Making Music with MIDI

Overview

Lesson 14 of 30 in Creating Music with Technology. Students investigate MIDI as performance and control data, then use a digital audio workstation (DAW) and virtual instruments to create and edit a short musical idea.

Learning intentions

• WALT explain what MIDI is and how it differs from recorded audio.
• WALT use a MIDI editor and virtual instrument to create a short musical phrase.
• WALT make purposeful choices about pitch, rhythm, tempo and timbre.
• WALT describe how technology has shaped our musical decisions.

Success criteria

• I can explain that MIDI stores musical instructions rather than sound.
• I can select and play a virtual instrument in the DAW.
• I can enter or record an eight-bar MIDI idea and edit at least one feature.
• I can explain one musical effect created by changing the instrument or MIDI data.

Curriculum links

• Developing practical knowledge: use music technologies, notation tools and production processes safely and purposefully.
• Developing ideas: generate, select and refine musical ideas using elements such as rhythm, pitch, timbre and structure.
• Communicating and interpreting: perform, present and discuss a short technological composition.
• Understanding music in context: recognise how MIDI and digital instruments expand contemporary music-making practices.

Lesson structure (50 minutes)

1. 0–5 minutes – Hook: “Is MIDI music?” Open with the MIDI hook and comparison slides. Play or demonstrate the same short musical pattern using two different virtual instruments. Ask students to predict what changed: the notes, the sound, or both. Establish that MIDI is data which tells a device what to play; it is not an audio recording.

2. 5–12 minutes – Teacher demonstration Use the DAW and the MIDI demonstration slides to show a MIDI track, virtual instrument selection, piano-roll editor, playhead, quantise and velocity. Demonstrate entering four notes, changing their pitch and length, and switching from piano to another sound while keeping the same MIDI notes. Students complete the first section of the MIDI and virtual instruments activity sheet.

3. 12–17 minutes – Guided investigation Place students in five pairs, with one computer or MIDI keyboard where possible. Each pair opens a blank project, adds a MIDI/instrument track and chooses a contrasting sound. Display the paired investigation instructions. Circulate to check that every student can identify the track, instrument and piano-roll area before the creative task begins.

4. 17–32 minutes – Create an eight-bar idea Pairs create an eight-bar melody, bass line or chord pattern using a limited pitch set such as C, D, E, G and A. They may play it on a MIDI keyboard or draw notes into the piano roll. The idea must include a repeated rhythmic or melodic motif, one deliberate variation, and a clear ending. Students record decisions and answer the planning prompts on the MIDI and virtual instruments activity sheet.

5. 32–40 minutes – Edit and compare Students duplicate their MIDI part and make two purposeful changes: one to the MIDI data, such as pitch, rhythm, velocity or quantisation, and one to the virtual instrument or effects. They listen to both versions and discuss which better suits their intended mood or musical purpose. Refer to the editing and comparison prompts to support partner discussion.

6. 40–47 minutes – Share and peer feedback Each pair plays one version to the class, or shares it with another pair if devices or time are limited. Listeners identify the repeated idea, the variation and the effect of the chosen instrument. Students give one specific strength and one next-step suggestion using the final section of the MIDI and virtual instruments activity sheet.

7. 47–50 minutes – Plenary and exit check Return to the opening question using the plenary slides. Students complete a brief verbal or written response: “MIDI is useful because…” and “One change that improved our music was…”. Collect worksheets or save projects using a consistent file name for the next lesson.

Resources

• Computers or tablets with a DAW installed
• Headphones, splitters and speakers
• MIDI keyboards or computer keyboard input
• Five blank DAW projects or a shared project template
• MIDI introduction and activity deck
• MIDI and virtual instruments activity sheet
• Projector or interactive display
• Whiteboard and markers
• Short teacher-prepared MIDI demonstration pattern
• File-saving location or class learning-management system

Assessment

• Observe whether students can create a MIDI track, load a virtual instrument and enter or record notes.
• Check each pair’s saved eight-bar idea for a repeated motif, variation and clear ending.
• Use worksheet responses and peer feedback to assess understanding of MIDI data, virtual instruments and purposeful musical choices.

Differentiation

• Support students with a pre-set project, a restricted scale, a four-bar starting pattern to extend, and a visual step sequence on the slides.
• Pair students strategically; assign rotating roles such as producer, performer/editor and listener so all ten students participate.
• Provide headphones, enlarged piano-roll view, colour-coded notes and teacher or peer modelling for students with hearing, motor, attention or processing needs.
• For EAL learners, pre-teach and display: MIDI, audio, virtual instrument, pitch, rhythm, timbre, velocity and quantise. Accept spoken, labelled or recorded explanations.
• Extend confident students by layering a second MIDI track, automating a parameter, or comparing how velocity changes expression without changing pitch.