MIDI

acronym Also written midi (Lifestyle and Leisure) (Music) noun: An interface which allows electronic musical instruments, synthesizers, and computers to be interconnected and used simultaneously. adjective: Making use of this kind of interface, usually as part of a complete music system. Etymology: An acronym, formed on the initial letters of its official name, Musical Instrument Digital Interface. History and Usage: MIDI was invented in the US in the early eighties at a time when increasing use was being made of synthesizers in the world of music, both classical and popular. It was the introduction of this standard means of linking a number of synthesizers with a computer which made possible some of the most characteristic musical developments of the eighties: sequencers, sampling, and techno music generally depend upon the possibility of recording and remixing sounds and effects from electronic sources. What really brought the word MIDI into the high street, though, was the appearance on the market in the mid eighties of the MIDI system, a home music system which incorporates a programmable CD player and usually a whole range of other elements such as cassette decks, a stereo radio, a traditional record player, and amplification equipment. Some professional musicians already use MIDI connections to play several synthesizers at once from a single keyboard. Newsweek 28 May 1984, p. 89 A typical midi system reproduces about 50% of the music on your records and CDs. Q Mar. 1989, p. 129