A Standard MIDI File chooses instruments by number, and the numbers only mean an instrument because of General MIDI. General MIDI System Level 1, the MMA’s RP-003 of 1991, gives the 128 programs fixed names and makes channel 10 a percussion channel. A file that follows it sounds roughly the same on any General MIDI synthesiser. Many files send General MIDI system on at the start to say so.
The names below are those of the MMA’s General MIDI 1 Sound Set as it is usually reproduced, and as the explorer shows them. The RP-003 document itself is available only to members and was not read for this page, so the exact spelling is unconfirmed; other lists vary in capitals and accents, such as “Agogô” for “Agogo”.
Programs
A program change stores 0 to 127; people number the programs 1 to 128, so the stored value is the number below minus one. The programs come in 16 families of eight.
| # | Program | # | Program |
|---|---|---|---|
| Piano | |||
| 1 | Acoustic Grand Piano | 5 | Electric Piano 1 |
| 2 | Bright Acoustic Piano | 6 | Electric Piano 2 |
| 3 | Electric Grand Piano | 7 | Harpsichord |
| 4 | Honky-tonk Piano | 8 | Clavi |
| Chromatic Percussion | |||
| 9 | Celesta | 13 | Marimba |
| 10 | Glockenspiel | 14 | Xylophone |
| 11 | Music Box | 15 | Tubular Bells |
| 12 | Vibraphone | 16 | Dulcimer |
| Organ | |||
| 17 | Drawbar Organ | 21 | Reed Organ |
| 18 | Percussive Organ | 22 | Accordion |
| 19 | Rock Organ | 23 | Harmonica |
| 20 | Church Organ | 24 | Tango Accordion |
| Guitar | |||
| 25 | Acoustic Guitar (nylon) | 29 | Electric Guitar (muted) |
| 26 | Acoustic Guitar (steel) | 30 | Overdriven Guitar |
| 27 | Electric Guitar (jazz) | 31 | Distortion Guitar |
| 28 | Electric Guitar (clean) | 32 | Guitar harmonics |
| Bass | |||
| 33 | Acoustic Bass | 37 | Slap Bass 1 |
| 34 | Electric Bass (finger) | 38 | Slap Bass 2 |
| 35 | Electric Bass (pick) | 39 | Synth Bass 1 |
| 36 | Fretless Bass | 40 | Synth Bass 2 |
| Strings | |||
| 41 | Violin | 45 | Tremolo Strings |
| 42 | Viola | 46 | Pizzicato Strings |
| 43 | Cello | 47 | Orchestral Harp |
| 44 | Contrabass | 48 | Timpani |
| Ensemble | |||
| 49 | String Ensemble 1 | 53 | Choir Aahs |
| 50 | String Ensemble 2 | 54 | Voice Oohs |
| 51 | SynthStrings 1 | 55 | Synth Voice |
| 52 | SynthStrings 2 | 56 | Orchestra Hit |
| Brass | |||
| 57 | Trumpet | 61 | French Horn |
| 58 | Trombone | 62 | Brass Section |
| 59 | Tuba | 63 | SynthBrass 1 |
| 60 | Muted Trumpet | 64 | SynthBrass 2 |
| Reed | |||
| 65 | Soprano Sax | 69 | Oboe |
| 66 | Alto Sax | 70 | English Horn |
| 67 | Tenor Sax | 71 | Bassoon |
| 68 | Baritone Sax | 72 | Clarinet |
| Pipe | |||
| 73 | Piccolo | 77 | Blown Bottle |
| 74 | Flute | 78 | Shakuhachi |
| 75 | Recorder | 79 | Whistle |
| 76 | Pan Flute | 80 | Ocarina |
| Synth Lead | |||
| 81 | Lead 1 (square) | 85 | Lead 5 (charang) |
| 82 | Lead 2 (sawtooth) | 86 | Lead 6 (voice) |
| 83 | Lead 3 (calliope) | 87 | Lead 7 (fifths) |
| 84 | Lead 4 (chiff) | 88 | Lead 8 (bass + lead) |
| Synth Pad | |||
| 89 | Pad 1 (new age) | 93 | Pad 5 (bowed) |
| 90 | Pad 2 (warm) | 94 | Pad 6 (metallic) |
| 91 | Pad 3 (polysynth) | 95 | Pad 7 (halo) |
| 92 | Pad 4 (choir) | 96 | Pad 8 (sweep) |
| Synth Effects | |||
| 97 | FX 1 (rain) | 101 | FX 5 (brightness) |
| 98 | FX 2 (soundtrack) | 102 | FX 6 (goblins) |
| 99 | FX 3 (crystal) | 103 | FX 7 (echoes) |
| 100 | FX 4 (atmosphere) | 104 | FX 8 (sci-fi) |
| Ethnic | |||
| 105 | Sitar | 109 | Kalimba |
| 106 | Banjo | 110 | Bag pipe |
| 107 | Shamisen | 111 | Fiddle |
| 108 | Koto | 112 | Shanai |
| Percussive | |||
| 113 | Tinkle Bell | 117 | Taiko Drum |
| 114 | Agogo | 118 | Melodic Tom |
| 115 | Steel Drums | 119 | Synth Drum |
| 116 | Woodblock | 120 | Reverse Cymbal |
| Sound Effects | |||
| 121 | Guitar Fret Noise | 125 | Telephone Ring |
| 122 | Breath Noise | 126 | Helicopter |
| 123 | Seashore | 127 | Applause |
| 124 | Bird Tweet | 128 | Gunshot |
General MIDI 1 has one bank. GS, XG and General MIDI 2 add more sounds in further banks, chosen with bank select before the program change; their names are not listed here.
Percussion
On channel 10, stored as channel 9, every key plays a percussion sound instead of a pitch, and General MIDI 1 gives program changes on that channel no meaning. The sounds are on keys 35 to 81:
| Key | Sound | Key | Sound | Key | Sound |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 35 | Acoustic Bass Drum | 51 | Ride Cymbal 1 | 67 | High Agogo |
| 36 | Bass Drum 1 | 52 | Chinese Cymbal | 68 | Low Agogo |
| 37 | Side Stick | 53 | Ride Bell | 69 | Cabasa |
| 38 | Acoustic Snare | 54 | Tambourine | 70 | Maracas |
| 39 | Hand Clap | 55 | Splash Cymbal | 71 | Short Whistle |
| 40 | Electric Snare | 56 | Cowbell | 72 | Long Whistle |
| 41 | Low Floor Tom | 57 | Crash Cymbal 2 | 73 | Short Guiro |
| 42 | Closed Hi Hat | 58 | Vibraslap | 74 | Long Guiro |
| 43 | High Floor Tom | 59 | Ride Cymbal 2 | 75 | Claves |
| 44 | Pedal Hi-Hat | 60 | Hi Bongo | 76 | Hi Wood Block |
| 45 | Low Tom | 61 | Low Bongo | 77 | Low Wood Block |
| 46 | Open Hi-Hat | 62 | Mute Hi Conga | 78 | Mute Cuica |
| 47 | Low-Mid Tom | 63 | Open Hi Conga | 79 | Open Cuica |
| 48 | Hi-Mid Tom | 64 | Low Conga | 80 | Mute Triangle |
| 49 | Crash Cymbal 1 | 65 | High Timbale | 81 | Open Triangle |
| 50 | High Tom | 66 | Low Timbale |
Keys outside 35 to 81 have no sound in General MIDI 1; the explorer shows them as pitches.