General_MIDI_Level_2

General MIDI Level 2

General MIDI Level 2

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General MIDI Level 2 or GM2 is a specification for synthesizers which defines several requirements beyond the more abstract MIDI standard and is based on General MIDI and GS extensions. It was adopted in 1999 by the MIDI Manufacturers Association (MMA).

General requirements

  • Number of Notes: 32 simultaneous notes
  • MIDI Channels: 16
  • Simultaneous Melodic Instruments – up to 16 (all Channels)
  • Simultaneous Percussion Kits – up to 2 (Channel 10/11)

Parameters

Program and bank change events

General MIDI 2 compatible synthesizers access all of the 256 instruments by setting cc#0 (Bank Select MSB) to 121 and using cc#32 (Bank Select LSB) to select the variation bank before a Program Change. Variation bank 0 contains the full GM — that is, General MIDI 1 — sound set. Variations using other bank numbers are new to General MIDI 2, and correspond to variation sounds introduced in Roland GS.

Melodic sounds

Piano
More information Patch Number, Bank Number ...
Chromatic Percussion
More information Patch Number, Bank Number ...
Organ
More information Patch Number, Bank Number ...
Guitar
More information Patch Number, Bank Number ...
Bass
More information Patch Number, Bank Number ...
Orchestra Solo
More information Patch Number, Bank Number ...
Orchestra Ensemble
More information Patch Number, Bank Number ...
Brass
More information Patch Number, Bank Number ...
Reed
More information Patch Number, Bank Number ...
Wind
More information Patch Number, Bank Number ...
Synth Lead
More information Patch Number, Bank Number ...
Synth Pad
More information Patch Number, Bank Number ...
Synth Sound FX
More information Patch Number, Bank Number ...
Ethnic
More information Patch Number, Bank Number ...
Percussive
More information Patch Number, Bank Number ...
Sound Effect
More information Patch Number, Bank Number ...

Drum sounds

These are the same patch numbers as defined in the original version of GS. Drum bank is accessed by setting cc#0 (Bank Select MSB) to 120 and cc#32 (Bank Select LSB) to 0 and PC (Program Change) to select drum kit.

1 Standard KitThe only kit specified by General MIDI Level 1
9Room KitDrums recorded with room ambience
17Power KitMore powerful kick and snare sounds
25Electronic KitSounds of various electronic drums
26TR-808 KitAnalog drum kit similar to Roland TR-808
33Jazz KitSofter kick and snare sounds than the Standard Kit
41Brush KitMany brush sounds added
49Orchestra KitA collection of concert drums and timpani
57Sound FX KitA collection of sound effects

Additional percussion notes

These are the same GS drum notes and span Drum Kits 1 to 49:

27 High Q 34 Metronome Bell
28Slap82 Shaker
29Scratch Push83 Jingle Bell
30Scratch Pull84 Belltree
31Sticks85 Castanets
32Square Click86 Mute Surdo
33Metronome Click87 Open Surdo

Supported Control Change messages

More information CC, Function ...

Supported Registered Parameter Numbers (RPNs)

  • Pitch Bend Sensitivity
  • Channel Fine Tune
  • Channel Coarse Tune
  • Modulation Depth Range (Vibrato Depth Range)
  • RPN NULL

Supported Universal System Exclusive (SysEx) messages

  • Master Volume
  • Master Fine Tuning
  • Master Coarse Tuning
  • Reverb Type
  • Reverb Time
  • Chorus Type
  • Chorus Mod Rate
  • Chorus Mod Depth
  • Chorus Feedback
  • Chorus Send to Reverb
  • Controller Destination Setting
  • Scale/Octave Tuning Adjust
  • Key-Based Instrument Controllers
  • GM2 System On

See also


References

    • MIDI Manufacturers Association (MMA)
    • Smithers, Brian. "General MIDI Redux". Electronic Musician.

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    This article uses material from the Wikipedia article General_MIDI_Level_2, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.