MIDI (dec 29, 1980 – feb 26, 2018)

Description:

In June 1981, Roland founder Ikutaro Kakehashi proposed the idea of standardization to Oberheim Electronics founder Tom Oberheim, who then discussed it with Sequential Circuits president Dave Smith. In October 1981, Kakehashi, Oberheim and Smith discussed the idea with representatives from Yamaha, Korg and Kawai. They then discussed how to develop a common standard, working with Roland's pre-existing DCB as a basis. Sequential Circuits engineers and synthesizer designers, Dave Smith and Chet Wood devised a universal synthesizer interface, which would allow direct communication between equipment from different manufacturers. Smith proposed this standard at the Audio Engineering Society show in November 1981. The standard was then discussed and modified by representatives of Roland, Yamaha, Korg, Kawai, and Sequential Circuits and was named Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI). MIDI's development was announced to the public by Robert Moog, in the October 1982 edition of Keyboard magazine.

MIDI carries event messages that specify notation, pitch and velocity (loudness or softness), control signals for parameters such as volume, vibrato, audio panning from left to right, cues, and clock signals that set and synchronize tempo between multiple devices. These messages are sent via a MIDI cable to other devices where they control sound generation and other features.