The definition of MIDI
MIDI is a very fundamental data format in the world of music production. While it does not contain any audio, it contains the information of what an instrument plays, i.e. which keys are played and at what velocity. It can also contain other information such as sustain pedal use. A MIDI file can both be recorded by the use of an electronic keyboard (or other devices supporting MIDI) but it can also be created manually in MIDI editing software (e.g., Logic Pro X which I use).
When a MIDI file is loaded into MIDI editing software you will be presented some sort of x-y-plot with keys on one axis and time (bars) on the other axis just as shown below.
How to use MIDI files with Synthesia
It is very easy to load your own MIDI files in Synthesia. First, you will need to download and install Synthesia from here: https://synthesiagame.com/. Then you need to purchase one or more MIDI files from my store (MIDI store).
In order to load your downloaded files in Synthesia you'll need to do the following:
- Open Synthesia and navigate to 'Settings' from the front page.
- Select the 'Songs' tab in the left panel.
- Click the '+' to add the file path for where your downloads are located.
- Go to the front page and click 'Play a song'.
- Search for your song in the upper right corner
- Click play!
More information on MIDI
For more information, please read this comprehensive blog post which contains absolutely all you need to know about MIDI: https://blog.landr.com/what-is-midi/. For any questions or feedback on this post, feel free to leave a comment below.
Hi, what about music with “more than just a piano” (f.e. Winter melody) – is there a posiblility to buy sheets and those “more” somehow? Midi ar something?
I currently don’t share my string accompaniment in either MIDI files or Sheet music, but it is definitely on my list of things I’m working on implementing. But unfortunately I can’t give you specific time of when I expect it to be available :)
Thanks for Your answer. That was not what I was hoping but that’s what I expected. I’ll wait then…
If someday finally the possibility appears, will be some newsletter with great news sended (I’m on some mailing list – I have purchased some sheets and furthermore planning purchase another)?
Yes, you should be notified by mail then! :)
Hi Jakob, does the midi file contain the PDFsheet as well? Or is something that you get by downloading the midi in synthesia directly as alternative to see it just on screen. As how to play it is good in synthesia, however at some point I will like to have it in PDF and not just by seeing how to play it. Thank you for your advise. Marc
Hi Marc, No the MIDI is only the MIDI file. A MIDI file can however be loaded in software like Synthesia which is able to show the corresponding sheet music of the MIDI file, and some software can also convert the MIDI file to sheet music. But how well that works depends on whether the MIDI file is quantized or not. No matter what I suggest that you purchase the sheet music if that’s what you want :) My original sheet music can be found on this page and some of my cover arrangements can be found on https://musicnotes.com. Thanks for questions! /Jacob
Is sheet music Available for a river flows in you?
No. I only sell sheet music for my original work due to copyrights. For cover songs, I only have licenses to sell MIDI files.