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There is also a third category of devices that simply re-rout and/or re-interpret MIDI messages. However, any such device that features both “MIDI in” and “MIDI out” ports can usually be used as one or the other independently. Perhaps some of the sound vs. MIDI confusion that the music community experiences is due to the fact that may keyboards actually include both of these elements: they are all-in-one MIDI controllers and synthesizers. In a hardware-only setup, a MIDI controller (like a keyboard) would be physically connected to a MIDI synthesizer, to which speakers or headphones would then be connected. Out: sound via an audio device or audio jack.
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There are plenty of software “MIDI devices” that can be called as such simply because they show up in device lists just like hardware devices. Note that a “MIDI device” does not have to be a piece of hardware. If you buy a brand new laptop, its sound chip will not deal with MIDI messages and is not a MIDI synthesizer.


It is a protocol for communicating information between various devices and it has been around for over 30 years. MIDI stands for Musical Instrument Digital Interface.
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If you know about MIDI already, feel free to skip right to the section on Virtual MIDI ports.
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Some of this general information on MIDI is the same as on my Working with MIDI on Windows page. All of these topics are covered here.įirst though, let’s talk about exactly what MIDI is. You may also want a way to get MIDI input without extra hardware. Virtual MIDI ports (many devices create these automatically, but some programs do not).In brief, to work with MIDI you need two things at a minimum: I am also focusing on free setup, so the instructions on this page do not involve spending money to get things working. Here I will try to give a comprehensive overview of what you need to work with MIDI on Mac, particularly for interactive MIDI applications.
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Some older versions like 10.10 and 10.9 are essentially the same where MIDI is concerned, but your millage may vary if you have a vastly older OS versions (namely those older than 10.6).Īlthough a basic MIDI setup on Mac OS X is typically easier than on Windows (to go beyond the default Windows synth anyway), it still requires some work. Note: this page describes setup for OS X 10.11-10.14. Reference to a new, easy-to-use software MIDI keyboard (MidiKeys) has been added.

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Update 13-Sept-2019: the information in this post (originally from Sept 2016) is still relevant for OSX 10.14.
