Sequencers

Sequencers are an integral part and most of the wonder of MIDI. Even if there is hardware sequencers still around us, they were famous in their time, and still in use is special aplications. We will refer, in this occasion, to the software version of them: the software MIDI sequencers better know nowadays as DAWs (Digital Audio Workstations).

A sofware MIDI sequencer is at most a computer program designed to record midi messages received from the instruments connected thru its MIDI interface. These messages are time stamped and saved in a file called MIDI file for later use. When the file is reproduced the same messages in the same order as they were recorded, are sent thru the MIDI interface to the corresponding instrument taking care of the time they must happen by means of the time stamped in the message (normally a delta time from one message to the next). Its operation resembles, so to speak, to a tape recorder.

MIDI software sequencer has evolved as time goes by. Two computer brands were the ones to start all this software sequencer revolution madness: 1982 Commodore C64 and 1984 Atari ST. Even if the first software sequencer was made for the Commodore, it was the Atari ST the one to make the real evolution in this field. (Some of the developers back then are big leagers now and still keep their leadership nowadays because the features and amazing capabilities of their programs). Soon after would come the Commodore Amiga (with the best MIDI only sequencer i'm aware of) and the IBM PC and Apple's Macintosh with little success, in those days, due to the positioning these machines had as a business machines.

It was until middle 90's when another big leap ocurred in the development of these programs: the integration of audio tracks played along with the midi tracks in perfect sync. Such integration led to what was called DAW's (Digital Audio Workstations) and the evolution of the MIDI Recording Studio.