Appendix H: MIDI Messages In-Depth

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Keystation Mini 32 User Guide

MIDI CC 0 is the bank select MSB (Most Significant Byte) message. This MIDI message is 7-bit in size and can be used to 
select any of 128 banks. This message can be used in conjunction with MIDI CC 32 which is bank select LSB (Least Signif-
icant Byte): a separate 7-bit message allowing additional selection of any of another 128 sub-banks. The combination of 
Bank MSB and LSB messages gives a 14-bit message that can select any of a possible 16,384 banks. Each bank can in turn 
contain 128 possible sounds selected via a separate program change MIDI message. This enables a user to theoretically re-
call over two million programs directly, using only MIDI commands. However, most devices only use a few different 
banks, and you can often ignore the LSB message.

You will find many MIDI devices respond to program change commands and many are organized according to the GM 
listing. In General MIDI devices, different sounds are organized in the same way from device to device. Piano sounds are 
in their particular place, string sounds are in their place, drum sounds are in their place, and so on. All GM devices (both 
hardware and software sound modules) are clearly labeled as such, so you know that their sounds are organized in the 
General MIDI structure. When a GM device receives a MIDI program change, it calls up a type of sound that you expect 
from the GM sound set. All non-GM MIDI sound modules call up unique sounds from their memory upon receiving MIDI 
program changes. Since the sounds in a non-GM device are not arranged in a particular order, you need to take a look at 
the device itself to see which sound you want and at which location in the memory it resides. Many VST instruments such 
as Native Instruments’ FM7 or the synth modules in Propellerhead Reason are non-GM devices.

You can send Program Change, Bank LSB and Bank MSB messages directly from the keyboard. Please consult the “Ad-
vanced Edit Mode” section of this User Guide for further details.

NRPN/RPNs 

Non-registered parameter numbers (NRPN’s) are device-specific messages that enable you to control synthesizers and 
sound modules via MIDI. The MIDI specification defines open parameter numbers to allow manufacturers to specify their 
own controllers. The more common of these are registered by the MIDI Manufacturer’s Association and are now part of 
the MIDI specification, hence the term Registered Parameter Numbers – RPN’s (See Appendix C). Each NRPN/RPN has an 
associated 2-byte number. The two bytes allow for 128 values each. (An RPN or NRPN message is made up of two parts: the 
MSB and the LSB message. Both of these messages together constitute an RPN or NRPN command.) This allows for 16,384 
values in total.

MIDI controllers 98 and 99 represent the NRPN LSB and MSB respectively, while 100 and 101 represent the RPN LSB and 
MSB messages (see the MIDI controllers list in Appendix C). To transmit an NRPN/RPN message, these LSB and MSB con-
troller messages are sent along with their user-specified values. A further controller message and value needs to be sent to 
specify the (coarse or fine) value adjustment. This is specified by controller number 6 (data entry) for coarse adjustments 
or number 38 for fine adjustments.

A list of NRPN’s is usually given in the user’s manual of any device that receives NRPN messages. It is always necessary that 
the NRPN MSB and LSB be sent together. Both will be specified in the device’s manual.