We put together a series of articles about the history of electronic music and MIDI. Here are links to the series. MIDI History:Chapter 1- 850 AD to 1850 AD - To really understand the origins of MIDI, you need to go all the way back to before there were digitally controlled synthesizers and computers, In fact you need to go back before there w...

Visionaries including Dave Smith from Sequential Circuits, and Ikutaru Kakehashi from Roland began to worry that this lack of compatibility between manufacturers would restrict people's use of synthesizers, which would ultimately inhibit sales growth. Talk of a 'universal' digital communication system thus began circulating in 1981. Dave Smith and ...

The MIDI specification first saw the light of day at the 1981 AES, when Dave Smith of Sequential Circuits presented a paper on the "Universal Synthesizer Interface." It was co-developed with other companies (an effort driven principally by Roland's Ikutaro Kakehashi, a true visionary of this industry), and made its prime time debut at the 1983 Los ...

 How MIDI changed music  In 2013, MIDI turned 30 and the whole world turned out to celebrate.  In 2023, MIDI will turn 40 and MIDI 2.0 will be three years old.  It's a fascinating time for MIDI and the people who create music and art with MIDI.  Note on, note off: How MIDI changed music - ABC Melbourne - Australian Broadcas...