A year ago, we wrote that at the NAMM in 2019, the MIDI Manufacturers Association (MMA) announced that it was working on a prototype of the MIDI 2.0 standard. Now, 35 years after the MIDI 1.0 standard was approved, instrument manufacturers unanimously voted to adopt the new MIDI 2.0 specification.
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Ordinary PC users knew MIDI thanks to old computer games that used this music format to save storage space. MIDI files, unlike formats like MP3, do not contain the actual recording of music: a file is just a sequence of notes with some data for synthesizing melodies (something like notes for a computer). As a result, MIDI files are very small, but at the same time, the final result may vary fundamentally – depending on the audio equipment used. In general, MIDI has long become primarily an interface for connecting musical instruments with each other, as well as with computers.
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The MIDI Manufacturers Association calls the new standard the most significant advancement in music technology in recent decades. A key innovation is, of course, bidirectional data transfer, allowing tools to more efficiently interact and mutually configure. Roland, Native Instruments, Korg and Yamaha are part of the MIDI Manufacturers Association. Moreover, Roland, for example, has already introduced the A-88MKII musical keyboard, which fully supports the new specifications and will go on sale in March this year.
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In the 1980s, 5-bit DIN cables did not allow the transfer of too much information. At the same time, the MIDI 2.0 specification is not tied to a specific type of cable, although it is mainly aimed at the use of universal USB ports. The bit depth of messages is also increased from 7 bits to 32 bits, which provides much more accurate synchronization and allows the transfer of much more detailed information. Moreover, in one message there can be up to four 32-bit words.
Music theorist and educator Adam Neely previously noted that such a change could be of fundamental importance to artists working in new musical styles like microtonal music, as well as seeking to discover new ways to create music. The standard will also increase the number of instrument channels to 256 versus 16 in MIDI 1.0.
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The standard also aims to simplify the use of tools using the profile mechanism, which allows you to automatically configure the device for the intended application. And the new Property Exchange messages are designed to convey more detailed information about equipment properties.
As a result, musicians will spend less time setting up equipment and shuffling profiles and devote more time to creating music. In addition, some functions of the new standard can be used even on older MIDI 1.0 instruments.
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