By Ojeme, Anthony Omotope
The development of the Musical Instrument Digital Interference (MIDI) system has been a major catalyst in the recent unpredicted explosion of music technology. The MIDI provides new and time saving tools for music documentation. This work explores the MIDI and its prospects to the Nigerian setting as it concerns the use of modern technology to achieve proper documentation of Nigerian folk and popular music genres. Data for this study came from primary and secondary sources. Oral interviews and practical demonstrations served as the instruments of the primary source. Books, magazines, journals, and the Internet constituted the secondary sources. It was discovered that the Musical Instrument Digital Interference (MIDI) is a remarkable system that enables composers to manage quantities of complex information and allow synthesizers, computers, sound modules, drum machines and other electronic devices from many manufacturers to communicate with each other. The MIDI further enhances music notation, printing and publishing of folk and popular music styles and expressions hitherto limited oral traditions of transmission. The study concludes by offering useful recommendations as panacea for musicians, music lovers and indeed the art community.