My son is taking piano lessons. He’s getting good – very fast. It seems like he’s taking much less time to move much farther along the musical “talent” scale than I did when I was his age. It almost seems like it comes more naturally to him and with less effort.

Perhaps that’s true. Or maybe that’s just my perception. I have a lot of memories of my childhood lessons. I spent many years behind the piano listening to that old metronome go “click… clock… click… clock” while trying to play slow enough to keep time with it. All the while wondering when that timer in the kitchen would chirp signaling that my practice time was over. Practicing was hard. The benefits (as a child) are few and far between.

Having grown up and now seeing my son sit there, playing through some of the same songs I learned as a child, I have a better understanding of why all that time and money had to be invested in the process. It’s an investment. Investments aren’t made for their immediate rewards. Investments are for the future.

Music was a tool, a skill, given to me by my parents. A tool that has proven to be very valuable in my life as an adult. And I am passing that tool on to my children.

The difference? When I was a child, I couldn’t see past the plastic black and white keys in front of me. Computers weren’t in every home yet. Keyboards were astronomical in price. And it was just too difficult to overcome those hurdles. My son however, even before starting lessons had already entered the realm of digital music and production. He knows about sampling and looping sounds to make cool rhythms. He knows about non-destructive editing. In fact, he can’t imagine a time when you had to get the song correct all the way through on a recording because you couldn’t go back and edit. This is a new generation. And I expect much bigger and greater things from my children than was even thought of in my generation.

Recently my wife inherited the old wooden metronome she grew up playing with. The pendulum swings back and forth to whatever speed you position the weight to.  To be honest, I am somewhat surprised to see my son’s interest in this old technology. We have available electronic metronomes, CD Metronomes, Progressive Metronomes, computer metronomes,  iPhone click tracks, Windows Mobile metronomes, and that’s just the start. But he is content, and I think even enjoys, reaching up to start that simple machine clicking away. Then he starts in playing and I’m amazed every time.

Funny the things we enjoy.

M.I.D.I. – Musical Instrument Digital Interface

Basically, MIDI is a computer language used in networking two or more devices together. The specific devices we are most often referring to when discussing MIDI are musical computers, like synthesizers or signal processors. Essentially this means that you can hook up two musical devices and have them “communicate” with each other.

Some Basic Concepts

You don’t need to understand nuclear fusion to get a grasp on this MIDI stuff, there are just a few basic concepts you have to know.

1. MIDI information IS NOT audio information. This is a hang up for many people who are just starting out in the music and audio arena. MIDI is merely a set of numerical instructions that are sent and received between the devices. The musical devices then translate this data into meaningful commands. So when a MIDI command is sent from one device to another, the signal is telling the second device which notes to play, how long to hold them, which sounds to use… etc.

2. You need to understand how the flow of MIDI information works. MIDI data is sent out of the “OUT” port, MIDI data is received at the “IN” port. So for example if you want to send a MIDI data from a sequencer to a synthesizer the cables would connect on the OUT of the sequencer (because info is coming out) to the IN of the synthesizer (because the synth is receiving info). This can be confusing at first because the temptation is to plug the IN of one machine directly into the IN of another. But if you do that, you are not going to get any sound…. Ever.

3. Channels – MIDI data transmits on 16 different channels. This allows for 16 different sets of MIDI data to be sent at once, which means a sequencer could control up to 16 different instruments at one time. Typically each instrument would be sent separately on a different channel. For example, drum track information is usually sent on channel 10 and so would play back on channel 10, Bass guitar sounds are usually on channel 2, synth on 4 and so on. You just have to make sure that the synthesizer that is receiving the channels has the correct sound selected for that channel.

Because MIDI does not carry with it the actual audio sound data, but just the note commands, midi files are extremely light and compact. A large number of songs can take up a relatively small amount of space on a disk or hard drive. This reason, along with it’s versatility makes MIDI an ideal language for almost any musician, and especially those who are on the road for performances or deal in large volumes of music.

 

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More to come…  But watch this little video to get a little taste of what MIDI can do.