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MIDI In The UK

UKMA

Article from Music Technology, February 1991

Now that the UK has its own MIDI association, help and information are but a phone call away. Simon Trask checks out the UKMA and its founder: Vic Lennard.


GOT A MIDI-RELATED PROBLEM? SEEKING INFORMATION ON MIDI DEVELOPMENTS? YEARNING TO HAVE A SAY IN THE FUTURE OF MIDI? IF YOUR ANSWER TO ANY OF THESE QUESTIONS IS YES, HOW ABOUT JOINING THE UK MIDI ASSOCIATION?


IT MAY SEEM hard to believe at times, but MIDI is a standard. As such it is presided over by an official body - in fact, by two of them: the MIDI Manufacturers Association and the Japanese MIDI Standards Committee. The MMA and JMSC are jointly responsible for instigating and coordinating developments in the MIDI specification. I mention this because you could be forgiven for never having heard of them. Both are "behind closed doors" operations which have no contact with the ordinary musician.

For the past seven years the public face of MIDI officialdom has been the International MIDI Association which, among other things, publishes a monthly newsletter (the IMA Bulletin), acts as the official disseminator of information on MIDI and provides a technical hotline service for anyone with MIDI problems. Anyone can become a member of the IMA, but if you happen to live in Europe the fact that the IMA is located several timezones and several thousand miles away in Los Angeles puts you at a certain disadvantage - not least financially.

When you realise that the MMA is also based in Los Angeles, and that the IMA and the MMA even have offices in the same building, the whole setup begins to take on the aura of an exclusive club - what's more, it's one which leaves you out on the pavement. The problem has its roots in MIDI history. MIDI was developed by a fairly small group of musical instrument companies based in California and Japan, so it's not really surprising that this parochial geographical orientation should have been adopted by the official bodies which were set up to look after MIDI.

The reality today is that MIDI is used by musicians around the world, while there are companies providing MIDI products in, say, Europe, which may not be available in the States. Inevitably the IMA, despite being international in name, cannot be as responsive to the needs of MIDI musicians in Britain or Germany as it can to the needs of those in the US.

Perhaps the ideal solution would be an international network of officially-sanctioned MIDI Associations which could act as focal points for MIDI problems and issues at a local level, liase with one another, and act as intermediaries between musicians and the MMA. Such a network could only develop through individuals in different countries taking on the responsibility of running an independent Association dedicated to MIDI matters. These Associations would require the co-operation of manufacturers and distributors at the local level in making MIDI and related information available. And they could only survive if they were supported by musicians, because in order to be truly independent they would need to be funded purely by membership.

Whether or not such a network ever emerges, MIDI musicians in the UK at least can now turn to their very own MIDI Association, known logically enough as the UKMA - the United Kingdom MIDI Association. Set up with the approval of the IMA, the UKMA has been up and running since April 1990. But who would be prepared to take on the responsibility and the sheer hard work entailed in running such an Association? We at MT weren't at all surprised when we learnt that it was none other than a long-time and much-respected contributor to this very magazine, Vic Lennard, a man whose enthusiasm for MIDI is matched only by his indefatigable pursuit of truth and justice when confronted with a problem or with a situation which he considers to be "just not on".

Starting up an organisation like the UKMA is not something that you do on a whim on your day off. Lennard became convinced of the need for a UK-based MIDI Association through the experience of running his own MIDIhelp consultancy service (which today exists only as a data recovery and call-out troubleshooting setvice). The next step was to convince the IMA to officially sanction the setting up of such a body - the only way in which it could have any legitimacy. He's the first to admit that it took a fair bit of persuasion.

"The main thing was proving that what we were going to do was in MIDI's best interests, and that we were not associated with any particular manufacturer", he says. "The IMA wanted someone who would be independent, they wanted UKMA to be run as an independent association, and they obviously wanted us to be very careful about the factual side of MIDI."

The UKMA is funded purely by membership in order to ensure independence. It operates a three-tiered membership scheme modelled on that of the IMA. Individual membership (£34.50 per annum) entitles members to a copy of the UKMA's monthly newsletter, MIDI Monitor, and free advice and support on all matters relating to MIDI. Group membership (£69 per annum) is open to retailers, colleges, publications and recording studios, and entitles members to five copies of MIDI Monitor per month and advice on MIDI matters, together with coverage of seminars, courses, roadshows, launches and special events in the newsletter. Finally, Manufacturer/Distributor membership (£138 per annum) entitles members to receive five copies of the newsletter per month, one free copy of both the MIDI 1.0 Detailed Spec and the Standard MIDI Files Spec, newsletter coverage of new equipment, and a copy of the UKMA mailing list with six-monthly updates.

All UKMA members qualify for free membership of The Music Network, the computer bulletin board service aimed at musicians, while both members and non-members can purchase the MIDI 1.0 Detailed Spec and the Standard MIDI Files Spec, which were previously only available from the IMA. Also available from the UKMA is the Hal Leonard range of books on MIDI and musical technology (with a 10% discount for members).

MIDI Monitor offers solutions to MIDI-related problems, acts as a forum for discussion on MIDI matters, and provides useful hints and tips as well as information on updates to the MIDI specification as and when they occur. Issue six - the latest at the time of writing - includes explanations of how to transfer samples from an S1000 to an S950 and how to turn effects on and off via MIDI on a Yamaha FX500, discusses a (now cured) problem which occurs when using a Roland Octapad with Hollis Research's Trackman sequencer, and questions manufacturers' use of SysEx commands for real-time parameter editing via MIDI. UKMA members with a computer and modem can also access a database of MIDI problems (currently being established) and discuss MIDI topics with other members on certain bulletin boards (see below).

Members can also phone, fax or E-mail the UKMA for individual advice on MIDI problems. If unit "x" isn't working as it should do with unit "y" in your MIDI setup, a call to the UKMA will either produce a quick solution to the problem or else set the Association's resident bloodhound on the trail of a solution. If a solution can't be obtained from the UKMA's own information resources, they will contact the relevant manufacturers and distributors on their members' behalf.

Of course, manufacturers and distributors don't keep information on products for which they aren't responsible, yet many MIDI problems involve equipment from more than one manufacturer, so the existence of a body which draws together all the relevant information can only be welcomed - not only by musicians struggling to find a solution to a MIDI problem plaguing their setup, but also by the manufacturers and distributors. In fact, the majority of UK manufacturers and distributors have responded positively to the UKMA, not only by providing it with comprehensive MIDI documentation on their equipment but also by becoming UKMA members themselves. Of the Japanese companies, Akai, Korg, Roland and Yamaha have all joined. Support has also come from a less obvious quarter, the high-end mixing console manufacturer SSL, who have joined despite not having a great deal of involvement with MIDI themselves. And in case you're wondering, Music Technology is also a member.

The UKMA also has another role to play, that of intermediary between UK musicians and companies and the MMA. Currently in the process of applying for MMA membership itself at the time of writing, the UKMA intends to help UK companies involved with MIDI to get System Exclusive ID numbers and membership of the MMA. Lennard also feels that anyone with an interest in MIDI should be able to contribute to the debate on its future, and consequently intends that the UKMA should provide an open forum for discussion on MIDI developments which the MMA itself is considering. As an MMA member, the UKMA could then feed any resulting comments and suggestions into the MMA's discussions. It's a healthy scenario, and hopefully one which can be brought about. Some opening up of the MMA's deliberations is long overdue.

The benefits of UKMA membership should be clear. And because the UKMA relies on membership for funding, it will only survive if it's supported by the musicians who use MIDI - and as you're reading this magazine it's a safe bet that that includes you.

However, the last word goes to the man who has made the UKMA possible:

"I think it's important for people to appreciate that the UKMA is not Vic Lennard, though effectively I run it. Nor is it just one person's ideals or one person earning a living - quite the opposite: it owes me money at the moment. In a way it's one person's crusade. Yes!"

The UKMA can be contacted at (Contact Details).


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Publisher: Music Technology - Music Maker Publications (UK), Future Publishing.

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Music Technology - Feb 1991

Topic:

MIDI


Feature by Simon Trask

Previous article in this issue:

> Elemental Rhythm

Next article in this issue:

> Ensoniq EPS16 Plus


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