Velocity

Velocity ( English for speed hereinafter) in velocity-sensitive electronic keyboard instruments (eg. B. synthesizer or keyboards ) the so-called touch velocity, d. H. the speed with which a key is pressed (see also attack on the piano ). The pressure that is physically exerted on a key when it is hit is also dependent on the velocity of the key. The various properties of the electronically generated sound can be influenced by more or less rapid or strong depression. B. the volume, the intensity of the settling phase (see. Transients ) or the dynamic development of the sound during the holding phase. Electronic instruments use the Velocity parameter to emulate the characteristics of acoustic instruments when a note is applied, such as B. the attack force on keyboard instruments, the blowing pressure on wind instruments , or the speed and contact pressure of a bow on string instruments .

The speed at which a key is released is known as the release velocity .

Velocity as a parameter in MIDI commands

Example for the values (binary and decimal) of a status byte in the MIDI protocol

In the MIDI protocol called Velocity and Release Velocity parameters in the channel-specific MIDI (commands English. Channel Messages) Note On and Note Off is transmitted. The parameters Velocity and Release Velocity correspond to a value of (decimal) 0–127 in the second data byte of such a command.

If a keyboard is not touch sensitive , the mean value of (decimal) 64 is sent for Velocity by default.

Web links

Links related to MIDI:

Introduction to MIDI: https://www.midi.org/articles/an-intro-to-midi
A graphically appealing introduction by Alexander Loitsch and Dennis Hölscher as a PDF file (archived): http://www.games-net.de/files/loitsch_13_Sounddesign_6.pdf ( Memento from September 28, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 176 kB)