Chapter 16 MIDI - Posted on 2014-03-23 by Amanda Payne

Although MIDI stands for Musical Instrument Digital Interface, it does not contain any audio. MIDI is all the information about the notes including length, velocity, and pitch name, just not the actual sound. When using a MIDI track in Pro Tools, it is important to create either an audio or instrument track depending on your situation. In most cases you will have to use a plugin such as the pre-programmed Boom or xpand and set the MIDI output to be send through the specified plugin.

I created a song primarily made up of MIDI components. I felt using xpand was my plugin of choice since I am currently limited to my selections. When it came to using a MIDI controller of some type, I found I needed to download a specific driver in order to use my Yamaha keyboard in order to trigger notes rather than click or use my laptop keys. This allowed so much more control over the true musical aspect and sonic characteristic of my song. Quantization helps keep all of my triggered notes in time while having some options (swing, randomization etc.) to keep it from sounding robotic and too fake.

I really feel MIDI is something I will be using in abundance in my future. It is much cheaper than not only buying each individual instrument wanted for a song, but also cheaper in mic purchases and cables while trying to get the sounds into the system. I am looking forward to creating more music with MIDI and seeing how this can make me grow as a student and musician.