When you’re playing an MPE-compatible controller or sending your computer MPE data, it sends data in a way that makes it possible for each individual note to bend or modulate independently. It’s like each finger is playing its own separate controller.įor example, the voice that plays the suspended fourth in a sus4 chord could bend down and resolve to the third, resulting in a diatonic triad by bending the pitch of just that one note. All notes are affected equally, making all sources of modulation global parameters. When you play a chord with your right hand and move the pitch bend wheel, all of the notes bend in the same direction up or down, and the same goes for the mod wheel. Imagine you’re playing a MIDI keyboard controller with two mod wheels on the side: one dedicated to pitch bend, and the other for modulating another parameter. Unlike normal MIDI, this creates the opportunity for per-note modulation. The fundamental feature that makes MPE data more expressive than MIDI data is that it dedicates a channel for each individual note or voice an instrument is playing, instead of sending all the data on a single channel.

The MPE protocol can be tough to wrap your head around, so let’s look at it in pieces: MPE uses MIDI data as its core language, but completely changes its approach to sending that data. MPE stands for MIDI Polyphonic Expression, but has also been referred to as Multidimensional Polyphonic Expression. In this article, we’ll cover the potential that MIDI Polyphonic Expression brings to creative expression and some examples of MPE-enabled controllers. A rapidly growing number of manufacturers, developers, and users are leveraging the possibilities that MPE unlocks, so let’s learn what all the hype is about. Continuing this conversation, we’re going to look at MPE data and the technology surrounding it. Recently, we took a deep-dive into what MIDI data is and how it works.

Mpc midi