General MIDI (GM) is a series of standards defining a minimum set of features for MIDI-controlled synthesizers.
The original and most widely-used version is General MIDI System Level 1 (GM 1), first published in 1991. Most references to "General MIDI" or "GM" without further explanation refer to this version.
There are several standards extending GM 1:
- Roland GS (first released 1991), Roland's proprietary extension
- Yamaha XG (first released 1994), Yamaha's proprietary extension
- General MIDI System Level 2 (first released 1999), the official successor incorporating some features of GS and XG
There is also General MIDI Lite, first published in 2004. This is a subset of the original standard intended for cellphone ringtones and similar applications.
The remainder of this page is only concerned with GM 1.
General requirements
TBD
Sound Set
For channels other than channel 10, General MIDI defines a set of 128 sounds that can be selected with Program Change messages. The sounds are divided into 16 groups, as follows:[1]
Piano
| Prog #
|
Instrument
|
| 1 |
Acoustic Grand Piano
|
| 2 |
Bright Acoustic Piano
|
| 3 |
Electric Grand Piano
|
| 4 |
Honky-tonk Piano
|
| 5 |
Electric Piano 1
|
| 6 |
Electric Piano 2
|
| 7 |
Harpsichord
|
| 8 |
Clavi
|
Chromatic Percussion
| Prog #
|
Instrument
|
| 9 |
Celesta
|
| 10 |
Glockenspiel
|
| 11 |
Music Box
|
| 12 |
Vibraphone
|
| 13 |
Marimba
|
| 14 |
Xylophone
|
| 15 |
Tubular Bells
|
| 16 |
Dulcimer
|
Organ
| Prog #
|
Instrument
|
| 17 |
Drawbar Organ
|
| 18 |
Percussive Organ
|
| 19 |
Rock Organ
|
| 20 |
Church Organ
|
| 21 |
Reed Organ
|
| 22 |
Accordion
|
| 23 |
Harmonica
|
| 24 |
Tango Accordion
|
Guitar
| Prog #
|
Instrument
|
| 25 |
Acoustic Guitar (nylon)
|
| 26 |
Acoustic Guitar (steel)
|
| 27 |
Electric Guitar (jazz)
|
| 28 |
Electric Guitar (clean)
|
| 29 |
Electric Guitar (muted)
|
| 30 |
Overdriven Guitar
|
| 31 |
Distortion Guitar
|
| 32 |
Guitar harmonics
|
Bass
| Prog #
|
Instrument
|
| 33 |
Acoustic Bass
|
| 34 |
Electric Bass (finger)
|
| 35 |
Electric Bass (pick)
|
| 36 |
Fretless Bass
|
| 37 |
Slap Bass 1
|
| 38 |
Slap Bass 2
|
| 39 |
Synth Bass 1
|
| 40 |
Synth Bass 2
|
Strings
| Prog #
|
Instrument
|
| 41 |
Violin
|
| 42 |
Viola
|
| 43 |
Cello
|
| 44 |
Contrabass
|
| 45 |
Tremolo Strings
|
| 46 |
Pizzicato Strings
|
| 47 |
Orchestral Harp
|
| 48 |
Timpani
|
Ensemble
| Prog #
|
Instrument
|
| 49 |
String Ensemble 1
|
| 50 |
String Ensemble 2
|
| 51 |
SynthStrings 1
|
| 52 |
SynthStrings 2
|
| 53 |
Choir Aahs
|
| 54 |
Voice Oohs
|
| 55 |
Synth Voice
|
| 56 |
Orchestra Hit
|
Brass
| Prog #
|
Instrument
|
| 57 |
Trumpet
|
| 58 |
Trombone
|
| 59 |
Tuba
|
| 60 |
Muted Trumpet
|
| 61 |
French Horn
|
| 62 |
Brass Section
|
| 63 |
SynthBrass 1
|
| 64 |
SynthBrass 2
|
Reed
| Prog #
|
Instrument
|
| 65 |
Soprano Sax
|
| 66 |
Alto Sax
|
| 67 |
Tenor Sax
|
| 68 |
Baritone Sax
|
| 69 |
Oboe
|
| 70 |
English Horn
|
| 71 |
Bassoon
|
| 72 |
Clarinet
|
Pipe
| Prog #
|
Instrument
|
| 73 |
Piccolo
|
| 74 |
Flute
|
| 75 |
Recorder
|
| 76 |
Pan Flute
|
| 77 |
Blown Bottle
|
| 78 |
Shakuhachi
|
| 79 |
Whistle
|
| 80 |
Ocarina
|
Synth Lead
| Prog #
|
Instrument
|
| 81 |
Lead 1 (square)
|
| 82 |
Lead 2 (sawtooth)
|
| 83 |
Lead 3 (calliope)
|
| 84 |
Lead 4 (chiff)
|
| 85 |
Lead 5 (charang)
|
| 86 |
Lead 6 (voice)
|
| 87 |
Lead 7 (fifths)
|
| 88 |
Lead 8 (bass + lead)
|
Synth Pad
| Prog #
|
Instrument
|
| 89 |
Pad 1 (new age)
|
| 90 |
Pad 2 (warm)
|
| 91 |
Pad 3 (polysynth)
|
| 92 |
Pad 4 (choir)
|
| 93 |
Pad 5 (bowed)
|
| 94 |
Pad 6 (metallic)
|
| 95 |
Pad 7 (halo)
|
| 96 |
Pad 8 (sweep)
|
Synth Effects
| Prog #
|
Instrument
|
| 97 |
FX 1 (rain)
|
| 98 |
FX 2 (soundtrack)
|
| 99 |
FX 3 (crystal)
|
| 100 |
FX 4 (atmosphere)
|
| 101 |
FX 5 (brightness)
|
| 102 |
FX 6 (goblins)
|
| 103 |
FX 7 (echoes)
|
| 104 |
FX 8 (sci-fi)
|
Ethnic
| Prog #
|
Instrument
|
| 105 |
Sitar
|
| 106 |
Banjo
|
| 107 |
Shamisen
|
| 108 |
Koto
|
| 109 |
Kalimba
|
| 110 |
Bag pipe
|
| 111 |
Fiddle
|
| 112 |
Shanai
|
Percussive
| Prog #
|
Instrument
|
| 113 |
Tinkle Bell
|
| 114 |
Agogo
|
| 115 |
Steel Drums
|
| 116 |
Woodblock
|
| 117 |
Taiko Drum
|
| 118 |
Melodic Tom
|
| 119 |
Synth Drum
|
| 120 |
Reverse Cymbal
|
Sound Effects
| Prog #
|
Instrument
|
| 121 |
Guitar Fret Noise
|
| 122 |
Breath Noise
|
| 123 |
Seashore
|
| 124 |
Bird Tweet
|
| 125 |
Telephone Ring
|
| 126 |
Helicopter
|
| 127 |
Applause
|
| 128 |
Gunshot
|
Percussion Map
General MIDI reserves channel 10 for key-based percussion and defines a set of 47 percussion sounds that can be played with Note On/Note Off messages. The sounds are as follows:[2]
| Note #
|
Drum sound
|
| 35 |
Acoustic Bass Drum
|
| 36 |
Bass Drum 1
|
| 37 |
Side Stick
|
| 38 |
Acoustic Snare
|
| 39 |
Hand Clap
|
| 40 |
Electric Snare
|
| 41 |
Low Floor Tom
|
| 42 |
Closed Hi Hat
|
| 43 |
High Floor Tom
|
| 44 |
Pedal Hi-Hat
|
| 45 |
Low Tom
|
| 46 |
Open Hi-Hat
|
| 47 |
Low-Mid Tom
|
| 48 |
Hi Mid Tom
|
| 49 |
Crash Cymbal 1
|
| 50 |
High Tom
|
| 51 |
Ride Cymbal 1
|
| 52 |
Chinese Cymbal
|
| 53 |
Ride Bell
|
| 54 |
Tambourine
|
| 55 |
Splash Cymbal
|
| 56 |
Cowbell
|
| 57 |
Crash Cymbal 2
|
| 58 |
Vibraslap
|
| 59 |
Ride Cymbal 2
|
| 60 |
Hi Bongo
|
| 61 |
Low Bongo
|
| 62 |
Mute Hi Conga
|
| 63 |
Open Hi Conga
|
| 64 |
Low Conga
|
| 65 |
High Timbale
|
| 66 |
Low Timable
|
| 67 |
High Agogo
|
| 68 |
Low Agogo
|
| 69 |
Cabasa
|
| 70 |
Maracas
|
| 71 |
Short Whistle
|
| 72 |
Long Whistle
|
| 73 |
Short Guiro
|
| 74 |
Long Guiro
|
| 75 |
Claves
|
| 76 |
Hi Wood Block
|
| 77 |
Low Wood Block
|
| 78 |
Mute Cuica
|
| 79 |
Open Cuica
|
| 80 |
Mute Triangle
|
| 81 |
Open Triangle
|
References
- ↑ General MIDI System Level 1 Specification, page 5, tables 1 and 2
- ↑ General MIDI System Level 1 Specification, page 6
Resources