What is a MIDI keyboard?
A MIDI keyboard is a keyboard that makes no sound of its own. It sends messages, which key, how hard, pedal down, to a computer or a sound module that turns them into sound.
Why is my MIDI keyboard silent?
Because it is not supposed to make sound. Think of it as a very good set of buttons. When you press a key it sends a note-on message with the key number and the velocity, and a note-off when you let go. Something on the other end, music software, a synth app or a website like this one, has to receive those messages and play a sound.
What the messages carry
Which note (a number from 0 to 127, where 60 is middle C), how hard you pressed it (velocity, 1 to 127), whether the sustain pedal is down, and how far the pitch and mod wheels are turned. Knobs and sliders send control-change messages, and everything can be sent on one of 16 channels so several instruments can share a cable.
MIDI keyboard or digital piano?
A digital piano has its own sounds and speakers and usually also sends MIDI over USB, so it can do both jobs. A MIDI controller is only the keys, knobs and pads, which is why it is lighter and cheaper. For playing in a browser either works, as long as it has a USB port.
Does MIDI work in a web browser?
Yes, in Chrome, Edge and Firefox on a computer, through a standard called Web MIDI. The browser asks your permission once. Safari, on Mac and on iPhone, does not support it.
Questions people ask
- Do I need special software for a MIDI keyboard?
- Something has to turn the messages into sound. That can be music software, or a website like HitJam that plays a piano in the browser.
- What does MIDI stand for?
- Musical Instrument Digital Interface. The standard dates from 1983 and every keyboard still speaks it.
- Is a 25-key MIDI keyboard enough?
- For trying ideas, yes. Use the octave buttons on the keyboard, or HitJam's own octave arrows, to reach the rest of the piano.