MIDI for the Professional

by Paul D. Lebhrman and Paul D. Lehrman

Book Overview

(Music Sales America). Get the most out of your MIDI equipment with this in-depth technical information and expert advice. The practical examples, illustrations, and plain language included in this... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0825613744
• ISBN13: 9780825613746
• Release Date: July 1993
• Publisher: Music Sales
• Length: 255 Pages
• Weight: 2.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 8.9" x 11.8"

Customer Reviews

May it please the court!

I'll probably be reproved for this, but I give this book a high rating. I bought this book back in the mid 90s, shortly after it came out, and it proved to be quite useful. My studio is both modest and outdated, with its old Alesis synthesizer, Cakewalk software, and some other old stuff. But I learned a lot from this book, and it provided information that I used (and still use) to keep each piece of equipment speaking efficiently to the other pieces. For me, at least, I benefited especially with regard to "program changes" and "continuous controller applications." Regarding the tons of information in this fine book, I must say, Yes, it might contain much more detailed information than the average reader anticipated when ordering this book, but is that a bad thing? And now, many years later, some of the text is indeed outdated. But if you want to dive into the genuine beauty of MIDI, this is a great pool to jump into. I enjoyed the "hard" stuff, the stuff that makes the reader think deeply. This book is nicely produced (typical of Amsco); it is grammatically sound, contextually worthy, and for the price, a very good deal. Joseph L. D'Agostino, author of "Modern Music Systems: a new perspective on music scales, clefs, and chords"

A musician from Los Angeles

This is the clearest and most complete book on MIDI there is...and I've tried them all. The authors explain even the most tweaky tech stuff clearly, without repetition or ambiguity. The book is essential because it doesn't focus on specific products--which go in and out of favor--but teaches you the capabilities of the technology itself. So whether you're shopping for a sequencer or an interface, you know what you need and how to evaluate the products out there now. These guys have been writing about electronic music for years and they're two of the very best. They give you everything you need to work effectively with MIDI.

Still a great reference.

Although it's showing its age, and it doesn't cover a lot of new developments like sound cards and virtual synths, this is still an extremely valuable book for anyone who wants to understand what MIDI is all about. In this age of loops, samples, and digital everything, MIDI doesn't have the high profile it used to, but it's still in almost universal use by musicians and studios -- even by people who don't know they're using it -- and a good technical understanding of it is really important. This book is still the best source around for that kind of information, so it's no surprise that dozens of college-level courses use it as a standard text. The writing is clear, concise, and often funny -- these guys are two of the best and most experienced writers in the business. You want to know about MIDI? Get this book.

This is THE reference work for MIDI users of all kinds.

MIDI For The Professional, now in its second edition, is the standard textbook for college-level courses in MIDI in the US and abroad. It has received rave reviews Keyboard, the Electronic Music Foundation, the IMA Newsletter, Piano & Keyboard magazine, and many other publications. For the serious MIDI user--performer, composer, programmer, multimedia author, equipment designer--there is no better source of information. Paul Lehrman is one of the best-known authors and teachers in the electronic music and pro audio fields (and is editor of Mix magazine's Web site) and Tim Tully, former editor of Electronic Musician magazine and technical editor of New Media, writes for EQ, Videography, and Pro Sound News, and plays a mean tenor.And there's a foreword by Bob Moog!