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questions

ummm... whats MIDI? whats the different channels for? how do u make volume fade? thanks

Re: questions

Reply #1 –
(1) MIDI is a means of controlling electronic instruments. It is a set of digital instructions that tell the instrument(s) what notes to play, when to play them, how loud, etc.

When a MIDI file is opened by a program such as Windows media Player or QuickTime, the computer uses a digital sound database to "play" the MIDI instructions. Noteworthy Composer will guess which sheet music notes correspond to the digital instructions (it can only be a best guess, since MIDI and sheet music are not the same).

(2) The MIDI channels usually correspond to different instruments. That is why different channels of MIDI are usually shown as different staves (staffs) in sheet music. In live electronic music (live band using electronic instruments), the instruments all get their instructions sent serially over cables. Different instruments respond to different channels, even though every instrument can see the instructions from all channels. Since the instructions are sent serially, rather than in parallel, MIDI cannot sent simultaneous instructions to different channels. However, the instructions can be sent rapidly, so if there are not too many instruments and the changes are not too rapid, you won't hear the delay.

(3) In NWC, changes in volume can be made globally (applies to entire staff, or channel), or locally (increase or decrease). Local changes can be made using "dynamics," more finely specified using the "multipoint controllers," or (in NWC2 only) using crescendo and decrescendo hairpins.

(4) You can learn more about MIDI via search engine.
 

Re: questions

Reply #2 –
...and it stands for Musical Instrument Digital Interface, so don't ever write/say "MIDI interface," unless it shows up as a question on the SAT test...