Editing MIDI controller (section)

==Performance controllers==
[[File:Remote 25.jpg|thumb|alt=A Novation Remote 25 two-octave MIDI controller|Two-octave MIDI controllers are popular for use with laptop computers, due to their portability. This unit provides a variety of real-time controllers, which can manipulate various sound design parameters of computer-based or standalone hardware instruments, effects, mixers and recording devices.]]
MIDI was designed with keyboards in mind, and any controller that is not a keyboard is considered an "alternative" controller.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.midi.org/aboutmidi/products.php |title=MIDI Products |website=midi.org |publisher=MIDI Manufacturers Association |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120823030324/http://www.midi.org/aboutmidi/products.php |archive-date=2012-08-23}}</ref> This was seen as a limitation by composers who were not interested in keyboard-based music, but the standard proved flexible, and MIDI compatibility was introduced to other types of controllers, including guitars, wind instruments and drum machines.<ref name="Holmes">{{cite book |title=Electronic and Experimental Music: Pioneers in Technology and Composition |first=Thom |last=Holmes |isbn=9780415936446 |lccn=84026715 |series=Media and Popular Culture Series |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ILkquoGXEq0C |date=2002 |publisher=Routledge}}</ref>{{rp|23}}

===Keyboards===
{{main|MIDI keyboard}}
[[Musical keyboard|Keyboard]]s are by far the most common type of MIDI controller.<ref name="Cakewalk">{{cite web |url=http://www.cakewalk.com/support/kb/reader.aspx/2007013074 |title=Desktop Music Handbook&nbsp;– MIDI |website=cakewalk.com |publisher=Cakewalk, Inc |date=26 November 2010 |access-date=7 August 2012 |archive-date=14 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120814222211/http://www.cakewalk.com/Support/kb/reader.aspx/2007013074 |url-status=dead }}</ref> These are available in sizes that range from 25-key, 2-octave models, to full-sized 88-key instruments. Some are keyboard-only controllers, though many include other real-time controllers such as sliders, knobs, and wheels.<ref>{{cite web|title=The beginner's guide to: MIDI controllers|date=29 October 2008|url=http://www.musicradar.com/tuition/tech/the-beginners-guide-to-midi-controllers-179018|publisher=Computer Music Specials|access-date=11 July 2011}}</ref> Commonly, there are also connections for [[Sustain pedal|sustain]] and [[expression pedal]]s. Most keyboard controllers offer the ability to split the playing area into ''zones'', which can be of any desired size and can overlap with each other. Each zone can be assigned to a different MIDI channel and can be set to play any desired range of notes. This allows a single playing surface to control a number of different devices.<ref name="Huber">Huber, David Miles. "The MIDI Manual". Carmel, Indiana: SAMS, 1991.</ref>{{rp|79–80|date=November 2012}} MIDI capabilities can also be built into traditional keyboard instruments, such as [[grand piano]]s<ref name="Huber" />{{rp|82|date=November 2012}} and [[Rhodes piano]]s.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.keyboardmag.com/article/Rhodes-Mark-7/1896 |title=Rhodes Mark 7 |website=keyboardmag.com |publisher=New Bay Media |access-date=7 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150713034839/http://www.keyboardmag.com/article/Rhodes-Mark-7/1896 |archive-date=13 July 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Pedal keyboard]]s can operate the pedal tones of a MIDI organ, or can drive a [[bass synthesizer]].

[[File:Onyx The Digital Pied Piper.jpg|thumb|left|alt=A performer playing a MIDI wind controller|Onyx Ashanti playing a MIDI wind controller, which can produce expressive, natural-sounding performances.]]

===Wind controllers===
{{main|Wind controller}}
Wind controllers allow MIDI parts to be played with the same kind of expression and articulation that is available to players of wind and brass instruments. They allow breath and pitch glide control that provide a more versatile kind of phrasing, particularly when playing sampled or [[Physical modelling synthesis|physically modeled]] wind instrument parts.<ref name="Huber" />{{rp|95|date=November 2012}} A typical wind controller has a sensor that converts breath pressure to volume information and may allow pitch control through a lip pressure sensor and a pitch-bend wheel. Some models include a configurable key layout that can emulate different instruments' fingering systems.<ref>White, Paul. "[http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jul98/articles/yamwx5.html Yamaha WX5]". ''Sound On Sound''. SOS Publications. Jul 1998. Print.</ref> Examples of such controllers include [[Akai]]'s [[EWI (musical instrument)|Electronic Wind Instrument]] (EWI) and Electronic Valve Instrument (EVI). The EWI uses a system of keypads and rollers modeled after a traditional [[woodwind instrument]], while the EVI is based on an acoustic [[brass instrument]], and has three switches that emulate a [[trumpet]]'s valves.<ref name="Manning">Manning, Peter. ''Electronic and Computer Music''. 1985. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994. Print.</ref>{{rp|320–321|date=November 2012}} 

Simpler breath controllers are also available. Unlike wind controllers, they do not trigger notes and are intended for use in conjunction with a keyboard or synthesizer.<ref>{{cite web |title=Breath Controller |url=https://www.sweetwater.com/insync/breath-controller/ |date=Aug 14, 2003 |publisher=Sweetwater |access-date=2020-01-14}}</ref>

===Drum and percussion controllers===
[[File:V-drums-2.jpg|thumb|right|alt=A MIDI drum kit|Drum controllers, such as the [[Roland V-Drums]], are often built in the form of an actual drum kit. The unit's sound module is mounted to the left.]]
Keyboards can be used to trigger drum sounds, but are impractical for playing repeated patterns such as rolls, due to the length of key travel. After keyboards, drum pads are the next most significant MIDI performance controllers.<ref name="Manning" />{{rp|319–320|date=November 2012}} Drum controllers may be built into drum machines, may be standalone control surfaces, or may emulate the look and feel of acoustic percussion instruments. MIDI triggers can also be installed into acoustic drum and percussion instruments. The pads built into drum machines are typically too small and fragile to be played with sticks, and are played with fingers.<ref name="Huber" />{{rp|88|date=November 2012}} Dedicated drum pads such as the [[Roland Octapad]] or the [[DrumKAT]] are playable with the hands or with sticks. There are also percussion controllers such as the [[vibraphone]]-style [[MalletKAT]],<ref name="Huber" />{{rp|88–91|date=November 2012}} and [[Marimba Lumina]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.buchla.com/mlumina/description.html |title="Marimba Lumina Described". ''buchla.com''. n.p. n.d. Web |publisher=Buchla.com |access-date=2012-11-27 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121101162651/http://www.buchla.com/mlumina/description.html |archive-date=2012-11-01 }}</ref> Pads that can trigger a MIDI device can be homemade from a [[piezoelectric sensor]] and a practice pad or other piece of foam rubber.<ref>White, Paul. "[http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/1995_articles/aug95/diydrumpads.html DIY Drum Pads And Pedal Triggers]". ''Sound On Sound'' SOS Publications. Aug 1995. Print.</ref>

===Stringed instrument controllers===
A guitar can be fitted with special [[Pickup (music technology)|pickups]] that digitize the instrument's output and allow it to play a synthesizer's sounds. These assign a separate MIDI channel for each string, and may give the player the choice of triggering the same sound from all six strings or playing a different sound from each.<ref name="Huber" />{{rp|92–93|date=November 2012}} Some models, such as Yamaha's G10, dispense with the traditional guitar body and replace it with electronics.<ref name="Manning" />{{rp|320|date=November 2012}} Other systems, such as Roland's MIDI pickups, are included with or can be retrofitted to a standard instrument. Max Mathews designed a MIDI violin for [[Laurie Anderson]] in the mid-1980s,<ref>Goldberg, Roselee. ''Laurie Anderson''. New York: Abrams Books, 2000. p.80</ref> and MIDI-equipped violas, cellos, contrabasses, and mandolins also exist.<ref>Batcho, Jim. "Best of Both Worlds". ''Strings'' 17.4 (2002): n.a. Print.</ref> Other string controllers such as the [[c:File:Starr Labs Ztar Z6 series (drvinay's studio).jpg|Starr Labs Ztar]] use a combination of fretboard keys and strings to trigger notes without needing a MIDI pickup.

[[File:Akai SynthStation 25.jpg|thumb|alt=A MIDI controller for use with a [[smartphone]]|A MIDI controller designed for use with a [[smartphone]]. The phone docks in the center.]]

===Specialized and experimental controllers===
[[DJ digital controller]]s may be standalone units or may be integrated with a specific piece of software. These typically respond to MIDI clock sync and provide control over mixing, looping, effects, and sample playback.<ref>Price, Simon. "[http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/sep06/articles/allenheathxone.htm Allen & Heath Xone 3D]". ''Sound On Sound''. SOS Publications. Sep 2006. Print.</ref>

MIDI triggers attached to shoes or clothing are sometimes used by stage performers. The Kroonde Gamma wireless sensor can capture physical motion as MIDI signals.<ref>{{cite journal|citeseerx = 10.1.1.84.8862|title=Wireless gesture controllers to affect information sonification|first=Kirsty|last=Beilharz}}</ref> Sensors built into a dance floor at the [[University of Texas at Austin]] convert dancers' movements into MIDI messages,<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Pinkston | last2 = Kerkhoff | last3 = McQuilken | title = The U. T. Touch-Sensitive Dance Floor and MIDI Controller | publisher = The University of Texas at Austin | date = 10 August 2012 }}</ref> and [[David Rokeby]]'s ''Very Nervous System'' [[art installation]] created music from the movements of passers-through.<ref>Cooper, Douglas. "[https://www.wired.com/wired/archive/3.03/rokeby.html Very Nervous System]". ''Wired''. Condé Nast. 3.03: Mar 1995.</ref> Software applications exist which enable the use of [[iOS]] devices as gesture controllers.<ref>"[https://web.archive.org/web/20121022175309/http://midiinmotion.fschwehn.com/the-glimpse/ The Glimpse]". ''midiinmotion.fschwehn.com''. n.p. n.d. Web. 20 August 2012</ref>

Numerous experimental controllers exist which abandon traditional musical interfaces entirely. These include the gesture-controlled [[Buchla Thunder]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.buchla.com/historical/thunder/ |title="Buchla Thunder". ''buchla.com''. Buchla and Associates. n.d. Web |publisher=Buchla.com |access-date=2012-11-27 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121101162647/http://www.buchla.com/historical/thunder/ |archive-date=2012-11-01 }}</ref> sonomes such as the C-Thru Music Axis,<ref>"[http://www.midi.org/aboutmidi/products.php#NonTrad MIDI Products] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120716225141/http://www.midi.org/aboutmidi/products.php#NonTrad |date=2012-07-16 }}". ''midi.org''. The MIDI Manufacturers Association. n.d. Web. 10 August 2012.</ref> which rearrange the scale tones into an isometric layout,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theshapeofmusic.com/note-pattern.php |title="Note pattern". ''theshapeofmusic.com''. n.p. n.d. Web. 10 Aug 2012 |publisher=Theshapeofmusic.com |access-date=2012-11-27 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120219085411/http://www.theshapeofmusic.com/note-pattern.php |archive-date=2012-02-19 }}</ref> and Haken Audio's keyless, touch-sensitive [[Continuum (instrument)|Continuum]] playing surface.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hakenaudio.com/Continuum/hakenaudioovervg.html |title="Overview". ''hakenaudio.com''. Haken Audio. n.d. Web. 10 Aug 2012 |publisher=Hakenaudio.com |access-date=2012-11-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120717080025/http://www.hakenaudio.com/Continuum/hakenaudioovervg.html |archive-date=17 July 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Experimental MIDI controllers may be created from unusual objects, such as an ironing board with heat sensors installed,<ref>Gamboa, Glenn. "[https://www.wired.com/entertainment/music/news/2007/09/handmademusic MIDI Ironing Boards, Theremin Crutches Squeal at Handmade Music Event]". ''Wired.com''. Condé Nast. 27 September 2007. 13 August 2012. Web.</ref> or a sofa equipped with pressure sensors.<ref>"[http://www.midi.org/aboutmidi/products.php#NonTrad MIDI Products] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120716225141/http://www.midi.org/aboutmidi/products.php#NonTrad |date=2012-07-16 }}". ''midi.org''. MIDI Manufacturers Association. n.d. 13 August 2012. Web.</ref> [[GRIDI]] is a large scale physical MIDI sequencer with embedded LEDs developed by Yuvi Gerstein in 2015, which uses balls as inputs.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.focus.de/digital/videos/dld-2016-geniale-erfindung-mit-diesem-tisch-koennen-selbst-unmusikalische-komponieren_id_5221336.html|title=Geniale Erfindung: Mit diesem Tisch können selbst Unmusikalische komponieren - Video|first=FOCUS|last=Online|website=FOCUS Online}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.electronicbeats.net/the-feed/this-massive-midi-sequencer-turns-the-virtual-real/|title=Could This Be The World's Biggest MIDI Controller?|date=July 13, 2016|website=Telekom Electronic Beats}}</ref> The [[Eigenharp]] controller is a combination of a breath controller, a configurable series of multi-dimensional control keys, and ribbon controllers designed to control its own virtual instrument software.<ref>{{cite web |last1=McNamee |first1=David |title=Hey, what's that sound: Eigenharp |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/jan/19/whats-that-sound-eigenharp |website=The Guardian |date=19 January 2011 |publisher=Guardian News and Media Limited |access-date=10 January 2019}}</ref>