--- title: MIDI Programming description: MIDI programming involves creating and editing musical data to control digital instruments and hardware. Learners will understand how to use piano rolls, step sequencers, velocity, and automation to write realistic instrument parts and electronic arrangements. category: music-audio subcategory: music-production difficulty: beginner, intermediate, advanced url: /subject/midi-programming --- # MIDI Programming MIDI programming involves creating and editing musical data to control digital instruments and hardware. Learners will understand how to use piano rolls, step sequencers, velocity, and automation to write realistic instrument parts and electronic arrangements. ## Available Resources 2 Books • 5 Websites ## Websites ### 1. Ableton Max for Live Devices Cycling '74's community library of free Max for Live devices, many of them MIDI generators, arpeggiators and effects with open patches. Studying and modifying them shows how MIDI notes and controller messages are processed inside Ableton Live. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://maxforlive.com/library/ **Tags:** max-for-live, ableton-live, midi-devices, max-msp, music-programming ### 2. MIDI Association Site of the MIDI Association, the body that publishes the MIDI 1.0 and MIDI 2.0 specifications. After registering for free, developers can download the official message formats, Universal MIDI Packet details and profiles needed to implement MIDI correctly in hardware or software. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.midi.org/ **Tags:** midi-specification, midi-2.0, music-technology, protocols, audio-programming ### 3. MIDI Basics (5-part series) **Author:** Paul White Paul White's five-part primer explaining MIDI as a communications protocol: channels, note on/off, multitimbral modules, program change, continuous controllers, sequencer recording and clock synchronisation. Written for readers who confuse MIDI data with audio. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/midi-basics-part-1 **Tags:** midi, midi-protocol, midi-channels, midi-cc, sequencing ### 4. MIDI Association - Specifications & Technical Documentation **Author:** The MIDI Association Official hub from the standards body that defines MIDI. Free reference tables list every MIDI 1.0 status byte, control change number and universal SysEx message, alongside MIDI 2.0, transport and Standard MIDI File documentation. The free spec-detail tables are the authoritative answer to 'what does CC11 actually mean' - the exact question producers hit when editing MIDI data. **Difficulty:** Advanced | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://midi.org/specs **Tags:** midi, midi-specification, midi-2.0, midi-cc, sysex, standard-midi-file ### 5. soundonsound.com Sound On Sound is a long-running audio recording magazine and website. It publishes in-depth tutorials, gear reviews, and practical how-to articles on recording, mixing, mastering, microphone technique, DAWs, plugins, and studio setup. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://soundonsound.com **Tags:** websites, music-performing-arts, audio-engineering ## Podcasts ### 1. The EDM Prodcast **Author:** Aden Russell Weekly interview podcast from EDMProd with electronic music producers, mix engineers and industry figures, discussing sound design, arrangement, workflow, finishing tracks and building a music career. Listeners pick up production techniques and professional habits from working electronic musicians. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Language:** en | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://edmprod.com **Tags:** electronic-music, music-production, sound-design, producer-interviews, music-industry ## Books ### 1. The MIDI Manual: A Practical Guide to MIDI within Modern Music Production (4th Edition) **Author:** David Miles Huber The standard single-volume reference on MIDI, covering system interconnection, controllers, sequencing and editing inside the DAW, groove tools, synchronisation and mixing. The fourth edition adds the MIDI 2.0 specification alongside MIDI 1.0 implementation charts. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid **Link:** https://www.amazon.com/dp/0367549980?tag=edmonddante07-20 **Tags:** midi, midi-2.0, sequencing, daw, synchronization ### 2. The MIDI Manual **Author:** David Miles Huber David Miles Huber's reference on MIDI in the project studio, covering the message protocol, electronic instruments, sequencers, editor/librarians, scoring and synchronisation. Readers come away able to design a MIDI setup and understand how the data flows between devices and software. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid **Link:** https://www.amazon.com/dp/0240807987?tag=edmonddante07-20 **Tags:** books, music-performing-arts, music-production --- *This content is part of Dantes.io - Your Treasure Map to Knowledge* *Curated by humans at Dantes.io. Personal study use welcome; republishing this curation requires permission (team@dantes.io).* View this page online: https://dantes.io/subject/midi-programming