MIDI
Musical Instrument Digital Interface; a protocol that allows electronic instruments and computers to communicate.
In Depth
MIDI transmits performance data, not audio: note on/off messages, pitch, velocity, duration, and controller changes. This allows a keyboard to trigger sounds in a synthesiser, a DAW to control hardware, or a sequencer to drive an entire arrangement. MIDI revolutionised music production when introduced in 1983, enabling instruments from different manufacturers to work together for the first time. MIDI 2.0, released in 2020, added higher resolution and bidirectional communication.
MIDI was developed cooperatively by rival companies Roland and Sequential Circuits in 1983, a rare example of competing manufacturers agreeing on a universal standard.