MIDI is a set of hardware and software protocols used by
electronic musical instruments to communicate. It was first
released in 1982 and has become the de-facto communication
standard between electronic musical instruments. The protocol
specifies the physical hardware parameters for the cable and
interfaces, and provides a well defined set of communication
protocols to exchange musical and timing data. Prior to MIDI
there were several analog, and later basic digital, connection
protocols. The earliest, circa. 1974, would transmit note
information as a voltage though a wire from one keyboard to
another. Later, 1980 - 1981, Roland created a basic digital
protocol, DCB. The MIDI Manufacturers Association (MMA), working
with the equipment manufacturers, defined a standard protocol
and physical connection which allowed equipment from all
complying manufacturers to connect and communicate with each
other. >From 1985 MIDI interfaces started to appear on home
computers and soon after sequencing programs appeared. Ho