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MIDI
What is MIDI?
MIDI
What is MIDI?
Here is a brief overview of MIDI, as related to the Pa300. If inter-
ested, you may find more information on the general use of
MIDI in the various specialized magazines and dedicated books.
In general
MIDI stands for Musical Instruments Digital Interface. This pro-
tocol lets you connect two musical instruments, or a computer
and various musical instruments.
From a software point of view, MIDI is a protocol that describes
messages for playing notes and controlling them. It is sort of a
grammar to let different instruments and computers speak the
same language, and let the one tell the other what to do.
From a physical point of view, MIDI messages travel across the
USB Device port, a modern connector replacing the MIDI ports
found in older musical instruments with a single port and cable.
To use it for MIDI connection, it is advisable to install the KORG
USB-MIDI Driver supplied in the Accessory Disc, or download-
able from our web site (www.korg.com).
Channels and messages
Basically, an USB cable transmits 16 channels of MIDI data.
Think to each MIDI channel as a TV channel: the receiver must
be set on the same channel of the transmitter. The same happens
with MIDI messages: when you send a Note On message on
channel 1, it will be received on channel 1 only. This allows for
multitimbricity: you can have more than one sound playing on
the same MIDI instrument.
There are various messages, but here are the most commonly
used:
Note On – This message instructs an instrument to play a note
on a specific channel. Notes have both a name (C4 standing for
the center C) and a number (60 being the equivalent for C4). A
Note Off message is often used to say the note has been released.
In some case, a Note On with value "0" is used instead.
Together with the Note On message, a Velocity value is always
sent. This value tells the instrument how loud the note must play.
Pitch Bend (PB) – You can generate this message acting on the
joystick (X direction). The pitch is translated up or down.
Program Change (PC) – When you select a Sound, a Program
Change message is generated on the channel. Use this message,
together with Control Change 00 and 32, to remotely select
Pa300 data from a sequencer or a master keyboard.
Control Change (CC) – This is a wide array of messages, con-
trolling most of the instrument parameters. Some examples:
•
CC00, or Bank Select MSB, and CC32, or Bank Select LSB.
This message pair is used to select a Sound Bank. Together
with the Program Change message, they are used to select a
Sound.
•
CC01, or Modulation. This is the equivalent of pressing up
the joystick. A vibrato effect is usually triggered on.
•
CC07, or Master Volume. Use this controller to set the
channel's volume.
•
CC10, or Pan. This one sets the channel's position on the
stereo front.
•
CC11, or Expression. Use this controller to set the relative
volume of tracks, with the maximum value matching the
current setting of the CC07 control.
•
CC64, or Damper Pedal. Use this controller to simulate the
Damper pedal.
Tempo
Tempo is a global MIDI message, that is not tied to a particular
channel. Each Song includes Tempo data.
Lyrics
Lyrics are non-standard MIDI events, intended to display text
together with the music. Pa300 can read many of the available
Lyrics format on the market.
MIDI and personal computers
Most Pa300 MIDI features can be used on a Windows or Mac
computer with no need of special software. However, for full and
easy use of all MIDI features, we suggest that you to install the
"KORG USB MIDI Driver", a special software that you can find
in the Accessory Disc that comes with your Pa300, or download
from our web site (www.korg.com). Relevant instructions come
with the software itself. See "Installing the Korg USB MIDI Driv-
er" on page 362.
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