Midi Keyboards: Work With Recording & Other Music Software With Ease

A MIDI keyboard might look like a simple piece of gadget but it is the bridge between you and the computer in music creation. It allows you to control virtual instruments with the touch of a finger.

Introduction

Without a MIDI keyboard, you’ll have to depend on the mouse to do a lot of things, which in music creation slows down the process, reduces productivity and kills creativity. The various knobs and switches on the keyboard makes it easier to tweak software synths and effects in real time.

MIDI, which stands for Musical Instrument Digital Interface, is the language that lets digital instruments communicate with each other by sending midi messages. It is just a set of rules which digital instruments use to talk to each other. Every piece of musical information like notes, effects, volume can be exchanged.

A MIDI keyboard allows you to pass midi messages to other equipment and your computer; it makes it easy to sequence music and play virtual instruments on your computer or Mac. Midi keyboards can communicate with other digital midi instruments (and can also be used to control them) via USB or MIDI In / out ports.

Here’s how to connect a midi keyboard to a computer / laptop.

Most beginner electronic keyboards (61 keys and above) are midi keyboards, but if you’re serious about music creation using your computer, you actually need a midi controller keyboard. These keyboards have the MIDI IN, MIDI OUT and MIDI THRU (optional) slots which help you to make the connections with other digital instruments. Recent keyboard models have USB port that lets you pass midi messages to external equipment.

 

A MIDI keyboard is one of the important components of your computer based recording studio; a midi enabled keyboard can also help you learn music as they work great with piano learning software and other types of music software.

Electronic Keyboards With MIDI

A Midi based electronic keyboard may or may not have built-in sounds/styles in it.

Most of the electronic keyboards produced by the various brands have a built-in sound producing mechanism which produces the hundreds of sounds available on those keyboards.

These keyboards also come with the MIDI slots to connect it to other instruments. So they can produce there own sounds and can be used as a MIDI controller as well.

All the electronic keyboards produced by Yamaha, Casio, Roland, Technics, etc. come under this category.

MIDI Controller Keyboards

Best MIDI Controller Reviews

These keyboards do not have a built-in sound producing mechanism.

It can only send midi messages!

These keyboards are generally used by musicians who are completely into composing and recording. These keyboards have a lot of sliders and knobs to give you control over each of the tracks that you record.

MIDI controller keyboards come with a lot lesser number of keys as well so that you can easily put it in a bag and take it around.

Anyways, a laptop, soundcard and a midi keyboard is just what you need to make your portable studio.

Here’s a detailed guide on midi controllers and reviews of the best controller keyboards.