MIDI controller
Encyclopedia
MIDI controller is used in two senses.
Modifiers such as modulation wheels, pitch bend wheels, sustain pedals, pitch sliders, buttons, knobs, faders, switches, ribbon controllers, etc., alter an instrument's state of operation, and thus can be used to modify sounds or other parameters of music performance in real time via MIDI connections. The 128 virtual MIDI controllers and their electronic messages connect the actual buttons, knobs, wheels, sliders, etc. with their intended actions within the receiving device.
Some controllers, such as pitch bend, are special. Whereas the data range of most continuous controllers (such as volume, for example) consists of 128 steps ranging in value from 0 to 127, pitch bend data may be encoded with over 16,000 data steps. This produces the illusion of a continuously sliding pitch, as in a violin's portamento, rather than a series of zippered steps such as a guitarist sliding their finger up the frets of their guitar's neck. Thus, the pitch wheel on a MIDI keyboard may generate large amounts of data which can lead to a slowdown of data throughput.
The original MIDI spec included 128 virtual controller numbers for real time modifications to live instruments or their audio. MIDI Show Control
(MSC) and MIDI Machine Control (MMC) are two separate extensions of the original MIDI spec, expanding MIDI protocol to accept far more than its original intentions.
or other software sound generator. Many have several user-definable knobs and slide controls which can control aspects of a synthesizer's sound in real-time. Such controllers are much cheaper than a full synthesizer, and are increasingly equipped with Universal Serial Bus
, which allows connection to a computer without a MIDI interface. Despite not using MIDI directly, software applications recognize such controllers as a MIDI device. In most cases, a USB-equipped controller can draw necessary power from the interface's 5v line, and does not require an A/C adapter when connected to a computer. Keyboards range in size from 88 weighted-action keys to portable 25-key models. Controllers, such as Audiocubes
, can be used for performance applications (by a trained pianist, for example) or by a DJ to trigger sound samples and rhythm loops.
Drums systems are also commonly used, especially dedicated drum pads. Many drum setups are paired with a sound generator from the same manufacturer, but often have a MIDI output in addition. Such systems allow a drummer to practice quietly (through headphones) and to record drum tracks without a studio, expensive microphones, etc. Also, the pads can control any sort of percussion instrument sample, providing the drummer with a greatly increased sound palette.
- In one sense, a controller is hardware or software which generates and transmits MIDI data to MIDI-enabled devices.
- In the other more technical sense, a MIDI controller is an abstraction of the hardware used to control a performance, but which is not directly related to note-on/note-off events. A slider assigned to open and close a low-pass filter on a synthesizer may be assigned to controller 18, for example. Changes in the position of the slider are transmitted along with "18" so that they are distinguished from changes in the value of other controllers.
Types (hardware and software)
The following are classes of MIDI controller:- The human interface component of a traditional instrument redesigned as a MIDI control device. The most common type of device in this class is the keyboard controller. Such a device provides a musical keyboardMusical keyboardA musical keyboard is the set of adjacent depressible levers or keys on a musical instrument, particularly the piano. Keyboards typically contain keys for playing the twelve notes of the Western musical scale, with a combination of larger, longer keys and smaller, shorter keys that repeats at the...
and perhaps other actuators (pitch bend and modulation wheels, for example) but produces no sound on its own. It is intended only to drive other MIDI devices. Percussion controllers such as the Roland OctapadRoland Octapadrolando sir is a range of MIDI percussion controllers produced by the Roland Corporation.-Roland Pad-8:The first model, introduced in 1985, was the Pad-8. It was a very important device at that time, allowing drummers and percussionists the opportunity to trigger virtually any MIDI sound source...
fall into this class, as do a variety of wind controllers and guitar-like controllers such as the SynthAxeSynthAxeThe SynthAxe is a fretted, guitar-like MIDI controller, created by Bill Aitken, Mike Dixon, and Tony Sedivy and manufactured in England in the middle to late 1980s. It is a musical instrument that uses electronic synthesizers to produce sound and is controlled through the use of an arm resembling...
.
- Electronic musical instrumentElectronic musical instrumentAn electronic musical instrument is a musical instrument that produces its sounds using electronics. Such an instrument sounds by outputting an electrical audio signal that ultimately drives a loudspeaker....
s, including synthesizerSynthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
s, samplerSampler (musical instrument)A sampler is an electronic musical instrument similar in some respects to a synthesizer but, instead of generating sounds, it uses recordings of sounds that are loaded or recorded into it by the user and then played back by means of a keyboard, sequencer or other triggering device to perform or...
s, drum machineDrum machineA drum machine is an electronic musical instrument designed to imitate the sound of drums or other percussion instruments. They are used in a variety of musical genres, not just purely electronic music...
s, and electronic drumElectronic drumAn electronic drum is an electronic synthesizer which mimics an acoustic drum kit.The electronic drum usually consists of a set of pads mounted on a stand in a disposition similar to an acoustic drum kit. The pads are discs with a rubber or cloth-like coating. Each pad has a sensor which generates...
s, which are used to perform music in real time and are inherently able to transmit a MIDI data stream of the performance.
- Pitch-to-MIDI converters including guitar/synthesizerGuitar/synthesizerA guitar synthesizer is any one of a number of musical instrument systems that allow a guitar player to play synthesizer sound. While the term "MIDI guitar" is often used as a synonym for the field of guitar/synthesis or for a guitar/synthesizer, MIDI is not always used...
s analyze a pitch and convert it into a MIDI signal. There are several devices which do this for the human voice and for monophonic instruments such as flutes, for example.
- Traditional instruments such as drumDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
s, acoustic pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
s, and accordionAccordionThe accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
s which are outfitted with sensors and a computer processor which accepts input from the sensors and transmits real-time performance information as MIDI data. The performance information (e.g., on which notes or drums are struck, and how hard) is then sent to a module or computer which converts the data into sounds (e.g., samples or synthesized sounds).
- SequencerMusic sequencerThe music sequencer is a device or computer software to record, edit, play back the music, by handling note and performance information in several forms, typically :...
s, which store and retrieve MIDI data and send the data to MIDI enabled instruments in order to reproduce a performance.
- MIDI Machine ControlMIDI Machine ControlMIDI Machine Control, or MMC, a subset of the MIDI specification, provides specific commands for controlling recording equipment such as multi-track recorders....
(MMC) devices such as recording equipment, which transmit messages to aid in the synchronization of MIDI-enabled devices. For example, a recorder may have a feature to index a recording by measure and beat. The sequencer that it controls would stay synchronized with it as the recorder's transport controls are pushed and corresponding MIDI messages transmitted.
- MIDI Show ControlMIDI Show ControlMIDI Show Control, or MSC, is a significant Real Time System Exclusive extension of the international Musical Instrument Digital Interface standard...
(MSC) devices such as show controllers, which transmit messages to aid in the operation and cueing of live theatrical and themed entertainment productions. For example, a variety of show controlShow controlShow control is the use of automation technology to link together and operate multiple entertainment control systems in a coordinated manner. It is distinguished from entertainment control , which coordinates elements within a single entertainment discipline such as lighting, sound, video, rigging...
sub systems such as sound consoles, sound playback controllers, virtual audio matrices and switchers, video playback systems, rigging controllers, pyro and lighting control systems directly respond to MSC commands. However, most standalone generic MSC controllers are intended to actuate a generic computerised show control system which has been carefully programmed to produce the complex desired results that the show demands at each moment of the production. - MIDI Musical Instrument Digital Interface allows a variety of musical instruments to interact with the PC in a digital environment for recording or performance.
Use in a data stream
- See also: General MIDI: Controller events
Modifiers such as modulation wheels, pitch bend wheels, sustain pedals, pitch sliders, buttons, knobs, faders, switches, ribbon controllers, etc., alter an instrument's state of operation, and thus can be used to modify sounds or other parameters of music performance in real time via MIDI connections. The 128 virtual MIDI controllers and their electronic messages connect the actual buttons, knobs, wheels, sliders, etc. with their intended actions within the receiving device.
Some controllers, such as pitch bend, are special. Whereas the data range of most continuous controllers (such as volume, for example) consists of 128 steps ranging in value from 0 to 127, pitch bend data may be encoded with over 16,000 data steps. This produces the illusion of a continuously sliding pitch, as in a violin's portamento, rather than a series of zippered steps such as a guitarist sliding their finger up the frets of their guitar's neck. Thus, the pitch wheel on a MIDI keyboard may generate large amounts of data which can lead to a slowdown of data throughput.
The original MIDI spec included 128 virtual controller numbers for real time modifications to live instruments or their audio. MIDI Show Control
MIDI Show Control
MIDI Show Control, or MSC, is a significant Real Time System Exclusive extension of the international Musical Instrument Digital Interface standard...
(MSC) and MIDI Machine Control (MMC) are two separate extensions of the original MIDI spec, expanding MIDI protocol to accept far more than its original intentions.
Common products
The most common MIDI controllers encountered are various sizes of "piano" keyboard. A modern controller lacks internal sound-generation, instead acting as a primary or secondary input for a synthesizer, digital sampler or a computer running a VST instrumentVirtual Studio Technology
Steinberg's Virtual Studio Technology is an interface for integrating software audio synthesizer and effect plugins with audio editors and hard-disk recording systems. VST and similar technologies use digital signal processing to simulate traditional recording studio hardware with software...
or other software sound generator. Many have several user-definable knobs and slide controls which can control aspects of a synthesizer's sound in real-time. Such controllers are much cheaper than a full synthesizer, and are increasingly equipped with Universal Serial Bus
Universal Serial Bus
USB is an industry standard developed in the mid-1990s that defines the cables, connectors and protocols used in a bus for connection, communication and power supply between computers and electronic devices....
, which allows connection to a computer without a MIDI interface. Despite not using MIDI directly, software applications recognize such controllers as a MIDI device. In most cases, a USB-equipped controller can draw necessary power from the interface's 5v line, and does not require an A/C adapter when connected to a computer. Keyboards range in size from 88 weighted-action keys to portable 25-key models. Controllers, such as Audiocubes
Audiocubes
The AudioCubes are a collection of wireless intelligent light emitting objects, capable of detecting each other's location and orientation, and user gestures, and were created by Bert Schiettecatte...
, can be used for performance applications (by a trained pianist, for example) or by a DJ to trigger sound samples and rhythm loops.
Drums systems are also commonly used, especially dedicated drum pads. Many drum setups are paired with a sound generator from the same manufacturer, but often have a MIDI output in addition. Such systems allow a drummer to practice quietly (through headphones) and to record drum tracks without a studio, expensive microphones, etc. Also, the pads can control any sort of percussion instrument sample, providing the drummer with a greatly increased sound palette.
External links
- MIDI Continuous Controllers
- MIDI Controllers are used by professional producers and disc jockeys
- Sweetwater Sound. “MIDI Controllers: Buying Guide.”
- Menzies-Gow, Dylan. “The CyberWhistle and O-Bow: Minimalist controllers inspired by traditional instruments.” eContact! 12.3 — Instrument—Interface (June 2010). Montréal: CECCanadian Electroacoustic CommunityFounded in 1986, La Communauté électroacoustique canadienne / The Canadian Electroacoustic Community is Canada’s national electroacoustic / computer music / sonic arts organization and as such is dedicated to promoting this progressive art form in its broadest definition: from “pure” acousmatic...
.