(n.) Musical Instrument Digital Interface mode; one of the four ways in which MIDI equipment may be configured. The modes determine which channels will be read and how many notes can be played at once. Mode 1 is OMNI ON/polyphonic, mode 2 is OMNI ON/monophonic, mode 3 is OMNI OFF/polyphonic, and mode 4 is OMNI OFF/monophonic. Channel mode messages set an instrument’s mode to OMNI ON or OMNI OFF; OMNI ON means that all channels will be read, and OMNI OFF means that just one assigned channel will be read. Channel mode messages further set the equipment to respond polyphonically, playing more than one note at a time, or monophonically, playing only one note at a time. In monophonic modes no chords are possible.
MIDI mode
« BACK TO DICTIONARY INDEX