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Appendix E: A Note on the MIDI Interface
MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a standard for composing
and playing music using electronic instruments and computers.
The MIDI interface transmits (MIDI-out) and receives (MIDI-in) MIDI
commands serially at 32.5K baud. Multiple instruments can be connected
in a daisy-chain fashion to the MIDI interface.
MIDI commands are sent from a MIDI sequencer (i.e., the computer) to
the attached instruments. Several instruments can play simultaneously.
The result is similar to a complete band playing a song.
MIDI songs consist of commands, not actual digital sounds. Consequently,
file size is greatly reduced when compared, for example, to a Windows
.WAV file.
The SE1440 can play MIDI songs in three different ways:
1. Through an instrument attached to the joystick/MIDI port.
2. Through an attached Wave Blaster
tm
compatible wave table card (see
Appendix D).
3. Through the on-board OPL3 FM synthesizer.
When playing MIDI songs through the MIDI port or wave table card, the
Windows MIDI mapper must be configured for MPU-401 (1-16).
A Note on the MIDI Interface