without jeopardising their own technical framework and data processing efficiency.

 

 

Is MIDI improving?

 

MIDI 2.0 was released to the public in 2020, making way for its implementation across the globe, in both amateur and professional landscapes. The beautiful thing about it is its backwards compatibility, meaning all MIDI 2.0 devices communicate with MIDI 1.0 devices effortlessly.

 

 

MIDI 2.0 is an improvement to the original standard, providing a higher resolution for most parameters. Remember us mentioning that MIDI currently features a note range of 128 values and a velocity value range of 127? Well… MIDI 2.0 blows this completely out of the water with over four billion total values. With this type of resolution, the human ear could never detect an incremental shift, giving way to extremely precise modulation and control.

 

So, in short, yes, MIDI is definitely improving. We can compare the difference between the original MIDI protocol and MIDI 2.0 to that of an 80s television to a modern 4K HDR TV. With developers getting experimental with this new technology and integrating it into their releases, we can only expect some monumental devices to hit the market in coming years. Native Instruments are already ahead of the game with their Kontrol S-Series MK3.

 

 

 

How do I import MIDI files?

 

Importing .mid or /midi (both are the exact same) files into your DAW  is extremely straightforward and easy. The vast majority of DAWs allow you to just drag and drop a file from your Windows File Browser or Mac Finder into your DAW’s piano roll. So, you can load up any instrument you intend to use, open up your DAW’s piano roll and click and drag your MIDI file right on in.

 

Alternatively, some DAWs, like FL Studio, allow you to manage all of your samples and MIDI files from their internal library panel. So, if you’ve got your hands on some of those pesteringly well-advertised MIDI chord packs, you’ll be able to navigate to them inside of your DAW without the use of your OS’s external file browser. From there, the process is the same as before–just click, drag and drop.

 

 

How do I export MIDI files?

 

Exporting MIDI files is a little bit more finicky than importing them, however, should still be a breeze once you’ve gone through the process once or twice. The main issue with exporting MIDI files is that it's slightly different depending on your DAW. You’ll have to refer to your DAWs user manual for the exact step-by-step process. Just do a quick Google search and you should find what you’re looking for.

 

 

Alternatively, you might be able to figure it out on your own using the following universal steps. First, highlight or select your desired MIDI pattern from your primary project window. Then, navigate to your file menu and locate the export option specifically for exporting a MIDI file. This will most likely be positioned next to or near the primary export options. Next, choose your export settings and save the file wherever you wish. Once you’ve found the MIDI file export option, the process should be fairly self-explanatory.

 

 

FAQs

 

What is MIDI used for?

The MIDI protocol is a standard used for transmitting musical performance information between musical instruments (virtual or hardware). The musical performance data can contain information like note pitch, note velocity, etc.

 

MIDI is essential for modern day music aficionados to be able to produce hot tracks available for our enjoyment at such efficiency. You can think of the music production process as a living organism with multiple organs. MIDI is the nervous system, connecting everything together and allowing each part to communicate.

 

What are MIDI files used for?

MIDI files (.mid or .midi) can be exported or imported to and from a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) so that users can save and share MIDI information with one another. If your friend has written a revelatory, groundbreaking sequence of musical chords, they can export the sequence and send it to you, allowing you to now play them on your favourite digital instrument or virtual instrument.