MIDI data protocol was invented by synthesizer manufactures in the early ’80s to create an industry standard that would allow multiple brands to be used in the same musicians’ setup, since the keyboard portion of a synthesizer could communicate with another brand’s sound module.
As a result, MIDI controllers have been steadily rising in popularity and are a prized piece of gear for beat makers from the hip-hop and electronic world, as well as across a host of other genres.Īs mentioned in our MIDI recording post, MIDI controllers don’t produce musical sounds, but rather trigger bits of MIDI data from the output of the controller to either a computer using a DAW (digital audio workstation), soft synth (software based synthesizer), or analog synthesizer module. Artists – including Foster the People, Passion Pit, and Capital Cities – have integrated samplers, triggered sound sources, and MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) control surfaces into their live shows.
The technical elements of a live performance have changed dramatically over the last two decades. MIDI controllers have been steadily rising in popularity and are a prized piece of gear for beat makers from the hip-hop and electronic world, as well as across a host of other genres.
