What is MIDI? MIDI stands for "Musical
Instrument Digital Interface" and allows digital messages to be sent to
and from your computer to MIDI compatible musical instruments -- typically
electronic keyboards and synthesizers. Basically, it's music that is
in digital format, and that means that it can have all kinds of neat
things done to it!!!
One of the amazing things about MIDI files is that
they contain digital INFORMATION or DATA, not actual audio sounds. This
information can be converted into sound through the synthesizer of your
computer or keyboard synthesizer. Or the information can be
converted into PRINTED musical notation. So each of these MIDI files
contains not only what you "hear" when you click on it to "play" it, but
what you could potentially "bring up" and "print" if you have the right
notation software! So, you see, a MIDI file contains a LOT of
different types of information, not just the sounds the music makes. For
that reason, a MIDI file can have tremendous educational value in terms of
musical analysis. Now THAT's pretty nifty!
I am sure that there are literally thousands of MIDI
files on the Internet for you to explore. Some fun ones to listen to have all types of instruments playing along: drums,
violins, trumpets, harp, on and on. Of course, the instruments
playing should be appropriate for the particular song being performed!
I have included a variety of MIDI files here, both keyboard and other
instruments.
What does MIDI have to do with the piano?
If you haven't noticed, there is a proliferation of MIDI keyboards on
the market with anywhere from 25 keys and up. Some of these
instruments do not even have full-sized keys! You will note that the
name of this studio is "88 Keys Piano Studio." This is to draw
attention to the fact that the grand piano has 88 black and white keys on
it.
There are those who will always argue, and with good
cause, that a MIDI keyboard could NEVER replace a grand piano, no matter
how well the MIDI keyboard has sampled the grand piano sound itself, and
no matter how well it has weighted keys to mimic the feel of the grand
piano hammer action. But technology, on the other hand, can do
things that the grand piano cannot do, and that's where the digital
representation of information comes into play that I mention above.
The digital information retained about each and every note that was played
can be manipulated and transmitted in ways through MIDI that the analog
sound waves of the regular sound recording cannot. That gets us into
music notation, music parts, score writing, sequencing, etc. that, with
the appropriate software, is afforded as a direct result of MIDI, but not
as a direct product of the analog recording process.
You're learning to play the piano, but all around
you are MIDI keyboards, and they are NOT going to go away! If
anything, they will probably continue to multiply and get more complex!
But that means that they will get more FUN to play and tinker around with!
So what you are learning on piano is a GOLDMINE for you to use on all
these MIDI keyboards!!! You're going to be the life of the party one
day!!! Now THAT's motivation to practice!!!
