Editing MIDI (section)

====System Exclusive messages {{anchor|SysEx}}====
System Exclusive ('''SysEx''') messages send information about a synthesizer's functions, rather than performance data such as which notes are being played and how loud. Because they can include functionality beyond what the MIDI standard provides, they are a major reason for the flexibility and longevity of the MIDI standard. Manufacturers use them to create proprietary messages that control their equipment more thoroughly than the limitations of standard MIDI messages.<ref name="Manning3" />{{rp|287|date=November 2012}}

The MIDI Manufacturers Association issues a unique identification number to MIDI companies.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Request SysEx ID |url=https://www.midi.org/request-sysex-id |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210923085555/https://www.midi.org/request-sysex-id |archive-date=2021-09-23 |access-date=2023-10-06 |website=[[MIDI Manufacturers Association]]}}</ref> These are included in SysEx messages, to ensure that only the specifically addressed device responds to the message, while all others know to ignore it. Many instruments also include a SysEx ID setting, so a controller can address two devices of the same model independently.<ref>Hass, Jeffrey. "[http://www.indiana.edu/%7Eemusic/etext/MIDI/chapter3_MIDI9.shtml Chapter Three: How MIDI works 9] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150607074022/http://www.indiana.edu/%7Eemusic/etext/MIDI/chapter3_MIDI9.shtml |date=7 June 2015 }}". Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. 2010. Web. 13 August 2012.</ref>

''Universal'' System Exclusive messages are a special class of SysEx messages used for extensions to MIDI that are not intended to be exclusive to one manufacturer.<ref>{{Cite web |title=MIDI 1.0 Universal System Exclusive Messages |url=https://www.midi.org/specifications-old/item/table-4-universal-system-exclusive-messages |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230721230039/https://www.midi.org/specifications-old/item/table-4-universal-system-exclusive-messages |archive-date=2023-07-21 |access-date=2023-10-06 |website=[[MIDI Manufacturers Association]]}}</ref>