E-Mu Proformance Operation Manual - Introduction To Midi
Operation Manual
19
MIDI, or Musical Instrument Digital Interface, is a link
between musical instruments which allows various types of
musical equipment to be connected together. The MIDI cable
transmits information about the status of one instrument to
another. For example, when you press a key on your MIDI
keyboard, a message is transmitted which tells the instrument
at the other end of the cable to play that note. When you
release the key, a message is transmitted which tells the
instrument to stop playing that note.
At its simplest level, MIDI uses 3 basic types of messages: note
on/off, program change, and continuous controller messages.
■ Note On/Off messages tell the instrument which notes to
play. This message also includes information on how hard
the note was played (velocity).
■ Program Change messages tell the instrument to change its
program or sound.
■ Continuous Controller messages tell the instrument to
change a parameter, such as the volume.
INTRODUCTION TO MIDI
Note
On/Off
Continuous
Controllers
MIDI
Channel 1
Program
Change
Note
On/Off
Continuous
Controllers
MIDI
Channel 2
Program
Change
Note
On/Off
Continuous
Controllers
MIDI
Channel 16
Program
Change
Note
On/Off
Continuous
Controllers
MIDI
Channel 3
Program
Change
The messages described above are called Channel Messages.
MIDI contains 16 MIDI channels which are comparable to the
channels on your television. You can tune-in to a particular
channel and ignore information coming in on another
channel. Unlike your TV, some MIDI instruments have the
ability to listen to multiple channels at once. Each of the
sixteen MIDI channels can carry its own note on/off, program
change and continuous controller messages.