From the course: Digital Audio Foundations
Join today to access over 22,500 courses taught by industry experts or purchase this course individually.
How MIDI is communicated
- If you plan to use MIDI to capture musical performances using a MIDI controller, you'll want to be familiar with the signal flow of MIDI data to avoid issues like double-triggered notes. Let's start with the basics. Compared to modern, high bandwidth connections, like USB 3, that can transmit millions of numbers in fractions of a second, MIDI is a low bandwidth connection that carries only a few thousand numbers per second. A standard MIDI cable has five pins, each of which connects to a wire inside the cable, and an outer, circular piece, which connects to the cable's shield. This was a common type of connector when MIDI was invented, but it's fairly rare now. Each MIDI cable only carries a signal in one direction. I like to think about it like plumbing. The MIDI data flows out of the MIDI out port on one device, and in to the MIDI in port on another device. Now, a MIDI controller doesn't actually make sound. Instead, it transmits MIDI instructions through its MIDI out port along…
Download courses and learn on the go
Watch courses on your mobile device without an internet connection. Download courses using your iOS or Android LinkedIn Learning app.