Midi Booklet

Midi is a great invention that has shaped the music industry indefinitely. It is probably used in nearly
every modern studio and production in some shape or form. In some scenarios such as house and
other EDM styles, midi could be the only thing that shapes the whole song. However, before we talk
anymore about midi, it is essential that we know what midi is. Midi is an abbreviation for Musical
Instrument Digital Interface. Midi data is musical notes that you can create through the use of a Midi
Keyboard, or drawing in the piano roll. A Midi keyboard is a normal keyboard (normally with a few
nobs, faders, and drum pads), that can link to your computer through a USB connection. Rather than
getting the sound directly from the keyboard itself, the notes you play go into Logic, and then play
through the software instrument that you have set to that channel. The sound of that instrument then
comes through the speakers or headphones. You can record, draw, and edit, Midi in almost anyway
thinkable. Each note can have a different velocity, length, volume, or a pitch bend, just to name a few.
However, it is sometimes hard to perfectly record Midi, even with a metronome enabled. If there are
any notes that aren't accurate, you can quantize them, which would automatically snap them to the
grid in the piano roll. Alternatively, you can
manually edit them, which I prefer because
quantizing sometimes drastically changes
the data. A benefit to midi is anyone can
use it, and allows you to play any software
instrument. If you aren't gifted at the
keyboard, like myself, or you don't have
access to a midi keyboard, you can draw
the notes in the piano roll, which I prefer. I
tend to record from a Midi keyboard to get
my ideas down, or establish a blueprint,
and then I redraw all of the notes more
accurately.
There is an array of Midi hardware available. As previously mentioned, there are midi keyboards, but
you can also get drum machines and midi guitars to just name a few. These are beneficial because
they give the producer a real feel to the instruments. Drum pads allow you to have that drumming feel
with you fingers, likewise to the
strumming feeling of the midi
guitar. However, if you weren't
bothered, you could get a midi
keyboard that is capable of
executing any software instrument
you throw at it. Some midi
keyboards, like the one above,
have built in drum pads that
combine the best of both worlds.
Going further into the Maschine MK 2 (drum machine) the possibility in what you can do with it are
nearly endless. All on the hardware, you are able to edit samples. You can change the length, bpm,
and pitch to name a few. You can then assign that to one of the eight drum banks. This optimizes live
and studio performances. You can also cut and paste different audio files together to create a new
sound completely, which is good for kicks and snares.

Moving onto the Axiom Air 25, and other midi keyboards, you are able to control nearly every part of
software. Obviously you have access to the full octave keyboard controlling any software instrument.
As you can see there is an integrated drum pad, which can be used to control drum kits, or other
software instruments as well if you wanted to. There is pitch bend which can be triggered by moving
the left wheel up or down. This sends a message to
the frequencies of the notes to be slightly shifted up or
down, without changing the frequency enough to be
considered the next note. The knobs on keyboard can
be temporarily mapped synthesizers. For example, in
my first track, I assigned the bass cutoff to knob 1. This
way, when I was playing the melody, I was able to
adjust the cutoff of the bass, adding a nice build effect
before the drop. Some keyboards have faders on them, which is good because it can aid you in your
mixing by having hardware and being able to change more than one channel at once. If you run out of
knobs, you can always map the modulation wheel as well to do the same effect.
In order for midi keyboards to work smoothly and to their full potential, they need to send many
messages. Some of these messages are:
Notes each note has a different frequency, so it is important that each key that is played is
true to the real note from a real instrument. It would be no good playing C and a G being
played.
Velocity how hard a notes is being played. You are able to have a note being played at a
soft/low velocity, or hard/high velocity. This provides a slightly different timbre. This makes this
more realistic.
Note length how long you hold the note for needs to be presented with midi. If you play for a
bar, you need to have the midi presented as a bar. It would be no good having a fixed length
for the midi as that isn't realistic.
Note on off the keyboard needs to know when the note is released and pressed.
Aftertouch is similar to a sustain pedal. This only works with semi-weighted keys. Once the
initial velocity is pressed, you can then press harder, lengthening the note.
Software instrument as mentioned previously, the keyboard needs to know what software
instrument is being equipped to the channel. It would be no good having strings play when you
wanted to be using a future bass. This can be clarified in the DAW by record enabling the
channel that you want to be playing in.
Modulation the changing of a note
Mapping temporarily assign parts of hardware to change the software.
As you can see, my melody has a range of
different note lengths, all at one strong
velocity. This ties in with the messages sent
from the midi keyboard.
Below, we can see the different velocities of
the high hats. This was because at a high
velocity, the open high hat was too harsh.
Hence the lower velocity, as shown by the
light green.

I have already mentioned the importance of midi to the industry, but I predict it will be just as
important in the years to come, if not more important. Technology is constantly progressing, so I
wouldn't be surprised if there is more midi capability, availability, and importance.
Midi is my favorite way to produce because of the flexibility and capability. As mentioned, you can
change the velocity, length, pitch, and pattern, just to name a few. Additionally, you have access to
unlimited software instruments, so you are able to compose anything that you can think of, from
orchestral music to house.
With the use of instruments however, it can be a good idea to warm up, especially if you plan on
producing for a long time. By doing simple exercises and brainstorming, it will help to get your brain in
gear, as well as loosening your muscles so you don't pull or strain anything. It is also a good idea to
take a break to rest your brain and muscles, allowing you to keep on top of your quality control, and
prevents strain.