General MIDI
From Video Game Music Preservation Foundation Wiki
General MIDI or GM is the standard created by the MIDI Manufacturer Association to create a common baseline specifications for MIDI synthesizers. Most importantly, it defines 128 instruments (or "programs"). While each instrument may sound differently on different synthesizers, they are at least supposed to be the same type of instrument, meaning that the playback will still be correct.
Except for the older MT-32, all other MIDI standards are backward compatible with General MIDI. It was eventually superseded officially by General MIDI level 2
Number | Instrument Name | Number | Instrument Name | Number | Instrument Name | Number | Instrument Name |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
0 | Acoustic Grand Piano | 32 | Acoustic Bass | 64 | Soprano Sax | 96 | FX 1 (rain) |
1 | Bright Acoustic Piano | 33 | Electric Bass (finger) | 65 | Alto Sax | 97 | FX 2 (soundtrack) |
2 | Electric Grand Piano | 34 | Electric Bass (pick) | 66 | Tenor Sax | 98 | FX 3 (crystal) |
3 | Honky-tonk Piano | 35 | Fretless Bass | 67 | Baritone Sax | 99 | FX 4 (atmosphere) |
4 | Rhodes Piano | 36 | Slap Bass 1 | 68 | Oboe | 100 | FX 5 (brightness) |
5 | Chorused Piano | 37 | Slap Bass 2 | 69 | English Horn | 101 | FX 6 (goblins) |
6 | Harpsichord | 38 | Synth Bass 1 | 70 | Bassoon | 102 | FX 7 (echoes) |
7 | Clavinet | 39 | Synth Bass 2 | 71 | Clarinet | 103 | FX 8 (sci-fi) |
8 | Celesta | 40 | Violin | 72 | Piccolo | 104 | Sitar |
9 | Glockenspiel | 41 | Viola | 73 | Flute | 105 | Banjo |
10 | Music Box | 42 | Cello | 74 | Recorder | 106 | Shamisen |
11 | Vibraphone | 43 | Contrabass | 75 | Pan Flute | 107 | Koto |
12 | Marimba | 44 | Tremelo Strings | 76 | Bottle Blow | 108 | Kalimba |
13 | Xylophone | 45 | Pizzicato Strings | 77 | Shakuhachi | 109 | Bagpipe |
14 | Tubular Bells | 46 | Orchestral Harp | 78 | Whistle | 110 | Fiddle |
15 | Dulcimer | 47 | Timpani | 79 | Ocarina | 111 | Shanai |
16 | Hammond Organ | 48 | String Ensemble 1 | 80 | Lead 1 (square) | 112 | Tinkle Bell |
17 | Percussive Organ | 49 | String Ensemble 2 | 81 | Lead 2 (sawtooth) | 113 | Agogo |
18 | Rock Organ | 50 | SynthStrings 1 | 82 | Lead 3 (calliope lead) | 114 | Steel Drums |
19 | Church Organ | 51 | SynthStrings 2 | 83 | Lead 4 (chiff lead) | 115 | Woodblock |
20 | Reed Organ | 52 | Choir Aahs | 84 | Lead 5 (charang) | 116 | Taiko Drum |
21 | Accordion | 53 | Voice Oohs | 85 | Lead 6 (voice) | 117 | Melodic Tom |
22 | Harmonica | 54 | Synth Voice | 86 | Lead 7 (fifths) | 118 | Synth Drum |
23 | Tango Accordion | 55 | Orchestra Hit | 87 | Lead 8 (bass + lead) | 119 | Reverse Cymbal |
24 | Acoustic Guitar (nylon) | 56 | Trumpet | 88 | Pad 1 (new age) | 120 | Guitar Fret Noise |
25 | Acoustic Guitar (steel) | 57 | Trombone | 89 | Pad 2 (warm) | 121 | Breath Noise |
26 | Electric Guitar (jazz) | 58 | Tuba | 90 | Pad 3 (polysynth) | 122 | Seashore |
27 | Electric Guitar (clean) | 59 | Muted Trumpet | 91 | Pad 4 (choir) | 123 | Bird Tweet |
28 | Electric Guitar (muted) | 60 | French Horn | 92 | Pad 5 (bowed) | 124 | Telephone Ring |
29 | Overdriven Guitar | 61 | Brass Section | 93 | Pad 6 (metallic) | 125 | Helicopter |
30 | Distortion Guitar | 62 | Synth Brass 1 | 94 | Pad 7 (halo) | 126 | Applause |
31 | Guitar Harmonics | 63 | Synth Brass 2 | 95 | Pad 8 (sweep) | 127 | Gunshot |
Emulation Status
The General MIDI protocol was succesfully emulated:
- In DOSBox via MPU-401;
- In all Windows systems from Windows XP to the newest systems (natively);
- In many keyboard synthesers (however often as Roland GS or Yamaha XG);
Links
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_MIDI - Wikipedia.