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Emax II operation manual
224
How does MIDI differentiate between different MIDI instruments on
the same bus?
MIDI provides 16 independent channels of information suitable for driving up to 16
polyphonic synthesizers or other MIDI devices. There are three modes that determine
how each MIDI instrument responds to these channels.
In
Omni
mode, the Emax II (or any other MIDI keyboard) listens to all channels at once.
No matter how many notes from how many sources make it through the MIDI bus into
the instrument, when in Omni mode it will attempt to play all of them.
In
Poly
mode, the instrument can “tune in” to one MIDI channel — just like you can tune
in one channel of your television.
Mono
mode is considered a “multi-timbral” mode. In mono mode,
each
individual
analog synthesizer voice can be driven by one specific MIDI channel of information to
play a certain melodic line. Each voice can also have its own “patch” (program), so an
analog synthesizer capable of MIDI Mono mode can therefore produce multiple timbres
simultaneously. Since the Emax II does not have an equivalent to the analog synthesizer
voice, Mono mode is technically not supported by the Emax II. However, in the Emax
II Super Mode, each preset can be assigned to receive information through a separate
MIDI channel, which provides Mono-like operation but unlike traditional MIDI Mono
operation, each preset can respond polyphonically. Of course, you still cannot play more
than sixteen notes on the Emax II regardless of what MIDI mode you select.
16 channels, huh? Sounds like a lot of patch cords to me!
MIDI information is transmitted
serially
, which means that all data is sent in sequence.
As a result, a single line can carry the MIDI information for all 16 channels, with each
instrument monitoring all the words that pass over the MIDI interface but responding
only to the data on its particular channel. Typically, MIDI instruments include a MIDI
IN, MIDI OUT, and MIDI THRU jack. The instrument receives data over the MIDI IN
jack and transmits data over the MIDI OUT jack; the MIDI THRU jack provides a replica
of the signal at the MIDI IN jack. Therefore, if you want to slave three keyboards to a
master keyboard, you would patch the MIDI OUT from the master keyboard to the MIDI
IN of the first slave, patch MIDI THRU from the first slave to the MIDI IN of the second
slave, and connect MIDI THRU from the second slave to MIDI IN of the third slave. Note
that the Emax II provides two jacks, MIDI IN and another jack which is software-
selectable to provide either the MIDI THRU or MIDI OUT function.
What kind of words does the MIDI language include?
Spoken language is a collection of words that convey a particular set of meanings,
hopefully understood by all those who speak the language. As soon as we start talking
about a musical language, the first question is: What concepts do we want this language
to define? Since musical instruments will be doing the talking, the language should
consist of musical terms—pitch, tempo, and so on. In fact, let’s set up a practical example
and see what words our language would need.
MIDI SUPPLEMENT
MIDI Q & A
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