The Grid 2 can control any connected MIDI devices. MIDI (or Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a series of simple commands developed in the early 1980’s to control electronic instruments. This has grown into a universal way of accessing many devices as well as playing back audio.
MIDI Note command
The MIDI Note command will play a single MIDI note. Select the note that you want, and the channel (instrument) to play it on.
You can have more than one MIDI device connected at a time (e.g. drum machine and synthesiser) and each one gets a different channel.
MIDI Note On / Off
If you want to take more control, the Note On and Note Off commands can be used to specify when a note starts or stops. For example, to play a chord you could use 3 Note On commands, then wait, then 3 Note Off commands.
You also get to specify the velocity – how quickly the note fades.
Please be aware that every Note On command should be followed by a corresponding Note Off command at some point afterwards to stop the sound playing.
MIDI note aftertouch
This is used to change the pressure applied to a key for compatible instruments. It will mimic a light press or a hard press of a key.
MIDI controller message
This sets a value for a MIDI controller. This depends on the MIDI device that you are using, but it can set values such as the tempo or the volume.
MIDI program change
For most MIDI devices, the program is the instrument. This command tells your MIDI device to change program.
Standard instrument listing
1-8 Piano
9-16 Chromatic Percussion
17-24 Organ
25-32 Guitar
33-40 Bass
41-48 Strings
49-56 Ensemble
57-64 Brass
65-72 Reed
73-80 Pipe
81-88 Synth Lead
89-96 Synth Pad
97-104 Synth Effects
105-112 Ethnic
113-120 Percussive
121-128 Sound Effects
Full instrument
1. Acoustic grand piano
2. Bright piano
3. Electric grand piano
4. Honky-tonk piano
5. Electric piano 2
6. Electric piano 1
7. Harpsichord
8. Clavi
9. Celesta
10. Glockenspiel
11. Music box
12. Vibraphone
13. Marimba
14. Xylophone
15. Tubular bells
16. Dulcimer
17. Drawbar organ
18. Percussive organ
19. Rock organ
20. Church organ
21. Reed organ
22. Accordion
23. Harmonica
24. Tango accordion
25. Nylon string guitar
26. Steel string guitar
27. Jazz guitar
28. Clean electric guitar
29. Muted electric guitar
30. Overdrive guitar
31. Distortion guitar
32. Guitar harmonics
33. Acoustic bass
34. Fingered bass
35. Picked bass
36. Fretless bass
37. Slap bass 1
38. Slap bass 2
39. Synth bass 1
40. Synth bass 2
41. Violin
42. Viola
43. Cello
44. Contrabass
45. Tremolo strings
46. Pizzicato strings
47. Orchestral harp
48. Timpani
49. String ensemble 1
50. String ensemble 2
51. Synthesized strings 1
52. Synthesized strings 2
53. Choir ahh
54. Choir oohh
55. Synthesized voice
56. Orchestral hit
57. Trumpet
58. Trombone
59. Tuba
60. Muted trumpet
61. French horn
62. Brass section
63. Synthesized brass 1
64. Synthesized brass 2
65. Soprano sax
66. Alto sax
67. Tenor sax
68. Baritone sax
69. Oboe
70. English horn
71. Bassoon
72. Clarinet
73. Piccolo
74. Flute
75. Recorder
76. Pan flute
77. Blown bottle
78. Shakuhachi
79. Whistle
80. Ocarina
81. Square wave
82. Sawtooth wave
83. Caliope
84. Chiff
85. Charang
86. Voice
87. Fifth’s
88. Bass & lead
89. New age
90. Warm
91. Polysynth
92. Choir
93. Bowed
94. Metallic
95. Halo
96. Sweep
97. FX rain
98. FX soundtrack
99. FX crystal
100. FX atmosphere
101. FX brightness
102. FX goblins
103. FX echo drops
104. FX star theme
105. Sitar
106. Banjo
107. Shamisen
108. Koto
109. Kalimba
110. Bagpipe
111. Fiddle
112. Shanai
113. Tinkle bell
114. Agogo
115. Steel drums
116. Woodblock
117. Taiko drum
118. Melodic tom
119. Synthesized drum
120. Reverse cymbal
121. Guitar fret noise
122. Breath noise
123. Seashore
124. Bird tweet
125. Telephone ring
126. Helicopter
127. Applause
128. Gunshot
MIDI Channel Aftertouch
This is similar to the MIDI Aftertouch command, which is used to change the pressure of a note that is already playing. The MIDI Channel Aftertouch command applies to all notes playing on the specified channel (rather than just one note).
MIDI custom message
This command can be used to send a customised MIDI message to your device.
Selecting a MIDI device
If you have multiple MIDI devices connected to your computer, you can select which one you want to use in User Settings (Edit – User Settings from the menu bar) – Speech settings – MIDI.
Last Revision: 26.10.2021