You've learned pitch, note names, octaves, and steps. Now for how computers handle all of it. MIDI gives every pitch a simple number from 0 to 127. The number is a machine-friendly pitch address. Note names are still useful to musicians, but MIDI uses the number when it stores and sends the note.
What is MIDI?
MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a standard from the 1980s that lets instruments and software talk to each other. A MIDI note doesn't contain actual sound. It stores a pitch and performance data such as "play this pitch, at this velocity." In a piano roll, software then shows that note with a start point and a length so you can place it in time.
What you usually see in a piano roll
The exact note name shown for a MIDI number can vary between software because octave labels are not universal. Use the number when comparing data across DAWs.
The 0-127 number line
MIDI note 0 is the lowest possible pitch (a C so deep you can barely hear it). MIDI note 127 is the highest (an extremely shrill G). Most music sits between 36 and 96.
Key MIDI numbers
Middle C = 60
A useful reference point is MIDI 60 is middle C. This lesson uses the common C4 label for middle C; some DAWs label the same note C3. Everything else is counted relative to this. Every step up adds 1. Every octave up adds 12.
Middle C (MIDI 60) - try tapping other keys to hear their pitches
Quick maths from middle C
MIDI = semitones from the bottom
The clever thing about MIDI numbers: the distance between any two MIDI notes is the number of semitones between them. MIDI 64 minus MIDI 60 = 4 semitones (a major 3rd). No conversion needed.
How produc.ing uses MIDI
Behind every note you see on the piano roll in Starts is a MIDI number. When you export a MIDI file, you're exporting these numbers along with their timing and velocity. Any DAW - Ableton, FL Studio, Logic, Reaper - reads them the same way. MIDI is the universal format.
What produc.ing stores per note
Try it
Start with MIDI 60 and calculate three destinations before tapping the piano: one semitone higher, a major third higher, and one octave higher. Check your answers against 61, 64, and 72, then start again from MIDI 48.
The same arithmetic works in every register. Adding 12 changes the octave; adding 1 changes the pitch by one semitone.
Key takeaway
MIDI assigns every pitch a number from 0-127. Middle C = 60. Each semitone = +1. Each octave = +12. The difference between two MIDI numbers is the interval in semitones. MIDI files work in any DAW because they use this shared numbering system.
That's the full picture of how notes and pitch work - from the physics of vibration through to the numbers your DAW reads. Next up: Intervals - the distance between two notes and the foundation of all harmony and melody.
Export your first MIDI file
Generate a progression in Starts and export it. Open it in your DAW to see the MIDI numbers in action.