M-Audio 88 manual Midi Messages Defined, Program and Bank Changes

34 User Guide Oxygen 88

10: MIDI Messages Defined

Program and Bank Changes

When the MIDI standard was first established, it enabled the user to access only 128 different sounds using program change messages (0-127). As MIDI devices became more sophisticated and contained more sounds, bank change messages were included in an updated MIDI specification allowing access to more than 128 sounds. The language MIDI uses to communicate between musical instruments only allows for program change commands 0-127, for a total of 128 possible programs (127 programs + program ì0î = 128 programs total). Due to inherent limitations of the MIDI communication protocol, the number of directly accessible programs (using program change messages) cannot easily be expanded beyond 128. Thus, a system of banks, with 128 sounds in each, has been created that enables manufacturers to overcome the 128-sound MIDI limit.

128 banks with 128 sounds in each bank is the basic principle used	Bank MSB	Bank LSB	Program
to expand the number of accessible sounds. However, to avoid			Program 0
reaching the new limit of the resulting 16,384 possible sounds (128
			Program 1
banks x 128 programs) accessible using a bank change combined
			Program 2
with a program change, another layer of banks was added. The		Bank LSB 0	Program 127
result is a system of 128 banks that can contain 128 sub-banks in
			Program 0
each of them, which, in turn, can contain 128 sounds (programs).	Bank MSB 0	Bank LSB 1	Program 1
			Program 2
Bank change messages are useful when calling up sounds from a		Bank LSB 2	Program 127
large library that may exist in a particular sound module or software			Program 0
synthesizer. For example, devices that are built according to the		Bank LSB 127	Program 1
			Program 2
GS specification from Roland or the XG specification (Appendix E)			Program 127
from Yamaha require you to specify a bank change in order to
access the extra voices that these devices provide. MIDI CC 0 is
the bank select MSB (Most Significant Byte) message. This MIDI			Program 0
message is 7-bit in size and can be used to select any of 128			Program 1
			Program 2
banks.
		Bank LSB 0
			Program 127
This message can be used in conjunction with MIDI CC 32 which is	Bank MSB 1		Program 0
		Bank LSB 1	Program 1
bank select LSB (Least Significant Byte): a separate 7-bit message
			Program 2
allowing additional selection of any of another 128 sub-banks. The		Bank LSB 2	Program 127
combination of Bank MSB and LSB messages gives a 14-bit
			Program 0
message that can select any of a possible 16,384 banks. Each		Bank LSB 127	Program 1
bank can in turn contain 128 possible sounds selected via a			Program 2
separate program change MIDI message. This enables a user to			Program 127
theoretically recall over two million programs directly, using only
MIDI commands. However, most devices only use a few different
banks, and you can often ignore the LSB message.			Program 0
			Program 1
You will find many MIDI devices respond to program change			Program 2
		Bank LSB 0
commands and many are organized according to the GM listing. In			Program 127
General MIDI devices, different sounds are organized in the same	Bank MSB 2	Bank LSB 1	Program 0
			Program 1
way from device to device. Piano sounds are in their particular
			Program 2
place, string sounds are in their place, drum sounds are in their		Bank LSB 2	Program 127
place, and so on. All GM devices (both hardware and software
			Program 0
sound modules) are clearly labeled as such, so you know that their
	Bank MSB 127	Bank LSB 127	Program 1
sounds are organized in the General MIDI structure. When a GM			Program 2
device receives a MIDI program change, it calls up a type of sound			Program 127

that you expect from the GM sound set. All non-GM MIDI sound

modules call up unique sounds from their memory upon receiving MIDI program changes. Since the sounds in a non-GM device are not arranged in a particular order, you need to take a look at the device itself to see which sound you want and at which location in the memory it resides. Many VST instruments such as Native Instruments FM7 or the synth modules in Propellerheads Reason are non-GM devices.

You can send Program Change, Bank LSB and Bank MSB messages directly from Oxygen 88.

Please consult the documentation for your sound module, DAW or software instrument for further information.