What does the term MIDI mean to you? If you think that it's one of those all-in-one hi-fi systems, then you're obviously not clued in to the world of creating electronic music. So what is MIDI?

It stands for Musical Instrument Digital Interface and is a standard whereby electronic instruments can 'talk' to each other to create music. Using a special interface plugged into your computer, a piece of sequencing software and a synthesiser, you can play and record notes and other musical information directly into your machine and edit it to get the desired results.

MIDI comprises sixteen individual channels, each of which can be used to control a separate instrument. The system works like a multitrack tape recorder, except you are recording data instead of sound. You can record on each of the sixteen 'tracks', then start to mess around with the data: correcting mistakes, changing the tempo and even moving whole sections of the song around.

You can also put in codes to control the actual sounds that are used along with pitch bending information, how hard a note is hit and what happens after the note is struck. Sound confusing? Wall it can be at first, but once you start messing around with MIDI it all begins to fit into place. So how can you get into the field of electronic music? If you've got a C64 and a synth, you can now link them up with the Intro MIDI Starter Kit.

The package comes with an interface which plugs into the cartridge port (this contains the MIDI input and output sockets), two five-foot MIDI cables and a disk containing version 2 of Dr. T's Keyboard Controlled Sequencer software on disk. Setting up the system's extremely simple. Just plug in the interface, couple one lead from your keyboard's MIDI in to the interface's MIDI out and vice versa for the second lead. That's it.

KCS is a rather unusual system, in that all the functions are carried out by typing commands in via the computer's keyboard. So if you don't like typing you're a bit stuffed! On loading the software, you are presented with the main menu. This gives access to all the major functions of the program, including playing, creating and editing sequences. Selecting one of the functions takes you into a sub-menu, which in turn call up the correct version of a desired function.

Sequences can be created in three ways:

1. Real time: to record in real time, you first have to select one of the letter or number keys to store the sequence. Once this has been set up, you can press the start key and play the part on your keyboard. A small blob will flash to count off the measures and a metronome click will sound to give you a tempo. Press F7 to stop recording and the new sequence will play back.
2. Step time: operation requires you to first set the timing, duration and velocity of the notes you wish to play. You can then start to enter notes by playing them one-by-one on your keyboard, inserting rests by hitting F5.
3. Typed entry: this calls up a screen containing eight columns, which list information such as the step and event number along with the event information. To enter notes, you type in the time, note, event type, channel and velocity information in the relevant columns.

Got all that? No? Well working in MIDI does give rise to a lot of jargon, so have a butchers at the Tech-Talk box to find out.

Once you've got your notes in there, you use the edit function to correct any mistakes. The edit page is similar to the typed entry page, with eight columns listing the various pieces of information. You can list a sequence by hitting the L key. Then you can move the cursor around the screen and type in new values to affect the sequence.

As well as being able to type in information to affect a sequence, you can carry out preset commands including quantise, transpose, copy, move, insert and delete. Just type the first letter of the command followed by a range. For example, to transpose notes three to five, you type in T3-5 and select the Transpose Pitch function from the menu. When you're more adventurous, you can start stringing sequences together to create songs and call up commands to run your songs in sync with a drum machine of tape.

Intro is a very comprehensive system, containing all you really need to get started in creating electronic music... apart from a synth and a computer! The interface included in the package is very good. It's housed in a robust case with one MIDI in and two MIDI out connectors easily accessible on the top of the case. The inclusion of the two leads is a nice touch. The heart of the system, though, is the software. So how does it look?

KCS is hardly the easiest system for a beginner to get to grips with and could easily bamboozle the novice electro-musician. The program is pretty complex, featuring all manner of MIDI controls and operations, which would tend to overwhelm newcomers to the world of synths and sequencers. Reading the manual is pretty essential, since the nature of the program's control system requires you to know all the commands before you start. The documentation contains tutorials but these have to be studied carefully before you can suss out exactly what you're up to.

If this sounds a bit like whining it isn't meant to! It's just a warning! KCS isn't the kind of program that you can jump straight into - you have to be patient! It must be said, however, that the program does feature an extremely wide range of functions, from extensive editing controls to complex sync functions - it's all there. Does it justify the price? If you want to do serious music work, this is the piece of software that you'll need and stuff like this has never come cheap. If you think of the cost of a disk drive and what that does for you, it puts it into perspective.

Intro isn't easy to operate, but with perseverance you could achieve stunning results.

1. Rather expensive.
2. Confusing to the novice.
3. Sometimes crashes!

1. Software that allows you to be really creative.
2. Supplied with a good, sturdy interface unit and all the leads.
3. The extra MIDI OUT port could be very useful.
4. Powerful editing functions and a wealth of complex options.
5. One of the most comprehensive MIDI systems available for the C64.
6. Manual and disk contain lots of examples and tutorials to help you.