BLE-MIDI

When it comes to BLE-MIDI (MIDI over Bluetooth Low Energy) there are 2 main roles:

  • The Central (who discovers and connects to Peripherals); and

  • The Peripheral (who advertises MIDI services so Centrals can connect to it).

macOS

A macOS device can act as both the Central and the Peripheral at the same time. You set this up in the Audio MIDI Setup app. Once the Bluetooth connection is establised, the Bluetooth device becomes available to every macOS app.

See “Set up Bluetooth MIDI devices in Audio MIDI Setup on Mac” on Apple Support for more information.

Android

You can use the MIDI BLE Connect app to become a Central establish a MIDI connection to other peripherals. Other apps can then use this connection to send and receive MIDI data.

iOS

An iOS device can act as both the Central and the Peripheral at the same time, but it varies from application to application.

  • GarageBand can act as the Central.

    • To set up: Settings → Advanced → Bluetooth MIDI Devices.

  • Web MIDI Browser can act as both the Central and the Peripheral.

    • To set up: Settings → Bluetooth MIDI → Setup Bluetooth MIDI Central/Peripheral

  • Midiflow can act as both the Central and the Peripheral.

    • To set up: Config → Bluetooth → “Advertise this device” or “Find nearby devices”

Connecting WebMIDICon running on iOS through Bluetooth to Logic Pro running on macOS:

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Windows

There is an application called MIDIberry that makes your device act as a Central. At least Windows 10 is required.

From my testing, only Bluetooth Input is supported; I could not get Output to work. Also the app may crash from time to time.

  1. Go to Bluetooth and other devices settings.

  2. Click Add device and then make sure your device is discoverable.

  3. Select Bluetooth and then pair your devices together.

  4. Open MIDIberry.

  5. Select the Bluetooth Input.

  6. Select the output MIDI device to send the input to. If you want to send it to another Windows application, use an IAC device.

MIDI devices

Some devices have built-in BLE-MIDI support, such as the KORG’s microKEY Air.

For other devices, you can buy adapters such as Yamaha’s MD-BT01 (for devices with MIDI ports) or UD-BT01 (for devices with a USB port).