From: ap@jyu.fi (Patric Aalto)
Subject: Standard Midifile Format, here it is
Organization: University of Jyvaskyla, Finland
Date: Wed, 2 Sep 1992 09:18:28 GMT

Hi!

Here is the standard midifile format description. This is also available
from ucsd.edu as midi/doc/midi-files.Z

Patrick Aalto
ap@tukki.jyu.fi

-------------- CUT HERE --------------
[This document is Dave Oppenheim's current version of the MIDI file 
specification, as sent to those who have participated in its 
development.  The consensus seems to be to submit this to the MIDI 
Manufacturers' Association as version 1.0.  I apologize for any loss of 
clarity that might have occurred in the conversion from a Microsoft Word 
document to this pure text file.  I have removed some of the discussion 
about recent changes to the specification in order to keep the file size 
reasonable.--Doug Wyatt]

Standard MIDI Files 0.06	March 1, 1988


0  Introduction

This describes a proposed standard MIDI file format.  MIDI files contain 
one or more MIDI streams, with time information for each event.  Song, 
sequence, and track structures, tempo and time signature information, 
are all supported.  Track names and other descriptive information may be 
stored with the MIDI data.  This format supports multiple tracks and 
multiple sequences so that if the user of a program which supports 
multiple tracks intends to move a file to another one, this format can 
allow that to happen.

This spec defines the 8-bit binary data stream used in the file.  The 
data can be stored in a binary file, nibbleized, 7-bit-ized for 
efficient MIDI transmission, converted to Hex ASCII, or translated 
symbolically to a printable text file.  This spec addresses what's in 
the 8-bit stream.


1  Sequences, Tracks, Chunks:  File Block Structure

Sequence files are made up of chunks.  Each chunk has a 4-character type 
and a 32-bit length, which is the number of bytes in the chunk.  On the 
Macintosh, data is passed either in the data fork of a file, or on the 
Clipboard.  (The file type on the Macintosh for a file in this format 
will be "Midi".)  On any other computer, the data is simply the contents 
of the file.  This structure allows future chunk types to be designed 
which may easily be ignored if encountered by a program written before 
the chunk type is introduced.   Your programs should expect alien chunks 
and treat them as if they weren't there.

This proposal defines two types of chunks:  a header chunk and a track 
chunk.  A header chunk provides a minimal amount of information 
pertaining to the entire MIDI file.  A track chunk contains a sequential 
stream of MIDI data which may contain information for up to 16 MIDI 
channels.  The concepts of multiple tracks, multiple MIDI outputs, 
patterns, sequences, and songs may all be implemented using several 
track chunks.

A MIDI file always starts with a header chunk, and is followed by one or 
more track chunks.

MThd  <length of header data>
<header data>
MTrk  <length of track data>
<track data>
MTrk  <length of track data>
<track data>
 ...

Track Data Format (MTrk chunk type)

The MTrk chunk type is where actual song data is stored.  It is simply a 
stream of MIDI events (and non-MIDI events), preceded by delta-time 
values.

Some numbers in MTrk chunks are represented in a form called a variable-
length quantity. These numbers are represented 7 bits per byte, most 
significant bits first.  All bytes except the last have bit 7 set, and 
the last byte has bit 7 clear.  If the number is between 0 and 127,  it 
is thus represented exactly as one byte.  

Here are some examples of numbers represented as variable-length 
quantities:

	Number (hex)	Representation (hex)
	00000000	00
	00000040	40
	0000007F	7F
	00000080	81 00
	00002000	C0 00
	00003FFF	FF 7F
	00004000	81 80 00
	00100000	C0 80 00
	001FFFFF	FF FF 7F
	00200000	81 80 80 00
	08000000	C0 80 80 00
	0FFFFFFF	FF FF FF 7F
	

The largest number which is allowed is 0FFFFFFF so that the variable-
length representation must fit in 32 bits in a routine to write 
variable-length numbers.  Theoretically, larger numbers are possible, 
but 2 x 108 96ths of a beat at a fast tempo of 500 beats per minute is 
four days, long enough for any delta-time!

Here is the syntax of an MTrk chunk:

<track data> = <MTrk event>+

<MTrk event> = <delta-time> <event>

<delta-time> is stored as a variable-length quantity.  It represents the 
amount of time before the following event.  If the first event in a 
track occurs at the very beginning of a track, or if two events occur 
simultaneously, a delta-time of zero is used.  Delta-times are always 
present.  (Not storing delta-times of 0 requires at least two bytes for 
any other value, and most delta-times aren't zero.)  Delta-time is in 
some fraction of a beat (or a second, for recording a track with SMPTE 
times), as specified in the header chunk.  

<event> = <MIDI event> | <sysex event> | <meta-event>

<MIDI event> is any MIDI channel message.  Running status is used: 
status bytes may be omitted after the first byte.  The first event in a 
file must specify status.  Delta-time is not  considered an event 
itself:  it is an integral part of the specification.  Notice that 
running status occurs across delta-times.  

<meta-event> specifies non-MIDI information useful to this format or to 
sequencers, with this syntax:

	FF <type> <length> <bytes>

All meta-events begin with FF, then have an event type byte (which is 
always less than 128), and then have the length of the data stored as a 
variable-length quantity, and then the data itself.  If there is no 
data, the length is 0.  As with sysex events, running status is not 
allowed.  As with chunks, future meta-events may be designed which may 
not be known to existing programs, so programs must properly ignore 
meta-events which they do not recognize, and indeed, should expect to 
see them.  New for 0.06:  programs must never ignore the length of a 
meta-event which they do recognize, and they shouldn't be surprised if 
it's bigger than they expected.  If so, they must ignore everything past 
what they know about.  However, they must not add anything of their own 
to the end of a meta-event.

<sysex event> is used to specify a MIDI system exclusive message, or as 
an "escape" to specify any arbitrary bytes to be transmitted.  
Unfortunately, some synthesizer manufacturers specify that their system 
exclusive messages are to be transmitted as little packets.  Each packet 
is only part of an entire syntactical system exclusive message, but the 
times they are transmitted at are important.  Examples of this are the 
bytes sent in a CZ patch dump, or the FB-01's "system exclusive mode" in 
which microtonal data can be transmitted.  To be able to handle 
situations like these, two forms of  <sysex event> are provided:

	F0 <length> <bytes to be transmitted after F0>
	F7 <length> <all bytes to be transmitted>

In both cases, <length> is stored as a variable-length quantity.  It is 
equal to the number of bytes following it, not including itself or the 
message type (F0 or F7), but all the bytes which follow, including any 
F7 at the end which is intended to be transmitted.  The first form, with 
the F0 code, is used for syntactically complete system exclusive 
messages, or the first packet an a series Q that is, messages in which 
the F0 should be transmitted.  The second form is used for the remainder 
of the packets within a syntactic sysex message, which do not begin with 
F0.  Of course, the F7 is not considered part of the system exclusive 
message.  Of course, just as in MIDI, running status is not allowed, in 
this case because the length is stored as a variable-length quantity 
which may or may not start with bit 7 set.

(New to 0.06)  A syntactic system exclusive message must always end with 
an F7, even if the real-life device didn't send one, so that you know 
when you've reached the end of an entire sysex message without looking 
ahead to the next event in the MIDI file.  This principle is repeated 
and illustrated in the paragraphs below.

The vast majority of system exclusive messages will just use the F0 
format.  For instance, the transmitted message F0 43 12 00 07 F7 would 
be stored in a MIDI file as F0 05 43 12 00 07 F7.  As mentioned above, 
it is required to include the F7 at the end so that the reader of the 
MIDI file knows that it has read the entire message.

For special situations when a single system exclusive message is split 
up, with parts of it being transmitted at different times, such as in a 
Casio CZ patch transfer, or the FB-01's "system exclusive mode", the F7 
form of sysex event is used for each packet except the first.  None of 
the packets would end with an F7 except the last one, which must end 
with an F7.  There also must not be any transmittable MIDI events in-
between the packets of a multi-packet system exclusive message.  Here is 
an example:  suppose the bytes F0 43 12 00 were to be sent, followed by 
a 200-tick delay, followed by the bytes  43 12 00 43 12 00, followed by 
a 100-tick delay, followed by the bytes  43 12 00 F7, this would be in 
the MIDI File:

	F0 03 43 12 00
	81 48					200-tick delta-time
	F7 06 43 12 00 43 12 00
	64					100-tick delta-time
	F7 04 43 12 00 F7

The F7 event may also be used as an "escape" to transmit any bytes 
whatsoever, including real-time bytes, song pointer, or MIDI Time Code, 
which are not permitted normally in this specification.  No effort 
should be made to interpret the bytes used in this way.  Since a system 
exclusive message is not being transmitted, it is not necessary or 
appropriate to end the F7 event with an F7 in this case. 


2    Header Chunk

The header chunk at the beginning of the file specifies some basic 
information about the data in the file.  The data section contains three 
16-bit words, stored high byte first (of course).  Here's the syntax of 
the complete chunk:

	<chunk type> <length> <format> <ntrks> <division> 

As described above, <chunk type> is the four ASCII characters 'MThd'; 
<length> is a 32-bit representation of the number 6 (high byte first).  
The first word, format, specifies the overall organization of the file.  
Only three values of format are specified:

	0	the file contains a single multi-channel track
	1	the file contains one or more simultaneous tracks (or MIDI 
outputs) of a sequence
	2	the file contains one or more sequentially independent 
single-track patterns

The next word, ntrks, is the number of track chunks in the file.  The 
third word, division,  is the division of a quarter-note represented by 
the delta-times in the file.  (If division is negative, it represents 
the division of a second represented by the delta-times in the file, so 
that the track can represent events occurring in actual time instead of 
metrical time.  It is represented in the following way:  the upper byte 
is one of the four values -24, -25, -29, or -30, corresponding to the 
four standard SMPTE and MIDI time code formats, and represents the 
number of frames per second.  The second byte (stored positive) is the 
resolution within a frame:  typical values may be 4 (MIDI time code 
resolution), 8, 10, 80 (bit resolution), or 100.  This system allows 
exact specification of time-code-based tracks, but also allows 
millisecond-based tracks by specifying 25 frames/sec and a resolution of 
40 units per frame.)    

Format 0, that is, one multi-channel track, is the most interchangeable 
representation of data.  One application of MIDI files is a simple 
single-track player in a program which needs to make synthesizers make 
sounds, but which is primarily concerned with something else such as 
mixers or sound effect boxes.  It is very desirable to be able to 
produce such a format, even if your program is track-based, in order to 
work with these simple programs.  On the other hand, perhaps someone 
will write a format conversion from format 1 to format 0 which might be 
so easy to use in some setting that it would save you the trouble of 
putting it into your program.

Programs which support several simultaneous tracks should be able to 
save and read data in format 1, a vertically one-dimensional form, that 
is, as a collection of tracks.  Programs which support several 
independent patterns should be able to save and read data in format 2, a 
horizontally one-dimensional form.  Providing these minimum capabilities 
will ensure maximum interchangeability.

MIDI files can express tempo and time signature, and they have been 
chosen to do so for transferring tempo maps from one device to another.  
For a format 0 file, the tempo will be scattered through the track and 
the tempo map reader should ignore the intervening events; for a format 
1 file, the tempo map must (starting in 0.04) be stored as the first 
track.  It is polite to a tempo map reader to offer your user the 
ability to make a format 0 file with just the tempo, unless you can use 
format 1.

All MIDI files should specify tempo and time signature.  If they don't, 
the time signature is assumed to be 4/4, and the tempo 120 beats per 
minute.  In format 0, these meta-events should occur at least at the 
beginning of the single multi-channel track.  In format 1, these meta-
events should be contained in the first track.  In format 2, each of the 
temporally independent patterns should contain at least initial time 
signature and tempo information.

We may decide to define other format IDs to support other structures.  A 
program reading an unfamiliar format ID should return an error to the 
user rather than trying to read further.

3    Meta-Events

A few meta-events are defined herein.  It is not required for every 
program to support every meta-event.  Meta-events initially defined 
include:

FF 00 02 ssss	Sequence Number
This optional event, which must occur at the beginning of a track, 
before any nonzero delta-times, and before any transmittable MIDI 
events, specifies the number of a sequence.  The number in this track 
corresponds to the sequence number in the new Cue message discussed at 
the summer 1987 MMA meeting.  In a format 2 MIDI file, it is used to 
identify each "pattern" so that a "song" sequence using the Cue message 
to refer to the patterns.  If the ID numbers are omitted, the sequences' 
locations in order in the file are used as defaults.  In a format 0 or 1 
MIDI file, which only contain one sequence, this number should be 
contained in the first (or only) track.  If transfer of several 
multitrack sequences is required, this must be done as a group of format 
1 files, each with a different sequence number.

FF 01 len text	Text Event
Any amount of text describing anything.  It is a good idea to put a text 
event right at the beginning of a track, with the name of the track, a 
description of its intended orchestration, and any other information 
which the user wants to put there.  Text events may also occur at other 
times in a track, to be used as lyrics, or descriptions of cue points.  
The text in this event should be printable ASCII characters for maximum 
interchange.  However, other character codes using the high-order bit 
may be used for interchange of files between different programs on the 
same computer which supports an extended character set.  Programs on a 
computer which does not support non-ASCII characters should ignore those 
characters.

(New for 0.06 ).  Meta event types 01 through 0F are reserved for 
various types of text events, each of which meets the specification of 
text events(above) but is used for a different purpose: 

FF 02 len text	Copyright Notice
Contains a copyright notice as printable ASCII text.  The notice should 
contain the characters (C), the year of the copyright, and the owner of 
the copyright.  If several pieces of music are in the same MIDI file, 
all of the copyright notices should be placed together in this event so 
that it will be at the beginning of the file.  This event should be the 
first event in the first track chunk, at time 0.


FF 03 len text	Sequence/Track Name
If in a format 0 track, or the first track in a format 1 file, the name 
of the sequence.  Otherwise, the name of the track.

FF 04 len text	Instrument Name
A description of the type of instrumentation to be used in that track.  
May be used with the MIDI Prefix meta-event to specify which MIDI 
channel the description applies to, or the channel may be specified as 
text in the event itself.

FF 05 len text	Lyric
A lyric to be sung.  Generally, each syllable will be a separate lyric 
event which begins at the event's time.

FF 06 len text	Marker
Normally in a format 0 track, or the first track in a format 1 file.  
The name of that point in the sequence, such as a rehearsal letter or 
section name ("First Verse", etc.). 


FF 07 len text	Cue Point
A description of something happening on a film or video screen or stage 
at that point in the musical score ("Car crashes into house", "curtain 
opens", "she slaps his face", etc.)

FF 2F 00	End of Track
This event is not optional.  It is included so that an exact ending 
point may be specified for the track, so that it has an exact length, 
which is necessary for tracks which are looped or concatenated.  

FF 51 03 tttttt    	Set Tempo, in microseconds per MIDI quarter-note
This event indicates a tempo change.  Another way of putting 
"microseconds per quarter-note" is "24ths of a microsecond per MIDI 
clock".  Representing tempos as time per beat instead of beat per time 
allows absolutely exact long-term synchronization with a time-based sync 
protocol such as SMPTE time code or MIDI time code.  This amount of 
accuracy provided by this tempo resolution allows a four-minute piece at 
120 beats per minute to be accurate within 500 usec at the end of the 
piece.  Ideally, these events should only occur where MIDI clocks would 
be located Q this convention is intended to guarantee, or at least 
increase the likelihood, of compatibility with other synchronization 
devices so that a time signature/tempo map stored in this format may 
easily be transferred to another device. 

FF 54 05 hr mn se fr ff	SMPTE Offset  (New in 0.06 - SMPTE Format 
specification)
This event, if present, designates the SMPTE time at which the track 
chunk is supposed to start.  It should be present at the beginning of 
the track, that is, before any nonzero delta-times, and before any 
transmittable MIDI events.  The hour must be encoded with the SMPTE 
format, just as it is in MIDI Time Code.  In a format 1 file, the SMPTE 
Offset must be stored with the tempo map, and has no meaning in any of 
the other tracks.  The ff field contains fractional frames, in 100ths of 
a frame, even in SMPTE-based tracks which specify a different frame 
subdivision for delta-times.

FF 58 04 nn dd cc bb	Time Signature 
The time signature is expressed as four numbers.  nn and dd represent 
the numerator and denominator of the time signature as it would be 
notated.  The denominator is a negative power of two:  2 represents a 
quarter-note, 3 represents an eighth-note, etc.  The cc parameter 
expresses the number of MIDI clocks in a metronome click.  The bb 
parameter expresses the number of notated 32nd-notes in a MIDI quarter-
note (24 MIDI Clocks).  This was added because there are already 
multiple programs which allow the user to specify that what MIDI thinks 
of as a quarter-note (24 clocks) is to be notated as, or related to in 
terms of, something else. 

Therefore, the complete event for 6/8 time, where the metronome clicks 
every three eighth-notes, but there are 24 clocks per quarter-note, 72 
to the bar, would be (in hex):

	FF 58 04 06 03 24 08

That is, 6/8 time (8 is 2 to the 3rd power, so this is 06 03), 32 MIDI 
clocks per dotted-quarter (24 hex!), and eight notated 32nd-notes per 
MIDI quarter note.

FF 59 02 sf mi	Key Signature
        sf = -7:  7 flats
        sf = -1:  1 flat
        sf = 0:  key of C
        sf = 1:  1 sharp
        sf = 7: 7 sharps
        
        mi = 0:  major key
        mi = 1:  minor key
        
FF 7F len data	Sequencer-Specific Meta-Event

        Special requirements for particular sequencers may use this 
event type:  the first byte or bytes of data is a manufacturer ID.  
However, as this is an interchange format, growth of the spec proper is 
preferred to use of this event type.  This type of event may be used by 
a sequencer which elects to use this as its only file format;  
sequencers with their established feature-specific formats should 
probably stick to the standard features when using this format.

4   Program Fragments and Example MIDI Files

Here are some of the routines to read and write variable-length numbers 
in MIDI Files.  These routines are in C, and use getc and putc, which 
read and write single 8-bit characters from/to the files infile and 
outfile.  

WriteVarLen (value)
register long value;
{
	register long buffer;

	buffer = value & 0x7f;
	while ((value >>= 7) > 0)
	{
		buffer <<= 8;
		buffer |= 0x80;
		buffer += (value & 0x7f);
	}

	while (TRUE)
	{
		putc(buffer,outfile);
		if (buffer & 0x80)
			buffer >>= 8;
		else
			break;
	} 
}
	
doubleword ReadVarLen ()
{
 	register doubleword value;
	register byte c;
	
	if ((value = getc(infile)) & 0x80)
	{
		value &= 0x7f;
		do
		{
			value = (value << 7) + ((c = getc(infile)) & 0x7f);
		} while (c & 0x80);
	}
	return (value);
}

As an example, MIDI Files for the following excerpt are shown below.  
First, a format 0 file is shown, with all information intermingled; 
then, a format 1 file is shown with all data separated into four tracks:  
one for tempo and time signature, and three for the notes.  A resolution 
of 96 "ticks" per quarter note is used.  A time signature of 4/4 and a 
tempo of 120, though implied, are explicitly stated.




The contents of the MIDI stream represented by this example are broken 
down here:

Delta Time(decimal)  Event Code (hex)   Other Bytes (decimal)	
	Comment
	0	FF 58	04 04 02 24 08	4 bytes: 4/4 time, 24 MIDI 
clocks/click, 
				8 32nd notes/24 MIDI clocks
	0	FF 51	03 500000	3 bytes: 500,000 5sec per quarter-note
	0	C0	5	Ch. 1, Program Change 5
	0	C0	5	Ch. 1, Program Change 5
	0	C1	46	Ch. 2, Program Change 46
	0	C2	70	Ch. 3, Program Change 70
	0	92	48  96	Ch. 3 Note On C2, forte
	0	92	60  96	Ch. 3 Note On C3, forte
	96	91	67  64	Ch. 2 Note On G3, mezzo-forte
	96	90	76  32	Ch. 1 Note On E4, piano
	192	82	48  64	Ch. 3 Note Off C2, standard
	0	82	60  64	Ch. 3 Note Off C3, standard
	0	81	67  64	Ch. 2 Note Off G3, standard
	0	80	76  64	Ch. 1 Note Off E4, standard
	0	FF 2F	00	Track End

The entire format 0 MIDI file contents in hex follow.  First, the header 
chunk:

		4D 54 68 64 	MThd
		00 00 00 06	chunk length
		00 00 	format 0
		00 01	one track
		00 60 	96 per quarter-note

Then, the track chunk.  Its header, followed by the events (notice that 
running status is used in places):

		4D 54 72 6B	MTrk
		00 00 00 3B	chunk length (59)

	Delta-time	Event	Comments
	00	FF 58 04 04 02 18 08 	time signature
	00	FF 51 03 07 A1 20	tempo
	00	C0 05
	00	C1 2E
	00	C2 46
	00	92 30 60 
	00	3C 60	running status
	60	91 43 40
	60	90 4C 20
	81 40	82 30 40	two-byte delta-time
	00	3C 40	running status
	00	81 43 40
	00	80 4C 40
	00	FF 2F 00	end of track

A format 1 representation of the file is slightly different.  Its header 
chunk:

		4D 54 68 64 	MThd
		00 00 00 06	chunk length
		00 01 	format 1
		00 04	four tracks
		00 60 	96 per quarter-note

First, the track chunk for the time signature/tempo track.  Its header, 
followed by the events:

		4D 54 72 6B	MTrk
		00 00 00 14	chunk length (20)

	Delta-time	Event	Comments
	00	FF 58 04 04 02 18 08 	time signature
	00	FF 51 03 07 A1 20	tempo
	83 00	FF 2F 00	end of track

Then, the track chunk for the first music track.  The MIDI convention 
for note on/off running status is used in this example:

		4D 54 72 6B	MTrk
		00 00 00 10	chunk length (16)

	Delta-time	Event	Comments
	00	C0 05
	81 40	90 4C 20
	81 40	4C 00	Running status: note on, vel = 0
	00	FF 2F 00	end of track

Then, the track chunk for the second music track:

		4D 54 72 6B	MTrk
		00 00 00 0F	chunk length (15)

	Delta-time	Event	Comments
	00	C1 2E
	60	91 43 40
	82 20	43 00	running status
	00	FF 2F 00	end of track

Then, the track chunk for the third music track:

		4D 54 72 6B	MTrk
		00 00 00 15	chunk length (21)

	Delta-time	Event	Comments
	00	C2 46
	00	92 30 60 
	00	3C 60	running status
	83 00	30 00	two-byte delta-time, running status
	00	3C 00	running status
	00	FF 2F 00	end of track

5   MIDI Transmission of MIDI Files

Since it is inconvenient to exchange disks between different computers, 
and since many computers which will use this format will have a MIDI 
interface anyway, MIDI seems like a perfect way to send these files from 
one computer to another.  And, while we're going through all the trouble 
to make a way of sending MIDI Files, it would be nice if they could send 
any files (like sampled sound files, text files, etc.)

Goals
The transmission protocol for MIDI files should be reasonably efficient, 
should support fast transmission for computers which are capable of it, 
and slower transmission for less powerful ones.  It should not be 
impossible to convert a MIDI File to or from an arbitrary internal 
representation on the fly as it is transmitted, but, as long as it is 
not too difficult, it is very desirable to use a generic method so that 
any file type could be accommodated.

To make the protocol efficient, the MIDI transmission of these files 
will take groups of seven 8-bit bytes and transmit them as eight 7-bit 
MIDI data bytes.  This is certainly in the spirit of the rest of this 
format (keep it small, because it's not that hard to do).  To 
accommodate a wide range of transmission speeds, files will be 
transmitted in packets with acknowledge -- this allows data to be stored 
to disk as it is received.  If the sender does not receive a response 
from a reader in a certain amount of time, it can assume an open-loop 
situation, and then just continue.  

The last edition of MIDI Files contained a specialized protocol for 
sending just MIDI Files.  To meet a deadline, unfortunately I don't have 
time right now to propose a new generalized protocol.  This will be done 
within the next couple of months.  I would welcome any proposals anyone 
else has, and would direct your attention to the proposal from Ralph 
Muha of Kurzweil, available in a recent MMA bulletin, and also directly 
from him.