This tutorial is written, narrated, and even animated (!) by veteran composer, keyboardist and synthesist Peter "Ski" Schwartz. Designed to "demystify" MIDI in an entertaining yet incredibly informative way, this 4-hour magnum-opus of MIDI will show you everything you've ever wanted to know about MIDI in your studio.
"MIDI Demystified" starts out with a detailed historical vignette taking MIDI from its humble beginnings through to its current state-of-the-art technology. Peter then investigates, explains and provides solutions to the many different MIDI situations that all musicians encounter in both live performance & in a studio setting.
Featuring dozens of animated MIDI signal-flow diagrams, live action footage, and beautiful images of the latest MIDI gear along with vintage MIDI devices, Peter explains the potentially dry subject of MIDI in a way that makes the learning process accessible and fun!
MIDI 101: MIDI Demystified is filled with all kinds of unexpected and informative surprises, and plenty of musical examples in a wide variety of styles. MIDI 101 teaches you everything there is to know about MIDI while keeping you entertained in the process!
So join Peter “Ski” Schwartz on his incredibly fun filled romp through the amazing, musically microscopic and meaningful world of MIDI.
1. Welcome
2. Somewhere in MIDI-eval Europe… (a short film)
3. Controllers, Sound Modules, Plugins, and other MIDI Instruments
4. An Overview of MIDI Messages, and Perspectives on What MIDI is
5. MIDI Connectors and Connections
6. MIDI In, Out, and Thru
7. The Golden Rule of Signal Flow
8. MIDI Thru, in Detail
9. Thru Boxes and Daisy-Chains
10. MIDI Channels & Channel Voice Messages Primer
11. Transmit and Receive Channels, and Applications Part 1
12. Transmit and Receive Channels, and Applications Part 2
13. Omni Mode
14. The Serial Nature of MIDI Messages
15. The Message Structure of Channel Voice Messages
16. Note On and Note Off Message Structure, Note Off Variations
17. MIDI Note Numbers
18. Note Off Handling in Percussion Controllers
19. Basic Concepts (or, "A Guide to Making Music Using Carpenter's Tools")
20. Comparison of Mono & Poly Aftertouch-based Effects
21. Aftertouch: MIDI Message Structure (Mono and Poly)
22. Applications for Program Change Messages
23. Program Change: Message Structure, and, the Dangers of Using Program Change Messages
24. Pitch Bender Message Basics
25. Pitch Bend MSB and LSB
26. Adjusting the Pitch Bend Range
27. Introduction to Control Change Messages
28. Message Structure, Continuous and Switch Controllers
29. Controller Default Values and Compatibility
30. Perspectives on Control Change Message Function
31. CC's 7, 10, and 11
32. CC's 0, 32, and 74
33. The Meaning of Multi-Timbral, and, Sequencing with a Multi-Timbral Sound Module
34. Multi-Timbral Plugins
35. When and Why You'd Need One
36. Connecting and Using USB Devices
37. Comparing MIDI and MIDI-over-USB
38. How Mergers Work
39. Sequencing Using a DAW and a Multi-Timbral Sound Module and the Concept of Channelizing
40. "The Mind of MIDI" -- Thinking Through a More Complex Sequencing Setup
41. The Local Control
42. Bringing it All Together: Combining MIDI Concepts aand Overcoming the 16 Channel Limitation
43. Basic Concepts
44. Master and Slave Devices
45. Scenarios: Deciding on Which Device to use as the Master
46. MIDI Clock in Detail
47. MIDI Time Code (MTC)
48. Sysex Primer and Bulk Dumps
49. Recording Sysex Data (and why you'd want to do that)
50. Recording Sysex Data, Part 2 (Sound Parameter Changes)
51. Annoying Blinking LED's
52. All About Binary Numbers and Why We Have Only 128 Values in MIDI
53. Hexa-whatimal?
54. The Importance of Reading MIDI Implementation Charts (and how to read them)
