What are MIDI notes and how are they used in music production?

Music Producer in Studio
Daniel González
Music Production

July 15 2025

Learn what MIDI notes are, how they work, and why they're key to producing digital music with control and creativity.

MIDI notes are the foundation of digital music creation. Whether you're producing an electronic song, composing a soundtrack, or just experimenting with a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation), understanding how MIDI notes work can help you gain greater creative control over your music.

🎹 What is MIDI?

MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is not audio, but a communication protocol that allows different musical devices—such as synthesizers, controllers, computers, and DAWs—to send musical information to each other. This information can include:

  • Which note was played (e.g., C3 or G#4)
  • When it was played and when it was released
  • How hard the key was pressed (velocity)
  • Other parameters like modulation, pitch bend, and more.

🎶 What is a MIDI note ?

A MIDI note is a message that contains specific information about a key or musical note. For example, pressing the "middle C" key on a MIDI keyboard sends a message like:

  • Note On: indicates that the note was played
  • Note Number: for example, 60 represents C4 (middle C)
  • Velocity: how hard the note was played (a value between 0 and 127)

When the key is released, a Note Off message is sent.

🧠 Why is MIDI useful?

MIDI notes offer many advantages over recorded audio:

  • Total editability: you can change the note, duration, tempo, or even the instrument without re-recording.
  • Control and automation: you can precisely control effects, volumes, filters, and more.
  • Interoperability: you can easily share MIDI files between different software and hardware.

🎵 How do MIDI notes look?

In a DAW, MIDI notes appear as rectangular blocks in a Piano Roll, where:

  • The horizontal axis represents time (when it's played)
  • The vertical axis represents pitch (low or high note)
  • The length of the block indicates the duration of the note

🛠️ How are they used in music production ?

MIDI notes can be used to:

  • Play virtual instruments like pianos, drums, strings, synths, etc.
  • Trigger samplers and loops
  • Create arpeggios, sequences, and automatic effects
  • Control physical synthesizers via MIDI interfaces

🎧 Tips for working with MIDI notes

  1. Quantize with care: Quantization helps fix timing errors, but too much can make your music sound robotic.
  2. Play with velocity: Changing the force of each note gives it life and expression.
  3. Take advantage of layers: Duplicate tracks with different instruments to enrich the sound.
  4. Automate changes: Change filters, panning, or effects in real-time.

📁 What is a MIDI file?

A .mid file contains all the MIDI events of a composition: notes, tempo, instrument changes, etc., without including audio. These files are lightweight and can be opened in almost any music software.

Video on What are MIDI Notes?

In this video I explain in a very visual way with lots of details about this fascinating topic. 👇 Play the video, it's worth it, english sub included ! 😎

🔚 Conclusion

MIDI notes are a powerful and flexible tool that has revolutionized the way music is produced. Learning to use them will allow you to compose, edit, and experiment in ways that are simply not possible with traditional audio recordings.