Business Software

MIDI Software has existed for more than 20 years. During this time it has evolved from expensive, limited programs accessible only to big-spending producers with a great deal of hardware, to its readily-available, feature-rich form today. MIDI Software has enabled unsigned and unheralded artists to record, edit and transform one-way MIDI messages into clear, replicable messages that could integrate and even automate various hardware, computer and instrumental components.

There is often a great deal of confusion over MIDI “event messages” and commonly-used audio file formats. MIDI does not, in the literal sense, transmit audio media. Rather, it communicates the “event messages,” which are commands to alter pitch, tempo, volume, vibrato, clock signals and other values and cues that construct the parameters through which audio files and media are filtered. MIDI also differs from traditional audio file formats in the sense that it is much smaller in data size, existing as imperative data rather than compressed or uncompressed audio waveforms.

While MIDI’s roots began on the stage with its quick adoption by performance artists with a sizable synthesizer rack, it has since evolved to find use among both producers and composers. While most MIDI software programs are oriented towards the former, several MIDI software programs, including SmartScore X MIDI Edition, have special features to annotate, modify and integrate traditional notation and scoring features within a software-based, MIDI-intensive environment.

With MIDI Software, producers and composers can expedite compositional and sequencing efforts and expedite the recording process with automated parameter modulation and instrumental cues. Composers can compose entire scores in standard notation or tablature and even print lead sheets with lyrics and instrumental cues for use in an orchestral or symphonic environment. Artists and DJs, who were among the first to take advantage of MIDI, have at their disposal a tool capable of reproducing on stage what could previously only be considered in the studio or executed with a vast array of instruments or with using the difficult “Control Voltage” sequencing.