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MIDI Technology Systematic Survey

Systematized Survey of MIDI and Related Technologies
1
Hideki Izuchi

ÿSummary

MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a common standard for the digital transfer of electronic musical instrument performance data between
devices, established by the Japanese MIDI Standards Council (currently AMEI: Association of Musical Electronics Industry, a general incorporated

association) and the international organization MMA (MIDI Manufacturers Association).

At the NAMM Show held in Chicago in June 1981, Roland founder Ikutaro Kakehashi first called for people to consider the possibility of a common

interface. Dave Smith (President of Sequential Circuits Inc.) responded to this call and proposed the first proposed standard. The two men were

instrumental in establishing MIDI, and in recognition of the contribution the MIDI standard made to the subsequent development of the music industry,
they were jointly awarded the Technical Grammy Award at the 55th Grammy Awards in 2013, the 30th anniversary of the establishment of MIDI.

Using MIDI, different electronic musical instruments can now be played simultaneously regardless of manufacturer. It also became possible to

connect computers to electronic musical instruments, allowing performance data to be created on a computer and for electronic musical instruments

to be automatically played via MIDI. This became known as "Desk Top Music" because music could now be created right on the desk, and it brought
about a major change in the music production scene.

In the 1990s, the distribution of MIDI data by amateur musicians flourished through major PC communication hosts. The existence of de facto

standard tone arrangements called GS and XG sound sources and a common file format for storing MIDI data called SMF (Standard MIDI File)

contributed to the distribution of such MIDI data. With the birth of online karaoke in 1992, MIDI gained a place to play outside the musical instrument

industry. Online

karaoke systems using MIDI data were overwhelmingly faster to create and distribute new songs than conventional karaoke systems using disk

media, had fewer restrictions on the number of songs stored, and had cheaper running costs, which made a big step forward in lowering the price and

popularizing karaoke. In addition, with the launch of i-mode services in February 1999, it became common to download ringtone performance data

from content providers' menu sites for a fee, and the content business for mobile phones expanded rapidly. The performance data for the ringtone is

actually a Standard MIDI File (SMF), and MIDI data was also used in the world of mobile devices.

MIDI is not limited to performance data information, but can also handle clock information and time code information, which has greatly revolutionized

the production process in recording studios. Furthermore, MIDI Machine Control,

MIDI Show Control, MIDI Visual Control, etc. were also established, and MIDI began to be used for controlling multi-track recorders, lighting equipment,

and video equipment.

In 1999, it became possible to pass MIDI through a USB cable, and in 2015 Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) was standardized, and since 2016,

products that send MIDI wirelessly using Bluetooth have appeared one after another. MIDI is no longer limited to hardware connections using MIDI
terminals and MIDI cables, but continues to develop as a protocol for transferring performance data from electronic musical instruments.
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ÿAbstract

The Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) is a common standard for digitally transferring electronic musical instrument performance
data between devices, established by the then Japan MIDI Standards Committee (now the Association of Musical Electronics Industry
[AMEI]) and the international body, the MIDI Manufacturers Association (MMA).

At the NAMM show held in Chicago in June 1981, Ikutaro Kakehashi, the founder of Roland Corp., was the first to issue a call for a
common interface. Dave Smith (President of Sequential Circuits Inc.) responded to this call and provided the first draft for a standard. Both
worked to establish MIDI, and the contribution of the MIDI standard to the subsequent development of the music industry was recognized
with a joint Technical Grammy Award at the 55th Grammy Awards in 2013, the 30th anniversary of the MIDI.

MIDI made it possible to play different electronic musical instruments together, regardless of manufacturer.
It also became possible to connect computers with electronic musical instruments to create performance data on a computer, then, via
MIDI, have the computer play the electronic musical instrument. This made it possible to produce music in its final form at a desk, resulting
in the phrase “Desk Top Music,” and brought about a sea change in how music is produced.

Further, thanks to the services of a major personal computer telecommunication host, the circulation of MIDI data by amateur musicians
flourished in the 1990s. Contributing to this were a couple of de facto standards for assigning instrument sounds, known as GS and XG
format sound sources , and also a common MIDI file format, called the Standard MIDI File (SMF), for storing MIDI data.

The birth of “karaoke online” so to speak (with data hosted on remote servers) in 1992 extended MIDI's scope beyond the musical
instrument industry. These new karaoke systems used MIDI data, which allowed the vendors to create and distribute new songs with
overwhelming speed compared to conventional karaoke systems using disc media. The number of songs available also skyrocketed and
running costs lowered, making karaoke more affordable and thus far more widely available. Furthermore, with the launch of i-mode in
February 1999, and similar services, it became common to pay for and download ringtone data on a content provider's portal site, leading
to rapid expansion of the mobile phone content business. MIDI was also utilized in mobile devices, with the performance data for the
ringtone itself being the Standard MIDI file (SMF).

MIDI is not limited to performance data but can handle clock, time code, and other information. This revolutionized the production
process in recording studios. In addition, MIDI Machine Control, MIDI Show Control, MIDI Visual Control and other subsets were established
as RP ( recommended practice) for MIDI.
MIDI thus came to be used for controlling multitrack recording, lighting, and video equipment.
In 1999, it became possible to relay MIDI data through USB cables. In 2015, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) was standardized, and
products capable of transmitting MIDI wirelessly using Bluetooth have been on the increase since 2016. MIDI is not limited to hardware
connections in the form of MIDI cables between

MIDI terminals but continues its development as a protocol for transferring electronic musical instrument performance data.
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ÿ Profile
ÿ Contents
Hideki Izuchi 1. Introduction …………………………………………… 4
Chief Researcher, National Museum of Nature and Science, Center for Industrial and Technological History Materials and Information
2. Connection interfaces before MIDI …………… 6 3.
1977 Graduated from the Department of Electronic Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Aichi Towards the establishment of MIDI 1.0 …………………
Institute of Technology 1977 Joined Roland Corporation in the
11 4. Overview of the MIDI standard ……………………… 18
development department, mainly engaged in the development of electronic pianos and electronic organs 1996
5. The emergence and development of MIDI
Roland Corporation

Sales Promotion Department 1998 Roland Corporation Rogers Sales Department instruments……………………… 25 6. Personal computers and
1999 Roland Corporation President's Office 2012 Roland Corporation ATV Business Department
MIDI……………………… 38 7. Standardization of tones and
2013 Roland Corporation Quality Assurance Department 2018 Roland
SMF (Standard MIDI File)……… 48 8. The spread of online
Corporation General Affairs and Human Resources Department, Public Relations and

IR Group karaoke…………………………… 54 9. Expanding uses of MIDI……………………………

10. Conclusion 67
National Museum of Nature and Science, Industrial Technology History Information Center, Chief Researcher
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1 | Introduction
Since the dawn of history, music has been a powerful medium for human beings to express emotions and create images. In the 20th century, audio technology continued to evolve, giving rise to

Music probably started out as a form of singing or hitting the body or objects, modern speakers that radiate sound into a wide space, and even the radio,

but as people sought greater expressiveness in music, the oldest musical the last century's version of wireless streaming technology. Audio technology,

instruments appeared. which records, plays back, and transmits sound as is, also gave birth to

large-scale information media such as mass media, making it possible for

Musical scores were created as a means of conveying musical expression the whole world to simultaneously access the same information, and humanity

as information, and we listen to the sounds that are played based on the scores. witnessing the dawn of the information society.

It covers a wide range of periods and forms from ancient times to the present.

Early musical scores were simple, with the pitch of the notes written next to

the lyrics, but as musical instruments were born and evolved, the structure The media includes analog records, magnetic tapes, and

and notation of the scores developed, and eventually the music was written In line with the dawn of the information society, various formats and media

according to the intentions of the composer or conductor. were born according to their uses and advantages and disadvantages, and

It now has the capacity to convey even the subtlest nuances of information. became widely used in society.

In order to transmit musical scores to distant places and to leave them for

posterity, a medium (singular: medium, plural: media) is necessary. In ancient It has come to penetrate into the

times, the recording medium was papyrus or stone tablets, but it eventually However, at this time, musical notation remained a limited tool that only a

changed to paper, and in the 15th century, Gutenberg select few could read, write, and interpret; it was only available to a privileged

When letterpress printing became practical, it was the first time that letters were printed by machine. class of musicians.

The sheet music appeared as if it was a medium. there was.

The music that has become this way is no longer just a one-off performance, The important thing here is the gramophone, the telephone, or the radio.

It has become something that can be recorded, reproduced, and spread. The difference between the former and the latter is that

Music has undergone the greatest transformation in history, changing from What is the audio technology that can record, play, and transmit audio directly?

something ephemeral to something that can have permanence, and from Unlike the latter, the score cannot record the entire performance. As

there it can spread even further. mentioned above, the score is a text that writes down the performance

Yes, and the oldest data format for it information. In other words, the score is a set of instructions that lists a series

But it was sheet music. of instructions (sequences) necessary to reproduce the performance intended

Music has achieved permanence and diffusion. And this transformation would not by the composer or arranger. Since it is a set of instructions, technology is

have been possible without recording media. Eventually, the times would change and required to decipher it, and the score spreads, is interpreted, and passed

the question of what to record on what recording media and how to record it would change. down from generation to generation by repeatedly encrypting and decrypting

A natural focus on format and content it using that technology. For this reason, audio technology that captures the

In the 19th entire

century, in keeping with the rise of the technologically industrialized sound is clear and easy to understand, and can even capture any sound,

society, the phonautograph, gramophone, and even Graham Bell's telephone not just music, while the score is considered difficult and has only survived in

were invented, which enabled musical performance and the voice itself. a narrow world.

Recording, playing, and transmitting directly and in its entirety

This is what we now call audio recording technology.

In other words, streaming technology was invented. However, in the second half of the 20th century, the information revolution and IT revolution began.

The main focus of the music score was, so to speak, a written text of The wave of electronic technology also swept into the field of music. In

performance information, but unlike that, particular, synthesizers, developed using electronic technology, brought

These audio technologies are the next generation about a revolution that overturned conventional wisdom by generating and

Due to its unique convenience, it will spread at an accelerating rate. playing sounds that do not exist in nature, stimulating the imagination of

In other words, it is a medium or format different from sheet music. composers and performers. On the other hand, each synthesizer manufacturer

The rise of new technologies using had its own unique specifications and designs.

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Therefore, players had to learn how to use various models to obtain the In other words, the democratization of musical notation.

tone they wanted, which was a big burden. The resurgence and explosive evolution of written musical scores and

He was my responsibility. sequences. The true digitization of text. The resulting fluidity and

In this environment, engineers who shared the desire to expand the possibilities transferability. In other words, MIDI is not an electronic book but an

of musical expression through electronic musical instruments came together and electronic musical score, and it is something that can only be understood by humans.

started a groundbreaking movement to create a unified standard. This standard, Unlike e-books, which cannot be read, MIDI is not only readable by humans,

which handles the types of tones that can be played, as well as the volume and It is a magical electronic score that can be shared between people and

duration of sounds, is like musical score information for electronic musical instruments. instruments, and can be read and understood by instruments.

Named MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface), this standard was do.

established in 1983 and is used in Japan. And this cannot be achieved through audio technology alone.

The engineers from The development of music that nobody had imagined until then

The birth of MIDI made it possible to play musical instruments from multiple This will bring about a new dimension of musical activity, on a global

manufacturers in sync, dramatically expanding the expressive power of network scale.

musicians. In addition, MIDI, which has an extremely small data capacity, In this survey, we explained the situation of electronic musical instruments

has been widely used since then. before the birth of MIDI, and then asked Japanese manufacturers' engineers to

The development of computers and communication technology has expanded the scope of work. This was made possible through the sincere efforts of American engineers.

It has spread beyond musicians and is now used in our daily lives, including The story of the birth of MIDI is introduced with materials from that time.

karaoke. Next, the spread of personal computers and the expansion of the karaoke market

I went. In this article, we will examine how MIDI has been used and how it has

In other words, music scores, which had previously only been understood by played an important role in our daily lives. Finally, we will touch on the

a privileged class of musicians, were now widely accessible to the general current status of development of the next-generation MIDI standard and its

public, and even to people who did not know music scores or instruments, like karaoke. specifications, and introduce the further expanding possibilities of MIDI.

It was MIDI that opened up the world to the point where even children could enjoy it. sea bream.

MIDI Technology Systematic Survey 5

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2ÿPre-MIDI connection interfaces

This chapter focuses on electronics before MIDI was established in 1983. Analog sequence

This section focuses on the interface between musical instruments. The number of sounds that can be stored in the memory is equal to the number of volumes.

However, digital sequencers can store hundreds of notes.

It was possible to memorize the melody and have it play automatically.

2.1 Analog connection with CV/GATE

Before MIDI was established, the most commonly used interface

for analog synthesizers was an analog connection using CV

(Control Voltage) and Gate. With an analog synthesizer, the pitch

of the sound is determined by the level of the voltage. This voltage

is called CV. Also, whether or not a sound is produced is controlled

by a voltage called Gate. Figure 2.1

is a typical analog synthesizer, with the rear panel

The CV/Gate input and output terminals shown in Figure 2.2 are

It is prepared.
Figure 2.3 Analog sequencer Roland SYSTEM-104

Figure 2.1 Analog synthesizer Roland SH-2

Figure 2.4 Digital sequencer Roland CSQ-100

Just before the birth of MIDI, pitch and timing were expressed numerically.

Edit, control, save and load timings, etc.

A sequencer that can do this was developed by Roland.

Figure 2.2 Analog synthesizer rear panel The original idea and prototype were created by engineers.

This was originally developed by Ralph Dyck, who had a computer-

A sequencer is a device that breaks down the performance of generated MIDI controller, but Yukio Tamada of Roland made it

an electronic musical instrument into information such as pitch multi-track (enabling multiple parts to be played simultaneously), and

(CV), onset and mute instructions (Gate), and onset timing, stores developed the so-called ST/GT method of Step Time (sound length)

it, and turns on and off sounds at pre-set timing. CV/Gate is most and Gate Time (note length), and also incorporated the concept of a

often used when connecting a synthesizer to a sequencer for quarter note resolution (Time Base) to represent the length of a

automatic performance. There are two types of sequencers: sound. This led to the release of the Micro Composer MC-8 (Fig.

analog sequencers, as shown in Figure 2.3, and digital sequencers, 2.5), a full-fledged digital sequencer capable of handling approximately

as shown in Figure 2.4. 5,000 sounds/8 tracks. Later, the MC-4 (Fig. 2.6) with 4 tracks was released.

On an analog sequencer, the volume setting This ST/GT system was later adopted by domestic manufacturers.

Set the pitch of the sound. With the digital sequencer, It also had a major influence on the MIDI sequencers of

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• Oct/V (Octave/Volt) method

This is an interface used in analog synthesizers called system

synthesizers, and is

This method was adopted by companies such as Samsung, Moog, and Roland. Figure 2.8

This method was named the Oct/V method because the

frequency doubles for every 1V increase in CV (control voltage).

The gate signal is a positive polarity method (voltage increases

while playing) as shown in Figure 2.9. This method allowed for

no inconsistencies to occur no matter how the various modules

Figure 2.5 Micro Composer Roland MC-8
of the system synthesizer were connected, but the Oct/V method

Expensive analog circuitry for creating exponential curves

Another issue was that it required additional supplies, which led to high costs.

Still, the American synthesizer manufacturer

ARP, Moog, and Japan's Roland are the three companies that have developed systems.

Not only for music synthesizers, but also for small synthesizers

However, to maintain compatibility, the Oct/V format is used for all models.

formula was adopted.

Figure 2.6 Roland MC-4 Micro Composer

The large analog synthesizer and master shown in Figure 2.7

The Micro Composer was also used to control multiple analog

synthesizer sound sources simultaneously to automatically play

chords. Roland's MC-8 could play up to eight notes at the same

time, and the MC-4 could play up to four notes at the same time.

There was. The CV/Gate interface only had one sound.

Each requires one CV/Gate connection, and eight-note chords can be played.

To get it out, 16 cable connections were required.

Figure 2.8 Oct/V method graph

Figure 2.7 System synthesizer Roland SYSTEM-700

Analog interface: There were two methods Figure 2.9 Positive polarity voltage operation
2.2
• Hz/V (Hertz/Volt) system
The analog interface with CV/Gate includes: The Hz/V (Hertz/Volt) system is used by the Korg and
There were two systems, and they were not compatible with each other. Yamaha synthesizers shown in Figures 2.10 and 2.11.

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This method has a linear relationship between frequency

and voltage, as shown in Figure 2.12. Since there is no
need to create an exponential curve like the Oct/V method,
it has the advantage of keeping costs down and ultimately
providing high pitch stability. Neither company made large
system synthesizers, so they used the Hz/V method. The
gate signal is a negative polarity method (voltage drops
while playing) as shown in Figure 2.13.

•Conversion interface KORG MS-02

Figure 2.10 Korg MS-20
Korg offers a product that allows you to convert between Oct/V and Hz/V formats.

By using this interface, it was possible to connect

synthesizers whose specifications differed depending on
the manufacturer.
It became possible to use it.

Fig. 2.11 Yamaha CS-10

Fig. 2.14 Korg MS-02

ÿÿÿ

2.3 Oberheim Parallel Bus

The Oberheim Parallel Bus is an American

Figure 2.12 Hz/V system graph
Oberheim, a sensor manufacturer
Parallel digital image sensors were introduced in 1980.
The interface is a 37-pin D-SUB connector.
This allows direct memory access (DMA) through the Z-80
processor, and all addresses and data are sent to the Z-80 processor.

Tabas included.

Figure 2.13 Negative polarity voltage operation

Fig. 2.15 Oberheim OB-X

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The polyphonic synthesizer OB-X in Fig. 2.15

The later model was connected to the company's polyphonic
sequencer DSX with a 37-pin D-SUB cable, making it possible
to record polyphonic performances and play them automatically.

The FACE had an extremely fast data transfer speed, which later led to the establishment of MIDI.

During this process, all American synthesizer manufacturers,

except for Sequential Circuits, became interested in MIDI. Fig. 2.17 Roland JUPITER-8
The reason they did not show this was because they were using parameters with high transfer speeds.

The background of already using the REL interface

There was.

2.4 DCB (Digital Communication Bus)

DCB (Digital Communication Bus) is a serial interface used

by Roland before the establishment of MIDI.

The transfer rate is 31.25Kbps.

The transfer rate was the same as that of MIDI. The connector was 14

The Amphenol connector is 1.5mm in diameter.

The pin arrangement is shown below. Input and output are TTL level.

DCB responded to market demand for automatic

performance using Roland's polyphonic synthesizer JUPITER-8

(Fig. 2.17), released in 1981, and the Micro Composer MC-4
(see Fig. 2.6), released in the same year.
It is a digital interface designed with the aim of
The first product using DCB was released in April 1982.

Figure 2.18 Example of connection between Roland OP-8 and OP-8 and MC-4

Optional accessory for adding a DCB connector to the JUPITER-8.

The MC-4 CV/GATE was
The signal was converted to a DCB serial signal by the OP-8

interface (Fig. 2.18) and input to the JUPITER-8 (built-in

OC-8), making it possible to play the JUPITER-8 automatically
using the MC-4.
In addition, the Roland polyphonic synthesizer JUNO-60

(Fig. 2.19), released in 1982,

DCB terminals were standard equipment from the time of shipment.

Figure 2.16 DCB terminals and specifications Fig. 2.19 Roland JUNO-60

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The limitations of electronic musical instrument

2.5 DIN SYNC 2.6 interfaces before the MIDI era

To synchronize the sequencer and rhythm machine As we have seen in this chapter, before MIDI was born

This is a proprietary standard invented by Roland, and was installed in In this day and age, the interface is still practical.

Roland's rhythm machine TR-808 (Fig. 2.20) and sequencers before As a result, electronic musical instruments were no longer standalone.

MIDI was established. The connection terminal uses the same 5-pin It was a one-of-a-kind instrument, and in that respect it was not that

DIN connector as MIDI. Pin 1 is assigned to start/stop, and pin 3 is far removed from existing acoustic instruments.

assigned to the clock signal. For example, if you use the CV/Gate method with analog voltage,

The second pin is GND (ground). The clock is 24 clocks per quarter A pair of cables is needed to transmit a single note.

note. As shown in Figure 2.21, it is specified that the clock signal be By simply playing the chords of C, E, and G, a total of six cases can be played.

kept at low level for 5 to 10 milliseconds after the start signal is turned Although various synthesizer manufacturers had proposed interfaces

ON. using digital signals, each had its own proprietary method, and there

do. was no standardization.

It was only possible to respond to the next generation.

I was waiting for the arrival of a unified interface for

That is why.

Fig. 2.20 Roland TR-808 and DYN SYNC terminal

Figure 2.21 DIN SYNC Signals and Pin Arrangement

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3 | Towards the establishment of MIDI 1.0

In February 2013, Roland founder Ikutaro Kakehashi

Smith (former president of Sequential Circuits) 3.1 USI (Universal Synthesizer Interface)
They jointly contributed to the establishment of the MIDI standard, and the MIDI standard

The contributions of the MIDI to the development of the music In June 1981, the Summer Convention Center was held at

industry after the MIDI MIDI Protocol (M.O.P.) were recognized McCormick Place in Chicago, the largest convention center in North America.

and the MIDI Protocol was awarded the Technical GRAMMY® At the NAMM Show (the largest musical instrument trade fair in the

Award (see Figures 3.1 and 3.2). United States), Kakehashi met with American synthesizer manufacturer

It was our company that first advocated for the need for a "computer interface." Tom Oberheim, president of the manufacturer
At the time, Roland's president was Ikutaro Kakehashi, and in I heard about Hashiguchi through Tom Oberheim.
response to the proposal, Dave Smith submitted the first
proposed standard. Dave Smith responded to this proposal, and four months later,

on October 15, 1981, at a musical instrument fair in Tokyo, Japan,

Le Circuit has been in discussion for about two years. The first event was attended by four car manufacturers and two American manufacturers.

Well, the first MIDI 1.0 specification was published in the summer of 1983. This The first proposed standard was presented at the Synthesizer
chapter looks back on how that came about. Interface Conference.
Dave Smith's proposed standard USI (Universal Interoperability Indicator)

The hardware for the Synthesizer Interface uses 1/4-inch 2-

pole phone jacks for both transmission and reception.
The two companies are connected with a shielded cable, and the output

is an open collector TTL output with a pull-up resistor to +5V

It was stipulated that the resistor should be provided on the receiving side (see Figure 3.3).

Figure 3.3 Dave Smith's hardware proposal and 1/4-

Figure 3.1 Dave Smith (left) and Ikutaro Hashimoto inch 2-pole phone jack

The transfer speed is 19.2kbps, with 8 data bits, plus a start

bit, stop bit, and odd parity bit, making 1 byte sent in 11 bits. It
takes 0.573 milliseconds to send 1 byte.

The protocol is shown in Figure 3.4. Status Byte

The upper two bits have the meanings shown in TABLE 1.
is.

For example, when sending keyboard data, the upper two

bits are "0, 0" and the bits below are "t, v, c", for a total of three
bits, as specified in the table below. The lower three bits "n, n,
n" indicate the number of data bytes following the status byte.
A maximum of "111" = 7 bytes can be expressed, but the
Figure 3.2 The Grammy Award trophy that they jointly received number of data bytes following the status byte is 0.

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Figure 3.4 Dave Smith's protocol proposal

It is limited to 6 bytes. The difference from the current MIDI is 3) When using a 1/4-inch 2-pole phone jack with low impedance,

1) whether the data has velocity or not. there is a problem with reliability. 4) When considering real-time

You can choose whether to assign channels or not. performance, synchronization (sync) in musical progression is required.

ÿ There is a rule called Double length, which allows the 2nd , Isn't a synchronization mechanism necessary?

3rd , and 4th bytes of data to be stored in double precision. If Fumio Saegusa of Korg, the organizing company for the
velocity and channel are not specified, a minimum of 2 bytes second conference, faxed the proposal shown in Figure 3.5 to

per sound can be used, but if velocity and channel are specified Dave Smith of Sequential Circuits (October 28, 1981).
in double precision, a maximum of 7 bytes are required.

ÿ19.2kbps seems to be the minimum baud rate for an 8-voice

polyphonic synthesizer. If Double

3.2 Synthesizer Interface Conference If data is handled in double length (double precision), seven bytes are

required to send one sound, and it takes up to 27 milliseconds to play

On October 15, 1981, Dave Smith of Sequential Circuits, eight sounds simultaneously. This makes it impossible to ensure real-

Inc. proposed USI to the Japanese company. time performance. Even without double length (double precision),

The four musical instrument manufacturers have been meeting roughly once a month since then. there is the problem of sound delay. Wouldn't a baud rate of about

The contents of the Synthesizer Interface Conference described twice 19.2 kbps be necessary?

below are excerpts from the notes and archives of the late ÿ1/4 inch 2-pole phone jacks can cause ground loop noise and
Tadao Sakai, who was then the project manager at the Roland poor contact.
Technical Center. 3. Sync rhythms, sequencers, and synthesizers
Clock, start/stop rules for

•2nd Synthesizer Interface Conference Rank required

(Tokyo, October 24, 1981) Discussion

took place regarding Dave Smith's proposal "USI." On December 2, 1981, Dave Smith sent the following reply
The following problems were pointed to Fumio Saegusa of Korg: 1) It is

out: 1. 19.2kbps is too slow. 38.4kbps or 31.25kbps rare to use data with double length (double precision), so it is
Why not consider this? excluded from the specifications.

ÿTTL level open collector output is ground It takes 14 milliseconds to send eight note numbers.
There is a problem with noise due to looping. A clock is generated separately from the serial data transmission line.

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Figure 3.5 Proposal letter from Korg to Dave Smith

You can increase the baud rate by sending a 1/4 inch 2-pole phone The Yamaha proposal shown in Figure 3.6 was submitted by Katsuhiko Hirano, who was

jack. You can also use a slightly more expensive UART (serial then the head of the LM design department at Nippon Musical Instruments Co., Ltd. The

communication person in charge of creating the proposal was Tetsuo Nishimoto, also from the same department.

LSI). The idea of using an isolator to separate the ground

This was the first time this circuit was submitted.

Jack is already using the shielded cable The current loop structure is highly resistant to external noise and

The biggest advantage is that you can use a special cable. It is an It also prevented round loop noise, and became the prototype for MIDI

alternative to improve poor contact and noise without using a special cable. hardware. The transfer rate was proposed to be 38.4 kbps, twice that of

Please let me know if you have any. "USI". It had a 10-bit structure, with 8 data bits plus a start bit and stop bit.

3) Standardization of timing clocks is a good idea, and I think you should

be the first to propose it. There is no parity bit. The protocol does not include instantaneous timing.

This type is used to transfer key notes, and error detection is not

•The 3rd Synthesizer Interface Conference performed with a byte configuration of the minimum necessary data.

(Tokyo, December 24, 1981) "KEY EVENT" shown in 3-1-1 in Figure 3.6 allows note ON and OFF with

ÿ In response to Dave Smith's reply, 19.2kbps baud rate is inappropriate a 2-byte configuration. 1 byte

(all participants) 38.4kbps is fine. However, considering the CPU The first MSB 1 bit indicates "NOTE ON" or "NOTE OFF".

clock, 31.25kbps is easy to make. ÿ 1/4 inch 2-pole phone jack is not The first byte represents the key event, and the lower 7 bits are assigned

reliable. to the keynote information. The upper 5 bits of the second byte specify

OK, I can't do that, but I don't have an alternative. the velocity (32 levels), and the lower 3 bits specify the sound channel (8

3) Each company will think about musical synchronization. channels). The "EXTENDED KEY EVENT" shown in 3-1-2 has a 5-byte

We will come up with ideas at the next meeting. structure, allowing it to store more information.

ÿYamaha will provide a standard interface (draft) There are.

This was suggested. * "KEY EVENT" or "EXTENDED KEY EVENT"

The key number in the first byte (MSB 1 bit) is used to distinguish

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Figure 3.6 Proposal submitted by Yamaha

The key number is determined by whether the digits (excluding the 7 bits)

are 95 or less or 96 or more (1100000 in binary). If the key number is 95 or less,

It is judged as the first byte of "KEY EVENT" and is 96 or more.

This is determined to be the first byte (status byte) of an “EXTENDED KEY

EVENT”.

Figure 3.7 5-pin DIN Figure 3.8 From the left, 3-pin XLR
•4th Synthesizer Interface Conference socket (female) and 3-pin XLR (male) sockets

(January 28, 1982, Hamamatsu)

ÿ Roland's proposal will be made during the NAMM show. The hardware follows Yamaha's proposal and uses photocouplers.

The proposal will be submitted to a meeting. The current loop proposal using the 1000V AC current was adopted (see Figure 3.9).

ÿ In the Roland proposal, rhythm synchronization and connection connector

The above will be submitted as part of the overall plan from the

Japanese side. 3) The connectors are Canon (XLR) and 5-pin.

DIN compatible.

At this meeting, the Roland proposal was presented, which suggested that a 5-

pin DIN terminal (Figure 3.7) would be used for the connection terminal in question. Baud Rate = 31.25kbps

However, the 5-pin DIN terminal was the only one in the United States at the time. Figure 3.9 Roland's hardware proposal

Since this was not common, and at the strong request of Sequential Circuits, we

have also included the use of a 3-pin XLR connector (Figure 3.8). The protocol proposed by Rowland, shown in Figure 3.10, was

Tadao Kikumoto, who was the general manager of Roland's Osaka Technical Center

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Figure 3.10: Roland's protocol

Created by. This is the first time I've ever met someone who was talking about synchronization. Some people had no idea the value of dado.
It includes information on the status. Many people suggested expensive Mbaud parallel
The task byte and data byte are arranged in the MSB (Most Significant Bit). interfaces, but it seemed impossible. No one seemed to
The specification is to divide by 1 bit, and MSB bit=1 is the status understand that meetings on these sorts of issues require
The MSB bit=0 indicates a message byte, and the MSB bit=0 compromises (and terribly time-consuming feasibility
indicates a data byte. Although the data resolution is limited to checks). After this frustrating meeting, we met with four
7 bits, the protocol specification is simple and easy to understand. Japanese companies (Korg, Kawai, Roland, and Yamaha)
The idea of running status was also who were willing to see this work through. Dealing with
If the same status continues, the issues that arose from the meetings with the other
The channel is represented by the least significant 3 bits companies was a bit of a pain.
of the status byte, and key information for up to 8 channels Putting that aside, we decided to decide on the specifications ourselves.

can be sent. As a result, other companies lost interest or dropped out.

In addition, the note OFF status is the same as the note ON status. He was asleep.
This can be substituted with Velocity=0 as is, and after the *Rittor Music Keyboard Magazine
first note is pronounced, note ON/OFF is achieved with 2 bytes. Quoted from June 1993 issue, p.20

- Synthesizer Interface Conference at the NAMM Show

(February 7, 1982, USA) Synthesizer Interface 3.3 Until the MIDI 1.0 standard was decided

Conference was held at a hotel near the NAMM Show

venue in Anaheim in February 1982. Synthesizer held during the NAMM show
The following is a report on the situation at that time. What became clear at the User Interface Conference was that
The conference was hosted by Sequential Circuits, Inc. American companies other than Sequential Circuits
Dave Smith recalls: All sensor manufacturers are using serial interfaces.
"At the NAMM show in Anaheim, The reason for this was that they believed that the bit
invited all synthesizer people to participate. rates of serial transmission available at the time were too
Most of the people attended the meeting. slow to be used for real-time transmission. However, the
Rather than integrating the United States, the majority of fact that the Japanese side was limited to one American
The lack of interest from manufacturers in this field became clear. The reason was company was a blessing in disguise in terms of finalizing
Although the range of applications was wide, a common interface and standard the specifications. Sequential Circuits was

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The Roland proposal, which was presented at a meeting during the NAMM Show,

was basically accepted. The regulations were revised for a year until the first public

testing of MIDI connections was conducted at the following NAMM Show in 1983.

Regarding the details of the ranking, the US side is sequential circuit

The company acted as the liaison office on the Japanese side, while Roland acted as the liaison office on the Japanese side.

3.3.1 MIDI's 16-channel format decided in July 1982 The original USI

(later

MIDI) specification allowed multiple

The number of channels that can be used was 8.

June 2, 1982 by Sequential Circuits Figure 3.13 Roland's response agreeing with the specification for
16 polyphonic channels
Below is an excerpt from the proposal sent by the company (see

Figure 3.11). This request was submitted due to concerns that there would be a shortage of modules.

The four Japanese companies are

Since I had no information about the Chitimbre development plan, I

only had my eye on polyphonic synthesizers and thought that eight

channels would be enough.

As a result, the decision to make it 16 channels was made.

Figure 3.11 Sequential Circuits' proposal
It can be said that this was a major turning point that greatly expanded

However, in the case of the letter dated July 14, 1982 shown in Figure 3.12, the possibilities of MIDI thereafter.

The memo states that Sequential Circuits requested:

This resulted in the development of monophonic 3.3.2 The name MIDI was suggested by Dave Smith

New channels have been added, with the maximum number of mono channels being The name of the synthesizer interface is

This increased to 16 channels. It was originally called USI (Universal Synthesizer Interface). However,

the word "universal" in USI could violate antitrust laws and cause

legal problems, so they started looking for another name. Then Dave

Smith came up with the name MIDI (Musical Instruments Digital

Interface), which was approved by the Japanese side, and MIDI

became the official name. Around June 1982

This is what I mean.

Figure 3.12 Sequential Circuits' proposal for a maximum of
16 monophonic channels
3.3.3 Sequential Circuits MIDI Specification

This request was discussed among four Japanese manufacturers, Published

On July 23, 1982, Roland sent the fax shown in Figure 3.13 to by Sequential Circuits, Inc. on November 3, 1982.

Sequential Circuits. The contents of the fax do not distinguish The English specification for MIDI, shown in Figure 3.14, was published.

between polyphonic and monophonic synthesizers.

Increase the channel count to 16 channels without 3.3.4 Connection test at the NAMM Show in January 1983.

The contents are as follows. Sequential circuits are included in this.

The content was agreed upon and the decision was made to make MIDI 16 channels. Sequential Circuit at the NAMM Show

In sequential circuits, the monophonic I connected a Prophet-600 from the company to a Roland JUPITER-6

There was a plan to develop a multi-timbral (capable of playing and JX-3P with MIDI cables and succeeded in playing sounds

multiple tones simultaneously) keyboard with multiple built-in mic between them (see Figure 3.15).

(single note) synthesizers.

A monophonic synthesizer that handles only one voice 3.3.5 Establishment of the MIDI Standards Liaison Committee

In this case, the maximum number of channels is 8, so in the future February 11, 1983 MIDI standard management and ID number

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Figure 3.16 "Japanese version of MIDI 1.0 specification"

Figure 3.14 Published by Sequential Circuits

MIDI Specification The technology, ideas, and problems to be solved at that time

We openly bring issues to each other and come up with solutions.

There have been no attempts to monopolise these rights, and

instead, a mechanism has been created that allows them to be

operated while maintaining neutrality.

But it can be used by anyone without exposing your ego.

The aim was to create a common standard that would benefit everyone.

The multi-timbral sound brought to us by the Shall Circuit

The concept was also of great benefit to everyone.

As you can see from this, the true value of the MIDI standard

The thing is, it was open.

Figure 3.15 MIDI connection test at the NAMM show There is no bias towards any one manufacturer or user.

It is not convenient. MIDI is not widely available to the public.

The MIDI Standard Liaison Committee was established to manage the It was a standard that was established in 1990. And that was rare.

standards bar, which was later renamed the MIDI Standards Council and is Thanks to the foresight of these pioneers, MIDI was born in a

now integrated into AMEI (Association of Musical Electronics Industries). miraculous way and at the same time, it was able to become so

universal that it could be widely adopted.

3.3.6 Publication of the "Japanese version of the MIDI 1.0 specification" was born and spread as an open standard, and even

It was published in English on August 25, 1983. Go beyond protocols and advance your electronic instruments faster than ever before.

The Japanese version of the "MIDI 1.0 SPECIFICATION," "Japanese This will result in it becoming a ``system of thought.''

Version of MIDI 1.0 Specification" (see Figure 3.16), has been published The next chapter will provide an overview of the MIDI standard, and from

by the MIDI Standards Liaison Committee. chapter 5 onwards, we will introduce the powerful technology known as MIDI.

See how quickly and diversified the musical instruments that were

go.

3.4 The birth of the MIDI standard

As mentioned in this chapter, the people involved in the creation Quoted from Keyboard Magazine published by Rittor Music

of MIDI seriously considered the issue of what it means for musical June 1993 issue P20

instruments to communicate with each other, and how it should be.

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4ÿOverview of the MIDI standard

This chapter provides an overview of the MIDI 1.0 standard, which was established in MIDI is a one-way asynchronous bit stream of 31.25K bits per second

1983, based on the specifications issued by the Association of Musical Electronics Industry (AMEI). transmitted over a MIDI cable. MIDI instruments usually use the IN, OUT,

The following is an excerpt from the specifications of the It has three different MIDI connectors, labeled THRU and
For standard specifications, please refer to the "MIDI 1.0 THRU. MIDI data streams are typically sent to a MIDI
Standard" published by AMEI. controller, such as a keyboard instrument, or to a MIDI sequencer.
Thus, it is produced.
A MIDI controller is a device that is played as a musical
4.1 MIDI Basics instrument and converts what you play into a stream of
MIDI data in real time (as you play it). A MIDI sequencer is
The Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) protocol A device that can record, edit, store, combine, and play
provides a standardized, efficient means for transmitting MIDI data sequences.
musical performance information as electronic data. MIDI data from a controller or sequencer
MIDI information is sent as "MIDI messages." The output is sent from the MIDI OUT of the device.
It is a music synthesizer, This MIDI data string is usually transmitted to a MIDI sound source or

Instructions and ideas on how to play each piece The modules receive the
The actual sound can be It plays sounds according to MIDI messages received
Must be generated by the receiving synthesizer. from MIDI IN. Figure 4.1 shows a MIDI keyboard.
For a complete description of the MIDI protocol, see MIDI 1.0 Details. A simple controller and MIDI sound module
It is contained in. This shows a typical MIDI system. Many MIDI keyboard instruments

The MIDI data string consists of 10 bits per byte (1 star). The device is equipped with a keyboard controller in the same unit.

8 data bits, 1 stop bit It includes both a controller and a MIDI sound module.

Figure 4.1 A simple MIDI system

Figure 4.2 An extended MIDI system

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Note that in these units, In this case, each part would be played on a different MIDI
Keyboards and sound modules may be internally channel, and the sound modules would be configured to
connected and may be connected or disconnected by receive on different channels. For example, sound module
setting the instrument's "Local Control" function to ON or 1 could receive a piano part on channel 1, and module 2
OFF. The single physical MIDI signal could receive a piano part on channel 2.
line is divided into 16 logical channels by the 4-bit 5 The information received is converted to the sound of an acoustic bass.

channel number contained in many MIDI channel You can use a MIDI MIDI IN/OUT and configure your
messages. Keyboard instruments can usually be set to drum machine to play the part received on MIDI channel 10.
transmit on any one of the 16 MIDI channels. This can be done.

In this example, we use different sound modules to play each part.

A MIDI sound source (sound module) can be configured However, multi-timbral modules are used.
to receive on a specific MIDI channel (or channels). For a With a sound module, you can play several different parts at the same time.

sound module to play sounds in the system shown in One multi-tone can be played at the same time.
Figure 4.1, it would need to be configured to receive on The Piano part is channeled on the bar sound module.
the channel that the keyboard controller is transmitting on. 1, the bass part on channel 5, and the drums on channel
By setting the parts to receive on channel 10, you can
Information received at the MIDI IN of a MIDI device is sent play three parts simultaneously.
out again (repeated) from the MIDI THRU of that device. By Figure 4.3 shows a PC-based MIDI system.
connecting the THRU output to the IN of the next device in In this system, the PC transmits MIDI data to an external multi
the chain, you can connect multiple MIDI sound modules together. Timbre MIDI Synthesizer Module
It is possible to chain the lines together. With a built-in MIDI interface card
Figure 4.2 shows a more complex MIDI system. Multimedia presentation
In this example, a MIDI keyboard controller Packages, educational software, games, etc.
is used as an input device to a MIDI sequencer, and the What application software uses the PC bus?
sequencer's MIDI OUT port has several MIDI data is sent through the MIDI IN in parallel format.
A sound module is connected. The composer is MIDI interface card.
There are several pieces, each written for a different instrument. The device converts this information into serial MIDI data,
To write a piece of music with different parts This sound module is
Such a system can be used for a wide range of musical It's a timbre, so there's piano, bass, and drums.
compositions: the composer can play each part one by one Performing many different musical parts simultaneously
on the keyboard and record these individual parts into a There are also sophisticated MIDI sequencer software
sequencer. The sequencer then records them into a sound module.packages available for the PC.
Play those parts together through the course of the game. This software runs on a PC and can be used with a MIDI keyboard.

Figure 4.3 PC-based MIDI system

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Connect the MIDI controller to a MIDI interface card. 4.2.1 Channel Voice Messages
By connecting it to the MIDI IN port of the , you can create Channel voice messages are used to transmit information
music similar to the two examples above. about musical performances.
PC-based MIDI systems can be configured in many different ways. The notes are note on, note off, polyphonic
For example, a MIDI interface Key pressure, channel pressure,
The MIDI sound module is integrated and added to the PC. Pitch bend change, program change,
In fact, the Multimedia PC (MPC) specification requires that and control change messages.
all MPC systems
Demanding to have a music synthesizer •Note On / Note Off / Velocity
Today, audio adapter cards (sound cards) usually include a In the MIDI system, the start of a note and
synthesizer along with MIDI interface capabilities. Until Releasing that same note is two separate events.
recently, most PC sound cards included FM synthesizers of On a MIDI keyboard instrument or MIDI keyboard controller,
limited capability and subpar sound quality. the
If you select MIDI OUT, the keyboard will
These systems require an external wavetable Sends a note-on message.
Adding a synthesizer module The keyboard supports 16 logical MIDI channels.
You will get a higher quality sound. It can be set to transmit on any one channel.
High quality wavetable music synthesizer The status of the Note On message can be
More advanced sound cards with built-in speakers or The note on status byte is followed by two data bytes
daughter cards available as options. specifying the note number (which key was pressed) and
In PC applications, the velocity (how hard the key was pressed).
With the increasing use of the MIDI protocol, this trend
is sure to continue.
The note number is used to select the note to be
played on the receiving synthesizer, and the velocity is
4.2 MIDI Messages It is usually used to control the volume of a note.
When the key is released, the keyboard or MIDI
MIDI messages are 8-bit status bytes. The board controller sends a note-off message.
A MIDI message consists of a sequence of bytes, usually The note-off message also contains a data byte indicating the
one or two, followed by a data byte. note number and the velocity at the time the key was released.
MIDI messages can be broadly categorized as follows: Note-off velocity information is normally ignored.
Channel messages and system messages
Channel messages are classified as Aftertouch
These messages apply to a specific channel and the Some MIDI keyboard instruments have the ability to
status byte of these messages contains the channel number. sense the amount of pressure applied to a key while it is
System messages are channel-dependent. being held down. This pressure information, commonly
In the status byte, called "aftertouch", can be used to control some aspect of
No channel information is included. the sound produced by the synthesizer, such as vibrato. If a
Channel messages are further keyboard has pressure sensors on each key, the resulting
Channel Mode Messages and Channel Mode Messages "polyphonic aftertouch" information can be used to control
Channels, voice messages, and messages can be categorized into polyphonic keyplay.
Sage conveys data about the performance of a piece of music, typically

It typically makes up the majority of the MIDI data stream. It can be sent as a Rescher message.
Channel Mode messages affect the way the receiving The message is composed of a note number and a pressure value.

instrument responds to Channel Voice messages. It contains two data bytes.

On instruments, a single pressure level is used across the entire keyboard.

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It is more common to sense level only. This "channel Used with gram change messages
aftertouch" information is sent as a channel pressure (The program change message alone can select one of
message, which requires only one data byte to specify 128 program numbers.) The added sound is sent using
the pressure value. control number 0 and control number 32 to specify the
new bank,
Sending consecutive program change messages
Pitch Bend Change The Pitch This allows for 16,384 possible banks of 128 voices each.
Bend Change message is normally
It responds to changes in the pitch bend wheel position. The MIDI standard supports bank select messages.
The pitch bend information is sent to the corresponding channel How should the synthesizer banks be mapped?
Change the pitch of the sound being played in Since the bank select method is not described,
The pitch bend change message contains two data bytes By default, there is no standard way to select a particular
that specify the pitch bend value. Two bytes are required synthesizer bank. There are no companies like Roland
because they represent the pitch that results from the (GS format) or Yamaha (XG format) that guarantee some
movement of the pitch bend wheel. standardization among their products.
Enough to make the change seem continuous, rather than gradual. Some manufacturers have adopted these practices.

This is to enable very fine resolution.

ÿ RPN / NRPN
•Program Change Control number 6 (Data Entry) can be used in MIDI in
Program change messages are conjunction with control numbers 96 (Data Increment), 97
The channel that should be used to play the sound. (Data Decrement), 98 (Registered Parameter Number
This message is used to specify the type of instrument to be played. LSB), 99 (Registered Parameter Number MSB), 100 (Non-
This message contains one data bit that specifies the new program number. Registered Parameter Number LSB), and 101 (Non-
Only 10 data bytes are required. Registered Parameter Number MSB).

•Control Change Expand the number of controllers available.

Control change messages are sent to the synthesizer. First, control numbers 98 and 99, or 100 and
Controlling various functions in the 101 is the parameter number to be edited
Control Change messages, like other MIDI channel number and then use control numbers 6, 96, or 97 to
messages, only affect the channel number indicated in adjust the data value for that parameter.
the Status Byte. By selecting the parameter data, the parameter data is transmitted.

RPNs and NRPNs are used to store patches and other data.
After the control change status byte To edit,
The message is followed by a first data byte indicating Typically used to transmit meter data
the "controller number" and a second data byte Registered parameters are MIDI
specifying the "control value". The control number The MIDI Manufacturers Association (MMA) and the MIDI
indicates which function of the synthesizer is controlled by the message.
Standards Council (JMSC, now AMEI) have agreed to a specific
Specifies whether the defined command should be tracked. A function is assigned to it. For example, a synthesizer
For a complete list of controllers, see MIDI 1.0 in detail. There are registered parameter numbers assigned to
It is published. control the pitch bend sensitivity of the pedal or the
master tuning of the pedal.
1. Bank Select Control
number 0 (with 32 sending the LSB) is defined as the are not assigned to a specific device and are used for different functions by different manufacturers.

Bank Select. The Bank Select function is used to expand Again, each company, including Roland and Yamaha,
the number of different instruments that can be addressed. adopts their own conventions to ensure some
To achieve this, some synthesizers use MIDI programming. standardization.

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4.2.2 Channel Mode Messages The mode message is sent via the basic channel.

Channel Mode messages (corresponding to MIDI control It will only be received on

numbers 120 through 127) are used by the synthesizer to

Change how the controller responds to MIDI data. 4.2.3 System Messages
Control number 121 is used to reset all controllers. Control System messages are displayed as System Common Messages.

number 122 is used for local control (keyboard controller messages, system real-time messages and system

functions and synth controller functions on MIDI synthesizers System Common messages are sent to all receivers in the
with a keyboard). system. System Real Time messages are sent to synchronize
The sizer function can be turned off with local control. devices that use MIDI Clock.
(can be separated by
Used to select control numbers 124 to 127. Used to synchronize the engineers.
is used to select OMNI mode on or off, and to select MONO Inclusive messages include the manufacturer's ID code.
or POLY mode. format specified by its manufacturer
When OMNI mode is on, the synthesizer This is used to send any number of bytes of data according
Responds to incoming MIDI data on all channels. to the above.
When OMNI mode is off, the synthesizer
The synthesizer responds to MIDI messages on only one • System Common Messages
channel. When Poly mode is selected, incoming Note On Currently defined system common messages
messages are played polyphonically. This means that if Includes MTC quarter frame, song select
multiple Note On messages are received, a separate voice is Song Position Pointer, Tune Re
assigned to each note (limited by the number of voices Quest and the End of Exclusive
available on the synthesizer), resulting in multiple notes being (EOX). MTC Quarter Frame Mesh
played simultaneously. When Mono mode is selected, only Sage is a software that allows you to connect MIDI equipment to audio or video equipment.

one note per MIDI channel is played. It is the part of the MIDI Time Code information used to
synchronize other equipment, such as a deck.
One voice is assigned to that channel. Song Select messages allow you to select multiple different songs.

This means that only one note can be played at a time. The Song Position Pointer is used by MIDI devices such
Many MIDI synthesizers have an omni-on as sequencers and drum machines that store and recall
/ Poly mode operation will be the default (currently Omni Off). song data. The Song Position Pointer tells a sequencer
In this mode, the synthesizer will play note messages on all to start playing at a place other than the beginning of a song.
MIDI channels it receives, synthesizing the Used to indicate a song position.
The value of the timer is from the beginning of the song to the point where you want to start.

The notes sent are played polyphonically. This is the time in MIDI clocks.
In MUNI OFF/POLY mode operation, the synthesizer The message is a system real-time message.
The user receives only one channel and This can only be used with devices that recognize MIDI Sync.
Notes received on the panel are played polyphonically. This This can be done.

mode is used when several synthesizers Tune request messages are generally
When connected in a chain using MIDI THRU Requires retuning of the oscillator inside the log synthesizer.
In this case, each synthesizer in the tune will be assigned to This message is generally used when requesting
one part (one channel). It's not needed for digital synthesizers.
You can set it to play only the part you want to play (MIDI data) The EOX message indicates the end of a System Exclusive
and ignore the other parts. message, which can contain variable length data.
Please note that a MIDI instrument has one MIDI channel, is used to inform
the "basic channel".
Basic channel allocations must be • System real-time messages
It may be hard-coded or selectable. System real-time messages are sent in sequence.

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It is used to synchronize all devices in a system that use The transmitted data is terminated with an EOX message.
MIDI Clock, such as keyboards and synthesizers. The manufacturer may not use System Exclusive
They are required to publish details of their data formats,
Ignore most of the system real-time messages. and other manufacturers are free to use those formats, but
To help ensure accurate timing, are prohibited from modifying them.
System real-time messages are and must not be used in any manner inconsistent with the original manufacturer's specifications.

These 1-byte messages have priority over the System Real- Some System Exclusive ID
Time Messages and can be placed anywhere in the data numbers are not allowed.
stream. These are reserved for other protocols.
(It may appear between the status byte and the following Includes MIDI Show Control and MIDI Machine Control.
data byte of a MIDI message.) control, and sample data transfer between MIDI devices.
System real-time messages include The MIDI standard defines a system exclusive data format
Clock, Start, Continue, Stop for transmitting
Active sensing and system reset There is a sample dump standard.
There is a set message. Timing Clock
The message sets the tempo of the sequencer's performance. 4.2.4 Running Status
It is the master clock that controls the timing clock. MIDI data is transmitted serially, so originally
The Start, Continue and Stop messages are used to control occurred simultaneously and were sent simultaneously in the MIDI data stream.

the playing of the sequencer. The multiple musical events that should be played may not
actually be played at exactly the same time.
will be done. Each bit is 10 bits, and the transfer rate is 31.25K bits.
The active sensing signal is sent to the MIDI sequence This means that the note-on/note-no
This occurs when the MIDI cable is disconnected during playback. It takes about 1 ms to send a power off message.
This is used to help prevent any "hanging notes" that might This is generally a short enough time for multiple
occur. Without active sensing, if the cable was removed events to occur simultaneously. In fact, for someone
while playing, any notes sounded by a Note On message playing a MIDI keyboard, if you press ten keys
would be played back with the corresponding Note Off message. simultaneously, it will take about 10 seconds to play those notes.
It keeps ringing forever because no message is sent. The time difference between the two should not exceed 10 ms, which is known.

It is possible that this could happen. It will not be noticed.

The System Reset message, as its name implies, is used However, the MIDI data sent from the sequencer
to reset and initialize all devices that receive this message. A beat can contain many parts. Depending on the beat, there
may be many musical events that should occur simultaneously.
Messages are generally sent automatically by the sending device. There may be a
It is not sent and must be run manually by the user. The delay caused by
Must be. The MIDI data sequence being sent may be
To help reduce the amount of data, a technique called
• System Exclusive Messages "running status" is sometimes used.
System Exclusive messages are be.
It is used to send data such as switch parameters and Running status is a continuous message
sample data between MIDI devices. Very often it's the same type of message.
The manufacturer may provide system exclusive data For example, when you play a chord on the keyboard, ten
Manufacturers can define their own format for the purpose of consecutive note-on messages are generated.
identification. Manufacturers are given their own ID by the JMSC A Note Off message is generated, followed by 10 Note Off messages.

Sage will continue. Use running status

(currently AMEI) or MMA, and the manufacturer ID number is the serial number.

As part of a system exclusive message If a message is

Currently used. Manufacturer ID followed by any size Same channel and time as the last message sent

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Sent only when consecutive

The status byte of the message may be omitted (subsequent

messages will only have the data bytes sent).

The effect of the running status is the note off

Instead of a message, a note with a velocity value of 0 is
This is enhanced by sending note-on messages, which will
often be successively longer than the original note-on messages.

Some MIDI controller changes, or the pitch bend horn of an

instrument,
The movement of the Eel is a huge number of MIDI channel voices.

Sometimes, a problem may occur and a running message may be

generated, and the running status can be of great help in these cases as well.

4.3 Hardware

This standard uses an asynchronous serial transfer interface

with a transfer speed of 31.25 kbit/sec (± 1%). The transfer

Figure 4.4 MIDI terminal specifications
consists of eight bits: a start bit, bits 0 to 7, and
A total of 10 data bits, followed by a stop bit. This signal drop can cause inaccuracies.

The transfer is done in bits and takes 320 ÿs to transfer one These timing errors are due to the response time of the opto-
byte, where the start bit is a logic "0" and the stop bit is a logic isolator. These timing errors tend to increase in proportion to
"1". the number of devices connected between the MIDI THRU and
The circuit is a 5mA current loop type. the MIDI IN jack. This is a lack of circuit quality, and no matter
A logic "0" is a state in which current flows. how high-performance components you use, there is a limit to
A transmitter circuit drives only one receiver circuit. the number of devices you can connect in series with the MIDI THRU.
Avoid loops and the resulting data errors This indicates that.
In order to achieve this, an opto-isolator is used in the receiving The MIDI cable must be a shielded twisted pair with a

circuit to electrically separate the transmitting circuit from the maximum length of 15m, with 5-pin DIN plugs (male) on both
receiving circuit. The receiving circuit must be activated with a ends (SWITCH CRAFT 05GM5M, etc., can be used for this

current of 5 mA or less, and the rise and fall times must be less standard). The shield must have pin numbers 0 and 1 on both ends.
than 2 ÿs. The power supply must be connected to No. 2.

The connector used is a 5-pin DIN (180°). Both transmission If necessary, an output terminal labeled "MIDI THRU" may

and reception must use sockets (female) on the device panel, be provided. This will output the MIDI IN signal in its original

and must be marked "MIDI OUT" and "MIDI IN" respectively. form. In order to connect more than three devices in a long

Pins 1 and 3 must not be used, and must be left open (NC) for chain using MIDI THRU, a faster opto-isolator should be used
both transmission and reception. Pin 2 must be grounded only to reduce the time difference between the rise and fall of the
on the transmission socket. (See Figure 4.4) signal.
Errors need to be prevented.
The connector to which the MIDI IN jack shell is connected should

be grounded to the circuit or chassis ground to avoid ground loops.

It is best not to connect it to the ground. Reference: Association of Musical Electronics Industry (AMEI): MIDI

If the MIDI THRU information comes from a MIDI IN signal, the lower 1.0 standard

part of the signal between the rising and falling points of the square wave is

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5ÿThe Emergence and Development of MIDI Instruments

MIDI was officially launched on August 25, 1983 with the publication Roland released two analog synthesizers in succession: the

of the Japanese version of MIDI 1.0 specification. JUPITER-6 in February (Fig. 5.3) and the JX-3P in April (Fig. 5.4). The

In the 1980s, new electronic instruments appeared one after another. former was a sibling model of the legendary JUPITER-8, while the latter

This was the catalyst that expanded the market for musical instruments at once, and was a mid-priced model with digitally controlled pitch.

electronic musical instruments became popular worldwide on an unprecedented scale.

MIDI became popular among the general public. Of these, the Prophet-600, JUPITER-6, and JX-3P were the three models

Audio recorders, lighting and video equipment, etc. that were introduced at the NAMM 2007 held in the United States in January 1983.

It has penetrated into the realm of technology and has created new forms that no one could have imagined. At the show, it was the first MIDI synthesizer in history.

This has led to him producing music and composing sounds, as well as The devices were connected with MIDI cables, demonstrating that they

creating complete live performances. could communicate with each other regardless of manufacturer.

5.1 Early MIDI Instruments and Confusion

When MIDI was first introduced in 1983, the synthesizer manufacturers

who had been instrumental in establishing it immediately announced

new MIDI-compatible instruments one after another, expanding their

lineups. In just the year 1983, a series of electronic instruments Figure 5.3 Roland JUPITER-6
appeared that foreshadowed the trends in instruments to come, making

it truly the start of a new era.

Sequential Circuits is an analog synth company.

In 1990, Yamaha released the Prophet-600 (Fig. 5.1) and Prophet-T8

(Fig. 5.2). The former gained popularity as a great machine that

achieved cost reduction, while the latter was suitable for a professional Fig. 5.4 Roland JX-3P
synthesizer and featured a velocity control function that changed tone

and volume depending on the key touch by using piano-touch keyboard, In the same year, Yamaha simultaneously announced the DX1, DX7

which was a rare model at the time. (Fig. 5.5), and DX9 digital synthesizers with extremely revolutionary

specifications.

The innovative sound source and advanced MIDI technology

With its groundbreaking specifications, the Yamaha DX series dominated the

synthesizer industry. The DX7 in particular became a globally renowned

machine that sold explosively and played a major role in the music scene of the 1980s.

This sparked a synthesizer boom.

Figure 5.1 Sequential Circuit Prophet-600 The birth of MIDI in 1983 is also remembered as the beginning of the

digital synthesizer era.

This is what happened.

Figure 5.2 Sequential Circuit Prophet-T8

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In the year 1983 alone, many MIDI instruments appeared, foreshadowing

the diverse evolution of musical instruments that followed.

However, immediately after MIDI was born, although the MIDI

standard had been published, it was not fully developed, and there were

differences in interpretation among manufacturers and resulting confusion.

In fact, the first MIDI was introduced at the NAMM show in January 1983.

As a communication experiment, sequential circuits

When I connected the Prophet-600 to a Roland JUPITER-6 or JX-3P via

MIDI, note information was sent and received correctly, but pitch bend

information was not interpreted as octal or hexadecimal.

Figure 5.5 Yamaha DX7
There was a difference in the interpretation, and it didn't work properly.

MIDI instruments were not limited to synthesizers. Roland also began Thanks to the practical application of MIDI, electronic musical instruments

offering MIDI instruments for the home. have begun to evolve at an unprecedented rate, but if we leave things

In May, the first electronic piano compatible with MIDI was released. as they are, each manufacturer will continue to develop products based

The HP-400 (Fig. 5.6) and HP-300 were released in July, followed by the on their own interpretations based on their past experience.

PR-800 home MIDI recorder (Fig. 5.7) in July, and the PB-300 MIDI- In order to break through this situation, we have unified the interpretation of MIDI and resolved the confusion.

compatible auto-accompaniment unit (Fig. 5.8) in August. These showed Detailed rules were then decided one after another to make this happen.

that MIDI could be widely accepted in ordinary households as one of the For example, control changes were defined in detail to prevent any

functions installed in home-use musical instruments. Thus, MIDI was differences in interpretation. Also, with regard to MIDI synchronization,

born. there was a time lag in the timing when a song started after receiving a

START message (FA) or STOP message (FC), but this was also

corrected by MIDI.

The problem was solved by providing details in the standard.

In some cases, there was a need to leave a small gap between the signals

due to unique exclusive messages corresponding to initial signals, but as

this was a matter of the manufacturer's own operation, it was not absorbed

by the MIDI standard, but was avoided by actually leaving a gap between the signals.

Active sensors, as part of MIDI

There was even discussion about the usefulness of the technology, but

the debate was calmed when Roland's Sakai Tadao explained, "Active

sensing is easy to understand if you think of it as being like smoking.

Figure 5.6 Roland HP-400
Once you start smoking, you have to keep smoking for the rest of your

life, but people who don't smoke don't have to smoke."

In addition, sometimes the manufacturer's instructions are misleading.

For example, in the explanation of the checksum calculation when

sending and receiving a system exclusive message, it was stated that

the remainder of dividing the total data by 128 was used, and the
Fig. 5.7 Roland PR-800
checksum was 128 - (negative) remainder. However, with this calculation

method, when the remainder is 0, the checksum becomes 128,

Channel Voice Message Note Off

These were largely resolved by quickly revising the explanatory

documents, but some of them were

It took time to understand and revise some of the issues.

Fig. 5.8 Roland PB-300 In such cases, please check with the manufacturer or the program that handles MIDI.

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Marketers and users solve the problem independently from their own perspective. The X-series offers new possibilities that only digital can offer.

I went. It made a strong impression as a lineup of MIDI instruments that boasted superiority

On the manufacturer side, the MIDI Standards Council has issued the NEC PC- and was generous in incorporating cutting-edge technology, and it demonstrated

9801, MPU-401 and software-driven MIDI app a major presence in the musical instrument industry.

A analyzer is provided (see Figure 5.9) and is compatible with standard tools.

This MIDI analyzer can analyze a variety of

The error check function allowed me to easily perform MIDI tests, which

helped me understand the situation and correct errors.

The problems were solved.

On the other hand, MIDI programmers and users are the first to

In some cases, they came up with workarounds.

As the level of expertise of programmers increased, workarounds spread as

know-how over the early days of computer communication, and information

on how to handle MIDI and libraries used by programmers were developed.

Figure 5.10 Yamaha RX11
By doing this, the problem naturally resolved itself.

Figure 5.11 Yamaha QX1

Figure 5.9 Provided by the MIDI Standards Council 5.2 Diversification of musical instruments in terms of form and sound source method
MIDI Analyzer Instruction Manual (Cover)

Ignoring the confusion that is unique to the early days of MIDI, I focused on the Once electronic musical instruments became compatible with MIDI, they

benefits of MIDI to the maximum extent possible and developed this new communication began to show new developments that had never been imagined before.

The benefits of the protocol can be most effectively utilized. The development that MIDI has made possible is in the form and sound source.

Yamaha used it for marketing purposes. It is a matrix-like evolution based on two coordinate axes,

In 1984, the year after the birth of MIDI, Yamaha was on a roll. It allows for a wide variety of sounds on a scale never before seen on any other instrument.

Yamaha developed a diverse lineup of MIDI instruments. Representative It was transformation.

products include the fully digital rhythm machines RX11 (Fig. 5.10) and Below, I will explain along these two axes. First, let's look at the

RX15, which used PCM sound sources, and the professional-grade digital diversification of forms.

sequencer QX1 (Fig. 5.11). Furthermore, the company named the diverse

lineup of Yamaha MIDI instruments, including these, by taking the last letter 5.2.1 Diversification of forms: master keyboards and sound sources

of the model number. Module Since

Named the X series, it has a design that exudes a sense of series its creation in the era of Wagner, acoustic instruments have not changed

Both of them created a unified look for the entire X-series and launched it much for about two hundred years.

into the music industry. Yamaha developed its marketing by emphasizing

the benefits of MIDI compatibility, that is, by building a system that can be Conventional electronic musical instruments have been transformed into functional instruments by MIDI.

connected in any direction and in any direction, you can create and play They are differentiated by function and then reorganized according to purpose.

music entirely with their own products. Here, the first thing to note is that the shape of the instrument has diversified.

Specifically, we will look at the

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The synthesizer evolved into a separate keyboard section and a It became possible to play multiple MIDI sound sources using a

sound module, each of which is an independent MIDI instrument. single signal. These functions only MIDI can provide made it

possible to combine and play multiple synthesizers using just one

This will continue to happen. master keyboard, or to replace only the sound source section while

First, the keyboard, which is the input interface, leaving the master keyboard unchanged. This created a beneficial

In April 1984, the company launched an 88-key wooden piano-type situation for performers in terms of space saving and cost, because

In January 1985, Yamaha released the KX88 (Fig. 5.13), which sound source modules, which do not have a keyboard, could be

also had an 88-key piano-type keyboard. By making the keyboard sold compactly and inexpensively.

section independent, these models no longer had a sound source.

The models are Master Keyboard and Mother Keyboard. The MIDI sound module was developed by Laurent in September 1984.

board or MIDI keyboard controller Then, Sony released the MIDI sound source MKS-80 (Fig. 5.15).

It was called. The MKS-80 is an eight-voice analog polyphonic synth.

The TX816 (Fig. 5.16), another MIDI sound source, was released

by Yamaha in December 1984. The TX816 consisted of eight TF1

FM sound source units, equivalent to the DX7, arranged in a rack,

and was priced at 890,000 yen.

Fig. 5.12 Roland MKB-1000

Fig. 5.15 Roland MKS-80

Fig.5.13 Yamaha KX88

On the other hand, by removing the keyboard, only the sound source part remains.

The master keyboard and the sound module were called MIDI

sound modules. The sound module was a specialized instrument

dedicated to generating and producing tones. The master Fig. 5.16 Yamaha TX816
keyboard and the sound module are shown in Figure 5.14.

They can be used in combination via MIDI connection. 5.2.2 Diversification of forms: the keytar

It was. The ability to separate the keyboard section from the sound

Another application is the construction of a system that utilizes source section has led to the evolution and development of some

the "MIDI THRU" function. Many MIDI sound sources have a "MIDI electronic instruments. One such instrument is the keytar (a

THRU" function that outputs the input MIDI signal as is. portmanteau of keyboard and guitar; it is also called the shoulder keyboard).

It is equipped with a "THRU" terminal, which allows The keyboard part is separated and used as the keytar body.

MIDI sound sources can be connected in a chain to create a single MIDI signal. This allows for a smaller, lighter instrument, and as a result, the keys are like those of a guitar.

Figure 5.14 Mother keyboard (keyboard controller) and sound module

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The play style is that the board part is hung from the shoulder and In November, the AXIS-1 (Fig. 5.19) was released, which evolved

the sound is generated from the sound source part connected to into today’s AX series, with the latest model, the AX-Edge (Fig.

the main body with a MIDI cable (or wirelessly transferred MIDI signals). 5.20), released in 2018.

This made the project a reality.

Keyboard instruments that are hung from the shoulder and played were around before the advent of MIDI. 5.2.3 Diversification of forms: The rise of standalone MIDI sequencers

There were other models, but they were too big and heavy. A MIDI sequencer is a device that

For these reasons, it was not very practical and was only used by a MIDI is an electronic musical instrument that can store and play

small number of people. back musical performance information. Today, this function has

This made it possible to make the keytar smaller, and as a result, been completely replaced by applications that run on computers,

Keyboardists are limited to instrument positions on stage. smartphones, tablets, etc., but in the 1980s, it was a standalone sequence.

without being overlooked, just like a vocalist or guitarist. These standalone sequencers were

This makes it possible for performers to move around on stage and By supporting MIDI, it is now possible to handle it much more easily than before.

perform. There is now a lot of information available.

Yamaha released the KX1 (Fig. 5.17) as a MIDI-compatible Roland released the MSQ-700 (Fig. 5.21) in March 1984, priced

keytar in July 1983. It had 44 keys, weighed 6 kg, and was expensive at 158,000 yen.

at 200,000 yen, but the KX5, released in May 1984, had almost the No data was uploaded, and data was backed up using cassette tapes.

same functions but was lighter at 3.7 kg by using 37 small special The MSQ-700 was not only compatible with MIDI, but also with the

keys. It also had improved functionality, such as the ability to use previously used Roland proprietary DCB (Digital Communication

two different sound sources by switching MIDI channels, and was Bus), a major feature unique to this transitional period.

priced at 65,000 yen, making it a popular model.

Equipped with a 3.5 inch 2DD floppy disk drive

In 1984, Yamaha released the QX1 (see Fig. 5.11), which was

In 1984, Korg released the 41-key model RK- equipped with a 3.5-inch 2DD floppy disk drive.

100 (Fig. 5.18) was released, and Roland also released

Fig. 5.17 Yamaha KX1

Figure 5.21 Roland MSQ-700

Fig. 5.18 Korg RK-100

Figure 5.19 Roland AXIS-1

Fig. 5.20 Roland AX-Edge Fig. 5.22 Roland MC-500

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The successor model, the QX3 (Fig. 5.23), released in 1987, was a lower-cost In 1984, the company released the RX11 rhythm machine (see Fig. 5.10), which

model priced at 158,000 yen. had a revolutionary 100 voices in 1987.

The company has released the RX7 (Figure 5.26) equipped with this system.

Figure 5.26 Yamaha RX7

Fig. 5.23 Yamaha QX3

5.2.5 Evolution and diversification of sound source methods: samplers, etc.

In parallel with the diversification of sound

5.2.4 Diversification of forms: standalone MIDI rhythm machines source formats, the digitalization of synthesizers has progressed, and in

The 1980s was a time when standalone rhythm machines were popular. particular the digitalization of the sound source section has made it possible to

Roland released the first MIDI-compatible rhythm machine, the TR-909 (Fig. obtain innovative new tones that were previously impossible.

5.24), in December 1983, and in 1988 released the R-8 (Fig. 5.25), which used a

fully PCM sound source. MIDI instruments give MIDI a powerful boost

As mentioned above, Yamaha has adopted PCM sound sources throughout its This will lead to widespread adoption.

Sampling was first put to practical use, and by directly inputting external sounds

into the internal memory of the instrument, it became possible to obtain realistic

sounds that had never been possible before. This gave rise to a series of new

types of instruments known as samplers.

When musical instruments were born, only analog synthesizers existed.

This brought a breath of fresh air to the electronic musical instrument industry,

which had not seen a breakthrough before. As a result, samplers began to be

used in professional recording studios right before the birth of MIDI, and sampled

sounds were first used in rhythm machines.

A PCM sound source with the colors burned into a waveform ROM was adopted.

Fig. 5.24 Roland TR-909 That's what happened.

Later, in 1985, the American manufacturer Ensoniq began selling the Mirage

(Fig. 5.27) in Japan. At the time, a single sampler in the industry was costing over

2 million yen, but this model attracted a lot of attention with its price of less than

400,000 yen (less than US$1,700 in North America), and literally became the

center of attention.

Equipped with MIDI, it was a pioneer of the digital age.

Also in 1985, Akai released the S612 (Fig. 5.28), and in 1986 the S900 (Fig. 5.29).

The latter is especially popular due to its overwhelming cost performance.

It became the de facto standard in the sampler industry.

As mentioned above, 1983 was the same year that MIDI was born.

Figure 5.25 Roland R-8 In May of the same year, the revolutionary Yamaha DX7 (see Figure 5.5) was released.

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With its unique sounds and MIDI compatibility, and its low price of

138,000 yen, it has greatly increased sales.

I was doing it.

Then, four years after the DX7, in March 1987, Roland's first digital

synthesizer was released.

Figure 5.27 Ensonic Mirage
The D-50 (Fig. 5.32) was equipped with a newly developed LA sound

source. By layering sampled waveforms and analog synthesizer-like

sounds produced by digital calculations, it produced a completely new

sound that had never been heard before, which caused a big stir. As a

result, the D-50 spread like wildfire, and every new

Many of the songs used the D-50 sound.

Figure 5.28 Akai S612
The following year, in 1988, Korg's digital synthesizer M1 (Fig. 5.33)

was equipped with an AI sound source, boasting unparalleled realism

among consumer devices, and it also produced a wide range of colorful

PCM sound source Music Works.

As a promotion, it will sell in unprecedented quantities.

Arrived.

Figure 5.29 Akai S900

It was released for 248,000 yen and was featured in

FM synthesis, with its innovative tones, became a big hit as a new

generation synthesis method. The following year, Casio released the

CZ-101 (Fig. 5.30) for 89,000 yen. It had a mini keyboard, a unique triple

power supply system that could be powered by batteries or a car power

Fig. 5.32 Roland D-50
source, and a compact body with FM.

It is packed with digital PD sound sources, and then

The OZ series became a worthy rival to the Yamaha X series.

With the appearance of the two major digital synthesizer lineups, the

Yamaha DX and the Casio CZ, the market seemed to be dominated by

digital equipment, but in February 1984, the same year as the CZ-101,

Roland released the low-priced analog synthesizer JUNO-106 (Fig. 5.31).

Figure 5.33 Korg M1

In the 1980s, many other manufacturers besides those mentioned above

Then, MIDI instruments using various sound source methods were born.

These various new synthesizers and samples

All of these games sold explosively, with many of them selling over

100,000 units individually or across the entire series.

He made a significant contribution to the popularization and development of MIDI.

Figure 5.30 Casio CZ-101

5.2.6 Customizing the playing environment with a variety of MIDI

instruments

With the advent of MIDI, musical instruments began to be differentiated according to

function, and many MIDI instruments with their own unique sound source methods appeared.

You can now freely combine and use them according to your preferences

and needs.

Figure 5.31 Roland JUNO-106

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With the release of a wide range of products, including sequencers, This became the driving force behind the move.

standalone rhythm machines, and even MIDI-compatible effects, you And without MIDI, the development of multitimbral
can choose from a wide variety of options and combine them together. instruments would have been much slower.
At the same time, various sound source methods were released one after another. Thanks to
When it comes to leasing, each manufacturer strives to differentiate themselves As explained in Chapter 3, it was the American manufacturer
As a result, each sound source method has a strong individuality in the tone. Sequential Circuits that proposed incorporating this
Therefore, if you know which sound source system is used, specification into MIDI.
you can imagine what kind of sound will be produced. The Shall Circuit is the first multi-timbral
You can also choose your favorite sound source format here. He had a vision of developing a type of synthesizer, but he
It is now possible to do this. struggled to sneak this idea into the MIDI standard
Sequencers and rhythm machines also use MIDI. unobtrusively and without it being stolen by other companies.
Thanks to this compatibility, not only can performance information be sent and received, Then, with multitimbrality as the new axis, musical instruments will evolve

Synchronization between MIDI instruments became important. to the next stage. In other words, after the differentiation according to function

The MIDI standard already had start/stop and clock that had progressed up until then, musical instruments will be reorganized and

information defined from the beginning, so integrated into various new forms, and will meet the needs of the next generation.

The need for MIDI instruments to synchronize with this has gradually increased. New instruments were born one after another to meet these needs.

For example, by supporting MIDI clock, you can apply a

vibrato with a period that corresponds to the tempo of the
Emergence of a new instrument through
music, or a dotted eighth note delay that is synchronized 5.4 reorganization: a new form of integrated sound source sequencer
with the tempo.
Such is the case. In the 1980s, a single MIDI-compatible keyboard,
This allows you to create a network that combines various MIDI instruments. Source module, sequencer, rhythm machine, effect
Twerk is a popular As a result of the release of many new games,
This led to further evolution of the instrument. The age has come when people can create and play music by using MIDI.

MIDI has been extremely useful as a common language that connects

musical instruments released by various manufacturers both in Japan and overseas.

did.
5.3 Further evolution: the rise of multitimbral As more people began to use MIDI instruments to create music, the

image of the sequencer, which had previously been that of a specialized

The next step in the evolution of MIDI instruments was the device, began to change to something more musical and easy to use.

introduction of multi-timbral functionality. As explained in And it needs to be easy to use even for beginners.
Chapter 4, multi-timbral functionality allows multiple sounds That's when the sound source with built-in sound was born.
to be played simultaneously from a single MIDI sound source, This new type of sequencer is a built-in source.
and each sound can be played individually. The key to realizing MIDI instruments was a multitimbral
Synthesizers, samplers, etc. can be connected to MIDI sequences. sound source, and these integrated sound source sequencers
When used in conjunction with the MIDI controller, you can recreate an led to a dramatic increase in the number of MIDI users.
entire band performance on a single synthesizer, or a large symphony.

Reproduce an orchestra performance with a single sampler First came functionally factorized instruments.
I was able to do that. Of these, the keyboard, sound source, sequencer, and depending on the model

As musical instruments have evolved, MIDI and multi-timbres It also integrates rhythm machines and effects into one device.
The bar played a crucial role. It was an all-in-one synthesizer.
First of all, multitimbral is what made MIDI so unique. In 1984, the year after MIDI was born,
Harimoto took the technology to a whole new level and popularized it. Circuits is the first MIDI compatible multi-tone
This led to the MIDI standard being a mere remote The bar-type synthesizer SIX-TRAK (Fig. 5.34) was released.
Beyond operational network realization and communication protocols, This model is a 49-key, 6-voice polyphonic 6-part MIDI instrument.

Let the Zar soar into a new musical world like never before. Multitimbral analog synthesizer,

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A combination of 6 tracks and 800 sounds sequencer Various types of workstations are available from the car.

The memory capacity of 800 notes was not enough for serious This will be manifested.

music production, but the company was able to In this way, by integrating the sound source and the sequencer,

I ran a sequencer on the computer and then it became possible to play the instrument by itself as long as the

We also propose a music production system that drives TRAK. performance data was preprogrammed.

So, the problem is solved. In the 2000s, technological innovation led to miniaturized workpieces.

This made it possible to create a portable music station that could

be carried anywhere, regardless of location. The QY10 (Fig. 5.35),

released by Yamaha in 1990, became a hit product that made the

most of the benefits of this "integration" and "compactness."

there were.

The QY10 was a small, 8-track machine with 30 tones and one

drum kit built in, in a compact size the size of a VHS video cassette,

Fig. 5.34 Sequential circuit SIX-TRAK which was revolutionary for its time.

Equipped with buttons that can also be used as a mini keyboard.

In 1986, Ensoni, also a US manufacturer, Its easy-to-use design, such as the use of

The K is an all-in-one digital synthesizer. This, combined with the fact that I had no experience with sequencers or electronic instruments,

The ESQ-1 was released. This was a keyboard-type synthesizer It was also popular among vocalists and guitarists who had never used the MIDI

that used a 61-key, 8-voice polyphonic, 8-part, multitimbral PCM controller before as a composition and practice tool.

sound source driven by a built-in 8-track sequencer with 24,000

sounds.

This model has a built-in sequencer with a note capacity of

This was an exceptionally large number at the time, and it allowed the

artist to create music on his own without the need for an external computer.

This is in fact the industry's first all-in-one synthesizer.

It is no exaggeration to say that.

In 1988, Korg released the aforementioned M1 (see Figure 5.33).

It is a PCM synthesizer with 8 tracks and a maximum of 7,700 Fig.5.35 Yamaha QY10
sounds, and also has two built-in digital multi-effects.

Then in 1996, Roland asked me to

It was an ambitious work. When the company launched the M1, Specializing in the techno/house music that was gaining popularity

The realism and high quality of the sounds produced by the ai sound The MC-303 (Fig. 5.36) was released, featuring the latest sound source.

source, and the inclusion of powerful effects, all in one unit, made

the M1 a success. However, the reason it was successful was not

only the clarity of being able to create sounds and write songs in a

self-contained environment, but also the fact that the M1 was an "all-

in-one synthesizer."

Instead of calling it a "music workstation,"

Calling it the "Sonic" would have given a strong impression that a

new generation of instrument had been born. This marketing success

As a result, the M1 surpassed previous sales figures for synthesizers.

This set a new record by drastically breaking the previous record,

and the term "workstation synthesizer" became firmly established

as an instrument for music production. Fig. 5.36 Roland MC-303

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Includes a wide variety of unique bass sounds and rhythm patterns It has expanded to include models for Latin American and Latin music, as well as China and India.

He became a driving force behind the global popularity of dance music, Models for emerging markets such as the 1960s and 1970s, as well as

which shifted the focus of music from melody to rhythm (groove). MIDI music data focusing on folk music in specific markets such as

Southeast Asia and popular music in those regions, were created and

As various tone generator-integrated sequencers were born, a new distributed, and the market is still expanding today.

category of electronic musical instrument called the arranger keyboard, There is.

which applied workstation technology, appeared overseas. Workstation

synthesizers focused on music production, allowing for full-scale sound

creation and the programming of a wide range of performance data.

On the other hand, the arranger keyboard is a live performance

It was a musical instrument specialized for performance, and had a full

range of automatic accompaniment functions and various functions to Figure 5.37 Roland E-20

support performance in real time. For example, by connecting a

microphone, you could record vocals while playing the instrument.

Mix it with the accompaniment and output it from the speaker.

Add echo to Rika's voice and even pitch shift

The pitch is then recorded as MIDI sequence data.

By controlling the keyboard with the MIDI controller, it is even possible

to add choral parts in real time while playing.

They are performed in places such as restaurants and hotel lobbies, and are also performed by amateurs.

Even if a band doesn't have a drummer or bassist, Fig. 5.38 Yamaha Tyros

It was used for live performances at night or for solo singing and

playing, and many users were born, mainly in Europe and the United

States, and there were also professionals who made a living from

playing it.

In 1988, he was appointed arranger by Roland.

The E-20 board (Fig. 5.37) was released overseas first, and because it

used the LA sound source that had first appeared in the D-50 released Figure 5.39 Korg Pa700 Oriental
the previous year, it quickly became a popular model. Arranger

keyboards then flourished as a large market overseas, and Yamaha There are also attempts to cross genres rather than specializing in a

has been selling powerful flagship models with extremely rich expressive particular region. In 2003, Roland released a keyboard called the

power since 2002 as the Tyros series (Fig. 5.38). DisCover 5 (Fig. 5.40) to meet the needs of the cover band culture that

had spread widely and deeply across Europe. This model could easily

This category has given birth to arranger keyboards that have and semi-automatically convert SMF data (described below) into a genre

evolved in a unique way, not only in Europe and America, but also in so that you could play your favorite songs in your favorite genre, for

the Middle East. These are called Oriental keyboards, and a example converting a hard rock song into techno.

representative model is the KORG 2017 model.

The Pa700 Oriental (Fig. 5.39) and other models are available. All of

these models are equipped with accompaniment data that is specific to

the cultures of various parts of the Middle East, and a tuning function

that allows the tuning of each key individually and precisely to be

adjusted to suit the scales of various ethnic music.

Arranger keys specific to these regions

The movement to develop, manufacture and sell boards continued after that. Figure 5.40 Roland DisCover 5

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The evolution and change of music brought about by Beyond Instruments: The Emergence of a New MIDI
5.5 early MIDI 5.6 World

As we have seen, musical instruments have made great As MIDI spread and penetrated deeper into the music market,

strides since the birth of MIDI. For now, let us take a look back at Things other than musical instruments are now also MIDI compatible.

the impact and significance that MIDI has had on musical First, standalone effects became MIDI-compatible,
instruments and the music industry up to this point. allowing previously unthinkable remote control and
The birth of MIDI has brought about three major changes automation of parameters. Lexicon's standalone reverb
and evolutions in music. PCM70, released in 1985, could be controlled from an external MIDI keyboard.
MIDI messages such as velocity and aftertouch
"Liberation of the creative profession," and "Increase in the number of music producers." Real-time adjustment of reverb time etc. according to the
It was possible to do so.

5.5.1 Non-real-time nature of music production The next step was the mixer. In 1987, Yamaha released
The act of creating music used to be a real-time art based the DMP7 (Fig. 5.41), an 8-channel professional digital
on live performance. mixer with MIDI programmability.
Playing on a sequencer or rhythm machine without performing live Switch scene memories by receiving a change
The realization of a technique called "programming," which involves This allowed the mix balance to be changed at any time.
storing performance information, has made it possible to program This idea quickly spread,
performance information for multiple parts, play it back, and then Various mixers and audio recorders
Scene memory allows you to adjust the mix balance
examine phrases and tempos based on that, creating a non-realistic approach.

MIDI brought about the idea of composing in time. You can memorize the scene and switch between them via MIDI.

I can do it now.
5.5.2 Freedom from having to learn how to read and write music and how to play it

At the same time, it also means that music, which was previously

limited to those who could read and write music or who had acquired

the skills to play an instrument, can now be composed and performed

by anyone, regardless of their knowledge of music or the skills to play it.

Liszt also plays the rhythm part in the background.

It became possible for a single person to play a full band
ensemble.

That was no longer necessarily necessary. Fig. 5.41 Yamaha DMP7

5.5.3 Increase in the number of In January 1996, Roland released the VS-880 V-Studio
music producers If this situation occurs, it will be inevitable that digital studio workstation (Fig. 5.42).
people will start to think, "This rhythm is cool," or "This phrase feels good."

These sensory elements are then transformed into concrete rhythms and phrases. Rack audio recorder at its core, 8 channels
It is possible to convert directly. Panel mixer, built-in effector option,
With MIDI, all you need is a good musical sense. After mastering, the CD is burned to an external CD drive.
This has become an age where anyone can make music, and it has been This model packed an entire recording studio, including a
a major factor in expanding the number of people around the world who burning function, into an attaché case-sized unit.
want to present music as a form of self-expression. These trends have You can also build a system that synchronizes with external devices via MIDI.

made even greater advances with the combination of MIDI and computers. This series is named after V-Studio.
I ended up losing my job. In addition, it provides the best environment for home recording.

He became a rising star in the recording industry.

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V-LINK was first adopted in October 2002.

The Roland MC-909 (Fig. 5.44) was released in 1999. This was
a further expansion of the integrated sound source sequencer.

It is a desktop workstation with a master

Not only can you compose and perform music, including chords,

The V-LINK function allows you to connect to the company's video equipment via MIDI.

This makes it possible to control video clips and add video

effects in real time while playing the MC-909, enabling

comprehensive direction in live performances.

It became.

Fig. 5.42 Roland VS-880

Figure 5.43 Roland VM-7000 series

In September 1999, Roland released the VM-7000 V-Mixer.

The series (Fig. 5.43) was released. It adopted a separate Fig. 5.44 Roland MC-909

concept in which audio was processed by rack-mounted input/

output modules and mixing was performed on a dedicated In June 2005, the company released the CG-8 (Fig. 5.45), the

console installed in a separate location. This allowed the audio first mass-produced MIDI-compatible video synthesizer in history,

to be digitized over the shortest possible distance to avoid noise. under its Edirol brand.

This allows the recording studio to record live Not only can you generate video with
From mixers to PA on concert stages By capturing the images and mapping them onto various virtual

Not only the audio equipment, but the entire mixing environment objects, it is possible to generate and even change video in real

is now digitalized and can be controlled via MIDI. time. It is also possible to freely "play" videos live by controlling

Furthermore, MIDI is not only used for music, but also for lighting and video equipment. the device itself or an external MIDI instrument.

It spread all over the world. As for lighting, It happened.

It gave way to standards such as DMX to accommodate larger

settings such as stadiums, but the time-honored MIDI is still

used in various cases, such as for switching between scenes,

and in 1991 a standard called MIDI Show Control was established

that also included stage equipment such as smoke.

As an example of control over video equipment,

Examples include V-LINK and MIDI Visual Control.

V-LINK is a system that Roland developed to link MIDI instruments with video equipment.

This is a MIDI function designed to control

Based on this, MIDI Visual Control was standardized to increase

versatility and make it available to all manufacturers. Figure 5.45 Roland CG-8
It is.

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The advent of these diverse categories of MIDI equipment has enabled When musical instruments became multi-timbral and were linked to the

recording studios to automate many tasks and has made MIDI even more networks that digital communication allows, a whole new dimension of

widely available on the concert stage. market was created. The biggest difference from the conventional musical

The total production of sound, lighting, and video is done by MIDI. instrument market is that people who do not play musical instruments can

He began to become weak. now compose music.

The ability to actively and proactively participate in musical performances.

People who were not musicians can now become players, composers,
DTM and Online Karaoke: A new dimension
5.7 in music created by MIDI and multitimbres
and performers, and even take the lead role in all of this. We will look at

this movement in more detail in the following chapters.

The most unusual thing that MIDI has done is to create DTM and

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6 | Personal Computers and MIDI

Since the invention of the computer, performance has improved and the

In the 1970s, the personal computer

Computers appeared, and individuals began to own computers.

The age had come when people could easily enjoy electronic musical

instruments. Thanks to the efforts of engineers, electronic musical

instruments were also becoming relatively easy to enjoy. The

establishment of MIDI in this era made it possible for musical instruments

and personal computers to communicate through this common standard.

This encounter was a turning point for the unique music culture in Japan in particular. Figure 6.1 Roland CMU-800

This is how the system is formed.

6.1.1 Supporting sequence software for CMU-800

Two ideas
Computer Music before MIDI
6.1 Supports sequence editor software for CMU-800

The solution was to combine two main ideas.

Personal computers (PCs) are registered It is the ST/GT method for note input and the

From the very beginning, various ideas were incorporated into the The ST/GT method stands for Step Time/Gate Time, and as

It also had a function to play back the sound, but the computers at the time mentioned in Chapter 2, this determines the timing at which a
The sounds that could be pronounced were limited to relatively simple sounds. note will sound and how long it will sound.
In the community of hack users,

Texas Instruments, used in game consoles of the time It is a numerical representation of the MIDI signal, and was used mainly by Loran before MIDI.

Install a sound chip such as the SN76477 from the company or the It has been used by

AY-3-8910 from General Instruments in your computer to produce sound. On the other hand, the Rhythm Pattern Editor was developed in

There were some strong players, but for many users, it was a little difficult. MIDI Rhythm Maps and Pattern Editing

Still, there were users who dreamed of playing music on a First, the CMU-800 was

computer, and recording methods such as MML (Music Macro Since it can handle rhythm, I decided to use this editor software.

Language) were proposed, making it possible to play the same There was one feature in the CD. It was called Track 0.

music on different computers. It was what you might call a matrix pattern editor.

In those days, Roland released the CompuMusic CMU-800 There is also a Track 9 that determines the order in which the

(Fig. 6.1) under the AMDEK brand. The CMU-800 was a patterns are played. A similar concept was beginning to be

product that combined a main unit with a built-in tone generator implemented in hardware rhythm editors, but it was made easier

and an interface provided by each computer manufacturer. to use on the large screen of a personal computer.
This was the first time it had been implemented.

Sequencer based on the Roland MC-8/MC-4 Also, when MIDI was being formulated, the concepts of multi-

The software was sold separately. The main unit had melodies. part and multi-timbral were not yet clearly defined, much less was

1 note, 1 bass note, 4 chords plus rhythm it thought possible to handle rhythm instruments. How to control

Bass, snare, low tom, high tom, cymbals, and produce sounds with many instruments such as rhythm

Seven notes: open hi-hat, closed hi-hat instruments on 16 channels was thought to be a long way off,

It was equipped with a number of features, which made it when the instruments were just about to be able to communicate

completely different from the simple sounds that computers with each other, and MIDI was not trusted during its formulation,

could produce up until then. In addition, the software editor as it was thought to have many technical challenges. For these reasons, the standard

allowed users to create, save, load, and play their own music. The use of OMNI mode was considered and proposed.

The music stored on the computer can be read and played on other computers. However, Tadao Kikumoto of Roland wrote the note number

This made it possible to exchange music data with friends. How to assign a rhythm instrument to a

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He invented a MIDI map (see Figure 6.2) and demonstrated that (Later, he introduced the Model 64 (Fig. 6.3), the first MIDI

rhythms could be handled using MIDI on the rhythm machine interface in history.)

TR-909. This method of generating rhythmic sounds is still used today. and released).

The practicality and effectiveness of these concepts are being evaluated in the market. Starting with this, sequential circuits

It will be obvious. In , products were launched in rapid succession.

The sequence editor software The first multi-timbral synthesizer

With the arrival of Idea and multi-timbral sound sources, and with The lineup was based on SIX-TRAK (see Figure 5.34). However,

the advent of MIDI, the era in which not only humans but also at the time, they were still too busy explaining how to connect and

computers could communicate with musical instruments had arrived. play multiple instruments with MIDI, so they were unable to

promote computer music.

The sales floor was also equipped with computers at the time.

It was not able to penetrate the market and there was no interest in music stores.

It was a difficult situation.

Meanwhile, Yamaha released the famous DX7 (see Fig. 5.5).

They also developed and released the TX816 (see Fig. 5.16), a

multi-part sound source that connected multiple DX7s. Roland

released the

The origin of the so-called multitimbral all-in-one

In 1990, the company released the MKS-7, a multi-timbral

synthesizer with a 3-channel synthesizer (Fig. 6.4). This multi-part/

Figure 6.2 Proposal for a rhythm editor at that time multi-timbral concept played a major role in computer music

culture, and these Japanese-made synthesizers gained the

support of a small number of passionate fans, eventually giving

6.2 After the advent of MIDI (the dawn of time) rise to the huge popularity of DTM (Desk Top Music).

In the 1980s, as MIDI was being formulated and standardized, various

companies began to develop products that controlled sound sources via MIDI.

The idea was born and development proceeded.

The first company to use MIDI to control musical instruments was

the American company Sequential Circuits.

At the NAMM Show in February, the company and Roland announced

Figure 6.4 Roland MKS-7
We connected the Prophet-600 to the JUPITER-6 and JX-3P and
conducted the first ever MIDI connection demo.

was developing a MIDI interface for Commodore computers,

which were very popular overseas, and at the same NAMM venue, 6.3 MIDI and DTM (Desk Top Music)

DTM (Desk Top Music) is music played by connecting a

computer and electronic instruments via MIDI or other means.

It is a general term for the act of creating music, and is a Japanese-English

word created from the word "DTP" (Desk Top Publishing). In contrast to

real-time performance of musical instruments, DTP refers to the act of

inputting each sound numerically into a computer, as if writing a musical score.

This style is called non-real-time music.

Later it came to be called "uchikomi". 1984

The sequence editor for the CMU-800 mentioned above is included.

Figure 6.3 Sequential Circuit Model 64 For NEC PC-8001/8801, software compatible with MIDI

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The software MCP-PC8 was released by Roland. In addition, musical instrument manufacturers are releasing a variety of

In 1985, Roland released the MCE-PC88 editor products for DTM, making the enjoyment of making music accessible to the general public.

software for the MKS-7, the origin of multi-timbral These so-called DTM
sound sources. This software allowed users to create
and edit MKS-7 sounds, and save them along with their music.
You can save information such as the tone along with this song.

This combination of the two became the seeds of the later DTM culture.

And Yamaha and Roland started to offer

Compactly packaged products are developed and released
It was done.
The name DTM originated from "Desk Top Music
System," which was first used in April 1988 when
Roland released "Music-kun" (Fig. 6.5), a package of
equipment and software required for creating music on
a computer.
PC interface MPU-PC98 and sound source module
Joule MT-32 and Starter Software
(later called sequence software "Ballade"), and included everything

you needed except for a computer (PC-98). People who wanted

to start DTM could go to music stores or computer specialty stores.

You need to buy the equipment you need at different stores.

The all-in-one-package concept is
It greatly lowered the barrier to entry into computer music.

Figure 6.6 Roland's "Musician" (Top: First-generation "Musician",

Bottom: "Musician SC-8850")

Figure 6.5 Roland "Music-kun" package and system setup Figure 6.7 Yamaha's "HELLO! MUSIC!" (top: "HELLO!
MUSIC! 90”, bottom: “HELLO! MUSIC! 2000 AUDIO”)

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The packaged product is Roland's "Music-kun" After this, Ko, who was a freelance programmer at the time,

The first was the release of "Musiciro" (Fig. 6.6) in 1989. This The MIDI Recomposer series developed by Matsumi was released

series became a popular package series that continued for over by Kamon Music and became a domestic sequence

10 years until "Musiciro Net Studio" was released in 2002. It became the de facto standard for business software.

Yamaha released "HELLO! MUSIC!" (Fig. 6.7) in 1992. Taking over the ST/GT style culture, NEC PC8001/8801 series

In 1996, the company released its own music software for Windows. Starting with the RCP-PC8 for Leeds,

In 2000, they released "HELLO! MUSIC! 2000," which was The software RCP-PC98 for the NEC PC-9801 series, which was

released as a package of "XGworks," a new software, and a terminal personal computer, was released.

"HELLO! MUSIC! 90," which included the DTM sound source A coined word consisting of code and compose.

MU90. Previously, music data could only be entered numerically, but now it is possible to enter MIDI data.

The series continued until "AUDIO". It was also suitable for recording from

From here on, we will look in more detail at the history of each Sophisticated numeric entry/editing and MIDI exclusive

of the individual components that make up the DTM package. Since it can handle MIDI messages,

The messages were manipulated as if they were machine

MIDI sound sources, MIDI interfaces, etc. language, and the power of the sound source was maximized.

The features of the Composa series are the MKS-7, DX7, MT-

Dedicated for sound sources such as 32, D-50, CM-64, SC-55

6.4 MIDI and Sequencing Software Built-in controller that can be saved with your music

The Recomposer series is a series of software that allows you to

When MIDI was standardized, Roland create a miniature world of sound sources and music.

The interface required to connect the With the expansion of sources and improvements to functions,

NEC PC-8001/8801 compatible with data cards/units Versions compatible with Windows 3.1 and Windows 95/98 were also released.

The company released the MCP-PC8 software for PC. In this era when MIDI was established, many sequences

This is compatible with the Roland MKS-7 (see Figure 6.4), which was developed A new software called Reclier was released by Kamiya Studio. It

and released as a sound source to be used in conjunction with a personal computer. plays back the data you have entered in the music notation.

Developed and released MCE-PC88. Music Pro series by Musical Plan

The MKS-7's tone generator allowed users to create and edit In addition, Dynaware's Ballade and Internet

MKS-7 sounds, which could then be saved and used with music. Companies competed to develop new products, such as Sony's
The idea of saving sounds together with music was Singer Song Writer series.

This became the seed of the DTM culture (see Figure 6.8).

6.5 MIDI and computer communication

When MIDI sequence software data became exchangeable,

people began copying their own compositions and those of

famous musicians over domestic computer networks such as PC-

VAN and Nifty-Serve, which used the general telephone lines of the time.

The song data is uploaded and people who listen to it can post their impressions.

(At the time, there were no terms of use for PC communication

services regarding the distribution of MIDI data that was copied

from music, so the exchange of music data was provisionally

permitted.) At the time, the communication speed of PC

communication was 1200bps or 2400bps, which meant that at

most 100-200 bytes could be sent and received per second.

Although it was only a recording of the sound,

Figure 6.8: Proposal for integrating the sequence editor and
tone editor on the MCE-PC88 (created by the author) However, the MIDI data recorded from the performance is far superior.

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This allowed the file size to be reduced considerably, and songs could be Designed to be rack-sized, and priced at a significantly low price of 49,800

downloaded to the computer and listened to in a short time. yen, this unit set the tone for future DTM sound sources.

Also, to discern the intentions of the music data creator

It was important to create the same equipment environment for both the two teams.

As users sought the same sound sources and sequence software as their

favorite music creators, the de facto standard equipment spread among

the user community. In this way, the de facto standardization of DTM

equipment has led to the development of a unique Japanese DTM culture

Fig. 6.9 Yamaha FB-01
in which users create and play music in the same environment.

The birth of this technology was the seed for future online karaoke and other such services. 6.6.2 Sound modules in the early days of DTM

In other words, users who had created MIDI data and honed their skills In 1987, Roland released the best-selling single "Shin

would become the ones producing the music data for tens of thousands of A sound source model that uses the sound source system of the Cessizer D-50

songs when online karaoke was launched. In 1999, the Joule MT-32 (Fig. 6.10) was released. It attracted attention for

its compact size, high performance, and the affordable price of 69,000 yen.

It also had the function of accurately recording and playing back

6.6 Evolution of sound modules and format history performances.

Recliner who can play instruments, and ensemble

With the birth of MIDI, the transition from synthesizers to keyboards There is also software to control the MT-32, such as Steps, which lets you

As mentioned in the previous chapter, the MIDI section and the sound source section can now be separated. play and Shuffle, which automatically generates sheet music.

However, the sound source module that was born from this trend Because of the richness of the sound, I decided to use the MT-32 as my first DTM sound.

It was not only used in conjunction with electronic instruments such as MIDI Many people have praised it as a "source."

keyboards, but also in conjunction with computers, creating new possibilities.

Let's take a closer look at the format.

6.6.1 Pioneering DTM sound modules Figure 6.10 Roland MT-32

In 1985, Roland released the MKS-7 sound module (see Figure 6.4).

This was a MIDI sound module that combined the sound source part of the Thus, the DTM system evolved greatly in just a few years, but what

analog synthesizer JUNO-106 with a simplified version of the sound source propelled it into the “DTM culture” originating in Japan was the previously

part of the rhythm machine TR-707. mentioned Rolland package product “Musi-kun” (released in 1988), which

It was possible to play multiple parts and rhythm parts. was based around the MT-32. The following year, in 1989, a higher-end

What made it unique was that it was compatible with both the traditional version called “Musi-ro” was released, which came with the new DTM

style of playing in combination with a MIDI keyboard or a standalone sound source CM-64 (Fig. 6.11), and became a popular series product that

sequencer, and the new style of using it in combination with a PC to create continued for about 10 years.

music. Ta.

It was a sound module that could be considered a pioneer of the

However, because it was still designed based on musical instruments, the

price was high at 169,000 yen. The

following year, in 1986, Yamaha released the FM sound module FB-01

(Fig. 6.9), which was primarily intended for use with personal computers. It

had 240 built-in tones, and eight parts could be played using Yamaha's

own sequence software, YRM-31. In addition to these functions,

Fig. 6.11 Roland CM-64
It's easy to use on a desktop computer

It is half the size of a conventional sound module.

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6.6.3 The result of competition between Roland and Yamaha This means that if you create song data on GS sound source A that says

DTM Market Expansion (GS vs. XG) "play C with a piano tone," then even if you play the same data on a

The DTM culture born from MIDI has different GS sound source B, "C will always be played with a piano tone"

It has matured further with the development of (for details, see "Chapter 7, Unifying Tones and SMF (Standard MIDI

There was a competition between Roland and Yamaha. Files)").

This means that song data created with the SC-55 can be

6.6.4 Roland's proprietary MIDI format "GS sound source" In May 1991, The higher-end models sold at the time, such as the SC-88 (released in 1994, Fig.

Roland 6.13) and the SC-8850 (released in 1999, Fig. 6.14), were used to play the discs.

released the SC-55 (Fig. 6.12) as a DTM sound source. Even if you play a part, the ensemble will be played with the same parts.

Therefore, even if you buy a new DTM sound source, the song data will be

What was revolutionary was the company's proprietary MIDI format. Not only can users share song data, but

The main feature of the GS sound source was that it was based on the Even if you exchange ideas, the music will basically be played back exactly as you intended.

GS format, which emphasized upward compatibility. This has greatly increased the versatility of song data.

As the company was one of the first to propose its own GS sound source,

it became the de facto standard for MIDI sound sources, and the

SC-88Pro (Fig. 6.15), released in 1996, became the leading MIDI sound

source due to its high functionality and high quality.

It has become a noun.

Fig. 6.12 Roland SC-55 6.6.5 Yamaha's "XG Sound Source" fights back with new features

In 1991, the international standard for MIDI sound sources, the "GM

format," was created, based on a portion of the GS sound source standard.

In the same year, Yamaha released the TG100, a GM-compatible DTM sound source.

(Fig. 6.16), but at the same time they developed their own extended MIDI

format to be compatible with GM, and announced it as the "XG format" in

1994. The first XG sound source was the MU80 (Fig. 6.17), and the

following year in 1995

Fig. 6.13 Roland SC-88 In 2013, the company released a lower-end model, the MU50.

The MU80 had the same basic specifications as the SC-88, which

was Roland's top DTM sound source at the time, but taking advantage

of its late start, it greatly surpassed the SC-88 in terms of the variety of

tones and, in particular, the richness of its effects.

The Roland GS had the upper hand.

This was a major breakthrough for DTM sound sources.

The sound can be expanded by adding boards to the main body.

Fig. 6.14 Roland SC-8850

Fig. 6.16 Yamaha TG100

Fig. 6.15 Roland SC-88Pro Fig. 6.17 Yamaha MU80

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With this new idea in mind, the company released its second- However, GM sound sources are becoming more and more diverse and complex.

generation XG sound source, the MU100 (Fig. 6.18), and in 1998 There was a limit to how much the GM format could be reproduced.

it released its flagship model, the MU128 (Fig. 6.19), as its final form. Some functions were not clearly defined in the standard, and these

caused compatibility problems. Against this background, GM was

expanded to become GM Level 2, which was issued in 1999 as a

recommended application example (RP-024) by the GM Level 2

Working Group of the MIDI Standards Committee of the Association

Fig. 6.18 Yamaha MU100 of Musical Electronics Businesses. With a minimum sound set of at

least 32 simultaneous voices, a minimum of 256 preset tones, and 9

types of drum set, compatibility in terms of playing music was

reviewed in detail, and each function was clearly classified as

[Required], [Recommended], [Optional], or [Prohibited].

6.6.7 Progressive resolution of the "GS vs. XG"

competition.
Fig. 6.19 Yamaha MU128
With Roland improving quality and unique ideas

The competition in the DTM sound source market with Yamaha,

6.6.6 Establishment and evolution of General MIDI (GM) which was introducing new functions, became even more intense

In 1991, General MIDI was established as a recommended from the mid-1990s onwards, with the format of "GS vs. XG".

application example (RP-003) with an emphasis on compatibility

of MIDI data and with the intention of application in the fields of This is a major factor in revitalizing the DTM culture and expanding it.

music, consumer electronics, and entertainment. Then in 2001, Roland released

Although it does not support a minimum of 24 voices, The DTM sound source SD-90 supports not only GS and GM, but also Yamaha

The standard required the simultaneous production of 16 melody Through cooperation with Sony, the two companies have come to a compromise,

notes and 8 rhythm notes, and defined a minimum of 128 preset including the inclusion of a function that allows playback of music data in XG format.

sounds, called the GM Sound Set, 47 rhythm instruments, the At the same time, the PC and internet environment

arrangement of those sounds, and the corresponding control As the DTM environment has evolved significantly,

change numbers and functions. In response to this, Kawai It was time to move on to the next generation.

released the GM-compatible sound module GMega (Fig. 6.20) in

1992, and Korg released the AG-10 (Fig. 6.21) in 1993. The

GMega had 32 parts, a maximum polyphony of 28 notes, and 6.7 Computer and MIDI interface
was priced at 69,000 yen, while the AG-10 had 16 parts, a

maximum polyphony of 32 notes, and was priced at 49,000 yen. When connecting a computer to MIDI, a MIDI interface is required.

When MIDI was established in 1983, MIDI interfaces were quickly

released by companies such as Yamaha and Roland.

6.7.1 Yamaha Music Production Computers

Yamaha develops and sells computers for music production, and in

Figure 6.20 Kawaii GMega
1983, when MIDI was first introduced, they released the MSX computer.

The CX5 (Fig. 6.22) and the SMD-01 (Fig.

On June 23, SFG-01, which had a built-in FM sound source, was

released. By inserting this into the back slot of the CX5 and using

the dedicated sequence software on the CX5, music could be

Figure 6.21 Korg AG-10
produced.

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Figure 6.22 Yamaha MSX PC CX5

Figure 6.24 Roland MPU-401

Fig. 6.23 Yamaha MIDI unit SMD-01

In 1989, the company also launched the notebook computer model C1.

It was actually a PC-AT compatible machine, but when it was

turned on, it started up a sequencer, making it a MIDI-only
machine with two MIDI INs and eight MIDI OUTs, and was
Figure 6.25 Interface for PC8001 and PC8801
packed with features such as about 400 tracks and recording functions.
On the other hand, MIDI terminals were also used overseas.
A computer equipped with a child for music production was announced,

MIDI was gaining attention.

6.7.2 MIDI input has become the de facto standard

Terface MPU-401 Series
In November 1983, Roland released the MPU-401 (Figs.
6.24 to 6.27), a MIDI interface for personal computers. Because
a personal computer and MIDI cannot be physically connected
directly, an interface for signal conversion was necessary, but
Figure 6.26 IBM-PC Interface
the processing power of personal computers at the time made

it difficult to handle even MIDI's 31.25 kbps.

It is easy to imagine that there will be some missed shots and jitter.

So Roland built a MIDI processor inside the

Built-in microcomputer for intelligent operation
In order to make it compatible with the NEC PC-8001, PC-8801,
PC-9801, IBM-PC, Apple II, Fujitsu FM-7, and Sharp X1

(CZ-800 series), the main unit was the same for each model,
but a separate interface board was provided for each model.

Figure 6.27 APPLE-II interface

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The interface board was connected with a 25-pin D-SUB

cable. The MPU-401's specifications, including its circuit
diagram and instructions for use, were also widely released.
As a result, the development and sale of music software by
third parties was stimulated, and it became the de facto
standard for MIDI interfaces for personal computers.
Compatible interfaces such as Misuzu Ellie's EMU-98 and
Kawai's MSB-98 also appeared for the NEC PC98. Figure 6.30: Gameport MIDI cable

Roland also announced that it would begin sales of PC-

For the 9801, the main unit and interface board are integrated Supported applications for MPU-401.
MPU-PC98, which was designed to reduce costs, and its successor The device driver for 401 was available up until the Windows XP era.

This was followed by the development and sale of the MPU-PC98 II (Fig. 6.28), Currently, the main methods for connecting a PC to MIDI are
and then, to accommodate the age of Microsoft Windows, the company A USB-MIDI interface is used.

developed and sold the SuperMPU, which was equipped with an intelligent mode.

6.7.4 Direct connection to a computer In

order to connect a computer to MIDI, an interface such as
the MPU-401 was required, but
As capabilities improve with Moore's Law, information is lost
If you no longer have to worry about jitter or other issues, you can use

the MPU-401 to handle more internal sequence tracks and respond faster.

Time becomes an issue.

To handle more than 1000 tracks, UART
Many sequence software programs use this mode.
At that time, personal computers had RS-232C terminals. Also,

by adjusting the division ratio, it was possible to set it to around

31.25kbps. After that, a current of 5mA was obtained using a
Fig. 6.28 MPU-PC98 II
photocoupler based on the MIDI recommended circuit diagram.
This idea is commonly known as RS-MIDI.
6.7.3 Sound cards This was good news for users of personal computers that
The Sound Blaster (compatible) sound system was installed as were not compatible with Rolland's MPU series, such as the
standard on many DOS/V-based personal computers in the 1990s. Sharp X68000.
The board has a 15-pin D-SUB game port.

It was equipped as standard (Fig. 6.29), and could be used In addition, circuit diagrams created by users are also made public, and people who want to build their own circuits can use them.

as a MIDI interface by connecting it with a MIDI cable for The PC-98 supports MIMPI and other
game ports (Fig. 6.30). There was a player. Come on Music has
Hardware and device drivers are provided by Roland The MA-01, an interface compatible with RS-MIDI, has been
MPU-401 MIDI interface in UART mode released for the Composer series.
It is based on many operating systems for Windows and MS-DOS. After this, in 1991 Yamaha released the TG100 (Figure
6.16) has a serial port in addition to the MIDI connectors.
This was different from the hardware specified by MIDI, but it
mostly followed the MIDI protocol, and was a breakthrough
in that it eliminated the need for a MIDI interface, which had
been essential for sending MIDI signals between a computer
and a DTM sound source until then. This eliminated the
psychological feeling of beginner users that "DTM is difficult."
Figure 6.29 Sound Blaster compatible sound card

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This greatly reduced my concerns, and now it was possible to directly It has also been installed in Windows by Soft Inc.

and easily connect a computer to a MIDI sound source. I went.

Yamaha has released TG100 and later, and Roland has released 1993

Serial port for SC-55mkII and later DTM sound sources

(Fig. 6.31), and then a USB cable is 6.8 Summary

It has evolved into USB-MIDI, which allows connection via USB.

(For details, see Chapter 10, Expanding the Use of MIDI.) This chapter will discuss the use of computers for sound and music

production, MIDI interfaces, and computer

The sound source and sound source format connected to the computer

He explained and considered the state of DTM packages and computer

communications. At that time, with the times, composing and creating

music using MIDI sound sources and sequencers was gradually

spreading, and musicians who used DTM and professional equipment to

create music began to appear. For composers and arrangers, the

advantage of using MIDI and DTM was that they could work at home

right up to the deadline. Also,

MIDI sound sources and MIDI sequence data used in the song

Some musicians even took it directly to the studio to record.

This coincides with the transition from digital to digital, and also marks a turning point in history.
Figure 6.31: Serial port on the DTM sound source and
the connecting serial cable For the first time, it became possible to send and receive music data over a communication

line, and these changes brought with them a mixture of feelings of crisis and anticipation.

6.7.5 Software Instruments It was also a situation where

In the mid-1990s, the processing speed of personal computers, In the midst of this, especially in domestic multi-party

especially the central processing units called CPUs, improved. Intel, a The emergence of multi-timbral and multi-timbral sound sources, and the use of sequencers on computers

CPU manufacturer, established a laboratory called Intel Architecture The sound engineer and the sound editor became one and eventually

Labs within the company to study how the excess processing power The DTM package will be released and everyone will be able to use it.

resulting from the evolution of CPUs and semiconductors could be best However, as people became able to easily enjoy music, and it became

used by the general public. easy to exchange songs via computer networking, and people could

The idea was conceived of a modem for personal computer communication, for example. also receive feedback, this motivated people to practice and develop

Software modems that eliminate the need for their skills. This spiral may have been created because Japan has a

FAX, etc. Later, USB was also produced in this lab. unique mentality compared to other countries in the world. When the

Among these was the idea of software sound sources that could produce culture that developed in this way crossed paths with a different market,

not only PCM sound but also synthesized sounds. From around this it blossomed into a flower. This was the so-called online karaoke. We

time, free software and software sound sources began to be provided will discuss this in Chapter 8.

by several manufacturers, and the Apple Macintosh and Micro

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7 | Standardization of Tones and SMF (Standard MIDI File)

The sound maps of 1980s DTM (Desk Top Music) sound sources
7.1 Establishment of General MIDI (GM)
differed depending on the manufacturer and model of the MIDI sound source.

Basically, it was not compatible with other products.

For example, the first program change, which is the information for In this context, Standard MIDI File 1.0 was developed in 1991

switching tones, will be a piano tone in the MIDI sound source of company A. as a standard for recording musical performance data.

However, in the case of Company B's products, violins are assigned. It has been accepted as the base file format for

If the MIDI In the same year, GM System Level 1 was released as a common sound source specification.

The song data you create may not be reproduced in a different MIDI sound source. Both were approved as American MMA.

There was a problem that the music would be played with an (MIDI Manufacturers Association) and the then MIDI Standards

unintended tone. Also, the data format for the MIDI sound source Council (now AMEI),

differed from company to company. It was approved as a recommended practice for MIDI rather than

Standardization of MIDI sound source specifications and music data file the MIDI standard itself, and was named MIDI 1.0.

Standardization of the format was essential. Around 1989 It is listed in the specifications.

The company includes an American music publisher, a music data production company, and

A request from a media company to standardize the sounds of MIDI sound sources 7.1.1 The appearance of General MIDI (GM) sound sources

The Warner Bros. Newspaper also received comments from the press at the time. In 1991, when GM System Level 1 was approved, GM-compatible

There were plans to release a CD player with MIDI output, named sound sources appeared: Roland's SC-55 (see Figure 6.12) and

CD-MIDI, which was jointly developed by Sony Digital (now Yamaha's TG100 (see Figure 6.16). Roland's SC-55 had 16 parts, a

WarnerMedia) and Nippon Victor (now JVC Kenwood), and maximum polyphony of 24 voices, and was released at a price of

there was a strong desire for a MIDI sound source with unified 69,000 yen, while Yamaha's TG100 had 16 parts, a maximum polyphony

tone specifications to be released. This was because the MIDI of 28 voices, and was released at a price of 45,000 yen. Since then,

output of CD-MIDI could be used to easily add electronic musical GM sound source models have been used not only for DTM but also for home music.

instrument performance to the CD Digital piano for garden and overseas arranger keyboard

performance (see Figure 7.1). CD-MIDI was not a commercial success,

A but
flood of new models were released, including the

This was one of the catalysts for the standardization of MIDI sound source specifications. It will be possible.

Figure 7.1 Explanation of CD-MIDI

Quoted from "MIDI Handbook '93" in the December 1993 issue of Keyboard Magazine, published by Rittor Music.

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7.1.2 Requirements for GM sound source -Voices playable on each channel (polyphonic)
The sound source method is not specified, but it is based on the MIDI 1.0 standard. The number is variable

The document states the following as "essential requirements for GM sound sources": - Each channel can play a different instrument sound (tone).
It is described. The rhythm sounds arranged on the keyboard are always on channel 10.

ÿInstruments:

Number of voices: A minimum of 24 voices, fully dynamically - A minimum of 128 presets (MIDI program numbers) for
allocated for both melody and rhythm sounds, must be musical instruments that follow the GM sound set (Figure
available simultaneously. 7.2) - A minimum of 47 preset rhythm sounds (tones) that
is dynamically allocated for the melody. follow the GM percussion map (Figure 7.3) For other
8 voices available for voice + rhythm sounds. detailed specifications, please refer to the MIDI 1.0 specification.
ÿSupported MIDI channels: Please note that the GM sound source requires the GM System Level 1 logo.

- All 16 MIDI channels It is recommended that the mark (Figure 7.4) be attached to the product.

Figure 7.2 GM Sound Set

Figure 7.4 GM System Level 1

logo

Figure 7.3 GM Percussion Map

*The above percussion sounds are all assigned to the corresponding MIDI keys
(keyboard) on the 10 channels.

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Compatible file formats

7.2 GS and XG Sound Sources There was a strong demand for its establishment.

GM system as a common specification sound source beyond the manufacturer 7.3.2 SMF Music Data

System Level 1 played a major role, but in reality In 1991, Standard MIDI File 1.0 was released.

Roland's proprietary GS sound source was originally used for MIDI sounds. This was approved as a recommended application example for

It had become the de facto standard for MIDI devices, and coupled with the spread of GM sound sources,

The reason is that the first GS sound source released by Roland, the the de facto standard Roland GS sound sources, and Yamaha

SC-55 (see Figure 6.12), included the specifications of GM System XG sound sources, music data in Standard MIDI files was stored

Level 1 and allowed the specification of additional sounds as variations. on 3.5-inch floppy disks, as shown in Figure 7.5, in CD cases.

What I was able to do was to switch between multiple drum sets. It was sold as performance data for electronic musical instruments.

The main features of the MIDI controller were the ability to add 720k bytes or 1.44M bytes. Unlike CDs that directly record the

expression to sounds using NRPNs (Non-Registered Parameter sound itself, it is easy to add or remove musical instruments for

Numbers), and the ability to modify each sound individually using each part and change the tempo and key. Not only is it used for

system exclusive messages. listening, but it is also used for educational purposes, and

In 1994, Yamaha introduced its proprietary XG sound source format. especially overseas, it is used for playing and singing covers of

The MU80 (see Figure 6.17) was released with the XG sound source. oldies and famous songs.

It included the specifications of GM System Level 1 and differentiated It was also widely used as data for

itself by offering unique expansion sounds, expansion drum sets, It has become difficult to obtain storage media itself, and sales

detailed effect settings, etc. Sales of XG sound sources also increased. have switched to download sales via the Internet.

It has become a de facto standard alongside the GS sound source.

In the world of DTM, there is a standard sound source called GM.

However, the GS and XG sound sources coexisted.

And so it went.

7.3 SMF (Standard MIDI File)

Figure 7.5 SMF music data from the 1990s

SMF (Standard MIDI File) is a file format that stores MIDI

performance information.

SMF was developed by Opcord at the time as the basic file format 7.3.3 Data structure of SMF SMF

for recording MIDI performance data. is structured into chunks as shown in Figure 7.6.

A file proposed by Dave Oppenheim that is written in bytes and It consists of a data block.

can be played on a computer. The contents are usually explained The chunk that contains the data is called the header chunk, and the following chunk is called the

in two-digit hexadecimal notation. A chunk that contains performance data is called a track chunk.

Common. Music sequencers and dedicated SMF files are classified into three formats based on the difference

Can be created, edited and played using MIDI applications. in chunk structure.

The SMF filename extension is case sensitive. A format that consists of only one rack chunk

".MID" is used without distinction. 0, a header chunk and multiple track chunks

Format 1 and Format 2 are currently the most popular formats.

7.3.1 Background of the Establishment of SMF Since it is rarely used, we will not go into detail here. Format 0 is

Before SMF was established, MIDI-based automatic a format suitable for playback only devices, and there is no need

performance data was generated in a format that differed from to mix data or order with other tracks. You can play a song by

manufacturer to manufacturer, and the data was not compatible. simply sending data in order from the beginning of the track.

Data can be used interchangeably between different models and software On the other hand, format 1 can

This has been strongly supported by data producers and electronic musical instrument users. It plays songs by sending data while mixing the

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However, the data is separated into tracks, ÿ MIDI event (MIDI normal performance information with time information)

The Rody part is a melody track, and the chord part is (with additional information)

are managed separately, like the chord track. Delta Time + Channel Voice Message
Edit the melody, chords, etc., and edit the parts you need. ÿ Exclusive Event (Exclusive
It has the advantage that it is easy to edit only the "to" part. (When sending a message)
As shown in Figure 7.7, the header chunk consists of a Delta Time + F0 + Data Length + Exclusive
total of 14 bytes, which include the four-character ASCII code Message +F7 (usually used)
"MThd" (4D 54 68 64) that indicates that it is a header chunk, Delta Time + F7 + Data Length + Exclusive
the data length (00 00 00 06), the file format (00 00) (if the Message

format type is 0), the number of tracks (00 01) (if there is ÿ Meta events (data other than normal MIDI performance information)

one track), and the time unit (00 60) (time base = resolution (This is provided to handle
per quarter note, e.g. 60 in hexadecimal = 96 in decimal). Delta Time + FF~
The most frequently used meta event is Ten
If you use multiple tracks, It is a tune with a melody of Po. It can also include key and beat, but it is mainly used for

Specify "00 01" in the mat field, which means 1, and display purposes (see Figure 7.9).

Enter the number of tracks to be used in the Number of Tracks field. Delta time is a time expressed as a variable length numeric representation.

*The time unit can be specified based on the time code by This is information that indicates the time since the previous event.

setting the MSB of the upper byte to 1, but a resolution of The delta time value is specified in the header chunk.
one quarter note is generally used. For example, if the resolution per quarter note is 96, then a

The actual performance data is stored in the track chunk delta time of 96 corresponds to an interval of a quarter note.

as shown in Figure 7.8. The track chunk contains an identifier Also, if there is an event with the same timing as the previous

"MTrk" (4D 54 72 6B) that indicates that it is a track chunk, event, then a delta time of 0 corresponds to the interval of a quarter note.

the data length (the data length of the data section in this Variable length numeric representation uses 7 bits per byte.
track = the number of data pieces in hexadecimal), and the where bit 7 is used as a flag.
data (variable length). The flag in bit 7 indicates that a data byte follows.
The data recorded in a track chunk consists of the following three types: The first byte is set to 1, and the last data byte is set to 0. For example,

There are various types. hexadecimal numbers 00 to 7F are stored in the variable length numeric table.

Figure 7.6 SMF format

Figure 7.7 Example of a header chunk (all values in hexadecimal)

Figure 7.8 Track chunk example (all values in hex)

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Figure 7.9 Meta event types

Figure 7.10 Example of variable-length numeric representation

Figure 7.11 MIDI data corresponding to a musical score

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Currently, numbers are expressed as 00 to 7F, but if 80 is expressed The maximum length is 4 bytes (see Figure 7.10).

as a variable-length number, it becomes 81 00. This is because the

variable-length number representation handles numbers in 7 bits, so 7.3.4 Examples of SMFs

after 7F, another data byte is used instead of 80. The MIDI data shown in Figure 7.11 is stored in SMF format 0.

Since the data byte follows next, bit 7 of the first byte becomes 1, so A concrete example of this is shown in Figure 7.12. The time base

it is expressed as 81, and the next byte is expressed as 00. Note that (resolution per quarter note) is 96. All subsequent values are in

the delta time in the variable-length numeric representation of SMF is hexadecimal notation.

Figure 7.12 Example of MIDI data in SMF format 0

It is now possible to listen carefully to the piece while practicing it on

7.4 What GM and SMF have brought the Dophon.

Overseas, arranger keyboards have evolved to a more advanced

GM is the standard format for MIDI sound sources, stage, and to drive their automatic accompaniment functions,

The format of the MIDI sequence data side has been unified. Therefore, a huge amount of SMF data was initially stored in 3.5-inch

Thanks to these two systems working together, high compatibility was It was first sold on floppy disks, and then later on was sold as a

guaranteed, and electronic musical instruments were able to create new forms. download over communication lines. Moreover, in Europe and the US,

The stage has arrived. the lack of compatibility of GM System Level 1 was not acceptable,

It's a workstation synthesizer, and data conforming to GS and XG was being sold.

It's not just the birth of DTM. For example, Because of its popularity, compatibility with GM systems has been expanded.

Thanks to the widespread use of data for automatic playing and I'm happy that it's the first GM compatible system in System Level 2.

automatic accompaniment in digital pianos, it is now possible to take Furthermore, SMF vocal troupe

piano lessons on one's own. In other words, even if you don't have a Data pre-loaded into the rack could be used to activate the keyboard's

piano teacher, the digital piano can play back model performances built-in pitch shifter, adding stunning harmonies to the song.

and record and automatically evaluate the user's performance. Or it

can play a luxurious orchestral performance. In the next chapter, we will look at the GM and MIDI data that can be used to create

While reproducing it with the piano with the built-in GM sound source, Introducing new markets that have emerged.

I played the piano concerto at home, and it was a great performance.

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8ÿThe spread of online karaoke

Online karaoke, which appeared in 1992, is a new business that uses For example, there was a collection of sample letters, seasonal New

MIDI data. Year's card data, and a MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) data

Laser disc type color, which was mainstream in the 1980s, collection for music enthusiasts.

This resulted in a complete replacement of orchestra equipment. MIDI is characterized by its small data capacity, which made it easy to

handle even on the slow and expensive communication networks of the

time. Taking a major step away from the extremely niche business of

8.1 The origins of online karaoke selling MIDI data collections to PC users, Takeru continued to explore the

possibility of a business distributing music (MIDI data was not made

Brother Industries, Ltd., the parent company of Xing Corporation, one public), and eventually came up with the idea of an online karaoke

of the two largest manufacturers of online karaoke today, launched a new business. The market size of PC games handled by Takeru Business was

business suited to the new media era in 1986 called TAKERU, an electronic 20 billion yen, while the market size of commercial karaoke was about

distribution system for PC software (Figure 8.1). 450 billion yen, and the market

The scale is about 20 times. Around 1990, Brother Industries

We were searching for a business idea on the scale of 10 billion yen that

would be suitable for the multimedia age. The karaoke market seemed

very attractive as a new business candidate combining multimedia and

communication networks.

8.2 The introduction of the multi-timbral sound source SC-55

Around 1990, when Brother Industries first began considering online

karaoke as a new business, the only multi-timbral MIDI sound source was

Roland's MT-32 (see Figure 6.10). However, the MT-32's PCM sounds

(sampled sounds) were limited to a few hundred milliseconds of attack,

making it particularly poor at producing vivid piano sounds. In 1991, Roland

released the SC-55 (see Figure 6.12), a multi-timbral sound source that

used PCM sounds (sampled sounds) entirely.

Sound source based on SC-55 with the sounds required for online karaoke

By adding new colors, this sound source board (Fig. 8.2) is now

It was decided that they would be supplied to radio makers.

Figure 8.1 Software vendor TAKERU (Brother Museum)

The following is an excerpt from the "Communications Society Magazine No. 27 Winter

2013" published by the Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers.

It is useful.

"Takeru is a system that connects a host computer installed in Nagoya,

where Brother Industries' headquarters is located, to terminals installed in

computer shops, home appliance retailers, etc. nationwide via a

communication network, downloads game software and other content,

and automatically writes it to a floppy disk (FD). (Omitted) Takeru's original

content includes various data other than game software.

Figure 8.2 Karaoke sound source board

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Figure 8.3 Block diagram of online karaoke (provided by Brother Industries, Ltd.)

8.3 MIDI-enabled online karaoke

The heart of online karaoke is the MIDI sound source.

The data to play the source is SMF (Standard MIDI File)

Figure 8.3 shows the sequence data for communication.

Block diagram of Oke. Sequence data is built-in.

The sequencer plays the MIDI sound.

The audio data is mainly used to play backing choruses, and the lyrics

data passes through a caption playback block and is superimposed on

the background video image and shown on an external display.

Fig. 8.4 JOYSOUND JS-1

8.4 1992 was the first year of online karaoke

8.5 Laser Karaoke with a Limited Number of Songs

The world's first online karaoke was released by a game company

The manufacturer is Taito. It was released in August 1992. In the 1980s, it had an overwhelming dominance in the karaoke world.

The first model was the X-2000. However, Taito's online karaoke business The first machine to be introduced was laser karaoke, but the number of songs that could

was slower than Xing in building its communications network, and was be stored was physically limited. Figure 8.5 shows a machine that holds 144 laser discs.

eventually transferred to Xing when Taito withdrew from the karaoke It is an autochanger system that can store large

business in July 2006. The system took up as much space as a refrigerator.

October 1992, two months after the debut of Taito X-2000 The maximum number of songs that could be stored was about 4,000.

In April, the “JOYSOUND JS-1” (Fig. 8.4) was released by Xing (a group In addition, the process of recording the performance in the studio and

company of Brother Industries, Ltd.). creating background footage on location or on a studio set can take anywhere

from one to two weeks from the release of a new song to the provision of karaoke.

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It took two months to complete.

In the stem, both the karaoke performance and the background images are laser.

The quality of the karaoke was not comparable.

However, for the young generation, who are the main customers of karaoke boxes,

How quickly you can sing new songs at karaoke is important.

That was an important point.

Figure 8.6 Daiichi Kosho DAM-6400

With the entry of Daiichi Kosho into the online karaoke market in 1995,

The market share of online karaoke is surpassing that of laser karaoke.

(See Figure 8.7.) Then the laser

Laoke rapidly lost its market share and in March 2007, the market declined.

became the world's only disc press manufacturer.

Memory Tech discontinued its production line.

The history of Za Karaoke has come to an end.

8.7 Current online karaoke

Figure 8.5 Pioneer Laser Karaoke Auto Change
Jar system (Laser disc stored in the lower center)
As mentioned in Chapter 6, the online karaoke service was launched.

In order to create the new version, tens of thousands of MIDI sequence files were created at once.

8.6 Daiichi Kosho enters the online karaoke market

Data has been provided. There are already a huge number of DTMs

Users competed with each other through computer communication, and MIDI

In 1994, a year and a half after the release of JOYSOUND's JS-1, I was honing my ability to create sequence data.

In April, Daiichi Kosho, a major karaoke company, entered the online karaoke market. This is also very useful for creating data for online karaoke.

The model name was DAM-6400 (Fig. 8.6). The MIDI sound source was This will contribute to the launch of the new karaoke market.

The communication karaoke device itself uses Yamaha's MIDI sound source. Moreover, online karaoke is a new technology that uses physical data.

These were also supplied by Yamaha on an OEM basis. Without using any data media,

year 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99
LD manual 33.2 44.4 46.7 46.5 49.3 47.7 41.3 38.1 17.9 14.8 11.5 8 LD auto CD VHD Online karaoke Others Bar 6.3
Karaoke 5.9 9.6 12.1 14.9 17.4 20 20.4 20.7 11.5 6.3 6.4 4.7 4.2
Market share by type 9.7 18.7 17.3 21 22.1 21.3 24.5 22.5 25.5 21.6 16.4 13.1 10.3
(%) room 30.7 18.7 20.1 15.7 10.2 9.4 7.7 4.5 2.3 1.3 0.8 0.8 0.5
Number of units 1.3 5.9 37.2 41.8 52.2 62.7 68.9
in 20.5 8.6 3.8 1.9 1.0 1.6 4.8 8.3 5.8 14.2 12.8 10.7 11.9
28.0 28.0 26.0 32.0 27.0
operation (10,000 11.0 13.9 15.0 3.4 16.0 14.8
units)
Other 8.9 7.0 42.4 50.8 13.0 10.6
Total 48.0 61.0 52.4

87-94: Pioneer Corporation, Public Relations Department, Karaoke White Paper, Type share is only for bars
95-99: Japan Karaoke Business Association. The share by type is only for dealer-managed units, which account for more than 80% of the number of units in operation.

Figure 8.7 Trends in market share by type of commercial karaoke (cited from a systematic survey on the development and practical application of laser discs)

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By making full use of the clock, small MIDI data can be transmitted in a Not only could even non-players enjoy the pleasure of music, but it also

short time. Because there are no physical constraints, data for newly marked a time in the network age when MIDI data could be distributed to

released songs can be supplied quickly, every corner of the country as naturally as water or electricity.

Not only can you store a huge amount of song data,

You can change the number and key to your liking, or give it a score.

Such features were not available with previous karaoke systems. References and

There were many benefits. Citations 1) Nobuo Murakami, Yuichi Yasutomo: "Development Story:

Initially, online karaoke had 3,000 songs built in, but now it has grown JOYSOUND Karaoke" Communications Society Magazine

to 270,000 songs. And about 1,000 new songs are added every month. No.27 Winter 2013 Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers

According to statistics for 2017, 2) Sumitaka Matsumura: "Development of LD (Laser Disc System)

The shipment value of the equipment was approximately 60.8 billion yen, and the end user's Systematic survey of practical applications

The domestic market size is just under 600 billion yen. Japan is the only country National Museum of Nature and Science Technology Systematization Survey Report Vol.21

where online karaoke has been successful, but the most successful MIDI-related product is March 2014

It is no exaggeration to say that MIDI 3) Japan Karaoke Association:

It is also the most unique market that has been born. KE White Paper 2018

MIDI Technology Systematic Survey 57

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9ÿExpanding Use of MIDI

It became popular after being officially supported in Windows 98.
9.1 USB-MIDI
In USB, peripherals are grouped according to their functions.

MIDI was introduced in 1983, and while the protocol has been A set of specifications called device classes has been defined. A

utilized, the hardware configuration has expanded over time. In the unified control interface is provided for devices created according to

1990s, when DTM (Desk Top Music) was booming, sound sources each class specification (or subclass specification depending on the

included computers with MIDI terminals. class specification), and the class

A model with a serial terminal for pewter is now available Devices that comply with the specification are called class drivers.

This allows direct connection to a computer's serial terminal without Since all devices in the same class can be operated using common

a MIDI interface. Although direct connection to a computer's serial device driver software, there is no need to create separate driver

terminal differs from the hardware specified at the time of the software for each product. USB-MIDI is defined as one of the

establishment of MIDI 1.0, the information flow is following three subclasses of the audio class:

was the MIDI protocol itself.

In the world of DTM, as computers have evolved, so have their

connection formats. First, "IEEE 1394," established in 1995, was led

by Apple Computer, and standardized in collaboration with Sony, TI, ÿAudio Control Interface Sub

IBM, and others. In November 2000, Japan's AMEI and America's AC: Audio Control interface subclass ÿ Audio Streaming

MMA established RP-027, "MIDI Media Adaptation Layer for Interface Subclass

IEEE-1394," as a recommended application example for streaming AS (AudioStreaming interface subclass)

MIDI over "IEEE 1394." ÿMIDI Streaming Interface Subclass

(MS: MIDIStreaming interface subclass)

At the same time, the USB (Universal Serial Bus) standard was

being established and discussions were underway in the Device 9.1.2 USB-MIDI transfer speed

Working Group of the USB Implementers Forum on how to stream MIDI. Up until USB 1.1 (released in September 1998), the following speeds were the maximum:

It was big.

9.1.1 USB-MIDI device classes •Low-Speed (Ls USB): Transfer speed 1.5 Mbps. Peripherals that do

As the name Universal Serial Bus indicates, USB is a bus standard not require high-speed communication, such as keyboards and mice.

for connecting various peripheral devices to a host device. The first Used for vessels

standard, USB 1.0, was •Full-Speed (Fs USB): Transfer speed 12 Mbps.

It was introduced in 1996. Today's personal computers For devices that require high communication speed, such as digital scanners and printers.

It is the most popular general-purpose interface standard for Used for peripheral devices

computer peripherals. It was developed by Compaq, Digital

Equipment Corporation (DEC), IBM, Intel, Microsoft, NEC Corporation USB 2.0, which offers a significant improvement in data transfer speed, was released in April 2000.

(NEC), Nortel, and others with the aim of replacing the conventional was newly established.

RS-232C serial port, parallel port, and PS/2 connector. •High-Speed (Hs USB): Transfer speed 480Mbps.

It can handle large amounts of data and storage at practical

It was jointly developed by seven companies in the U.S., Europe, and Asia-Pacific, and was launched in 1994. speeds (see Figure 9.1).

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Figure 9.1 Comparison of transfer speeds

9.1.3 USB-MIDI data structure The lower 4 bits of byte 0 are the code index.
The format of MIDI data transmitted over USB is a 4-byte The CIN is a Code Index Number (CIN) that indicates
(32-bit) fixed-length “USB-MIDI event” as shown in Figure 9.2. the type of MIDI message stored in bytes 1 and after.
The data is then packed into a single "transmit packet" and forwarded. 9.3 summarizes the classification. CIN=0x00ÿ
The variable length MIDI message "System Export" 0x01 is currently undefined and unused. CIN=0x08ÿ
Other 1 to 3 bytes except for "inclusive message" 0x0E is status byte 0x8n "Notes OFF"
Fixed-length MIDI messages are stored as complete The "Channel Message" consisting of a sequence of 2
messages without any status bytes omitted. to 3 bytes is stored in bytes 1 to 3 of the packet. The
It is stored in bytes 1 to 3 of the packet. value of CIN is
The first byte (byte 0) of a MIDI event packet indicates
the nature of the MIDI message contained in the packet. This is the value of the upper 4 bits of the status byte.
The upper four bits are the cable number (CN: Cable The CIN value corresponding to the "System
Number), which indicates the MIDI cable number. Message" in the status byte 0xFn is 0x0F.
Thanks to this "cable number", USB-MIDI can assign For "single byte" status byte
individual MIDI messages to up to 16 MIDI connectors. 0xF8 to 0xFF are reserved exclusively for "system real-
MIDI signals can be output to the MIDI terminal. time messages" (see Figure 9.4).
If there is only one, all packets forwarded will Other "System Common Messages" and "System
CN=0. For "System Exclusive Messages"
* The running status defined in MIDI 1.0 is not used. CIN=0x02 to 0x07 are assigned. Status byte 0xF8 to
Also, a note-off message is sent at velocity = 0. 0xFF "System real-time message"
There is no substitute for sage. Note off is A "message" is a 1-byte message that is the signature of other messages.

Always use the status of the note-off message. It can be inserted anywhere in the can, even in the middle.

Figure 9.2 32-bit USB-MIDI event packet (taken from

Universal Serial Bus Device Class Definition for MIDI Devices)

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Figure 9.3 Code Index Number Classification

Figure 9.4 Example of a USB-MIDI event packet

9.1.4 USB-MIDI interfaces

In 1998, Roland released the world's first USB-MIDI
interface, the UA-100 (Fig. 9.5).
Since USB-MIDI is defined as the USB audio class, it
can also handle audio.

Fig. 9.5 Roland UA-100

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In 2000, Roland released the USB-MIDI interface UM-1 (Fig. 9.6). It is based on the Android version.

This was a UA-100 that removed the audio section and sent and Since Android 6.0, BLE-MIDI has been supported at the same time that

received only MIDI. MIDI has been supported in the OS. However, care must be taken when

We have achieved low prices. using BLE-MIDI as it is highly device-dependent.

9.2.3 BLE-MIDI devices

Even before the BLE-MIDI standard was officially decided,

development of MIDI devices using BLE was already underway. A US

venture company called Miselu developed a BLE device the size of

which was adjusted to match the iPad at the time, as shown in Figure 9.7.

The mini keyboard C.24 was released in December 2014.

In November 2014, Quicco Sound released the mi.1 (Fig. 9.8), an

Figure 9.6 Roland UM-1 adapter that connects a MIDI IN terminal to a MIDI OUT terminal and

enables connection to BLE.

9.2 BLE-MIDI

BLE-MIDI is officially called "MIDI over Bluetooth Low

The name of the company is "Energy" and was established in the United States on September 15, 2015.

MMA (MIDI Manufacturers Association) and Japan

It was officially approved by AMEI (Association of Musical Electronics Industries) and was published

as MIDI Standard Recommended Application Example (RP-052) on November 1 of the same year.

It has been published as such.

9.2.1 What is BLE-MIDI?

When the Bluetooth standard version 4.0 was announced in

December 2009, it was a revamp of the existing Bluetooth Basic Rate/

Significant power savings compared to Enhanced Data Rate Figure 9.7 Miselu C.24
BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) has been added. Originally, it was

designed to communicate data with sensors installed in home

appliances, and was intended for use in weight scales, blood pressure

monitors, thermometers, refrigerators, etc.

The rate is 1Mbit/s. BLE-MIDI is a MIDI protocol.

The call is sent with a timestamp (time information) via BLE (Bluetooth

It is a standard for transmitting and receiving data over Wireless Low Energy (WLE).

9.2.2 Background of the establishment of BLE-MIDI Figure 9.8 Quicco Sound mi.1

The background to the establishment of BLE-MIDI is Apple's extremely large

Apple already supported BLE in iOS 8, developed in 2014, and all In February 2016, Yamaha released the MD-BT01 (Fig. 9.9), which

iPhones from the iPhone 4S onwards and all iPads from the third has the same functions as the Quicco Sound mi.1.

generation onwards are compatible with BLE. Both the mi.1 and the MD-BT01 have a MIDI OUT current loop.

It is used as a power supply source.

The original proposal for BLE-MIDI was submitted by Apple Inc., and Then, MIDI signals are transmitted between USB-MIDI and BLE-MIDI.

The BLE-MIDI specification is based on Core MIDI (the MIDI function in The company also released a product called UD-BT01 (Fig. 9.10) that supports this function.

Apple's Mac OS X and iOS). It is being used.

Around the same time, Korg released the BLE-MIDI

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The mini keyboard microKEY AIR is now on sale.

As shown in Figure 9.12, the company has
commercialized a number of software sound sources for iOS.
The main feature is that it can be used as a wireless keyboard.
be.

Fig. 9.13 Roland LX-17

Figure 9.9 Yamaha MD-BT01

Fig. 9.10 Yamaha UD-BT01

Figure 9.14 Roland Piano Partner 2

Roland's home piano LX-17 (Fig. 9.13), released in

September 2015, is compatible with BLE-MIDI. By linking with
the iOS/Android application Piano Partner 2 (Fig. 9.14), the
sheet music of songs stored in the piano itself can be displayed
on the tablet screen, and rhythmic accompaniment can be
automatically added to piano performances, and the rhythm
function, ear training and music reading can be done in a game-like manner.
can.
Figure 9.11 Korg microKEY AIR

9.2.4 Protocols used in BLE-MIDI

BLE-MIDI uses packet-based
The protocol has a packet transmission interval of 15 ms.
The size of one packet is usually 20
The conventional MIDI transmission timing is real-time.
However, since BLE-MIDI is a standard protocol, packets are

transferred in batches at intervals of up to 15 milliseconds, the

concept of timestamps is introduced to correct the exact timing

of sound generation. A timestamp is a 13-bit time in 1 millisecond

increments, with a maximum of 8,191 milliseconds. This time is

Figure 9.12 Korg Mobile Sound Module issued on the sending side in a monotonically increasing format.

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A BLE packet consists of the header bytes as shown in Figure 9.15. BLE-MIDI is data with time stamps

and the timestamp byte contains 2 bytes of MIDI data. Therefore, if a system that takes timestamps into account is constructed on the

The timestamp consists of the lowest 6 bits of the header receiving side, it will be possible to manage the sound timing with an accuracy of 1 millisecond.

(timestampHigh) and the lowest 7 bits of the timestamp (timestampLow). It is extremely important to operate it in a way that suits its intended purpose.

The important point is that the timestamp byte must always precede

the MIDI status byte, as shown in Figure 9.16.

9.3 MIDI-CI (MIDI Capability Inquiry)

This is something that must not be done.

9.3.1 Background

More than 30 years have passed since the establishment of the

MIDI 1.0 standard, and during this time, the content of the standard

has been expanded through more than 60 Confirmation of Approval

for the MIDI Standard and Recommended Practices.

It also includes a MIDI message library.

The path has also changed from asynchronous serial communication to so-called RS-

MIDI, USB, IEEE 1394, Bluetooth and other

* r is a reserved bit, usually 0.
It has evolved while using the latest interface of
Figure 9.15 BLE-MIDI packet example 1 Ta.

In contrast to the old MIDI cable, which was a one-way

communication where messages were sent continuously, USB and

Bluetooth have mechanisms in place that allow the receiver to wait

before sending (flow control) according to its own circumstances, and

to resend if confirmation of receipt is not received, allowing for

synchronization between sending and receiving.

He said.

The number of products equipped with MIDI has also diversified, with keyboards and sound sources being added.

From the keyboard to the drums/percussion,

Without guitar synthesizers, wind instruments, or sound sources,

Even new controller keyboards appeared, and the variety of them

increased.
Figure 9.16 BLE-MIDI Message Example 2
The software allows you to record MIDI

It is now possible to use the MIDI controller, and it even has a sound source function.

Uses the running status like traditional MIDI. MIDI devices have become more diverse and feature-rich.

However, some care must be taken when using BLE-MIDI. The structure in which devices connected via MIDI send messages

Also, system common messages and system one-way without each device knowing about the other has not

real-time messages and system events changed since the establishment of the MIDI 1.0 standard. This has

Exclusive messages require special treatment. maintained compatibility for over 30 years, but

Yes. Please refer to the specifications for details. Responding to new demands for MIDI-based systems

It is also true that this was not the case.

9.2.5 Future and challenges of BLE-MIDI For example, a computer that does not have a keyboard

Wireless connections are extremely convenient for using MIDI on Let's say you connect a sound module product via USB. The DAW

mobile devices, and this is expected to grow significantly in the future. software on your computer can use a numerical value called a

For editing and remote control of electronic musical instruments using mobile devices program change to switch the sounds assigned to the sound module,

However, it is very effective in real-time. but it doesn't know the names of the sounds that the sound module

The MIDI transmission is packetized at up to 15 ms. has, so it can't display them. Conversely, the DAW doesn't know that

It is necessary to take into consideration the above points. this product doesn't have a keyboard, so it can't display the names of the sounds.

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Figure 9.17: MIDI-CI standard concept diagram (quoted from the MIDI-CI standard)

I don't know about this, so I'm not using it as a MIDI input device. In addition, future protocol expansion and integration with devices other than musical instruments are also possible.

In this way, the device information of the connected device is We are also considering collaboration (media mix).

insufficient, and the appropriate communication As shown in the MIDI-CI standard conceptual diagram in Figure 9.17,

It is difficult to communicate with other devices. Information shared between devices through negotiation and

I can't see the MIDI implementation in Protocol Negotiation, Profile Configuration,

Then connect the keyboard controller to the sound source product and Three new Property Exchanges are defined.

When you want to play a loop, you may want to check whether the Protocol Negotiation is a protocol negotiation technique that allows a protocol

other device supports harmonic control of the sound. different from that described in the MIDI 1.0 specification to be used with a Profile.

or Rotary Speaker Effect On/Off Configuration describes the predefined specifications the instrument

In order to solve these problems, MIDI-CI was established, and has (such as GM System Level 2 or Organ), and

Protocol Negotiation, Profile Configuration, and Property Exchange Property Exchange gets or sets device-specific information such

were defined. as a tone list or a control list.

It is called the three P's, which come from the initials of these three words.

9.3.3 The birth of the MIDI-CI standard

9.3.2 Proposal for the MIDI-CI standard Yamaha Corporation has been selling the Future MIDI

With the widespread use of modern interfaces such as USB, The Japanese government had been advocating the evolution of

bidirectional communication can be easily achieved. The MIDI-CI MIDI, and in November 2016, the Association of Musical Electronics

(MIDI Capability Inquiry) standard was proposed with the aim of Industry (AMEI) officially proposed to consider Future MIDI at its

enabling MIDI devices to exchange information and data with each technical research committee. The MIDI Standards Committee

other and optimizing the functionality and operability of the system. decided to accept the proposal, and in December, the Future MIDI

Expansion with Capability Inquiry Working Group (FME-CI WG)

Based on the current MIDI 1.0, negotiation was established. The working group included Yamaha Corporation,

The definition of the ensemble allows for more advanced inter-instrument coordination. Roland Corporation, Korg Inc., and Chroma.

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Rimson Technology Co., Ltd., Kawai Musical Instruments Co., Ltd., and Both parties can exchange opinions and share materials on the same BBS.

Zoom Corporation are registered members, but the substance of the The two parties exchanged opinions at regular intervals. Compared to the

discussion is Yamaha, Roland, Korg, Crimson past, when they exchanged opinions via email, the speed of exchange of

The project was led by four technology companies. opinions has increased dramatically. The draft of the specification was

At the MIDI Manufacturers Association (MMA) Annual General Meeting completed on October 30, 2017, and was approved by AMEI and sent to MMA.

(AGM) held at the NAMM Show in January 2017, AMEI introduced the The details of the text will be revised and the standard will be published by January 2018.

contents of FME-CI and the establishment of a working group as a proposal, The format was also improved.

and encouraged the MMA to begin discussions toward standardization. In Every year, a meeting between AMEI and key MMA members is held on

response, the matter was discussed as Agenda #216 at the MMA Technical the day before the MMA Annual General Meeting. At the 2018 meeting, AMEI

Standards Board (TSB), and a specialized working group, CIWG, was Chairman Yutaka Hasegawa (Yamaha at the time) explained the significance

established. The standard was structured to respect compatibility with of the MIDI-CI standard,

existing MIDI and to adopt a gradualist approach that would realize the new Both AMEI and MMA were able to reach a consensus.

standard step by step. At the 2018 MMA Annual General Meeting, a vote on the MIDI-CI

standardization took place in the morning session and was approved without

any problems. Together with the MIDI Polyphonic Expression (MPE)

Therefore, we decided to adopt a more flexible approach. standard, which was approved at the same time, this impressed upon the

The new functions are only activated when the devices and PCs that use industry the continuing evolution of MIDI (see Figure 9.18).

them negotiate with each other (CI), and if they match, the communication In the afternoon presentation, Mizumoto Koichi (then of Roland) of the

remains at MIDI 1.0. FME-CI WG explained the background and overview of the standard's

proposal, followed by Kakishita Masahiro (then of Yamaha), chairman of the

Versal System Exclusive Messages AMEI Technology Research Committee, who described his vision of the

They exchange information with each other using this format. future of MIDI, one that would link with technologies in other fields.

The activities of the FME-CI WG in 2017 are as follows: First, we demoed Property Exchange. The demo software was plugged

The MIDI-CI protocol will be defined within the MIDI 1.0 standard, and a draft into Cubase (music production software) and was connected to a USB

standard will be compiled. The standard will be approved at the MMA annual MIDI connected Yamaha, Roland, and Korg synths

meeting during the Winter NAMM Show in 2018. As an appeal to the The instrument obtains a list of tones and then actually calls up a tone from

electronic musical instrument industry, the list (see Figure 9.19).

We decided to demonstrate on the spot how to obtain and operate Profile The strike was captured in about 2 seconds, which made an impact.

Configuration and Property Exchange. In addition, you can plug in the state of the tone changed by the knobs on the actual instrument.

During 2017, discussions were held in parallel in the FME-WG of AMEI Import it into Cubase via the input, then quit it.

and the CIWG of MMA, but as a new initiative At the same time, turn the power back on and initialize the actual device.

Figure 9.18 2018 MMA Annual General Meeting

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The idea of maintaining and connecting them must have seemed fresh.

The

possibilities of MIDI beyond the field of electronic musical instruments include:

Controlling the synthesizer provided by Yamaha

A video showing how the drone's flight is controlled was shown.

By "playing" knobs and keys, you can control the direction and altitude of the drone.

Being able to control the

Figure 9.19: Getting a list of tones using MIDI-CI

Figure 9.21 Speech by then AMEI Chairman Hasegawa

Figure 9.20: Interconnecting products from different manufacturers

using MIDI-CI profiles
Finally, the demonstration ended

with a speech by AMEI Chairman Hasegawa (Fig. 9.21) on

If you restart the program, the state just before the program was shut down can be reproduced. the possibilities of Future MIDI Expansion.
This was possible with software synths, but with hardware

In the past, it was necessary to make full use of each company's This case study was also significant in terms of promoting cooperation

own proprietary protocol. among manufacturers, and we look forward to seeing AMEI continue

I did. to play an active role in achieving common industry goals.

Next, we demonstrated the Profile Configuration. We

prepared Yamaha and Roland organ keyboards, References and Citations

However, after you turn on the Organ Profile, they will operate 1) USB Implementers Forum: “Universal Serial
with common controls, and you will be able to use the controls Bus Device Class Definition for MIDI Devices”

of one to control the organ tone of the other. 2) The MIDI Manufacturers Association: “Specification for MIDI
In addition, Korg and Yamaha synthesizers over Bluetooth Low Energy version 1.0” 3) The MIDI
Connect the synth directly, and then turn on the synth Profile. Manufacturers
This shows that it is possible to control the tone of the Association: “MIDI

instruments (see Figure 9.20). Capability Inquiry Document version 1.0”

66 National Museum of Nature and Science Technology Systematization Survey Report Vol.28 2019. June
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10ÿConclusion
This survey focuses on the MIDI 1.0 standard, its creation, MIDI is updated to keep up with the times

We have examined the history of the technology and how it has become so widespread. This allows for more attractive music and content than ever before.

It all started with the idea of instruments talking to each other. We hope that this will create new ideas and enrich our lives.

MIDI. The conversation goes beyond the framework of musical instruments and is It never stops.

For example, commercial equipment that was previously out of the loop

has now joined the conversation, Acknowledgements

Eve concert PA and recording studio This report, "MIDI Technology Systemization Survey," was compiled.

It has become possible to operate and automate various things. Or, in a In doing so, many organizations, companies, and individuals have

karaoke booth far away, it has made a citizen who has never played an We would like to express our deepest gratitude to the following people for their

instrument into an instant star. Nowadays, GM sound sources are even guidance and instruction. We would also like to express our sincere gratitude to the

included in mobile terminals, and ringtones are actually SMF data. following people for providing us with particularly valuable materials and information:

MIDI song data was distributed via the Internet. Association of Musical Electronics Industry (AMEI)

With the spread of Bluetooth, wireless MIDI keyboards are now available MIDI Manufacturers Association (MMA)

for sale, and it is now commonplace to wirelessly control music apps on Yamaha Corporation

smartphones and tablets with MIDI. In this way, MIDI has greatly KORG Inc. Kawai

expanded its scope of discussion, but even so, in the 35 years since its Musical Instruments Manufacturing

establishment, Co., Ltd. Casio Computer Co., Ltd.

ATV Corporation

and MIDI version remained at 1.0. Pioneer Corporation

In December 2018, the Japan Music Electronics Business Association Daiichi Kosho Co., Ltd.

(AMEI) and the MIDI Manufacturers Association Brother Industries, Ltd. Xing

(MMA) is the next generation of MIDI that includes a new protocol that Co., Ltd. Idea Sound Co.,

provides extensibility to the conventional MIDI standard. Ltd.

To advance the development and standardization of "MIDI 2.0" Sea Music Co., Ltd.

Electronic musical instrument manufacturers and software vendors from QUICCO SOUND Inc. inMusic Japan

Japan, the United States, and other countries are participating in the Inc. Music Trade Inc. Rittor

development of this new standard. Music Inc.

MIDI 2.0 was first developed through negotiation between MIDI devices.

This allows for compatibility with existing MIDI 1.0 devices. Roland Corporation

It is a standard that will greatly improve performance expressiveness Mr. Dave Smith

and data reproducibility over the current MIDI 1.0, with features such as Mr. Marcus Ryle Mr.

expanded resolution, note control, and time stamps. Hiroshi

Also, at the NAMM Show in January 2019, MIDI-CI Takayama Formerly with Yamaha Corporation

The public exam was held using the Mr. Tetsuo Nishimoto Formerly with Roland Corporation

Control the drone by manipulating the parameters of the sensor. Mr. Tadao Kikumoto Mr. Toshiaki Yamabata (in no

There were also some innovative experiments on display, such as rolling the robot. particular order)

In addition, applications to mobility and home appliances are also being

considered, and MIDI is expected to become even more integral to our lives. *The author of this book, Hideki Ido, passed away before completing the

It is expected that... work. This book was compiled based on the manuscripts and

Thus, even though more than 35 years have passed since its establishment, materials left behind by Ido. If you find any errors or omissions in the

The pioneers who created MIDI, which plays an important role contents of this book, please contact the National Museum of Nature

I would like to express my respect for the insight and efforts of and Science, Industrial Technology History Information Center.

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MIDI Technology Tree

1960 1970 1980 The Birth of MIDI

•1983 MIDI connection test was successful at the NAMM Show in the US
1980: Oberheim's "Oberheim
M Parallel Bus" is introduced
•1983 MIDI Liaison Council (later
I
MIDI Standards Council (name changed to MIDI Standards Council)
•1980 Roland
D established
Different methods Introducing "DYN SYNC"
I CV/GATE interfaces are mixed on the
•1983 MIDI 1.0 specification published MIDI connection test
•1981 Ikutaro Hashimoto
market
Technique
proposes standardization of a
common interface
Technique

•1986 Multitimbral
of •1981 The 1st Synthesizer The emergence of DTM sound sources

Interface Conference was held.

strange

•1988 Launch of packaged products

Transition
for PC music production
•1982 Roland
Introducing "DCB"

synthesizer/
•1973 Appearance of Japanese •1983 Sequential Circuit
sampler
synthesizers (Roland SH-1000, Korg miniKORG700) Prophet-600 released

•1976 Roland SYSTEM-700 released •1983 Roland JUPITER-6,

JX-3P launched Prophet-600
•1977 Yamaha CS-10 released
•1983 Yamaha DX7 released
•1978 Korg MS-20 released

•
1979 Korg MS-02 released •1984 Casio CZ-101 released
JUPITER-6

•1981 Roland JUPITER-8 released

•1982 Roland JUNO-60 released

DX7

CZ-101

•1985 Akai S612 launched

•1986 Akai S900 released

D-50
•1987 Roland D-50 released

•1988 Korg M1 released

M1
M
sequencer
•1977 Roland MC-8 released •1984 Yamaha QX1 released
I
•1981 Roland MC-4 released •1984 Roland MSQ-700 released
D

I QX1

Seki
•1986 Roland MC-500 released
Ream

•1987 Yamaha QX3 released

Manufacturing

Product
Rhythm Machine •1980 Roland TR-808 released •1983 Roland TR-909 released
of
•1987 Yamaha RX7 released
•1984 Yamaha RX11 released
strange

•1988 Roland R-8 released

Transition

TR-909 RX11

DTM/
•1983 Yamaha CX5 released
Sound Module
•1983 Roland MPU-401 released

CX5 •1984 Roland MCP-PC8 released

•1985 Come on Music RCP-PC88,

RCP-PC98 released
FB-01
•1986 Yamaha FB-01 released

•1987 Roland MT-32 released

MPU-401
•1988 Roland

MT-32 Music-kun released

•1989 Roland Musico

launched

Musician

karaoke

*For MIDI-related products, products from domestic manufacturers are mainly listed.

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1990 2000 2010

•1991 Standard MIDI files are standardized. •2000 MIDI Media Adaptation Layer •2013 Ikutaro Hashimoto and Dave Smith won the
(IEEE 1394 compatible) is standardized Grammy Award "Technical Grammy Award"
•1991 GM System Level 1 is standardized
•2001 XMF (eXtensible Music Format) is standardized •2015 BLE-MIDI (MIDI over
•1992 The appearance of MIDI communication karaoke Bluetooth Low Energy is standardized
•2001 GM Light and Mobile Applications
Guidelines for
•1996 The Association of Musical Electronics •2017 MIDI is certified as an IEC
Industry (AMEI) was established. international standard.
(IEC63035:2017 ED1)
•1998 USB-MIDI interface appears
•2018 MIDI-CI (MIDI Inter-Device
Negotiation) standardized
•1999 GM System Level 2 is standardized

•2019 Announcement of
•1999 MIDI is certified as a JIS standard.
development and standardization of MIDI 2.0
(JIS X 6054-1 and 2)

•2002 Yamaha Tyros released •2014 Miselu C.24 released

C.24
Tyros

•2003 Roland DisCover 5 released •2014 Quicco Sound mi.1 released

DisCover 5 mi.1

•2017 Korg Pa700 Oriental released

Pa700 Oriental

•1990 Yamaha QY10 released •2002 Roland MC-909 released

•1996 Roland MC-303 released

QY10

MC-909
MC-303

•1991 Roland SC-55 released

•2000 Roland UM-1 released
•1991 Yamaha TG100 released
GMega
•1991 Internet
Singer Song Writer released
•1992 Yamaha HELLO!MUSIC! released AG-10 UM-1
•1992 Kawai GMega released
•1993 Korg AG-10 released MU100
•1997 Yamaha MU100 released

•1998 Roland UA-100 released

SC-55
UA-100

HELLO!MUSIC!
TG100

•1992 Taito X-2000 released

•1992 Xing JOYSOUND JS-1 released

•1994 Daiichi Kosho DAM-6400 launched JS-1 DAM-6400

MIDI Technology Systematic Survey 69

70
timeline
products
related
MIDI-

year
Release Keytar
Item
DX7 Japan Synthesizer
KX1
CX5 Japan PC
production
Music
SMD-01 Unit
Interface
MIDI
Machine Translated by Google

JUPITER-6
JX-3P synthesizer
1983 TR-909 Machine
Rhythm

MPU-401 Unit
Interface
MIDI
HP-400 Piano
Digital
PR-800 Recorder
MIDI
PB-300 unit
accompaniment
Auto-

Prophet-600 synthesizer
T8
Prophet- synthesizer

National Museum of Nature and Science Technology Systematization Survey Report Vol.28 2019. June
TX816 Module
Sound
KX5 Keytar
QX1 Circuit
Sequential
Ensonic
Roland
Manufacturer
Yamaha
Casio
Korg
Akai
America
in
Developed
Japan sequencer
RX11 Machine
Rhythm

JUNO-106 synthesizer
MKB-1000 Controller
Keyboard
1984
MKS-80 Module
Sound
AXIS-1 Keytar
MSQ-700 sequencer
RK-100 Keytar
CZ-101 synthesizer
TRAK
SIX- synthesizer
KX88 Controller
Keyboard
MKS-7 Module
Sound
1985
S612 sampler
Mirage Keyboard
Sampler
FB-01 Module
Sound
MC-500 sequencer
1986
S900 sampler
ESQ-1 synthesizer
QX3 sequencer
RX7 Machine
Rhythm
1987 DMP7 Mixer
Digital
D-50 synthesizer
name
Product
MT-32 Module
Sound
 Recorder
Track
Multi-
Digital
Japan Machine
Rhythm

Package
DTM
1988
synthesizer
MUSIC!
HELLO!
Oriental
Pa700
AIR
microKEY
PC98ÿ
MPU-
kun
Musi-
5
DisCover
DAM-6400
SC-88Pro
Musiro
Edge
AX-
VM-7000
SC-8850
MC-909
VS-880
MC-303
UA-100
X-2000
AG-10
CM-64
MU128
MU100
SC-88
GMega
SC-55
TG100
LX-17
CG-8
Tyros
UM-1
MU50
MU80
QY10
E-20
C.24
mi.1
R-8
M1 synthesizer
Interface
MIDI
1989 Module
Sound
Package
DTM
1990 source
sound
with
Sequencer
Machine Translated by Google

Module
Sound
1991
Module
Sound
Package
DTM
Kawai Module
Sound
1992
Karaoke
Online
Karaoke
Online
1993 Module
Sound
Module
Sound
1994 Module
Sound
Karaoke
Online
1995 Module
Sound
AUDIO
2000
SC-8850
Musiro
JS-1
JOYSOUND
90
MUSIC!
HELLO! Package
DTM

source
sound
with
Sequencer
1996
Module
Sound

1997 Interface
MIDI
Audio/
USB
Japan Module
Sound
DTM/
Module
Sound
DTM/
1998

Interface
MIDI
Bluetooth
Japan Module
Sound
1999 Package
DTM
Mixer
Digital
Package
DTM
2000
Interface
MIDI
USB
synthesizer
2002
source
sound
with
Sequencer
2005
2003 synthesizer

Synthesizer
Video
Sound
Quicco
2014
Xing
Kosho
Daiichi
Roland
Taito
Yamaha
Korg
Miselu Keyboard
MIDI
Bluetooth
2018
2017
2016
2015 America
Japan Piano
Digital
Keyboard
MIDI
Bluetooth
synthesizer
Keytar

MIDI Technology Systematic Survey

71
72
Confirmation
Location
Document
History
Technology
Industrial
MIDI

number name publication

of
Year Manufacturer location selection
for
Reasons

to
possible
it
makes
convenience
Its
equipment.
video
of
control
karaoke,
online
computers,
on
production
music
as
such
fields,
many
in
used
manufacturers.
instrument
domestic
by
mainly
established
and
proposed
was
which
instruments,
musical
electronic
playing
devices
between
data
transferring
digitally
for
standard
common
a
is
It
Roland,
Korg,
Kawai,
Yamaha,
Business
Electronics
Musical
of
Association
Incorporated
General
organization]
[Management Tokyo
Ward,
Chiyoda
Misakicho,
Kanda
1 Specification
1.0
MIDI 1983
2-16-9
Circuit
Sequential
companies
five
between
discussions
through
established
Standards
done.
being
is
It
Machine Translated by Google

Synthesizer
Digital Manufacturing)
Instruments
Musical
(Nippon
Corporation
Yamaha Road
Innovation
Museum
Yamaha born.
was
MIDI
year
same
the
in
released
synthesizer
digital
fully
A
1983 City
Hamamatsu
Ward,
Naka
Nakazawacho,
10-1

DX7 boom.
synthesizer
a
sparked
synthesis"
"FM
by
produced
sounds
innovative
The

production.
music
for
specifically
designed
computer
A
Computer
Music Manufacturing)
Instruments
Musical
(Nippon
Corporation
Yamaha

1983 Corporation
Yamaha City
Hamamatsu
Ward,
Naka
Nakazawacho,
10-1 tools.
production
music
later
of
forerunner
ita
making
information,
MIDI
receive
and
send
interface
an
attach
to
possible
was
It
CX5

synthesizer Museum
Laboratory
Research
Hamamatsu
Roland
1983 Corporation
Roland 4141
Kiga
Hosoecho
Ward
Kita
City
Hamamatsu
JUPITER-6 Circuits
Sequential
States,
United
in
Show
NAMM
the
at
1983,
January

synthesizer Laboratory
Research
Hamamatsu
Roland
Prophet-600.
the
to
connected
when
communications
MIDI
in
tested
successfully
was
that
synthesizer
historic
A

1983 Corporation
Roland 4141
Kiga
Hosoecho
Ward
Kita
City
Hamamatsu
JX-3P Museum
Roland

National Museum of Nature and Science Technology Systematization Survey Report Vol.28 2019. June
TR-808,
the
predecessor,
its
with
Along
machine.
rhythm
compatible
MIDI-
first
world's
The
Machine
Rhythm Museum
Laboratory
Research
Hamamatsu
Roland
1983 Corporation
Roland 4141
Kiga
Hosoecho
Ward
Kita
City
Hamamatsu today.
artists
many
by
used
still
is
and
scene
music
of
formation
the
to
greatly
contributed
has
It
TR-909
is.

Interface
MIDI Museum
Laboratory
Research
Hamamatsu
Roland computers.
using
production
music
of
spread
the
to
contribution
major
a
making
instruments,
musical
electronic
and
computers
personal
available
commercially
between
communication
MIDI
enabled
that
unit
interface
An
1983 Corporation
Roland 4141
Kiga
Hosoecho
Ward
Kita
City
Hamamatsu
MPU-401

Sequencer
MIDI Manufacturing)
Instruments
Musical
(Nippon
Corporation
Yamaha Road
Innovation
Museum
Yamaha music.
perform
machines
rhythm
and
synthesizers
system
a
create
to
used
be
can
It
terminals.
output
MIDI
eight
with
sequencer
fledged
full-
A
1984 City
Hamamatsu
Ward,
Naka
Nakazawacho,
10-1

QX1

Synthesizer
Digital Museum
Laboratory
Research
Hamamatsu
Roland sounds.
innovative
its
for
popularity
gained
It
waveforms.
sampled
sounds
generated
digitally
layers
that
source"
sound
"LA
an
with
equipped
is
synthesizer
This
1987 Corporation
Roland 4141
Kiga
Hosoecho
Ward
Kita
City
Hamamatsu
D-50

Museum
Laboratory
Research
Hamamatsu
Roland
10 1988-2002 Corporation
Roland 4141
Kiga
Hosoecho
Ward
Kita
City
Hamamatsu computer.
on
for
necessary
software
and
equipment
the
package
is
It
users.
(DTM)
production
music
in
increase
sudden
a
to
led
has
product
this
of
arrival
The
product.
groundbreaking
A
System
Music
Desktop
ro
kun/
Musi-
Added.

device
one
just
music
create
to
possible
itmade
sequencer,
and
synthesizer
a
with
Equipped
Workstation
Music
11 1988 Inc.
KORG Headquarters
KORG City
Inagi
Yanokuchi,
4015-2 source
AI
the
from
sound
Realistic
keyboard.
Workstation
M1
popularity.
immense
gained
It

Sequencer
Handy Road
Innovation
Museum
Yamaha go.
the
on
music
composing
for
tool
as
support
widespread
gained
it
body,
compact
sequencer
track
8-
and
source
sound
in
built-
a
With
12 1990 Corporation
Yamaha City
Hamamatsu
Ward,
Naka
Nakazawacho,
10-1

QY10

Karaoke
Online introduced.
first
was
karaoke
online
year
same
the
in
appeared
that
product
historic
A
13 1992 Inc.
Xing Museum
Brother 5-15
Shioiricho
Ward
Mizuho
City
Nagoya
JS-1
JOYSOUND costs.
reducing
and
songs,
new
provide
takes
it
time
the
shortening
sales,
in
increase
an
to
greatly
contributed
has
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