[The fresh sound of nostalgic bits] [Passport.mid plays] *click* *hard drive whirrs into life* I'd like to share a secret with you. In the 90s, rather than spending my hard earned
money on the latest cassette single, or even album, I used to get hold of MIDI versions
of the songs and play them on Windows Media Player. The fact there was no singing didn't bother
me. The fact that I only had an FM synthesis sound
card didn't bother me. In fact, these things made the music more
palatable, more enjoyable. I loved the fact that the little chunk of
hardware in my PC's ISA slot was producing these sounds, and the grungy, electric pulse
sounding instruments, and crunching drum beats just added to that enjoyment. *passport.mid intensifies* Fast forward 25 years, and I'll load up Amazon
Music, or Spotify and stream songs. It's nice. But its' not the same. It's not the same. I miss those computer simulated instruments. The fact that games no longer have sound tracks
which are bespoke and conjured by the hardware in your machine - they have real music, performed
by real people, or melodies generated and record on other equipment, just detracts from
what a personalised aesthetic gaming used to have. For example, Doom would sound different from
machine to machine, and I liked that. [E1M1 in FM Synth] [E1M1 in Wavetable] It's not the same that I can't find 7 different
variations of Mmmmmm by the Crash Test Dummies, all with a slightly different composition,
because the artist felt like recreating them that way. [Mmm mmm mmm MID plays] So what happened.. Where did this wonderful world of MIDI disappear
to? Well, I'm going to focus on MIDI, in the sense
of a general user in this video. The typical home PC user, rather than from
the perspective of a composer. But even so, we still need to understand what
MIDI is, and from that establish why it was so important at the time. Well, MIDI isn't a file, it's not a type of
music, it's a communications protocol that stands for Musical Instrument Digital Interface. It allows you to connect a wide range of musical
instruments, computer and other devices in between, usually with these 5 pin DIN plugs. So I can plug a keyboard into my Atari ST's
MIDI port, press a key, and the note's notation, pitch, velocity, vibrato, panning, tempo and
all other features will be sent direct to the computer, with no noticeable delay. [Toccata and Fugue attempt] Depending on your software and what is being communicated The ST will record this information. It won't record the actual sound itself. Just all the details it needs to reproduce
what was played. So I can play a tune, and then get the ST
to play it back with a different instrument, or I can change one of the notes and send
it back to the keyboard. It's pretty clever [Toccata and Fugue in E.Piano] Naturally, computers like the Atari ST had
their own chips for sound and music in software. Usually something like a PSG based Yamaha
AY chip, unless you were an Amiga owner of course. A PSG chip tends to use some basic waveforms
and a noise channel to create a very bleepy and harsh, computer like sound. However, this wasn't going to keep people
satisfied forever, especially a new wave of PC gamers and composers. They needed something that could create realistic
instrument sounds. For the PC this initially meant Ad Lib's music
synthesiser card, complete with a Yamaha YM3812 sound chip. Here we have hardware that
can be driven to create reasonable instrument sounds. This was quickly copied by Creative Technology
with their SoundBlaster card, which also added the ability to play PCM audio, or wave data. Perfect for both gaming and Windows.... *windows startup xylophone* So, if we go back to Windows 3.1 and open
up Canyon.mid. This media player is sending the MIDI data
from this .mid file to the Soundblaster's Windows MIDI driver. [Canyon.mid plays gracefully] This then maps the MIDI data against a sound
bank or patch map of instrument sounds and then tells the Soundblaster's synthesis chip
- in this case an OPL3 - how to produce the sound. It's like the Soundblaster is the instrument
in this instance. Or, really, a collection of instruments. The .Mid file simply contains the instructions
to tell the Soundblaster which notes to play, on which instruments, and with what timing
and effects. This is why MIDI music can sound so different
depending on both your sound hardware and the software driver being used. [Canyon.mid increases in volume] It's also why DOS games contained so many
different soundcard choices, to ensure music was output correctly. *clicking* [Descent MIDI music] For a time, soundcards used their own instrument
patch maps, but with the introduction of General MIDI in 1991, there was an accepted table
of 128 instruments, which was adopted with varying degrees of compatibility by manufacturers,
either in hardware or software form; so when a MID file calls instrument 34 for example. we know it's going to be Acoustic Bass. Or 54 is going to be the voice effect. So it's really working the same way this electronic
keyboard is. Select an instrument, pick a note and duration,
and play it. Combine lots of these instructions and you
get music. [Keyboard sounds] This Soundblaster clone uses a technique called
FM Synthesis to recreate the composition fed to it. FM Synthesis, or Frequency Modulation synthesis
does really what it says on the tin. Take a sine wave. Well FM Synthesis then uses a modulator to
combine various wave forms with various frequencies, to affect that original wave, in ways that
can approximate the sound of instruments, drums and even vocals, to a very limited extent. Like most Soundblaster 16's, this card uses Yamaha OPL3 Frequency Modulation This provided 18 two-operator FM channels
in its basic form, but could convert 3 of the channels into a 5 channel percussion set,
and it sounds, yeah, pretty decent. *mug placing on table* [Descent FM Synth] But if you were flash with the cash in the
90s, you might have a Wavetable Synthesis Sound card. Now I'm far from an authority on this, but
Wavetable Synthesis is actually somewhat a misappropriation of the meaning when it comes
to most soundcards. Generally it's a sound synthesis technique
not too dissimilar from FM, but with much more advanced oscillators, that can employ
phased distortion, folding, and other techniques. The table refers to the table of different
wave types, which are employed in advanced ways. It's often used in high end synthesisers. But Wavetable soundcards like this IBM 16-bit
DSP card actually store PCM wave samples of all the instruments it needs on board, so
it's literally a lookup-table of wave samples. Combine that with our friendly FM Synthesis
chip, and the output sounds much more akin to real life instruments, and a real life
performance. ---Here's a Soundblaster AWE64 from 1997,
which is pretty similar, and basically a revision of what was considered the gaming gold standard,
the AWE32. If I install it and compare the difference
with my Soundblaster clone, you can see what I mean... [Raspy sounds of FM Synth] [Considered, but vibrant sounds of Wavetable] It sounds richer, and much more like a real
life performance. Although personally, I'll always have a soft
spot for the cheap robotic raspy tones of FM Synthesis. It just felt more atmospheric in some implementations,
compared to the sometimes too clean and tapered instrument sounds of wavetable. [DOOOM] Although often Wavetable would knock FM out
of the park. [Beeeat it playing through Wavetable, with lots of reverb] [A more flat sounding reproduction through FM Synth] But whatever card you have, you'll get a slightly
different sound depending on the samples it uses, or how it synthesises the output. If you had a professional external MIDI device,
you could even use the Windows MIDI Mapper to send signals directly to that instead. Cards like the SoundBlaster AWE32 or 64, were
some of the first to also include SoundFont support. Based on E-mu's high end sampler setups, the
AWE could not only apply effects to it's MIDI output (as such reverb and chorus), you could
also load custom sound sets into its onboard RAM. Allowing to mix in a custom piano set or something
even funkier into the mix. At this point the MIDI output of these little
cards almost sounded like the real deal. A lot of work was going into making them sound
as rich as possible. [Baker Street Reproduction on Wavetable] Pretty impressive. If you were lucky enough to have a Roland
MT-32 then that was a really special sound. [E1M1 on MT-32] But, one of the main benefits of having the
soundcard reproduce all the music is that .mid files are tiny in size. Since all they contain are instructions, rather
than actual samples, you can fit hundreds of tunes on a single floppy disk. As well as allowing you to have an extensive
library on 90s size hard drive. It meant that games could have as much background
music as they needed, whilst still sounding pretty sweet. [Apogee Blakestone Intro Synth] It wasn't until the Compact disc came along
that it was really possible to have REAL in game music. *disc clunking into position* *drive retracting* *keyboard thudding* [Quake's NiN music] This music was usually recorded directly as
CD audio tracks, necessitating for the CD to be inserted whilst playing the game. So, that's great. It meant we could have Nine Inch Nails as
the backing track for Quake, or if we had a pirated version of Quake, well, we could
just use our copy of Prodigy's Fat of the Land instead. It worked equally as well. [BREATHE] BUT, CD audio was limiting. If you think back to games like Star Wars
Tie Fighter for DOS. It employed real-time dynamic use of Midi
to change the music depending on the on screen action. This was called the iMuse engine, and relied
on leitmotifs, or short musical riffs which interconnect, allowing the energy of your
experience to change at will. Later collectors editions would actually replace
this with a looping version of the original soundtrack, which was frankly, just crap in
comparison. With CD audio, you just can't do that. You're stuck with the same music spinning
around, until you go to the next level and the game instructs the CD to skip to another
audio track. But it became the norm regardless. The inclusion of CD players in multimedia
computers, also allowed us to consume our music through our favourite beige box. We could bop along with all manner of onscreen
graphical equalising wizardry taking place. We could even watch music videos directly
on our desktops. This for me, was the peak of the multimedia
PC, and indeed, for soundcards. More than just providing MIDI playback and
audio connectors, soundcards provided a gateway to the multimedia PC. You could plug a joystick into them. You could connect your CD-ROM drive to them,
or the audio at least. They were an essential part of the home computer. Then, as the late 90s drew us closer, even
as we listened to that sweet Grand Theft Auto soundtrack, chopping and changing as we switched
vehicle.... [Funky music] *horn blaring* *car door slam* *car door opening* [Laid back beats] ...a new type of music container appeared, MP3, along with other smaller encoding methods. compact formats like the up and coming open
source Ogg, and with these, an alternative for not just in game music, but music in general. *music intensifies* Yes, MP3, it might have been released in 1993,
but it wasn't really until the late 90s that it became useful. Using lossy data-compression, formats like
MP3 manage to squeeze actual digital audio into a much smaller file format than anything
prior. With advancing processing power and larger
hard disks, these new compression methods would prove useful, not just for in game audio,
but for playing and indeed, recording music on a computer. Anyone who used services like Napster or Kazaa
Media will likely remember amassing a nice collection of pirate music at this time. But even with this new kid on the block, MIDI
was still incredibly useful. Albeit, mainly for musicians, looking to compose,
or create. But thanks to USB, musicians didn't need the
joystick connector on the back of their soundcards -which often doubled as a MIDI port- to plug
a keyboard or synth guitar into. They didn't even need MIDI capability ON their
soundcards... they had professional equipment to take care of that... and even if 'lowly' general users still wanted it, well improvements in processor speed meant that Wavetable could now be handled entirely in software, and then output as digital audio And so the MIDI component of the soundcard
started to fade away. We were moving into a new era. A era free of .mid files. An era where a separate sound-card wasn't
even necessary, mainly because motherboard chipsets starting integrating their own audio. Enter AC'97, or Audio Codec '97, a standard
developed by Intel for integration directly into motherboards. AC'97 consisted of a controller, connected
by digital link to a codec chip, that would convert the digital signals to analogue, allowing
you to spew them out of your speakers. A chip known as the Southbridge would normally
be used for controlling, whilst various manufacturers created the CODEC chips, including Cirrus
Logic, Philips, Yamaha, but the main ones would quickly become RealTek and Analog Devices,
also known as SoundMax. Due to changes in how the average user was
consuming media, the AC'97 standard, didn't even have a standard hardware requirement
for MIDI playback, and so it was instead handed over to software. In fact, The Microsoft GS Wavetable Synth
has been a core component of the Windows Operating System from Windows '98 onwards. Originally licensed from Roland in 1996, and
based on their 1991 Wavetable soundset, it synthesises MIDI playback entirely through
software, much like the AWE32 had the ability to do; of course, this burdens the CPU and
introduces an element of lag, but also, it's a rudimentary implementation lacking the features
& audio quality that even modest soundcards had 20 years ago. But even to this day, it's the standard MIDI
device for Windows. Although it's not always installed out of
he box. But it's the MIDI device that emulators such
as DOSBox or ScummVM will use, unless you install an improved open source alternative
of course. In terms of REAL DOS support. Well, DOS doesn't really support AC'97, unless
a piece of software is specifically written to talk to the hardware directly. But we were now in a an era of Windows drivers,
a post-DOS era... and sadly, a post MIDI era. In 2004, Intel released High Definition Audio
to replace the AC'97 standard, again lacking any requirement for MIDI hardware, simply
because we'd moved on. But it did improve on the non MIDI side of
things, with up to 15 input and outputs and 16PCM audio channels per stream, among a slew
of other nice features. So games could make use of that, and so could musicians, and I guess I could make do with cover versions
of the Crash Test Dummies at the point, to drown my sorrows. [Cover version of mmmmmm] But through this mist, and despite people
not really needing to buy soundcards anymore, manufacturers like SoundBlaster soldiered
on, albeit a somewhat shadow of their former selves. Following the trend, most of their post millennium
Soundcards would gradually do away with MIDI support, but cards like SoundBlaster Live!
would continue to hold the flame for MIDI and SoundFont support. Even better, the higher spec cards, such as
the Creative Sound Blaster Audigy Rx still have pretty darn nice hardware MIDI support
even today. In fact, this has two built in MIDI synthesisers,
and full soundfont capability. I picked this one up, direct from Amazon for
about £50. So let's install her in my office PC and see
how OK, I've got a REALLY cool sponsor for today's video... Yes... I've really been enjoying delving into the world of Brilliant Now Brilliant is a world full of masterful interactive storytellers, and you enter these worlds through dabbling in maths and Science. Say you want to dabble in Frequency Modulation; Well at the core of understanding Sine waves is understanding Calculus, and with Brilliant, you can dive right into that with Calculus fundamentals, packed with examples and games to help you get your head around it. Or, if you'd like to get started on learning Computer Science and programming, you could explore Computer Science Fundamentals. Here we have to guide the drone to the correct barn using programming loops... it brings back memories of using Logo. So through interactive experiences, the laws that shape our world will be illuminated to you, allowing you to develop your intuition and understanding. Go to brilliant.org/nostalgianerd to sign up for free. The first 200 people will also get 20% off premium annual membership. Be warned though, it's VERY addictive. Be warned though, it's VERY addictive. [Calming hip hop beats] [E1M1 in GS Wavetable] [Sounds flat] [RX Audigy Wavetable - vibrant and rich] Not bad hey? of course, you can get better soundcards, even today, such
as the Asus Essence STX II, which reportedly has some spiffing MIDI capability on board. But there's something so nostalgic about the
Creative Labs brand for me, that it gives me a warm feeling to still be using it. Sure MIDI might not have progressed how I
hoped it would. In fact, it almost died out. But I feel like bringing MIDI back... to this
corner of my office at least... I could quite happily sit here and while away
the hours to literal megabytes and megabytes of .mid files. [Mmm mmm mmm] Digital Audio Worksation
and VST technology might be replacing the world of MIDI (or it might seem that way),
but On Sunday, January 19, 2020 at the Annual Meeting of the MIDI Manufacturers Association,
the complete suite of MIDI 2.0 specifications were adopted unanimously by the MMA members
in attendance. So MIDI is coming back baby. Kinda. It might not be FM Synth, but I'm sure it'll
be just fine. Thanks for watching AND have a great evening. Let's rock.
FM synthesis or bust.