BEAT SHAPER
augmenting human creativity
MIDI stands for Musical Instrument Digital Interface. It's a protocol that allows different pieces of musical equipment and software to communicate using digital messages to trigger notes, sync timing, and modulate parameters across devices and platforms. Despite being introduced in the early 1980s, MIDI remains a core part of modern music production.
For example, a hardware drum machine might play a rhythm while a synthesizer handles the bass line, and a software instrument like Serum runs inside a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) such as Ableton Live to provide additional melody and harmony. MIDI makes this setup possible by transmitting note and clock data in real time, keeping everything in sync via a shared tempo and transport control.
Beyond traditional studio use, MIDI is also the foundation for many modern workflows. AI MIDI generators like Beat Shaper create MIDI files and generate live MIDI messages in real time that can control both software instruments and, via a MIDI interface, external hardware gear. The result is a flexible way to integrate generative AI into a musical workflow.
This article introduces MIDI, explains how it works, explores its typical use cases, and shows why it continues to matter, especially for producers working with AI-assisted tools like Beat Shaper.
MIDI is a way of sending musical instructions between devices. It doesn't transmit audio, but rather symbolic data that describes what's being played and how. That includes things like:
These messages can be sent live between devices or stored in MIDI files for later editing and playback in a DAW. Because the MIDI protocol is standardized, manufacturers design their gear to be MIDI-compatible, allowing hardware and software from different companies to work together smoothly. Whether it's a drum machine triggering samples, a keyboard playing a virtual synth, or a DAW automating filter sweeps, MIDI is what ties it all together.
MIDI was introduced in 1983 as a collaboration between synth manufacturers who wanted their instruments to work together, regardless of who made them. The idea came from Ikutaro Kakehashi (Roland) and Dave Smith (Sequential Circuits), who worked with other companies like Yamaha, Korg, and Kawai to define a shared communication protocol. At the NAMM show that year, they demonstrated the first public MIDI connection by linking a Prophet-600 and a Roland Jupiter-6.
Before that, there was no standard way for electronic instruments to communicate. If a producer wanted to sync a drum machine with a synth, they were usually limited to proprietary solutions. MIDI changed that with a common message format and physical connector (the familiar 5-pin DIN cable) that quickly became a standard.
The protocol gained traction fast, not just in hardware but also in early computer music. MIDI was a perfect fit for video games in the 1980s and early 1990s, when storage space was limited and digital audio files were too large to include on the disks used to distribute them. Instead, games shipped with MIDI files that acted like sheet music, triggering notes and instruments on the user's sound hardware (like the Roland MT-32 or later General MIDI modules).
The Atari ST, released in 1985, gave the protocol another boost. It included built-in MIDI ports and became the go-to computer for early DAWs like Cubase and Notator, making home music production more accessible.
Over the years, MIDI evolved to support more complex setups:
Even with these updates, the original MIDI protocol from 1983 is still in use today. Nearly every DAW, synth, and controller on the market continues to support it, making MIDI one of the longest-lasting standards in music tech.
At its core, MIDI is about sending instructions: play this note, change this setting, or sync to this tempo. It doesn't carry sound, but it tells instruments and software what to play and how to play it.
MIDI messages come in different types. The most common are Note On and Note Off, which say when a note starts and stops, along with how hard it was played (velocity). There are also messages for things like pitch bend, filter sweeps, or switching between presets using Control Change and Program Change data. More specialized messages handle things like syncing devices to a shared tempo (MIDI Clock) or sending manufacturer-specific settings (SysEx).
Every MIDI connection can send up to 16 channels of data at once. That means a single cable (or virtual MIDI port) can control an entire setup: drums on one channel, synths on another, effects on a third, and so on.
MIDI data can be sent live, or it can be saved in a file. A Standard MIDI File (.mid) stores a list of note events, tempo changes, and controller moves - basically a recorded performance, but in editable form. Unlike audio files, MIDI files are extremely compact, easy to share, and DAW-agnostic.
Beat Shaper works with MIDI in both ways. It can:
This gives producers flexibility: use the MIDI right away for performance and routing, or drop the files into a DAW for editing, layering, and arrangement.
Recent tools have made it possible to generate MIDI parts from natural language prompts or other user-defined parameters. These MIDI generators, including text-to-MIDI systems, are useful for quickly sketching out ideas.
Compared to traditional randomizers or arpeggiators, AI MIDI generators focus more on stylistic consistency and human-like phrasing. Instead of generating chaotic patterns, they aim to create musical loops that make sense in context and can be used right away or fine-tuned in a DAW.
The main benefit of generating MIDI, as opposed to audio, is flexibility. The output is fully editable MIDI, so users can tweak exact note pitches and timings, swap out instruments and effects, change key, or layer new parts on top. It's a fast way to create variations and build the foundation of a track without getting stuck at the "blank screen" stage.
Beat Shaper follows this approach: it generates MIDI loops in real time based on a user's input. The results can be routed directly to instruments (live, via Note On/Off messages) or downloaded as MIDI files for further editing and arrangement.
Despite being over 40 years old, MIDI is still extremely widely used. Its core strength is that it works across hardware and software, stays lightweight, and keeps things editable after the initial idea is recorded. Producers can swap instruments, tweak grooves, or adjust note dynamics long after the ideas were originally written or recorded, which is much more difficult when working with recorded audio.
And now, MIDI isn't just for sequencers and keyboards - it's powering AI-driven composition tools, helping producers generate musical ideas faster than ever while keeping full control over how those ideas sound. It's a protocol that's simple, versatile, and still evolving to use cases beyond what its original creators could have ever imagined back in the early 1980s.
Enhance creativity and break through creative blocks
Use AI to generate custom beats and loops compatible with every digital audio workstation.