The MIDI Standard

The Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) standard transformed the world of musical hardware. This chapter presents the MIDI standard, its evolution over time, and its inner workings, from day one until its modern form. After the brief tour of the hardware and software layers of the MIDI standard, it examines the structure of a few example MIDI actions and their messages in more detail. To specify the set of all parameters supported by a musical device more precisely, the MIDI Manufacturer's Association and the Japanese MIDI Standard Committee designed a document known as the “MIDI Implementation Chart” that must be provided together with any musical device. The first column specifies the message type, the second specifies the transmission functions, the third defines the receiving functions, and the final column contains any remarks.