![[MIDI file]](midi.gif)
to play a tune called "The Sailor's Hornpipe".
Home > MIDI
MIDI stands for Musical Instrument Digital Interface and is a protocol for controlling MIDI-enabled musical instruments. MIDI files contain instructions for a musical instrument, much like the old pianola roles. These instructions are which notes to play when, how hard to press the notes, and what instruments should be used.
A MIDI file effectively contains a musical score for up to 16 channels. Each channel can be assigned to an instrument, for example, the first channel is piano and the second channel is bass guitar. These instruments are also known as programs or patches. A MIDI file doesn't store the sound of these instruments but just the notes to play.
An agreeement was reached between the manufacturers of electronic musical instruments for assigning instruments to program numbers. The result was the General MIDI (GS) specification.
More information on MIDI can be found at the MIDI Manufacturers Association web site.The sound card in your computer will most likely support the playback of
MIDI files. This can be easily tested by downloading
my MIDI file
to play a tune called "The Sailor's Hornpipe".
My primary interest in music typesetting is arranging music to be played on software synthesisers. A good way to get started is to create MIDI files from musical scores and use them as the basis of the musical arrangement. The hard way is to manually enter the notes into the sequencer which is very tedious.
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