MIDI.org Forum - Recent Posts

Looking for Technical Volunteers and MIDI Developers for an Inclusive Music Education Project

Rafael Pomares — Fri, 23 Oct 2026 15:04:37 +0000

Hello everyone,

My name is Rafael, and I am a primary school music teacher in Spain.

I am currently developing an educational innovation project called AMI (Aula Musical Inteligente / Intelligent Music Classroom), whose main goal is to transform the traditional music classroom into a more inclusive, accessible and technology-enhanced learning environment through the use of MIDI controllers and educational software.

For decades, music education in Spanish primary schools has relied heavily on the recorder (flauta dulce). While valuable, this instrument creates barriers for some students due to respiratory, motor, sensory, and learning difficulties.

My objective is to replace recorder-based instruction with a MIDI-based ecosystem that promotes:

Inclusion and accessibility.
Universal Design for Learning (UDL, DUA in Spanish).
Digital competence.
Creativity and composition.
Objective assessment.
Motivation through gamification.
Personalized learning pathways.

The initial classroom setup is based on: MIDI keyboard controllers, Educational software running on PCs and Raspberry Pi systems, Speakers and Headphones for individual practice, MIDI connectivity and data collection. (Future developments may include MIDI percussion controllers, Wind MIDI controllers, Adaptive controllers for students with disabilities)

I am looking for guidance from MIDI engineers, programmers, educators and accessibility specialists interested in helping with small-scale educational developments such as:

MIDI event monitoring.
Note and rhythm assessment tools.
Educational MIDI visualizers.
Gamified learning applications.
Real-time feedback systems.
Student progress tracking.
Accessibility-oriented MIDI interfaces.
Raspberry Pi MIDI projects.
MIDI 2.0 educational possibilities.

Why This Matters: My goal is not commercial.

This is an educational project designed to make music learning more inclusive and accessible for all children, especially those who may struggle with traditional instrumental approaches.

I would greatly appreciate any advice, collaboration, open-source project recommendations, code examples or educational experiences related to MIDI technology in schools.

"I am not a professional programmer, but I am highly motivated to learn and collaborate. Any level of support, from simple code snippets to project ideas, would be greatly appreciated."

Thank you for reading, and I look forward to learning from this community.

Best regards,

Rafael

AMI – Intelligent Music Classroom Project
Spain

Hello from a new member - creative web tools and MIDI

Shakespearean Translator — Thu, 22 Oct 2026 04:31:29 +0000

Hello everyone! I just joined the MIDI Association as an individual member. I am a web developer who builds small creative tools for the browser, most recently a Shakespearean English translator web app.

I have always been fascinated by how MIDI connects the digital and physical worlds, and I am here to learn more about MIDI 2.0 and explore ideas for interactive, browser-based music projects. Looking forward to being part of this community!

Herald: a site for sending CC/PC messages

unifolia — Fri, 16 Oct 2026 19:39:05 +0000

Hi there! My name is James and I'm software engineer. I'd like to share removed link " target="_blank" rel="noopener">my browser app called Herald, which can send CC/PC messages to a connected MIDI device. This was primarily designed and built with guitar pedals in mind, but I'm sure it can handle other use cases too!

This has been floating around for a while but I'm sharing it now. Free to use, and source code can be found via the documentation. This is built using the Web MIDI API. Happy to receive any and all feedback/critique - cheers :)

RE: Replace the Equal Temperament Tuning or ETT - New Tuning / New Notation System

Linus — Thu, 15 Oct 2026 13:14:56 +0000

I can do it. I have written an application if you give me a list of frequencies against midi note names/numbers, then give me a standard midi file, I will convert the whole midi file into one to four midi files which each and every note occupies only one full midi channel, so that individual pitchbend values be assigned to only that one single note. If 15 notes max are played simultaneously then one file is enough. Max allowed is 15 x 4 = 60 simultaneous notes. Most Symphonies are less than 40, unless piano concertos with heavy pedal usage. Drop these files into Coolsoft midiFileConverter, out comes the MP3 or wav files, EASY! The SONIVOX Soundfont library is Diamond Precise, very harmonious, and produces the "ringing" found in a cappella vocal quartets, the tuning will be meticulously accurate! You can hear some of my demos here:
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TECHNICAL MEMORANDUM TO MIDI ASSOCIATION MEMBER COMPANIES AND DEVELOPERS: UNLOCKING THE 32-BIT PRECISION OF MIDI 2.0 VIA THE CORRECTION OF SYNTH SUMNING POWER ANOMALIES AND THE ADOPTION OF LIBERATED OCTAVE SCALING

Linus — Thu, 15 Oct 2026 12:59:25 +0000

To All Corporate Members, Software Architects, and Engineering Leads,

Following recent communication with the MIDI Association Technical Standards Board regarding idea contribution policies, I need to draw attention and opinions on two foundational digital signal processing (DSP) and psychoacoustic anomalies directly to individual member companies and developers in the public domain.

I hope companies with engineering access to the active MIDI 2.0 Working Groups can help implement these enhancements. This data addresses two structural bottlenecks that, (1.) currently degrade digital synthesis and, (2.) outlines the cross-disciplinary scientific proof requiring an expansion of the protocol's pitch architecture.

(1.) The Multi-Channel Sample Summing Power Error
The internal mixing buses and software voice accumulators of modern synthesizers and samplers default to legacy linear instantaneous amplitude summation (V_out = V1 + V2 + ... + Vn). Assuming a constant digital reference load, doubling the instantaneous voltage equivalent of phase-aligned harmonics scales the output power by an un-physical factor of 4 (P = V^2 / R), forcing an unnatural +6 dB surge across shared frequencies.

In physical acoustics, independent, non-coherent instruments add their powers linearly in open air (P_out = P1 + P2 + ... + Pn), yielding a power factor of 2 (+3 dB). Standard digital summing violates this conservation of energy law, forcing an aggressive, un-controlled "fortissimo" volume bloat across polyphonic passages. To achieve real-world physical compliance and restore natural dynamic balance, your mix accumulators should implement a Power-Conservative RMS Summing Mode at the core voice-summation gate:

V_mixed = SQRT( X1^2 + X2^2 + ... + Xn^2 )

Processing polyphonic channels through this root-sum-of-squares vector eliminates the un-physical power explosion, allowing stacked instruments to preserve their individual timbral integrity, spatial boundaries, and character naturally without requiring aggressive post-mix EQ carving or master gain damping.

(2.) The Biophysical and Empirical Mandate for Stretched Octave Architecture
While MIDI 2.0 provides an exceptional 32-bit data infrastructure to manipulate pitch via Per-Note Pitch Bend Change messages, implementation software remains tethered to a rigid, un-stretched 2:1 (1200-cent) octave envelope.

The restriction of the octave to a strict 2:1 ratio is an industrial artifact that ignores human neurophysiology. Seven decades of independent, peer-reviewed psychoacoustic and neurological literature consistently demonstrate that human peripheral hearing does not track a flat 2:1 integer grid:

* Melodic Octave Enlargement: Ward (1954) established that human listeners, when matching consecutive pure tones, systematically adjust the upper frequency (fH) higher than twice the lower fundamental (2fL), proving a cross-cultural biological preference for melodic "octave stretching."
* Constant Stimuli Verification: Cuddy, L.L. and Dobbins, P.A. (1988), in "Octave Discrimination: Temporal and Contextual Effects" (Canadian Acoustics, 16, 3-13), confirmed that the subjective musical octave is stretched approximately 20 cents sharper than the physical 1200-cent boundary.
* Mistuning Asymmetry: Demany et al. (1991, 2021) proved that human sensitivity to octave mistuning is highly asymmetric; the auditory system exhibits a significantly wider tolerance for positive (stretched) mistuning than negative (compressed) alterations.
* Brainstem Circuit Modeling: Alain de Cheveigné (2023), in "Why is the perceptual octave stretched?", isolates this asymmetry straight to the neural cancellation and coincidence-sensitive circuits of the auditory brainstem, proving the stretch is hardwired into human sensory biology.
* Orchestral Realization: Institutional research out of the University of Helsinki (Jaatinen, Pätynen, and Alho, 2019/2023) tracks this exact "octave enlargement phenomenon" across real orchestral instruments, showing that stretched tuning layouts optimize acoustic clarity and expressiveness.

My own published research builds upon this foundation, isolating the hard memory encoded within biological ROM of two distinct, unequal diatonic semitones: Wit's 1.055 resonance measurement (135/128, approx. 92.18 cents) and Burns’ 1.066 emission tracking cluster (16/15, approx. 111.73 cents). These coordinates sum to the 9/8 whole tone, expanding the scale architecture to a definitive biological stretched octave coordinate: (9/8)^6 = 1223.46 cents. Compounding these precise offset frequencies allows upper partials to cross at varying geometric angles—mimicking the natural phase distribution of a live concert hall and completely eliminating digital phase-locking.

3. Structural Proposal: Open-Ended Per-Note or Per-Octave Pitch Coefficients
To exploit the true capacity of MIDI 2.0, the implementation standards must look past the 2:1 container. I propose that Member Companies advocate for a standardized Per-Note Tuning Profile facility (or Per-Octave Profile, stretched octaves allowed) inside the MIDI-CI (Capability Inquiry) framework.

Rather than enforcing rigid 1200-cent templates, software instruments should expose an open-ended architecture where every individual note index, or a repeating 12-note octave cell, can be assigned its own custom pitch-stretch coefficient. This architecture would allow creators to program any desired macro-octave magnitude—whether aligning with the 1223.46-cent biological model or other historical/cultural tuning profiles—natively on a single shared channel. Exposing this open facility provides developers with an automated environment to realize authentic, context-dependent vocal and orchestral inflections that current samplers flatten.

I have processed open-source MIDI data grids through a specialized Tuning Parser Application running this stretched configuration across reference-grade sound libraries. Complete 16-file audio verification matrices isolating these acoustic behaviors across selected musical examples—including Mussorgsky's "Gnomus," Wagner's "Flying Dutchman" Overture, and Tchaikovsky's Piano and Violin Concertos, among others—are hosted on my open-access repository for public evaluation.

Precise microtonal tuning on my provided demonstrations is made fully operational within the current legacy MIDI environment by programmatically re-assigning an independent, dedicated MIDI channel for every single note. A maximum polyphony of 60 simultaneous notes is achieved across 4 concurrent MIDI software instances utilizing CoolSoft VirtualMIDISynth. Twelve alternating semitones of said sizes (16/15 and 135/128) arrive at the definitive 1223.46-cent octave envelope, resulting in emotionally rich musical renderings. Detailed mathematical analysis explains how this structural arrangement natively initiates the sought-after vertical "ringing" effect found in elite a cappella vocal quartets.

The complete biophysical equations, neuro-mechanistic deductions, and data sets backing this framework are available via my open-access monograph:
Liu, C.-F. (2026) The Resonance of Emotion: A Mechanistic Theory of Musical Intonation and Affect. Open Journal of Acoustics, 14(2), 21-81.
Direct Publisher Portal:
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Audio Demos open site:
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RE: MTC Bandwidth?

Philippe Houdoin — Wed, 14 Oct 2026 22:40:18 +0000

At 30fps, you will have 120 MIDI TC Quarter Messages per second, each of 2 bytes. That's 1960bit/s Far far from the 32Kbit/s of MIDI... over a MIDI cable. It's at worst around 8% of total bandwidth *over* a MIDI cable.

Here, transport is over RtpMidi, itself over an Ethernet cable which is probably, at least, a 100Mbit/s This part will have no issue.
The last part is between the receiving mioXM <-> pyro station, if this part is connected via a MIDI cable, but with just notes (and later not even notes when pyro will play their own programming then synced on MTC), it won't have bandwidth issue either.

Jittering is a different topic. Depending on how each component manage it (or not), it can be an issue or not.
But the speedier the transport is, the less the jitter, and here between Logic Pro on an M1 mac, the PlayAudio12 and the mioXM, you're fine.

A feedback on how it turns out for you use case?

RE: MIDI Manager - collection organizer for .mid, .midi and .kar files

MusicNoteHaven — Sat, 10 Oct 2026 15:11:38 +0000

MusicNote Haven MIDI Manager 1.3.3: duplicate-content safeguards and large-library reliability

An update for the existing MIDI Manager discussion here. Version 1.3.3 has been released for Windows via the Microsoft Store (1.3.3.0) and Linux via a verified Debian package for Ubuntu 26.04 LTS amd64 (1.3.3-1).

Why this maintenance release was made:

1. Safer Organized Library copies. When a planned or approved copy has the same file content as an existing organized file, the Organizer can avoid creating a redundant copy. Different MIDI arrangements with different file content are not treated as identical solely because their song titles match.
2. More reliable large-result analysis. The handling of sizable Organization analysis result sets has been strengthened, while keeping Stop Safely available.
3. Startup reliability. Splashscreen click behavior and size handling have been improved.
4. Stable Linux licence identity. Device identity checks are less likely to vary unexpectedly, with offline use after successful verification preserved.

MIDI Manager remains local-first and copy-first. Candidate artist/title pairs are evaluated against an offline music reference first; optional online discovery, if needed, sends candidate artist/title text only, not MIDI/KAR contents, filenames, paths or profile data. Uncertain results remain available for human review.

Personal and Professional are one-time lifetime licences
The Trial / Free edition allows large-folder indexing, analysis and review, with up to 100 lifetime unique verified Organized Library copy outputs. Personal and Professional are one-time lifetime licences, with future major upgrades such as 2.x and 3.x included under the current licensing policy. The current available application version remains 1.3.3.

Downloads and platform information:
https://musicnotehaven.ethercomm.eu/downloads/

Release notes:
https://musicnotehaven.ethercomm.eu/release-notes/

I'd welcome feedback from MIDI collectors, archivists and keyboard users about file identity, KAR/MIDI metadata and handling distinct arrangements of the same piece.

Harmonic_mpe

Thethirdapple — Sat, 10 Oct 2026 12:00:05 +0000

I’ve been working toward something that looks at MPE and acoustic modeling from an additional angle. My intent is both a philosophical and practical exploration of expression.

First off, I am incredibly grateful for the pioneers of MIDI and acoustic modeling. From the early wild west and east days of creating standards, to the incredible minds pushing things forward today, thank you. It’s this foundational work which provides the freedom and ease to tinker, hack, and rethink how to interface with sound design and musical inventions of all sorts…

Lately, I’ve been obsessed with how we, as humans, drive expression but also that which “expresses” upon us, a form of cohabitation. The brilliant EaganMatrix acoustic modeling engine and the way it handles organic, fluid responses is magical or perhaps elegantly mathematical. An equally brilliant mathematical generative sandbox is KARMA. Created entirely to express human intent, breaking free from the rigid midi landscape of yesteryear. Dedicated MPE controllers are also beautiful, the QuNexus was a great step in the journey and the current offering of fantastic controllers is growing, but I started wondering about all sorts of friction we create which could translate into musical expression.

How to expand on these foundational implementations as well as learn, by looking back to go forward?

How to achieve a similar deep, independent per-note expression which is musically aware of itself by using music theory as a variable in the model?

Eventually being able to introduce many new variables and modes of expression…

Currently, a functioning rough draft of something akin to a voice allocation scheme I am calling: HARMONIC_mpe. This might be the long lost keytar cousin of 6 string allocation. 🤪

I have been able to build a routing bridge that leverages KARMA v3.3 for the Motif XS with off the shelf MIDI 1.0 gear to unlock a “musically aware” style of multi-dimensional, acoustic-modeled expression. The goal isn’t to automate my music, but to create a setup where I’m generating the dynamics, using all forms of inputs to express multi-dimensional articulations on individual notes within a chord or phrase. And that chord or phrase also musically lives and breathes.

The Canvas: a multi-channel setup (Song mode) on the XS, and or a large mix of multi-timbral synths to create the voices specifically tuned for “organic, acoustic-style modeled” types of responses or easily re-geared towards a yet to be discovered soundscape.

The Brain: I am using a 6-module setup within the KARMA software. Instead of using it to generate traditional tracks, it’s acting as a “musically aware” voice allocation router.

The Splitter (Note Series Index Filters): play a chord, KARMA’s filters instantly recognize the chord structure and cleanly separates the notes —sending the indexed intervals to distinct modules. Such that the Root note goes to Module 1, the 3rd to Module 2, and so on. Each module gets its own dedicated MIDI channel. And by extension, when the sound module has multi-channel output, separate audio chains for post processing.

The Human Driver: By using KARMA’s DynMIDI matrix, I can mimic axis movements thru standard physical gestures—like moving individual faders, pedals or pads from MIDI 1.0 controllers—and map them directly to those specific modules. This extends to non human organic drivers of expression, using nearly any “midi controller” becomes possible. Weather, time, density, proximity, any sensor, any data which can be translated to midi CC.

Because the indexed notes are already separated by the filters and routed to distinct midi channels, “wiring” a traditional midi data stream thru DynMIDI cleanly reshapes and modulates the root of the chord. While another data stream breathes life into another interval of the chord. Each interval distinct but always perfectly or as imperfectly harmonious as expressed… much is yet to figure out

A Few Thoughts on Musical Intent & The Road Ahead

What excites me most about this setup, even as a legacy project, is how it unlocks a musical intent for both generative midi and acoustic modeling. In this sandbox, a chord is “understood” rather than simply transmitted. Because the routing relies on KARMA’s Index math rather than being strictly pitch-based, the musical structure itself becomes an active participant in how data flows. The system inherently knows the relationship of the notes within the harmony, changing how interactions are mapped.

It also challenged me to expand the horizon of what expressions might actually be possible. True musical articulation is more than just what a physical finger touches. We must respect the physical “cohabitation” we share with an instrument, but also remember that we already play countless instruments through an intermediary—sticks for a drum, bows for a violin, or complex mechanical hammers for a piano. And certainly math…

Should that intermediate layer not naturally extend to all possible interactions? After all, a physical guitar slips out of tune in humid or dry conditions. Saliva accumulates and alters the resonance of a brass horn. So many wild, chaotic environmental variables enter into how our ears ultimately perceive a sound—well beyond the neat, direct tactile intent of its original creator.

By decoupling the note-triggering surface from the modulation source, I am simply leaning into that acoustic chaos, introducing entirely new macro-gestural dimensions into physical modeling. Ultimately, I look at this setup as a transition.

As the saying goes, “a bridge gets more people to the promised land than a catapult.” For myself, heavily invested in the fun and exploration of both new and “legacy” gear, this offers a healthy, functioning pathway forward. It allows me to keep some beloved instruments relevant within a framework like MPE—which, if I am being completely honest, resides as one of truly beautifully formulated, brilliant hacks.

The fun truly starts when playing the mpe controller of your choice to modulate the over 400 parameters within each KARMA module routed back to an mpe enabled sound module!

Expressing a musical intent in real-time from each axis of the controller.

MIDI 2.0 is to me the new wild frontier, the promised land!!!

A work in progress…

PEACE
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I've got a MIDI DAW - how do you control volume on VSTs that don't accept CC numbers?

Christopher — Sat, 10 Oct 2026 09:18:19 +0000

Dear Anyone.

Quick Score Elite Level 2. It's MIDI Central, and CC Commands for everything. Unfortunately a lot of VSTs don't do CC commands and don't have MIDI Learn. I've got a large collection of things that make lovely noises but I can't use because they're stuck on full volume! Anyone know of ANYTHING I can use as an insert effect to just turn sounds up and down? Doesn't have to do anything else, just accept CC commands itself so it can turn the channel volume up and down, to make the sound ON that channel louder and quieter. Don't care if it's called Volume or GAIN as long as it makes things louder and quieter.

I know Blue Cat but Blue Cat's got a big problem. You can only use it on Channel One of multitimbral VSTs, if you try to put it on any other channel it doesn't actually do anything! It's not perfect on Channel One - one of the progs that doesn't have MIDI-LEARN is Kontakt - if you set up a multi in Kontakt and try to turn it up and down via MIDI/CC7 instead of turning the whole multi up and down as one combined sound, it turns the INDIVIDUAL SOUNDS UP AND DOWN INDIVIDUALLY - thus wrecking the combined sound!

There's GOTTA be SOMETHING else out there.... hopefully VST32 though I DO have JBRIDGE if necessary.

Anyone got any ideas?

Yours hopefully

Chris.

RE: MIDI Manager - collection organizer for .mid, .midi and .kar files

MusicNoteHaven — Tue, 06 Oct 2026 14:35:28 +0000

MusicNote Haven MIDI Manager 1.3.0 - Windows and Linux release

MIDI Manager 1.3.0 is now publicly available for Windows and Linux.

Windows is available through Microsoft Store as package 1.3.0.0. Linux is available as Debian package 1.3.0-1, built and accepted on Ubuntu 26.04 LTS amd64.

Version 1.3.0 focuses on safer and more explainable library organization:

Organization analysis uses filename clues together with embedded MIDI/KAR evidence and checks the offline music reference first.
If there is no usable local result, the optional Online Artist & Song Discovery fallback sends only candidate artist/title text.
Long-running analysis reports clearer phase, elapsed-time and heartbeat progress.
Organized Library rename and Re-evaluate have stronger collision, identity and rollback protections.
Manual Artist, Title and Filename corrections stay better aligned with the actual organized path, including case-only renames.
Personal and Professional Version 1.x licences remain lifetime for the 1.x generation and remain usable offline after successful local verification.

Trial / Free can still index and analyse large source folders and can copy up to 100 lifetime unique verified files into Organized Library. Preview, Review and failed operations do not consume that limit.

Downloads:
https://musicnotehaven.ethercomm.eu/downloads/

Release notes:
https://musicnotehaven.ethercomm.eu/release-notes/

Manual:
https://musicnotehaven.ethercomm.eu/manual/