Since 1982, the world of music has been changed by 4 little letters MIDI. No doubt you have heard these letters talked about but like many people, they mean nothing. I hope to share some of my knowledge of MIDI and how it relates to the world of organs in the next coming issues of Quarter Notes.

MIDI stands for Musical Instrument Digital Interface. Yeah, like that helped. Basically it is a way for musical instruments to communication with each other using compters.

So how do I know if I have MIDI? For most (if not all) digital pianos you will have 2 or 3 connectors that are the size of a nickel and have 5 pins in it. By using a special cable your keyboard can talk with another musical instrument.

For newer organ consoles you will have a small screen (about 4 inches wide) in the console. When you turn on the organ it will say something like “Classic Organs”, “Peterson Instruments”, “Rodgers”, “Allen”, or “Johannus”. In this case the controller is integrated into the console so they work together seamlessly.

Ok so I have MIDI why would I use it? I have used MIDI to “accompany my choir”. By “pre-recording” the accompaniment I can push a button on my laptop and it plays the organ so I can stand and be the conductor. Paul Wharram does the same thing but with his early Sunday worship service. I can also play piano/organ duets with just me. I can even play the Boellman Tocatta (ok that maybe cheating). I can also include other instruments like drums, violins, piano, etc in my music. The possibilities are limited by your imagination and instruments available.

Next issue I will go over terms that you will need to know.