What Is MIDI? - Description & Opinion

Musical Instrument Digital Interface - What is it?


This is a god-blessed invention for musicians of any kind. It allows anyone to create a connection between a computer and a piano, digital keyboard or a synthesizer. 


It is an industry-standard protocol that allows electronic musical instruments (such as synthesizers, digital keyboards and pianos & drum machines) and computers to communicate as well as synchronize with each other. In other words, MIDI is capable of turning music into bits of data. 
MIDI's primary functions include communicating event messages about musical notation, velocity, pitch, control signals for parameters (such as volume, vibrato, cues, panning, and clock signals (to set the tempo)) between two devices in order to complete a signal chain and produce audible sound. In the modern music industry, MIDI has a very significant role, as it basically has enabled the whole industry to become more efficient and has increased the level of quality. (I am not implying, however, that certain teenage shooting stars were... quality.)


Without MIDI, the modern music industry, especially the hip hop part of it, would have to go back to their old methods of producing music which are lower quality and complex as solving a broken jigsaw puzzle (pardon the clumsy expression, first to pop up in my mind).


What can I use it for?


Well, assuming that you have a piano or an instrument that connectable by MIDI, you can transfer your music to your computer. Then you could edit the music as you like. This is perfect for music producers, as they get to play around with the music until they are perfectly satisfied with it. Ever wondered how some songs have these unbelievable, almoust unnatural beats, tunes and sounds? Wonder no more, for thou hast found the answer for thy question!


Opinion


I can quite boldly tell you, that I am still learning MIDI myself, as it is not as easy to understand as some would think. There are so many procedures and things to do if you want to try and have a go at what Timbaland and Bob Sinclar do.

I have a Yamaha digital piano myself, and it has the MIDI feature. After recording a song, I can even see the score of my song on a little computer screen on the piano. The modern technology...
However, despite the fact that for almost a year I've tried to find a way to extract the score into my USB-drive and computer, I still haven't found the method to do so. I'm getting suspicious about having to pay extra for some kind of a software. Well, that is a quest to complete.



To finish this post off - Like I mentioned above, MIDI is an amazing tool that has taken music production to the next level. Unfortunately, it has also allowed some... new "talents" to rise from the mass, although I would rather have them detained for noise pollution... and horrible lyrics.


Ark Music Factory. You give your climbers rugged security ropes, belts and push them to the top if they have luck and masses love them. 

I'm a free-climber. Expect me on the top.

Symphonies & New Age Classical Music

Today is the Finnish Independence day.


To commemorate the fallen soldiers that secured the independence of the small nation, I will be writing about symphonic music. 
Some of the things may be quite difficult to understand for the non-savvy musicians, so I'll try to make it as simple as possible.


What is Symphonic Music?


Wikipedia Explanation:
A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, scored, almost always for orchestra. A symphony usually contains at least one movement or episode composed according to the sonata principle. Many symphonies are tonal works in four movements with the first in sonata form, which is often described by music theorists as the structure of a "classical" symphony, although many symphonies by the acknowledged classical masters of the form, Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Ludwig van Beethoven do not  conform to this model.

My Explanation:
A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, scored almost always for orchestra. For those that do not know, symphonic music is what you hear by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludvig Van Beethoven, and Joseph Haydn.


This is the grand, heavenly, powerful music that has the potential to shatter your eardrums. This type of music is often played by a big orchestra, in which several people will play the same instrument. For example, I've heard a philharmonic orchestra of near 100 people! Well, it's the standard, but it's still a lot of musicians.


Symphonies follow a given structure of composure. This is what the Wikipedia Explanation means by "...usually contains at least one movement or episode composed according to the sonata principle. Many symphonies are tonal works in four movements with the first in sonata form, which is often described by music theorists as the structure of a "Classical" symphony..."  


Even though I won't be able to explain the sonata-concept in this post, I might do so in the future.


What has come to happen in the last 20 years, is that this genre of music has gotten a "successor". These two styles co-exist in perfect harmony, however many do not know what the difference is. These two are Classical music and New Age Classical. 


What is New Age Classical Music?


To be quite frank with you, this type of music cannot really be described in words. There are different types of this music, too. All the relaxation music and yoga stuff is called New Age music. This is something that really annoys artists like Bradley Joseph and Yanni (I talk about him all the time, don't I?). Despite their general attempts to make people understand that they call their music Contemporary Instrumental, music stores categorize them as New Age artists.
The thing is this; what Jon Schmidt plays with Steven 'Sharp' Nelson is New Age classical. Yanni is also a New Age Classical artist.


Some of the categories and representing artists are:

Electronic New Age: Australis (composer, producer)
Ambient New Age: Paul Avgerinos (composer, producer), Daryl Aberhart,
New Age Classical: Yanni (Piano, composer), Jon Schmidt (Piano), Steven 'Sharp' Nelson (Cello)

- The genious returns the favour in music. -

Music for Relaxation & Kiwi-Challenge

I love working whilst listening to music! It helps me concentrate on the work or the studying, but often it has a negative effect. I may get disorientated from my work, and all the distractions will suddenly seem a lot more attracting, like going to get a snack, or go on YouTube, ect. 

What kind of music helps? What kind of music does not?

To be totally honest, this is again something that depends on you. It's all in your personality and the way you work. To make an example of myself; I am extremely lazy when it comes to studying, and that has been seen in my grades throughout the years. However, when I turned away from rap and hip hop, my concentration improved greatly. I cannot explain the reason for that... I'm still trying to find out why. 
After searching a little bit on YouTube, I found out two artists; Yanni, the world-renowned composer, of whom I've made brief mentions before, and Jervy Hou, another artist I've talked about.


Now, what I noticed, was that Orchestra type music, represented by both Yanni and Jervy Hou, is extremely relaxing and entrancing. What I also realized, was that this entrancing effect could be harnessed. As I fell into a state of relaxation, studying became somehow easier, the phrases made sense. I even could translate 5,000 word essays assigned to me by part-time employer, without any stress radiating from me whatsoever. 


After realizing the power of their music, I wanted to hear more. Well, I did find more music. Unfortunately, it was so "epic" that I was totally distracted of my work. Example: ThePianoGuys. If you can concentrate in your work while listening to these magicians, I bow and lift my hat off to you! 

I challenge you to try it! 

What kind of music relaxes you? Any songs in specific? Also, tell me how you managed with the "Kiwi-challenge"!

Playing At Live Concerts - Kiwi Hints

Don't you love the feeling when about 50 to 500 heads turn to you and the eyes just get glued to your shaking face and being? 
I do. That's one of my favorite things in playing music. Live concerts. Well, I am a bit of an attention-seeker on stage anyway, but the adrenaline injection is just earthshaking!

Depending on the venue, the amount of people in the audience can range from the said 50 to 500 people, sometimes even more. Of course, if you are playing in your school concert, there won't be hundreds of people. However, then again, this depends on the size of your school.


Enough of babbling! Getting to the point.

How to stay calm in a live concert?

I have a lot of experience on concerts, especially school concerts, in which I have had to play, often to my own chagrin, before I became a confident performer. Therefore, I can give you a list of things to do to help you calm down before and during the concert. 

BEFORE CONCERT

• The most important one: Learn your song. I can tell you that if you haven't sorted your song(s) out, you will become nervous. Anxiety and nervousness are the main causes for mistakes and errors.
• Play the song to a friend or a family member. This will help you get over the fear of performing in front of a crowd, no matter what size. (Obviously, Elton John-scale numbers are not included!)
• Breathing exercises, a classic! These will come handy during the concert.

DURING CONCERT

     

• Don't think about or look directly at the audience. They don't exist. It's only you and the instrument. Thinking about people will get you distracted and you will likely make mistakes. Play as if you were still in your home, concentrating on what the song sounds like when you succeeded in playing it perfectly.
• Breathe, play and enjoy! Don't think playing as a task. It must not be one! It's a pleasure, and you want to share the music with everyone. If some don't like the music, there are always people who do! Don't get put down by silly comments, laughter, or other attempts of humiliation.
  If bullies don't have enough courage to get on that stage in front of those people and play, they sure don't realize how moronic and low of IQ they make themselves look. This is a true form of self-humiliation perfected over ages!

You can do it!

Epic & Funky Piano Improvisation

This is something to brighten up your day! :-)

I've talked a little about different styles in music, Contemporary Instrumental like Yanni calls it, or using the better known term, New Age is my definite favorite. However, sometimes I get inspired to do these totally unexpected things on piano! 

This is a good example of that. Taking in account that this was recorded on an iPod, it's quite good. 

Keyboards for Beginners and Novice Pianists - Kiwi Opinions

Do you love music? Have you ever thought about making music of your own for yourself, or the enjoyment of other people?

This is the more detailed version of the article I submitted to Ezine Articles not too long ago;

What kind of keyboard should a starting or a novice piano player choose? 


This is a common question among people who have become interested in music, and are looking for an instrument. Over the years, as technology has kept developing and evolving, the musical instruments have followed the evolution with fast pace. The electronic keyboards in specific have evolved into a lot more transportable instruments and the modern digital keyboards display the ability of self-sufficiency in terms of entertainment methods, due to the built-in rhythms, sounds and other features that have rendered the importance of full band far lesser.

Another question falls into the lap of the new-borne pianists; should I invest a great deal in my first digital keyboard? Inexperienced musicians could easily just purchase the best state-of-the-art keyboards in the market, but would this be a wise move? Would it not be worth researching just a bit more? Going down this path often leaves the new musicians with bad experiences, and they do not benefit from doing so any more than they would by purchasing the ideal musical keyboard. This article is something you should definitely read before going and buying one.

So just which would be the keyboard to best fit your requirements? What is the ideal keyboard for YOU to start with? In reality, that question can only be answered by you. What are your wishes? What do you expect from the instrument? In this article, I want to help you find out what would be the best choice for you to start out with. We will find the best keyboard to fit your personal wishes, needs and requirements.

"Help! I don't know what I want from a keyboard? What should I expect?"

What I personally did when I bought my Yamaha, was go online and look for artists that use Yamaha themselves. This proved to be a great decision as I found out several great artists that also like the make of piano. Some of these are James Blunt with Yamaha MP100, Elton John and Paul McCartney who play Yamaha Grand Pianos, and Alicia Keys who loves C6S and C7S. It's always nice to know you've made a good choice!


Well, coming to the actual question, it is actually a process which will require just a little bit of planning. Do not worry, it's nothing too overwhelming! There are many qualities about electric keyboards and they display these qualities in a versatile way. For example, is the sound clear? Does it sound like a television on one of those static channels? Is it portable enough for me to take it to a gig? (Assuming you would have gigs.)

These questions can be scribbled down on a piece of paper. What you should do after, is write down the features you would like the digital keyboard to have, such as a metronome, a drum machine, different sounds like strings, etc. The attributes vary greatly, but usually most keyboards share the same general attributes. The possibilities are numerous. Making a mind-map of all these qualities and features, the next thing on the to-do list is starting to think about your budget. How much can you afford to pay? A little hint: Do not expect to find anything near a good quality for under $150. The professional ones cost thousands, but we are not focusing on that now. Browse online for different makes and compare their prices. Do not forget your wish-list for the features and quality.

 Let's summarise a little: Important things when choosing a digital keyboard -

-  Features and attributes, e.g. strings, drum machine, etc.

- Quality of sound and the portability of the keyboard itself.

- Price and your budget.

Surely, if you have done any browsing on digital keyboards and electric pianos, you know that there are some highly renowned makes that control the market. Some of these are Yamaha, Roland and Korg. Like I mentioned above about my own experience, Yamaha, as well as the rest these makes are distinguishable brands and are favored by many popular artists. 

To give a few more examples for you; Tuomas Holopainen, the keyboardist and songwriter of Nightwish uses Korg Karma, Oasys, Trinity and Triton. Yanni, the world-renowned Greek artist uses models of both Korg and Yamaha. Jervy Hou, a successful YouTube Pianist has used Yamaha and currently used Roland. A common practice for artists is to usually have several models, sometimes even several makes of pianos and keyboards for studio recording, Live concerts and as music workstations.

Like I mentioned earlier, you may feel like just going and buying the most expensive, professional keyboard there is, however it would be a rushed decision as a cheap, normal quality one works great for any novice or beginner. The difference will surface when you reach the point of expertise when you really know what a keyboard has to be like for your level. Music will talk to you via the keyboard. You will know when this happens.

Until then...

Greetings of a pianist,

Kiwi Falls