MIDI harps

MIDI is the digital language that electronic musical instruments communicate with. The important point to remember is that any brand or design of gear will work together, if it says MIDI on it.

Here is what happens when you pluck the strings of my midi harps:

An electronic message travels out through the cable to the synthesizer that you have connected the harp to. If you plucked middle C, the message will say "note 60- ON." When the vibration of the string stops, the harp will sense this and send out the message "note 60- OFF." As a bonus, additional information is sent at the same time telling the synthesizer how loud to play the note.

The harp pictured above is a simple "controller," that is, it does not have a sound producing synthesizer built in. The harp controls a synthesizer, any MIDI synthesizer, via the MIDI messages sent out. The harps that I am now building have a synthesizer built into the harp, so that one 1/4 inch phono cable (guitar cord) is the only connection you need to make, (plus the power cord) to begin making great sounds.

Click to see the MIDI 36, a MIDI/electric harp.