IronFlippy
Dedicated To My Member
Eh, we all have bad days. Don't let Mad's response here deter you from the rest of the board. He does usually give good advice.
To add to cusebassman's description, MIDI works both ways. The keyboard can send data to a computer, and the computer can send data back to the keyboard, assuming it has built in sounds of its own (Korg Triton, for example).
A keyboard like the Triton is a combination synthesizer (I use the term here to mean any device that can create sounds) and keyboard controller, among other things that are irrelevant to MIDI. The controller is just a set of keys that can send MIDI data. You can find keyboards that don't have the synthesizer part in it (ex. M-Audio Ozone). These only have a MIDI out port. There are also standalone synthesizers, which only have a MIDI in. The Triton has both because it's both a synthesizer and controller.
The beauty in this is that you can find a controller that feels right to you, and then connect it to any synthesizer. A computer acts as a synthesizer in that you can connect a controller to it and use software to play sounds. A computer can also be a controller if you play a MIDI file in it, which will send the data out the MIDI out port and to an external synthesizer.
I hope this clears some stuff up regarding what MIDI is and what it can do. It has many other possibilities because all it really is is a way to transfer data from one piece of audio equipment to another, much in the same way a USB cable transfers data.
To add to cusebassman's description, MIDI works both ways. The keyboard can send data to a computer, and the computer can send data back to the keyboard, assuming it has built in sounds of its own (Korg Triton, for example).
A keyboard like the Triton is a combination synthesizer (I use the term here to mean any device that can create sounds) and keyboard controller, among other things that are irrelevant to MIDI. The controller is just a set of keys that can send MIDI data. You can find keyboards that don't have the synthesizer part in it (ex. M-Audio Ozone). These only have a MIDI out port. There are also standalone synthesizers, which only have a MIDI in. The Triton has both because it's both a synthesizer and controller.
The beauty in this is that you can find a controller that feels right to you, and then connect it to any synthesizer. A computer acts as a synthesizer in that you can connect a controller to it and use software to play sounds. A computer can also be a controller if you play a MIDI file in it, which will send the data out the MIDI out port and to an external synthesizer.
I hope this clears some stuff up regarding what MIDI is and what it can do. It has many other possibilities because all it really is is a way to transfer data from one piece of audio equipment to another, much in the same way a USB cable transfers data.
