[sdiy] MIDI isn't musical : Flame bait?

[Don Tillman]

   Date: Sun, 13 Jan 2002 11:17:36 +0000
   From: David Hughes <dhughes at globalnet.co.uk>

   Don Tillman <don at till.com> wrote :
   > Because MIDI is unmusical.  

   Oh, this is complete rubbish! This must be flame bait! 
   Don, are you *really* serious?

Dead serious.  

Midi is a very limited protocol and just not capable of representing
most musical events; say, the intro to Jimi Hendrix' "Voodoo Chile"
or a John Coltrane sax solo. 

"That's not fair, MIDI is intended for keyboard-oriented music."

Same thing with keyboards.  MIDI's limited command set and gross
timing distortion are not capable of conveying the individuality, the
personality, the touch or the inspiration of a given keyboard or a
given player.  If your goal is a musical instrument this stuff is
important.

How's that for a flame?

  -- Don

-- 
Don Tillman
Palo Alto, California, USA
don at till.com
http://www.till.com