Customer Reviews

MIDI For Musicians

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There has been a lot of water over the dam since the introduction of MIDI as a protocol for recording and controlling electronic (and some not-so-electronic) instruments. The average musician has gone from completely computer illiterate to technically adept at living in a specialized world where the gut strings are cables and the voices come from chips. All of this has greatly empowered the players and composers who can work with these building blocks.

But truth is that, for many musicians MIDI is still a mystery. Something that just 'happens' when they follow the instructions in a manual, and when something doesn't happen they are lost. Despite being nearly 20 years old, MIDI for musicians is still one of the best guides for the naïve who are looking to become cognoscenti.

Anderton has written a short, to-the-point book that delves into the mysteries of the architecture of electronic instruments and their control without racing ahead of the readers ability to cope. He treats his reader as someone who is both motivated and intelligent, fearlessly broaching some complicated topics and dicing them up into digestible components.

He moves steadily from what is happening in the wires to presenting a strong overview of the potential resources available to the musician. Recommended for both novices and journeymen alike.

It helped me understand the history of MIDI and how and why it works the way it does.

Although I appreciated the one review given here, when I checked the copyright date (1986) I decided not to buy it. 21 years ago in computer (and MIDI) time is ancient history. Am looking for a more up-to-date book.