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What is midi? It's a protocol developed in 1983 but updated periodically, that lets musical instruments and computers communicate music digitally. Instead of communicating waveforms though, which would be too much data, instead, they've broken it down to where they can send instrument and controller changes, and note on and note off messages (commands), as well as volume, stereo balance, and many other special effects, using short messages that all these devices interpret in the same way.
They also invented a file format to store the song on a hard drive, which can then be replayed by a computer program thru your soundcard or used to communicate with externally connected instruments. The files usually have a .mid or .rmi extension, and are many times smaller than a waveform, but actually have the same amount of music.
All the top bands and musicians use midi now, for various purposes, one of the most simple of which is that, for instance, when you go to a concert, the keyboard player, whether he's playing a Roland or Yamaha or other electronic keyboard, is playing midi that then is processed by a soundcard, then amplified to the audience, etc. He can change the sound to any of 128 instruments or more, apply any special effects he needs, etc. and it's all done using midi commands. The soundcard which does this in his Roland or Yamaha keyboard is very like the soundcard in your computer.
Here is a good explanation of hardware and software to edit or play .mid files: http://home.sc.rr.com/cosmogony/ammfaq.html
Midi synthesis uses one of several types of sound sources. Most systems already have several sound sources installed, some better than others. You can click Start, Settings, Control Panel, then Multimedia, then the Midi tab and perhaps select a different source to try. If you want, you can also download other types of sound sources. Here is a list of the various types that you can use:
FM Synthesis: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FM_synthesis
Wavetable synthesis: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wavetable
Soundfont wavetable: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soundfont
VST wavetable: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_Studio_Technology
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