Midi for the Professional

Rating:
Summary: Still a great reference.
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: This is THE reference work for MIDI users of all kinds.
Review: 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!

Rating:
Summary: A musician from Los Angeles
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Terrible
Review: Totally outdated, this work teaches nothing. Rambling, disorganized and often repetitive, the authors do not know how to write at all. Totally focused on a few software titles, the Apple platform, and having no information on MIDI for internal sound cards, the book is worthless to current readers.