MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface)
MIDI is not an audio recording but a set of instructions that tell synthesizers and virtual instruments which notes to play, how loud, and for how long. MIDI files are extremely small and are fundamental to music production, live performance, and electronic instruments.
MIME Type
audio/midi
Type
Binary
Compression
Lossless
Advantages
- + Extremely small file sizes (a few kilobytes for a full song)
- + Editable at the note level — change tempo, key, or instruments easily
- + Universal communication protocol for electronic instruments
- + MIDI 2.0 adds higher resolution and bidirectional communication
Disadvantages
- − Not audio — playback quality depends on the synthesizer
- − Cannot capture vocals, acoustic instruments, or sound effects
- − Sounds different on every device without a standard sound font
When to Use .MID
Use MIDI for music composition, sequencing, controlling hardware synthesizers, and karaoke backing tracks.
Technical Details
Standard MIDI Files (SMF) contain tracks of timestamped MIDI events: Note On/Off, Control Change, Program Change, and more. The file does not contain audio — playback depends on the synthesizer interpreting the data.
History
The MIDI specification was published in 1983 by Dave Smith and Ikutaro Kakehashi, enabling electronic instruments from different manufacturers to communicate. MIDI 2.0 was released in 2020 with enhanced resolution.