Editing MIDI (section)

{{Short description|Connection standard for electronic musical instruments}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Technical|date=November 2018}}
{{Use American English|date=August 2020}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox protocol
| standard  = MIDI Standard
| developer = [[MIDI Manufacturers Association|MMA]]
| introdate = {{Start date and age|1983|02|01}}
| newer     = [[MIDI 2.0]]
| range     = Up to 15 [[meters]] (50 [[Foot (unit)|feet]])
| hardware  = [[Serial transmission]] at 31,250 baud
| connector = [[DIN connector|5‑pin DIN]] (with modern alternatives: [[USB]], [[Bluetooth]], [[Ethernet]])
| industry  = [[Music technology (electronic and digital)]]
| name      = Musical Instrument Digital Interface
| website   = [https://www.midi.org https://www.midi.org]
| image     = MIDI LOGO.svg
}}

[[File:Ented, Nokturn a-moll - Jesienny.ogg|thumb|Example of music created in MIDI format]]
[[File:Synth rack @ Choking Sun Studio.jpg|thumb|alt=Several rack-mounted synthesizers that share a single controller|Using MIDI, a single controller (often a musical keyboard, as pictured here) can play multiple electronic instruments, which increases the portability and flexibility of stage setups. This system fits into a single rack case, but before the advent of MIDI, it would have required four separate full-size keyboard instruments, plus outboard mixing and [[effects unit]]s.]]

'''Musical Instrument Digital Interface''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|m|ɪ|d|i}}; '''MIDI''') is an American-Japanese [[technical standard]] that describes a [[communication protocol]], [[Digital electronics|digital interface]], and [[electrical connector]]s that connect a wide variety of [[electronic musical instrument]]s, [[computer]]s, and related audio devices for playing, editing, and recording music.<ref>{{citation |last=Swift |first=Andrew. |url=http://www.doc.ic.ac.uk/~nd/surprise_97/journal/vol1/aps2/ |title=A brief Introduction to MIDI |work=SURPRISE |publisher=Imperial College of Science Technology and Medicine |date=May 1997 |access-date=22 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120830211425/http://www.doc.ic.ac.uk/~nd/surprise_97/journal/vol1/aps2/ |archive-date=30 August 2012}}</ref> A single MIDI cable can carry up to sixteen channels of MIDI data, each of which can be routed to a separate device. Each interaction with a key, button, knob or slider is converted into a MIDI event, which specifies musical instructions, such as a note's [[Pitch (music)|pitch]], timing and velocity. One common MIDI application is to play a MIDI [[Electronic keyboard|keyboard]] or other controller and use it to trigger a digital [[sound module]] (which contains synthesized musical sounds) to generate sounds, which the audience hears produced by a [[keyboard amplifier]]. MIDI data can be transferred via MIDI or [[USB]] cable, or recorded to a [[Music sequencer|sequencer]] or [[digital audio workstation]] to be edited or played back.<ref name="Huber 1991"/>

MIDI also defines a [[file format]] that stores and exchanges the data. Advantages of MIDI include small [[file size]], ease of modification and manipulation and a wide choice of electronic instruments and [[synthesizer]] or [[Sampler (musical instrument)|digitally sampled sounds]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.instructables.com/id/What-is-MIDI/|title=What is MIDI?|access-date=31 August 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20160616112709/http://www.instructables.com/id/What-is-MIDI/|archive-date=16 June 2016}}</ref>{{rp|4|date=November 2012}} A MIDI recording of a performance on a keyboard could sound like a piano or other keyboard instrument; however, since MIDI records the messages and information about their notes and not the specific sounds, this recording could be changed to many other sounds, ranging from synthesized or sampled guitar or flute to full orchestra.

Before the development of MIDI, electronic musical instruments from different manufacturers could generally not communicate with each other. This meant that a musician could not, for example, plug a Roland keyboard into a Yamaha synthesizer module. With MIDI, any MIDI-compatible keyboard (or other controller device) can be connected to any other MIDI-compatible sequencer, sound module, [[drum machine]], synthesizer, or computer, even if they are made by different manufacturers.

MIDI technology was standardized in 1983 by a panel of music industry representatives and is maintained by the [[MIDI Manufacturers Association]] (MMA). All official MIDI standards are jointly developed and published by the MMA in Los Angeles, and the MIDI Committee of the [[Association of Musical Electronics Industry]] (AMEI) in Tokyo. In 2016, the MMA established The MIDI Association (TMA) to support a global community of people who work, play, or create with MIDI.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.emusician.com/gear/1332/the-midi-association-launches-at-namm-2016/56183|title=The MIDI Association Launches at NAMM 2016|first=Electronic Musician – featuring gear reviews, audio tutorials, loops and|last=samples|access-date=31 August 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161014220505/http://www.emusician.com/gear/1332/the-midi-association-launches-at-namm-2016/56183|archive-date=14 October 2016}}</ref>

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