What are the differences between MIDI and Audio?

Sunday, August 28, 2022

MIDI and audio are two very different types of digital music technology. MIDI is a protocol that allows electronic musical instruments and computers to communicate with each other. It is commonly used to create, edit and play back musical compositions. Audio is a digital representation of sound waves. It is often used to store and playback music and other audio recordings.

MIDI data consists of messages that specify which note is to be played, how long it should be played for, and how loud it should be played. MIDI messages can also be used to control other parameters such as vibrato and pitch bend. Audio data consists of a stream of samples that represent the amplitude of the sound wave at regular intervals. Each sample represents a snapshot of the waveform at a particular moment in time.

MIDI files are typically much smaller than audio files because they only contain information about the notes that are to be played, not the actual sound wave data. Audio files can be compressed to reduce their size, but this can result in a loss of quality. MIDI files can be edited more easily than audio files because they do not contain any actual sound data.

MIDI instruments can be used to create a wide variety of sounds, including realistic imitations of acoustic instruments. Audio instruments tend to be limited to reproducing the sounds that they were designed to produce. MIDI controllers can be used to control both MIDI and audio devices. Audio controllers are typically limited to controlling audio devices.

MIDI devices can be connected together to form a network over which they can communicate with each other. Audio devices cannot be connected in this way. MIDI networks can be used to synchronize the playback of multiple MIDI devices or to route signals from one device to another. Audio networks do not offer these capabilities.

Browse by Artist

A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z  1  2  3  4  5  7