MIDI

A data protocol for sending note, controller, clock and program information between electronic instruments, which carries no audio of its own.

A MIDI message says which note was played, how hard it was struck and when, and the receiving device decides what that turns into. For guitar, this is what allows a string to drive a synthesiser or a software instrument: a divided pickup or a pitch-to-MIDI converter turns playing into note data, which can then be recorded, edited, transposed or used to trigger anything. The practical limits are tracking accuracy on chords and bends, and the latency of the conversion.

Example: recording a guitar part as MIDI lets the performer change its sound to a piano or a synth afterwards without playing it again.

MIDI

See also