It always amazes us that you can find a MIDI version of almost any instrument. So we decided to look at what's available for MIDI bagpipes. There are actually a good number of choices.   The technochanter The Technochanter is portable and fits its in your pocket. It's also battery powered and runs on one standard AAA 1.5V a...

 New MIDI Manufacturer Association member RnD64 funded their development of the Jammy MIDI controller via Indiegogo and raised $218,872.  Jammy is a super portable steel string digital guitar that fits in your backpack. - 15-fret extensive sound range - Onboard guitar FX - ¼" and ⅛" direct audio outputs to your headphones or an ...

TouchKeys is a new musical instrument transforming the piano-style keyboard into an expressive multi-touch control surface.  The TouchKeys are touch sensors that can be added to the surface of any keyboard, measuring the location of the fingers while retaining the familiar keyboard action.  TouchKeys lets you add vibrato, pitch bends, tim...

Kickstarter has been a place where some of our favorite MIDI controllers started whether it's Mogees or the Artiphon (one of the most successful Kickstarter campaigns of all time).  Our friends at A3E, the  Advanced Audio + Application Exchange sent us a link to this new Kickstarter about Oddball,  a ball you cab bounce with a&n...

Cubasis 2.6 Overview Synonymous with ease of use, Cubasis 2 is a powerful and fully featured iOS-based music production system that pushes the creative envelope. Whether you're capturing simple ideas or musical masterpieces, Cubasis comes with outstanding, touch-optimized tools for recording, editing, mixing and sharing your music with the world ri...

Control · Improve · Create Slider Divide the trackpad in 1 to 4 virtual sliders and send CC or Pitch Bend MIDI messages. Add expressiveness to virtual instruments or automate plugins parameters easily with a trackpad. Edit photos faster in Lightroom. XY Use your trackpad as an XY pad to control several parameters at the same time, using one, two an...

I created the Plastic Pitch Plus (PPP) to experiment with microtonality.  My primary design goal was to create a physical interface that gives immediate and independent control of pitches in a scale.  One way of doing microtonality involves generating lists of frequencies or ratios. In contrast, I wanted something that would naturally eng...

GRIDI is a large scale physical midi sequencer    Gridi is a large scale physical midi sequencer (2.80 X 1.65 Meters) with embedded LEDs. Itwas created by music producer Yuval Gerstein with the simple aim, to allow visitors to createa musical composition in an accessible and intuitive way. GRIDI translates the methodologyof composing...

SoulPedal® (SP) is a wearable controller that slips inside your shoe (as an insole) and wirelessly controls effects for musicians. In this YouTube demo, local Beta Tester and Musician, Kody Raine of Chandler Arizona, explains how he's using MIDI Change Control messages from SP's wireless controller to modulate his own gear. Not so obvious in the vi...

The Tirare is a custom performance interface. In Italian, Tirare means: (to) throw, (to) to pull. The name refers to the primary performative action employed in order to generate sound. Initially, I was trying to create a form of MIDI concertina. I wanted to pull and push the interface to generate sound, similar to a concertina. I also ma...

The MIDI Manufacturers Association (MMA) has released a Specification for use of TRS Connectors with MIDI Devices. It is available for free download by MIDI Association members. The document defines how to wire "TRS" (tip-ring-sleeve) connectors for use with MIDI devices, and describes the necessary device circuitry and cable specifications to supp...

Introduction We have started our project to find a way how to build full-featured organ console out of available MIDI instruments. One of our project goals was to extend the coverage of the "virtual organ" from software also to the hardware. We have turned it into "virtual organ console". Virtual pipe organ technology (VPO) has been well estab...

XT Synth-The expression of a violin, the playability of a guitar, with the power of a MIDI controller that shines.  "The XT Synth is a mix of guitar, violin and midi controller. My inspiration was to make an instrument that could be played like a guitar, with the expression of a violin, with the sounds of a synthesizer. The neck has 4 soft pot...

​In 1986 Frank Zappa  released his final studio album  in his lifetime; for the remaining seven years of his life, he would only release live concert albums.Jazz from Hell is an instrumental album whose selections were all composed and recorded by Frank Zappa. It was released in 1986 by Barking Pumpkin Records on vinyl and by Rykodis...

This custom-built instrument is called Curve, and is named after the shape and contour of the interface itself. I wanted to create something that had a myriad of different sensors and ways of controlling different musical parameters, while also maintaining the functionality and traditional idioms of other controllers, interfaces, and instruments th...

We recently sent out a MIDI Message newsletter and asked people to describe their favorite MIDI project.  Harry Williamson from the Federation Bells in Melbourne, Australia sent us this message.  Favorite MIDI Project-The Federation Bells, Birrung Marr, Melbourne. 39 Bronze up-turned bells play compositions 3 times daily from a MAX/M...

Although arguably the smaller NAMM event of the two for MIDI related products, there's certainly no shortage of things to discover at Summer NAMM and this year was no exception. With stimulating keynotes on the future of music technology, courtesy of the MIDI Association Advisory Board's very own Craig Anderton, the latest in next year's product li...

What is Telemidi? A system of connecting two DAW environments over the internet, to achieve real-time musical `jamming'.The product of Masters research by Matt Bray. "...a musician's behaviour at one location will be occurring at the other location in a near synchronous manner, and vice versa, thus allowing for a `jam' like atmosphere to ...

The Glitch Mob has started touring with what may be one of the most complicated MIDI controllers every built.  The Blade 2 .0 was designed by Martin Phillips also who has done work for Deadmau5, Kanye and Daft Punk. Dell partnered with the Glitch Mob to provide Dell Alienware 15s computers that run Intel Core i7-7820HK quad-core processors. Th...

On May 26, we held the very first  MIDI Live! chat with a panel of MPE specialists.  We recorded the session and it is presented here as a podcast.  Listeners were not only able to send in questions via text but were able to actually join the discussion and interact directly with the panelists. Roger Linn demoed his Linnstr...

MIDI Stylophone Business Card Last Sunday we were looking at bookmarks we had made while searching the Internet for blog topics.  We had booked marked Mixtela.com a few months ago because of all the cool MIDI DIY projects.  But then we found WaitingForFriday's website and decided to do an article on the MIDI Stylophone...

The Original Dubreq Stylophone The Dubreq Stylophone was invented in 1968 by Brian Jarvis.  It was originally designed as a toy, but the fact that it was portable and easy to play and it's distinctive synth sound soon made it popular with some of the most iconic musicians of the late 60's. David Bowie used it on the track 'Space Oddity' a...

We hope you enjoyed these daily tips during MIDI Month—but that's not the end of it, because there will be plenty more tips to come when you join the The MIDI Association. TMA is an all-volunteer organization that believes in TMA's mission: to nurture an inclusive global community of people who create music and art with MIDI. Our strength is our co...

The Live Performance Challenge ​ The challenge for me as a performing musician has always been not being able to readily access desired sounds and sound layers during a live performance in an effective way. The tools given to us on modern stage keyboards are difficult to manage on the live stage, and even if you take the time and make the effort to...