Ignorance on MIDI - It is Not Sound
There seems to be a trend going on lately that whatever was used back in the 90s must be dated and irrelevant today. This isn't just on MIDI but more on that maybe some other time.
Some of the more frustrating comments I've heard these days is that somehow MIDI "sounds" dated or cheesy. There is always so much surprise when someone finds out I use MIDI to record my music but worse is when they suggest *not* using MIDI as a way to improve the quality of the sound.
Now you can say - sure, there's always going to be misconception about various things, especially technology related. The more troubling thing is this was being taught in a few university classes I took on music and computers. Hard part is hearing the lecturer rant against MIDI as some old way of making music that sounds cheap to the ear, when really MIDI does not "sound" like anything at all. It is merely a sequence of recorded notes in digital form (like digital sheet music).
Needless to say, I didn't really take much away from those classes, but this has bothered me a lot. I wasn't sure if it was just my own misunderstanding of the MIDI issue, but some quick googling brought up similar confusion. This topic, for example, from Gearslutz.com hits the nail on the head: Realistic Midi?
Glad to know it isn't just me wondering what people are talking about when they refer to MIDI as sounding like anything at all. Of course there is definitely the aspect of vibrato etc not being recorded but that's where the editing comes in depending on your software. For now, I guess I'll blame Microsoft for making such a cheesy default soundbank for MIDI in the first place.
Some of the more frustrating comments I've heard these days is that somehow MIDI "sounds" dated or cheesy. There is always so much surprise when someone finds out I use MIDI to record my music but worse is when they suggest *not* using MIDI as a way to improve the quality of the sound.
Now you can say - sure, there's always going to be misconception about various things, especially technology related. The more troubling thing is this was being taught in a few university classes I took on music and computers. Hard part is hearing the lecturer rant against MIDI as some old way of making music that sounds cheap to the ear, when really MIDI does not "sound" like anything at all. It is merely a sequence of recorded notes in digital form (like digital sheet music).
Needless to say, I didn't really take much away from those classes, but this has bothered me a lot. I wasn't sure if it was just my own misunderstanding of the MIDI issue, but some quick googling brought up similar confusion. This topic, for example, from Gearslutz.com hits the nail on the head: Realistic Midi?
Glad to know it isn't just me wondering what people are talking about when they refer to MIDI as sounding like anything at all. Of course there is definitely the aspect of vibrato etc not being recorded but that's where the editing comes in depending on your software. For now, I guess I'll blame Microsoft for making such a cheesy default soundbank for MIDI in the first place.
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