It’s with great sadness that we announce that Dave Smith has passed away
The MIDI Association would not exist without Dave’s essential contributions to MIDI. But those of us who knew Dave also know that he was never entirely comfortable being called the “Father of MIDI.” Having known Dave for more than 30 years, worked closely with him at Korg, and later worked with him again when Yamaha helped return the Sequential name, I know that Dave understood just how many people contributed to the creation and success of MIDI. He was often almost embarrassed by the central role that history had assigned to him.
Dave was also not a great fan of organizations, committees, or meetings. Even in the early days of MIDI, he was not an especially active participant in The MIDI Association or in the continuing development of new MIDI specifications. He had made his contribution, and then he moved on to what he loved most: building his next great synthesizer.
In a recent interview in the fall of 2021, however, Dave had begun to appreciate many of the ideas behind MIDI 2.0. In his own characteristically understated way, he seemed to recognize that MIDI still had room to grow and that the next generation of the standard could open new creative possibilities.
Still, Dave never spent much time looking backward. He almost begrudgingly accepted interviews about his role in the creation of MIDI, and he was always far more comfortable talking about his newest synth design than about things he had done decades earlier.
Like so many brilliant and creative people, Dave was always focused on the future.
One thing is clear: though no one lives forever, the contributions that some people make to the arts can last for a very, very long time.
Dave’s contributions were not limited to MIDI. He helped establish synthesizers as full-fledged members of the musical instrument family. His instruments inspired generations of musicians, producers, composers, performers, and sound designers. His ideas helped shape the way electronic music is created, performed, and heard.
Those contributions will resonate for centuries to come.
Dave will always be missed, but he will also always be in our hearts and in our music.
For those wishing to send condolences to the Smith family and share thoughts and memories of Dave and his creations, Sequential invites the public to send comments to RememberingDave@sequential.com.