Tag: AMEI

Picture of the AMEI presentation at the Kakehashi Foundation on October 27, 2025

MIDI Meet Up Event At The Kakehashi Foundation

Written by The MIDI Association on November 3, 2025. Posted in MIDI 2.0, MIDI Association Event List, MIDI In Music Education, MIDI Innovation Awards, MIDI News, MIDI Resources for Developers.

After Music China closed on Saturday night, we packed up, grabbed some dinner and then on Sunday flew to Tokyo.

Six smiling men sit around a restaurant table with drinks and dishes, posing for a group selfie. Some are making peace signs, and the atmosphere is casual and friendly.

On Monday, The MIDI Association was part of an event hosted at the Kakehashi Foundation.

Rows of empty chairs face a stage with blue lighting and green and white spot patterns projected on the walls, creating a vibrant, atmospheric setting in a modern auditorium.

The ultimate tech event where you can learn about the latest in MIDI will be held in Tokyo!!

Date and Time Monday, October 27, 2025

Venue: Artware hub KAKEHASHI MEMORIAL

Participation fee – General admission: 4,000 yen (tax included), MIDI certification license holders: 2,000 yen (tax included)

Opening 16:45 End: 19:40

Organizer:

Kakehashi Arts and Culture Promotion Foundation, AMEI, The MIDI Association

Here is the English translation of the event taken from the Kakehashi Foundation website.

This groundbreaking event will allow you to experience the latest in MIDI 2.0, including the presentation of innovative MIDI devices that have won MIDI Innovation Awards, the exhibition and hands-on experience of award-winning products and MIDI 2.0-compatible products, and opportunities to interact with the engineers and creators involved in product development and hear about the latest trends.

Anyone with an interest in MIDI is welcome to participate, from those who want to learn about the latest technology to those who wish to exchange information as engineers.

Top MIDI engineers from around the world and Japan will be in attendance, so why not take this opportunity to network with them?

Kakehashi Foundation

The first part of the event was an open session where people could experience the latest MIDI 2.0 products from Korg, Roland and Yamaha and also check out all the winners of the 2025 MIDI Innovation Awards.

A woman wearing headphones plays an electronic drum pad with drumsticks while a man in a suit, also wearing headphones, smiles and points at the drum pad. They are in a room with chairs, laptops, and other people.

Haim Kairy from Arcana Instruments shows off the accessible music display at the Kakehashi Foundation event which featured the same table of accessible interactive gear (Connect Through MIDI as the core software connecting up the Arcana Strum , the Oddball , the Cosmos Dots, the Drum Beam) that we had at Music China and Tokyo Gakki Fair.

A group of people stand around a table with electronic music equipment, including keyboards and synthesizers, in a well-lit room. Some are observing while others interact with the devices.

MIDI Engineers from Yamaha, Roland and Korg were there to explain the latest products that support MIDI 2.0 technology.

A group of people stands and interacts with electronic musical instruments and equipment on tables covered with orange cloths in a room with chairs and stage lighting. Some people are wearing headphones and appear focused.

Native Instruments provided their two MIDI Innovation Award winners – Kontact and Kontrol S61 MK3. Anthony Nasce from 5of12 was showing off their Mobile App called Playtonik, which won the Non-Commercial, Software MIDI Innovation award this year and Mike Venter from Azoteq and Mike Kent from Amenote were demoing their MIDI 2.0 ready sensing technology.

A musician with headphones stands on stage facing sound equipment, while several people, some standing and some seated, observe and interact around a table with electronic gear and keyboards in a studio or auditorium setting.

Anthony Dickens and his Circle Guitar joined us in Tokyo for the Kakehashi Foundation event and then for the Tokyo Gakki Fair. That article is coming soon, but it’s time to get on a plane and head back to the US and go straight to a hotel in Santa Monica for the Music Tectonics event from our friends at Rock, Paper, Scissors.

AMEI Presentation at the MIDI Meet Up

Text on a blue gradient background reads: “MIDI MEETUP 2025, MIDI 2.0 動向, 2025-10-27, AMEI.”.

White text on a blue geometric background reads MIDI 2.0 概要, which means MIDI 2.0 Overview in Japanese.

A slide with the title Easier to Use. Below, Japanese text reads 自動設定, meaning automatic settings. Illustrations show a blue laptop and a keyboard connected by arrows, with Japanese captions indicating ease of use.

White Japanese text 規格動向 is centered on a blue background with abstract circular and rectangular shapes.

A presentation slide titled Windows MIDI 2.0 in English and Japanese, listing features such as USB MIDI 2.0 driver, MIDI 2.0 service & tools, and detailing support and compatibility improvements.

Blue gradient background with overlapping translucent shapes. Centered white Japanese text reads “みんな大好き JUCE 対応状況” which translates to Everyone loves JUCE support status.

A presentation slide titled JUCEのMIDI 2.0対応 lists updates in JUCE7, JUCE8, and JUCE9 regarding MIDI 2.0 support, includes a link, and shows a screenshot of a software interface at the bottom.

Slide with the title MIDI 2.0 情報の入手先 and a list of three resources, each with a link, plus Japanese text about development tools and libraries. The background is light blue with a wavy pattern.

A blue gradient background with the words Thank You in large black text, and Japanese text below translating to Lets create the future world of MIDI together.

A slide titled MIDI 2.0 対応 Products lists various music software and hardware brands and products, including Apple Logic Pro, YAMAHA MONTAGE M series, Roland A-88MKII, KORG Keystage, and others.

It’s amazing how well aligned AMEI and The MIDI Association are and it is testament to the hard work of both organizations and how hard they work to cooperate together to make MIDI 2.0 happen.

After the event the Kakehashi Foundation hosted us for a lovely Italian dinner at a restaurant near the foundation.

A group of eleven people sit around a restaurant table, smiling and posing for a photo. Plates, drinks, and menus are on the wooden table. The setting is casual with warm lighting and a modern interior.

A group of eight men are sitting around a restaurant table with empty plates and drinks, smiling and posing for a photo. The setting is casual, with an open kitchen and restaurant staff visible in the background.

AMEI Receives Award in Music Technology from Music Awards Japan

Written by The MIDI Association on May 25, 2025. Posted in Artists, MIDI Association Event List, MIDI News, MIDI Stories.

We are pleased to announce that our partner MIDI organization in Japan (AMEI) have received an award for their achievements in MIDI.

This year, for the first time, the “Music Awards Japan” event was held on May 21 and 22. It is similar to the Grammy Awards in the United States.

The opening show “Rydeen Reboot” prominently features MIDI instruments and performances by Hatsune Miku, the Vocaloid MIDI driven diva and classical pianist and MIDI enthusiast Hayato Sumino.

On the 21st, awards were presented in various categories. Among them was the “Honorary Award in Music Technology,” which was awarded to MIDI.

AMEI’s representative, Seiji Abe-san who is the new president of AMEI, accepted the trophy (called Ruby) and gave a speech on the achievements of MIDI.

Abe-san is the Operating Officer of the Digital Musical Instruments Division in Yamaha Corporation of Japan and he is also the President of AMEI from May 16^th, 2025.

Tokyo Gakki Expo 2024

Written by The MIDI Association on November 3, 2024. Posted in MIDI Association Event List, MIDI News.

We said we would be traveling the globe and promoting MIDI 2.0 around the world.

Our friends from the Japan Programmers Association and Association of Musical Electronics Industry (AMEI) recently helped to put on the Tokyo Gakki Expo.

Just set your browser to always translate Japanese, click on the Tokyo Gakki Expo link above and you can surf the site and see all the cool events that were held, but here is a sampling (pun intended!).

MIDI 2.0 Seminar

This is a MIDI 2.0 seminar held by the Association of Musical Electronics Industry (AMEI).
The latest MIDI 2.0 compatible devices will be operated and their functions will be demonstrated.
Some unreleased driver information will also be made public. This is a great opportunity to learn about the future of MIDI.

Cast: Daisuke Miura (Yamaha Corporation), Takayuki Tomizawa (Roland Corporation), Toshihiro Sugawara (Korg Inc.), Takashi Uesugi (JSPA)

JSPA members’ top pick! Highlights of Tokyo Musical Instrument Expo 2024!

We will introduce the booths that JSPA members are personally looking forward to and paying attention to at this year’s Tokyo Musical Instrument Expo! If you check this out, you will definitely be an information expert at this year’s Tokyo Musical Instrument Expo! There will also be an announcement about the concept of this year’s event by the creator of the “unofficial” song for Tokyo Musical Instrument Expo 2024!

Cast:Yusuke Asada, Takashi Morio, Masaaki Enatsu, Miki Nomiyama, Mion Tsuruta

Synthesizer Battle Royale 2024

Promotional image for Synth Battle Royale 2024 featuring three men—tatsuya, and two others in Japanese text—each in individual portrait photos, with Korg, Roland, and Yamaha logos at the bottom.

Following on from last year, the three major synthesizer brands, Korg, Roland, and Yamaha, will be holding the “Synthesizer Battle Royale 2024.” Don’t miss the battle between the cutting-edge synthesizer sounds and specs of the most talented keyboardists representing each company.

Cast: tatsuya (Korg), Keiki Uto (Roland), Yuzo Okusu (Yamaha)

Children’s Synthesizer Workshop

Front view of a Korg Monotron Duo analog ribbon synthesizer with black and white touch keyboard, four control knobs, and labeled settings for pitch, cutoff, and peak on a blue panel.

Let’s experience the mechanism and performance of an analog synthesizer using KORG’s monotron DUO! You can also touch modular synthesizers and rhythm machines! Calling all future music producers!

Target audience: 3rd grade elementary school students to 3rd grade junior high school students.
Cast:Masaaki Enatsu

Cute gadget experiment time

Two Stylophone instruments are shown on a light green background: one black and silver with circular controls labeled BEAT, and one pink and silver with rectangular keys and an on/off switch.

Using cute battery-powered gadgets, we will experiment with making sounds and sampling! We will create simple music using sounds recorded in mono with a mini plug. What will the sound produced by the JSPA director’s collaborative experiment be?!

Cast: Miki Nomiyama Mion Tsuruta

Yamaha MONTAGE M Synth 50th Anniversary Special Demo by Katsunori Ujiie

A man with gray hair and glasses plays a Yamaha Montage M keyboard. Japanese text and “by 氏家克典” appear on screen, marking the synth’s 50th anniversary special demo. The background is dark, focusing on the performer.

Talk and demonstration by Katsunori Ujiie of the MONTAGE M special sound to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Yamaha synthesizers.
Look forward to famous songs by famous artists and sounds of rare synthesizers.

Cast: Katsunori Ujiie

Avant-garde stage keyboard AstroLab feat. Kurumi Fujioka

A woman in a white dress plays an Arturia keyboard on stage under colorful lighting, with long hair draped over her shoulder and focused expression. The name _Kurumi Fujioka appears in the upper left corner.

A new era for Arturia’s new stage keyboard.
Kurumi Fujioka plays and Nicolas Woolley explains AstroLab.
Witness the many new features of AstroLab!

There were a lot of MIDI Association companies participating in the event (not just Japanese companies) including Ableton, Arturia, Hammond, Korg, Melbourne Instruments, Mellotron, Oberheim, Roland, Sequential, Spectrasonics, Udo and Yamaha.