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Encyclopedia > General MIDI

General MIDI or GM is a specification for synthesizers which imposes several requirements beyond the more abstract MIDI standard. While MIDI itself provides a protocol which ensures that different instruments can interoperate at a fundamental level (e.g. that pressing keys on a MIDI keyboard will cause an attached MIDI sound module to play musical notes), General MIDI (or GM) goes further in two ways: it requires that all GM-compatible instruments meet a certain minimal set of features, such as being able to play at least 24 notes simultaneously (polyphony), and it attaches certain interpretations to many parameters and control messages which were left unspecified in MIDI, such as defining instrument sounds for each of 128 program numbers. For other uses, see Synthesizer (disambiguation). ... Musical Instrument Digital Interface, or MIDI, is a system designed to transmit information between electronic musical instruments. ... This article concerns communication between pairs of electronic devices. ... Polyphony is the property of an electronic musical instrument which describes how many notes it can sound at one time. ...


General MIDI was first standardised in 1991 by the MIDI Manufacturers Association (MMA) and the Japan MIDI Standards Committee (JMSC), and has since been adopted as an addendum to the main MIDI standard. It has largely become a synonym for the acclaimed Roland Sound Canvas module. The MIDI Manufacturers Association, also known as MMA is an organization where companies work together to create the standards that assure compatibility among MIDI products. ... The Japan MIDI Standards Committee is the body that ratifies and proposes MIDI standards within the Japanese manufacturing and developer community. ... Roland SC-55 Sound Canvas The Roland SC-55 Sound Canvas is a MIDI synthesizer module released in 1991 by Roland Corporation. ...


Other companies have created their own extensions to the original General MIDI standard, notably Roland GS extensions and Yamaha's XG. GM itself was later revised to become GM Level 2 in 1999 and included some features common to GS and XG. Roland Corporation ) TYO: 7944 is a Japanese manufacturer of electronic musical instruments, electronic equipment and software. ... Roland GS, or just GS, sometimes vaguely transcribed as General Standard, is an extension of General MIDI specification. ... A PCI Yamaha XG sound card with a YMF724E-V chipset. ... General MIDI Level 2 or GM2 is a specification for synthesizers which defines several requirements beyond the more abstract MIDI standard and is based on General MIDI and GS extensions. ... This article is about the year. ...

Contents

Minimal feature requirements

General MIDI Level 1 compatible instruments are required to be able to:

  • Allow 24 voices to be active simultaneously (including at least 16 melodic and 8 percussive voices)
  • Respond to note velocity
  • Support all 16 channels simultaneously (with channel 10 reserved for percussion)
  • Support polyphony (multiple simultaneous notes) on each channel

Parameter interpretations

GM Instruments must also obey the following conventions for program and controller events:


Program change events

The following table shows which instrument sound corresponds to each program change number. Note that for purposes of computer programming, this table should start at 0 instead of 1 and thus use all of the 7-bit range (0-127) allowed by the MIDI program change event. It should also be noted that some MIDI keyboards with displays show these program numbers as in the table (1-128), while others show the range as coded (0-127).


Melodic sounds

Piano:
1 Acoustic piano
2 Bright piano
3 Grand piano
4 Honky-tonk piano
5 Rhodes piano 1
6 Chorused piano 2
7 Harpsichord
8 Clavinet
Chromatic Percussion:
9 Celesta
10 Glockenspiel
11 Music box
12 Vibraphone
13 Marimba
14 Xylophone
15 Tubular bell
16 Dulcimer
Organ:
17 Hammmond organ
18 Percussive organ
19 Rock organ
20 Church organ
21 Reed organ
22 Accordion
23 Harmonica
24 Tango accordion
Guitar:
25 Acoustic nylon guitar
26 Acoustic steel guitar
27 Jazz guitar
28 Clean guitar
29 Muted guitar
30 Overdriven guitar
31 Distortion guitar
32 Guitar harmonics
Bass:
33 Acoustic bass
34 Finger bass
35 Picked bass
36 Fretless bass
37 Slap bass 1
38 Slap bass 2
39 Synth bass 1
40 Synth bass 2
Strings:
41 Violin
42 Viola
43 Cello
44 Double bass
45 Tremolo strings
46 Pizzicato strings
47 Orchestral harp
48 Timpani
Ensemble:
49 Strings 1
50 Strings 2
51 Synth strings 1
52 Synth strings 2
53 Voice aahs
54 Voice oohs
55 Synth voice
56 Orchestra hit
Brass:
57 Trumpet
58 Trombone
59 Tuba
60 Muted trumpet
61 French horn
62 Brass
63 Synth brass 1
64 Synth brass 2
A grand piano from Schiedmayer & Söhne, Stuttgart. ... A vintage belt buckle from Gilleys, a large honky tonk featured in the movie Urban Cowboy. ... A Rhodes piano A Rhodes piano is an electromechanical musical instrument, a brand of electric piano. ... Harpsichord in the Flemish style A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. ... The Clavinet D6, the most popular model, introduced in 1971. ... French type, four-octave Celesta The Celesta (IPA ) is a struck idiophone operated by a keyboard. ... Most orchestral glockenspiels are mounted in a case. ... A musical box (or music box) is a 19th century automatic musical instrument that produces sounds by the use of a set of pins placed on a revolving cylinder so as to strike the tuned teeth of a steel comb. ... A typical vibraphone. ... The marimba ( ) is a musical instrument in the percussion family. ... Kulintang a Kayo, a Philippine xylophone The xylophone (from the Greek meaning wooden sound) is a musical instrument in the percussion family which probably originated in Indonesia. ... Tubular bells (also known as chimes) are musical instruments in the percussion family. ... Dulcimer is the name given to two types of stringed musical instrument: The Appalachian dulcimer, a three-course, fretted, plucked instrument which is also referred to as a mountain dulcimer or just a dulcimer, and The Hammered dulcimer, which is a hammer-struck, trapezoid-shaped zither The instruments are quite... The church organ developed originally for congregational singing, and is found in many houses of worship. ... A reed organ is an organ that generates its sounds using free metal reeds, similar to an accordion. ... For other uses, see Accordion (disambiguation). ... A harmonica is a free reed wind instrument. ... For other uses, see Guitar (disambiguation). ... Jazz guitar refers to the use of guitar in jazz music. ... Overdrive in the field of rock music, is a term used for an electric guitar amplifier when turned up, usually deliberately, to the point where distortion (clipping) is clearly audible in the output signal. ... For other uses, see Distortion (disambiguation). ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Fender Precision Bass Bass Guitar is a commonly spoken phrase used to refer to the electric bass and horizontal acoustic basses, a stringed instrument similar in design to the electric guitar, but larger in size, commonly fretted and sometimes fretless and with a lower range. ... Traditional guitars, and most other stringed instruments, create tones of different heights using the fingers to adjust the length at which the strings vibrate. ... // Slap Bass More commonly known as Slap Bass, this sound is produced by a bass player hitting his thumb hard down on an individual string. ... // Slap Bass More commonly known as Slap Bass, this sound is produced by a bass player hitting his thumb hard down on an individual string. ... For the Anne Rice novel, see Violin (novel). ... The viola (French, alto; German Bratsche) is a bowed string instrument. ... This article is about the stringed musical instrument. ... Side and front views of a modern double bass with a French bow. ... A timpanist in the United States Air Forces in Europe Band. ... See also string (disambiguation) Strings (as a sound (voice) in electronic musical instruments and synthesizers) is an imitation of classical string ensembles sound. ... An orchestra hit, also known as an orchestral hit, orchestra stab, or orchestral stab, is a sound created through the layering of the sounds of a number of different orchestral instruments. ... Trumpeter redirects here. ... The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. ... For other uses, see Tuba (disambiguation). ... Muting a trumpet is a popular way to change the tone of the instrument. ... The horn is a brass instrument consisting of tubing wrapped into a coiled form. ... “Brazen” redirects here. ...

Reed:
65 Soprano sax
66 Alto sax
67 Tenor sax
68 Baritone sax
69 Oboe
70 English horn
71 Bassoon
72 Clarinet
Pipe:
73 Piccolo
74 Flute
75 Recorder
76 Pan flute
77 Bottle blow
78 Shakuhachi
79 Whistle
80 Ocarina
Synth Lead:
81 Square wave
82 Sawtooth
83 Calliope
84 Chiff lead
85 Charang
86 Solo synth lead
87 Bright saw
88 Bass and lead
Synth Pad:
89 Fantasia
90 Warm pad
91 Poly synth
92 Space pad
93 Bowed glass
94 Metal
95 Halo pad
96 Sweep pad
Synth Effects:
97 Ice rain
98 Soundtrack
99 Crystal
100 Atmosphere
101 Brightness
102 Goblin
103 Echo drops
104 Star theme
Ethnic:
105 Sitar
106 Banjo
107 Shamisen
108 Koto
109 Kalimba
110 Bagpipe
111 Fiddle
112 Shanai
Percussive:
113 Tinkle bell
114 Agogô
115 Steel drums
116 Woodblock
117 Taiko drum
118 Melodic tom
119 Synth drum
120 Reverse cymbal
Sound effects:
121 Guitar fret
122 Breath
123 Seashore
124 Bird tweet
125 Telephone Ring
126 Helicopter
127 Applause
128 Gunshot
The soprano saxophone is a variety of the saxophone, a woodwind instrument. ... The alto saxophone is a variety of the saxophone, a woodwind instrument. ... The tenor saxophone is one of the larger members of the saxophone family invented by Adolphe Sax. ... Baritone saxophone The baritone saxophone is one of the larger and lower pitched members of the saxophone family. ... The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. ... Cor anglais The cor anglais or English horn is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. ... The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers and occasionally even higher. ... Two soprano clarinets: a Bâ™­ clarinet (left, with capped mouthpiece) and an A clarinet (right, with no mouthpiece). ... This article is about the instrument in the flute family. ... â™  This article is about the family of musical instruments. ... Various recorders The recorder is a woodwind musical instrument of the family known as fipple flutes or internal duct flutes — whistle-like instruments which include the tin whistle and ocarina. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... A shakuhachi flute, blowing edge up. ... For other uses, see Whistle (disambiguation). ... The ocarina (IPA: ) is an ancient flute-like wind instrument. ... A square wave is a kind of basic waveform. ... The sawtooth wave (or saw wave) is a kind of basic non-sinusoidal waveform. ... Circus calliope, lithograph by Gibson & Co. ... Visit the Guitar Portal A Bolivian charango A Peruvian charango This article is about an instrument. ... Diagram of some sitar parts. ... For other uses, see Banjo (disambiguation) The banjo is a stringed instrument developed by enslaved Africans in the United States, adapted from several African instruments. ... Kitagawa Utamaro, Flowers of Edo: Young Womans Narrative Chanting to the Samisen, ca. ... Masayo Ishigure plays the koto The Koto (âµ) is a traditional stringed musical instrument from Japan resembling a zither. ... Kalimba can refer to: Kalimba is a folk musical instrument of Caribbean Islands. ... A bagpipe performer in Amsterdam. ... “Fiddler” redirects here. ... A shanai is a type of shawm (reed instrument similar to an oboe) which comes from India. ... An Agogô is a multiple bell used in samba baterías (percussion ensembles). ... Steelpan (also known as Pan or Steel drum, and sometimes collectively with the musicians as a Steelband) is a musical instrument and a form of music originating in Trinidad West Indies. ... Wood block Tubular wood block A wood block is essentially a small slit drum made from a single piece of wood and used as a percussion instrument. ... For other uses, see Helicopter (disambiguation). ... Applause (Latin applaudere, to strike upon, clap) is primarily the expression of approval by the act of clapping, or striking the palms of the hands together, in order to create noise; generally any expression of approval. ... A gunshot is the discharge of a firearm, and the sound effect thereof; the term can also refer to a wound caused by such a discharge. ...

Percussion notes

GM Standard Drum Map

Channel 10 is reserved for percussion under General MIDI; this channel always sounds as percussion regardless of whatever program change numbers it may be sent, and different note numbers are interpreted as different instruments: Image File history File links Size of this preview: 493 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (570 × 693 pixels, file size: 23 KB, MIME type: image/gif) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 493 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (570 × 693 pixels, file size: 23 KB, MIME type: image/gif) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Percussion redirects here. ...

35 Bass Drum 2
36 Bass Drum 1
37 Side Stick
38 Snare Drum 1
39 Hand Clap
40 Snare Drum 2
41 Low Tom 2
42 Closed Hi-hat
43 Low Tom 1
44 Pedal Hi-hat
45 Mid Tom 2
46 Open Hi-hat
47 Mid Tom 1
48 High Tom 2
49 Crash Cymbal 1
50 High Tom 1
51 Ride Cymbal 1
52 Chinese Cymbal
53 Ride Bell
54 Tambourine
55 Splash Cymbal
56 Cowbell
57 Crash Cymbal 2
58 Vibra Slap
A bass drum is a large drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. ... The snare drum or side drum is a tubular drum made of wood or metal with skins, or heads, stretched over the top and bottom openings, and with a set of snares (cords) stretched across the bottom head. ... A tom-tom (not to be confused with a tamtam) is a cylindrical drum with no snare. ... The hi-hat stand has changed little since its invention. ... For the handheld type of cymbal, see Clash cymbals. ... A Zildjian 22 Z Custom Power Ride A ride cymbal is a type of cymbal that is a standard part of most drum kits. ... “Buben” redirects here. ... A splash cymbal is a small cymbal used for an accent in a drum kit. ... The cowbell is a percussion instrument. ... A Vibraslap manufactured by LP LP Vibraslap showing metal teeth A vibraslap (also known as a Mandible) is a percussion instrument consisting of a piece of stiff wire (bent in a handle-like shape) connecting a wood ball to a block of wood with metal teeth inside. ...

59 Ride Cymbal 2
60 High Bongo
61 Low Bongo
62 Mute High Conga
63 Open High Conga
64 Low Conga
65 High Timbale
66 Low Timbale
67 High Agogo
68 Low Agogo
69 Cabasa
70 Maracas
71 Short Whistle
72 Long Whistle
73 Short Guiro
74 Long Guiro
75 Claves
76 High Wood Block
77 Low Wood Block
78 Mute Cuica
79 Open Cuica
80 Mute Triangle
81 Open Triangle
Bongos Bongo drums or bongos are a percussion instrument made up of two small drums attached to each other. ... For other uses, see Conga (disambiguation). ... Timbales (or tymbales) are shallow single-headed drums, shallower in shape than single-headed tom-toms, and usually much higher tuned. ... Cabasa The Cabasa, originating from an instrument called afuche, is a percussion instrument that is constructed with loops of steel ball chain wrapped around a wide cylinder. ... Maracas Maracas (sometimes called rhumba shakers) are simple percussion instruments (idiophones), usually played in pairs, consisting of a dried calabash or gourd shell (cuia - kOO-ya) or coconut shell filled with seeds or dried beans. ... For other uses, see Whistle (disambiguation). ... Categories: Music stubs | Latin percussion | Idiophones ... Claves(pronounces Clar-vays) is a percussion instrument (idiophone), consisting of a pair of short (about 20-30 cm), thick dowels. ... Wood block Tubular wood block A wood block is essentially a small slit drum made from a single piece of wood and used as a percussion instrument. ... Cuíca is a Brazilian friction drum often used in Samba music. ... An old-fashioned triangle, with wand (beater) Angelika Kauffmann: LAllegra, 1779 The triangle is an idiophone type of musical instrument in the percussion family. ...

Controller events

GM also specifies which operations should be performed by several controllers:[1][2]


1 Modulation
6 Data Entry MSB
7 Volume
10 Pan
11 Expression
38 Data Entry LSB
64 Sustain
100 RPN LSB
101 RPN MSB
121 Reset all controllers
123 All notes off
For the military space program, see SUSTAIN (military). ...


RPN

Setting Registered Parameters requires sending (numbers are decimal):
1) two Control Change messages using Control Numbers 101 and 100 to select the parameter, followed by
2) any number of Data Entry messages of one or two bytes (MSB = Controller #6, LSB = Controller #38), and finally
3) an "End of RPN" message


The following global Registered Parameter Numbers (RPNs) are standardised [1] (the parameter is specified by RPN LSB/MSB pair and the value is set by Data Entry LSB/MSB pair):


0,0 Pitch bend range
1,0 Channel Fine tuning
2,0 Channel Coarse tuning
3,0 Tuning Program Change
4,0 Tuning Bank Select
5,0 Modulation Depth Range
127,127 RPN Null


For example: RPN control sequence to set coarse tuning to A440 (parm 2, value 64):
101:0, 100:2, 6:64, 101:127, 100:127


System Exclusive messages

Two GM System Exclusive ("SysEx") messages are defined: one to enable and disable General MIDI compatibility, on devices which also allow modes which are not GM-compatible; and the other to modify an instrument's master volume.


GS extensions

Main article: Roland GS

The first GM synthesizer in Roland Sound Canvas line featured a set of extensions to General MIDI standard. The most apparent addition was the ability to address multiple banks of sounds by using additional pair of controllers, cc#0 (Bank Select MSB) and cc#32 (Bank Select LSB), to specify up to 65536 'variation' sounds. Roland GS, or just GS, sometimes vaguely transcribed as General Standard, is an extension of General MIDI specification. ... Roland SC-55 Sound Canvas The Roland SC-55 Sound Canvas is a MIDI synthesizer module released in 1991 by Roland Corporation. ... In computing, the most significant bit (MSB) is the bit position in a binary number having the greatest value. ... In computing, the least significant bit (LSB) is the bit position in a binary number having the value of 1. ...


Other most notable features were 9 Drum kits with 14 additional drum sounds each, Control Change messages for controlling the send level of sound effect blocks (cc#91-94), entering additional parameters (cc#98-101), portamento, sostenuto, soft pedal (cc#65-67), and model-specific SysEx messages for setting various parameters of the synth engine.


General MIDI Level 2

Main article: General MIDI Level 2

In 1999, the standard was once again updated to include more controllers, patches, RPNs and SysEx messages. Here's a quick overview of the changes in comparison to GM/GS: General MIDI Level 2 or GM2 is a specification for synthesizers which defines several requirements beyond the more abstract MIDI standard and is based on General MIDI and GS extensions. ...

  • Number of Notes - minimum 32 simultaneous notes
  • Simultaneous Percussion Kits - up to 2 (Channels 10/11)
  • Additional 128 melodic sounds are included in variation banks, for a total of 256
  • 9 GS Drum kits are included
  • Additional Control Change messages
    • Filter Resonance (Timbre/Harmonic Intensity) (cc#71)
    • Release Time (cc#72)
    • Brightness/Cutoff Frequency (cc#74)
    • Decay Time (cc#75)
    • Vibrato Rate (cc#76)
    • Vibrato Depth (cc#77)
    • Vibrato Delay (cc#78)
  • Registered Parameter Numbers (RPNs)
    • Modulation Depth Range (Vibrato Depth Range)
  • Universal SysEx messages
    • Master Volume, Fine Tuning, Coarse Tuning
    • Reverb Type, Time
    • Chorus Type, Mod Rate, Mod Depth, Feedback, Send to Reverb
    • Controller Destination Setting
    • Scale/Octave Tuning Adjust
    • Key-Based Instrument Controllers
    • GM2 System On

Additional melodic instruments can be accessed by setting CC#32 to 121 and then using CC#0 to select the bank before a Program Change. The most expanded group is Acoustic Pianos.


See also

This table provides summary of comparison of various MIDI enhancement standards by various parameters. ...

References

  1. ^ http://www.midi.org/about-midi/table3.shtml

External links


  Results from FactBites:
 
general midi - Article and Reference from OnPedia.com (277 words)
General MIDI is a specification for synthesizers which imposes several requirements beyond the more abstract MIDI standard.
General MIDI was first standardised in 1991, by the MIDI Manufacturers Association (MMA) and the Japan MIDI Standards Committee (JMSC), and has since been adopted as an addendum to the main MIDI standard.
GM itself was later revised to become General MIDI 2, in 1999.
  More results at FactBites »


 

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