The Music Accessibility Standard Special Interest Group (MASSIG) of the MIDI Association has started to examine whether the established MIDI protocol can be expanded to include written descriptions of an instrument’s sound. Such text could be rendered audibly, converted to Braille, or otherwise accessed by musicians who are blind or have low vision.
A three‑hour advisory session, chaired by Jay Pocknell of Sound Without Sight, gathered a cross‑section of accessibility experts, visually impaired performers, hardware designers, software engineers, researchers and MIDI 2.0 editors. The participants ran feasibility checks on the concept and contributed ideas on how textual instrument metadata might be woven into current production pipelines.
Building on four decades of MIDI linking instruments, computers and creative tools, the group moved beyond an abstract proposal to outline a shared implementation roadmap. The effort is presented as a concrete step toward a more inclusive music‑technology ecosystem.
For more information, visit midi.org.