Using Your Instrument with
Other Devices
PSR-3000/1500 Owner’s Manual
198
What is MIDI?
n
In the case of digital instruments, the audio signals are sent
through output jacks (such as [AUX OUT]) on the instrument.
The “controller” and “tone generator” in the illustration
above are equivalent to the piano in our acoustic exam-
ple. Here, the player’s performance on the keyboard is
captured as MIDI song data (see illustration below). In
order to record the audio performance on an acoustic
piano, special recording equipment is needed. How-
ever, since the PSR-3000/1500 features a built-in
sequencer that lets you record performance data, this
recording equipment is unnecessary. Instead, your digi-
tal instrument — the PSR-3000/1500 — allows you to
both record and play back the data.
However, we also need a sound source to produce the
audio, which eventually comes from your speakers. The
tone generator of the PSR-3000/1500 fills this function.
The recorded performance is reproduced by the
sequencer, playing back the song data, using a tone
generator capable of accurately producing various
instrument sounds — including that of a piano. Looked
at in another way, the relation of the sequencer and the
tone generator is similar to that of the pianist and the
piano — one plays the other. Since digital instruments
handle playback data and the actual sounds indepen-
dently, we can hear our piano performance played by
another instrument, such as guitar or violin.
n
Even though it is a single musical instrument, the PSR-3000/1500
can be thought of as containing several electronic components: a
controller, a tone generator, and a sequencer.
Finally, we’ll take a look at the actual data that gets
recorded and that serves as the basis for playing the
sounds. For example, let’s say you play a “C” quarter
note using the grand piano sound on the PSR-3000/
1500 keyboard. Unlike an acoustic instrument that puts
out a resonated note, the electronic instrument puts out
information from the keyboard such as “with what
voice,” “with which key,” “about how strong,” “when
was it pressed” and “when was it released.” Then each
piece of information is changed into a number value
and sent to the tone generator. Using these numbers as
a basis for sound generation, the tone generator plays
the stored sampled note.
Example Keyboard Data
Panel operations on the PSR-3000/1500, such as play-
ing the keyboard and selecting voices, are processed
and stored as MIDI data. The auto accompaniment
Styles and Songs also consist of MIDI data.
MIDI is an acronym that stands for Musical Instrument
Digital Interface, which allows electronic musical
instruments to communicate with each other, by send-
ing and receiving compatible Note, Control Change,
Program Change and various other types of MIDI data,
or messages.
The PSR-3000/1500 can control a MIDI device by trans-
mitting note related data and various types of controller
data. The PSR-3000/1500 can be controlled by incom-
ing MIDI messages which automatically determine the
tone generator mode, select MIDI channels, voices and
effects, change parameter values and of course play the
voices specified for the various parts.
n
MIDI data has the following advantages over audio data:
•The amount of data is much less.
•The data can be effectively and easily edited, even to the point
of changing voices and transforming the data.
MIDI messages can be divided into two groups: Chan-
nel messages and System messages.
Channel Messages
The PSR-3000/1500 is an electronic instrument that can
handle 16 MIDI channels (or reception of 32 channels
for MIDI data reception when using the [USB] termi-
nal). This is usually expressed as “it can play 16 instru-
ments at the same time.” Channel messages transmit
information such as Note ON/OFF, Program Change,
for each of the 16 channels.
Sequencer
Tone Generator
Recording and play back the performance of a digital
instrument (MIDI data)
Controller (keyboard, etc.)
Recording Playback
SmartMe-
dia card
SmartMedia
card
Tone generator
Sequencer
Keyboard performance (MIDI data)
Voice number (with what voice) 01 (grand piano)
Note number (with which key) 60 (C3)
Note on (when was it pressed)
and
note off (when was it released)
Timing expressed
numerically
(quarter note)
Velocity
(strength at which it was played)
120 (strong)