Chapter 9 Quiz

Closed book first pass — that's the honest score. Multiple choice, then true/false with justification (the justification is most of the point), then short answer, then one applied scenario. Answers hide under each Verify fold; the scoring guide is at the end.

Section 1 — Multiple Choice (2 points each)

1. A MIDI clip fundamentally contains:

A) Compressed audio of the performance B) Instructions — notes, velocities, controller moves — but no sound C) A waveform plus pitch metadata D) Sound, but only at low sample rates

2. MIDI 1.0 was first publicly demonstrated in 1983 by connecting:

A) Two Yamaha DX7s B) A Moog and an ARP C) A Sequential Prophet-600 and a Roland Jupiter-6 D) An Atari computer and a drum machine

3. Velocity values in MIDI 1.0 range from:

A) 0–100 B) 0–127 C) 1–256 D) -64 to +63

4. On a well-built sampled instrument, raising velocity changes:

A) Loudness only B) Pitch and loudness C) Loudness and timbre — often by switching to recordings of harder strikes D) Nothing unless CC1 is also raised

5. In the piano roll, a note rectangle's horizontal length represents:

A) Velocity B) Pitch C) Duration — how long the note holds D) Pan position

6. Quantizing at 50% strength means:

A) Half the notes snap to the grid, half don't B) Every note moves half the distance toward its nearest gridline C) The grid resolution is halved D) Velocities are reduced by half

7. Swing, as introduced in this chapter, works by:

A) Randomizing all note timing within a range B) Delaying every other subdivision by a percentage, making offbeats lean late C) Increasing velocity on the backbeat D) Shortening all note lengths

8. The chapter's core criticism of the "humanize" (randomize) button is that:

A) It moves notes too far to be useful B) Human deviation is structured and correlated with the music; random jitter has no intention and reads as malfunction C) It only affects velocity, never timing D) It can't be undone

9. Which is the best summary of samplers vs synths?

A) Samplers are for professionals; synths are for beginners B) Samplers play back recordings ("recorded truth"); synths generate sound from scratch ("generated possibility") C) Synths sound more realistic than samplers D) Samplers use less disk space than synths

10. The "machine-gun effect" on repeated notes is cured by libraries that include:

A) More velocity layers B) Round-robins — alternate recordings of the same note, rotated per hit C) Release samples D) Higher sample rates

11. By common convention in orchestral and many synth libraries, CC1 (mod wheel) controls:

A) Sustain pedal B) Pitch bend depth C) Dynamics — crossfading between dynamic layers (timbre and intensity) D) Stereo width

12. Which programmed part violates its instrument's idiom?

A) A monophonic bassline with varied note lengths B) A piano chord voiced bass note low, three notes mid-register, melody on top C) A "bass guitar" patch sustaining three-note chords through the chorus D) A string line using a legato patch with slightly overlapping notes

13. The chapter's verdict on gridlocked, velocity-flat programming is:

A) Always a mistake to fix B) A legitimate aesthetic — chiptune, techno, hyperpop — when chosen on purpose; a failure only when accidental C) Acceptable only on drums D) Obsolete since MIDI 2.0

14. "It sounds so MIDI" as an insult actually describes:

A) A flaw in the MIDI protocol's timing B) The thin sound of 1990s General MIDI playback engines plus flat, gridlocked programming — not the protocol, which carries every DAW production today C) The 31,250 bits/sec data rate distorting audio D) Low sample rate in the MIDI file

15. MIDI 2.0 (ratified 2020) improves on MIDI 1.0 with:

A) Audio streaming inside MIDI messages B) Higher resolution (16-bit velocity, 32-bit controllers), per-note controllers, and bidirectional capability negotiation — while staying backwards-compatible C) A replacement 5-pin cable standard D) Automatic humanization

Section 2 — True/False with Justification (3 points each: 1 for the call, 2 for the why)

16. Changing your session's tempo after recording a MIDI performance will chipmunk the pitch of the notes.

17. On a sustained string patch, velocity is the primary tool for shaping the dynamics of a held line.

18. A library with eight velocity layers sounds no better than a one-layer library if you program everything at velocity 100.

19. Good humanization should make a part's timing deviations as unpredictable as possible.

20. When quantizing a played take, you should generally quantize note starts but not note ends.

Section 3 — Short Answer (5 points each)

21. Explain "the ghost in the grid" in two or three sentences: what exactly got added to Jaylen's piano line, given that not a single pitch changed?

22. Your friend's expensive orchestral library "still sounds fake." Give a four-item diagnostic checklist, in order of likely payoff, drawn from this chapter.

23. Why does a bassline's note length matter as much as its pitches? Name the chapter's term for what length creates, and give the two contrasting examples.

24. "A library's realism is rented through your MIDI." Unpack this sentence using two specific library features and the programming that activates each.

Section 4 — Applied Scenario (10 points)

25. A reader sends you a ballad: programmed piano, sampled strings, and a synth bass, all clicked in with a mouse. Their complaint: "It's technically correct and completely lifeless — but when I hit Humanize, it got sloppy AND stayed lifeless." You have one hour to fix it and ten minutes to explain. Write your response: diagnose why both the original and the randomized version fail, then lay out an ordered, instrument-by-instrument repair plan using this chapter's tools (be specific about velocity, timing, lengths, CC, and idiom checks), and end with the one aesthetic question they must answer before touching anything.

Scoring