In General MIDI, the instrument you hear is set by the Program Change number, a value from 0 to 127. Each number maps to one fixed instrument. The table below lists all 128 of them, grouped into the 16 standard families. Bank Select (CC0 and CC32) chooses the bank; the Program Change picks the instrument inside it.
MIDI sends these as values 0 to 127. Some software labels the same sounds 1 to 128, so add one if your DAW starts counting at 1.
Piano · 0–7
No.
Instrument
0
Acoustic Grand Piano
1
Bright Acoustic Piano
2
Electric Grand Piano
3
Honky-tonk Piano
4
Electric Piano 1
5
Electric Piano 2
6
Harpsichord
7
Clavinet
Chromatic Percussion · 8–15
No.
Instrument
8
Celesta
9
Glockenspiel
10
Music Box
11
Vibraphone
12
Marimba
13
Xylophone
14
Tubular Bells
15
Dulcimer
Organ · 16–23
No.
Instrument
16
Drawbar Organ
17
Percussive Organ
18
Rock Organ
19
Church Organ
20
Reed Organ
21
Accordion
22
Harmonica
23
Tango Accordion
Guitar · 24–31
No.
Instrument
24
Acoustic Guitar (nylon)
25
Acoustic Guitar (steel)
26
Electric Guitar (jazz)
27
Electric Guitar (clean)
28
Electric Guitar (muted)
29
Overdriven Guitar
30
Distortion Guitar
31
Guitar Harmonics
Bass · 32–39
No.
Instrument
32
Acoustic Bass
33
Electric Bass (finger)
34
Electric Bass (pick)
35
Fretless Bass
36
Slap Bass 1
37
Slap Bass 2
38
Synth Bass 1
39
Synth Bass 2
Strings · 40–47
No.
Instrument
40
Violin
41
Viola
42
Cello
43
Contrabass
44
Tremolo Strings
45
Pizzicato Strings
46
Orchestral Harp
47
Timpani
Ensemble · 48–55
No.
Instrument
48
String Ensemble 1
49
String Ensemble 2
50
Synth Strings 1
51
Synth Strings 2
52
Choir Aahs
53
Voice Oohs
54
Synth Voice
55
Orchestra Hit
Brass · 56–63
No.
Instrument
56
Trumpet
57
Trombone
58
Tuba
59
Muted Trumpet
60
French Horn
61
Brass Section
62
Synth Brass 1
63
Synth Brass 2
Reed · 64–71
No.
Instrument
64
Soprano Sax
65
Alto Sax
66
Tenor Sax
67
Baritone Sax
68
Oboe
69
English Horn
70
Bassoon
71
Clarinet
Pipe · 72–79
No.
Instrument
72
Piccolo
73
Flute
74
Recorder
75
Pan Flute
76
Blown Bottle
77
Shakuhachi
78
Whistle
79
Ocarina
Synth Lead · 80–87
No.
Instrument
80
Lead 1 (square)
81
Lead 2 (sawtooth)
82
Lead 3 (calliope)
83
Lead 4 (chiff)
84
Lead 5 (charang)
85
Lead 6 (voice)
86
Lead 7 (fifths)
87
Lead 8 (bass + lead)
Synth Pad · 88–95
No.
Instrument
88
Pad 1 (new age)
89
Pad 2 (warm)
90
Pad 3 (polysynth)
91
Pad 4 (choir)
92
Pad 5 (bowed)
93
Pad 6 (metallic)
94
Pad 7 (halo)
95
Pad 8 (sweep)
Synth Effects · 96–103
No.
Instrument
96
FX 1 (rain)
97
FX 2 (soundtrack)
98
FX 3 (crystal)
99
FX 4 (atmosphere)
100
FX 5 (brightness)
101
FX 6 (goblins)
102
FX 7 (echoes)
103
FX 8 (sci-fi)
Ethnic · 104–111
No.
Instrument
104
Sitar
105
Banjo
106
Shamisen
107
Koto
108
Kalimba
109
Bagpipe
110
Fiddle
111
Shanai
Percussive · 112–119
No.
Instrument
112
Tinkle Bell
113
Agogo
114
Steel Drums
115
Woodblock
116
Taiko Drum
117
Melodic Tom
118
Synth Drum
119
Reverse Cymbal
Sound Effects · 120–127
No.
Instrument
120
Guitar Fret Noise
121
Breath Noise
122
Seashore
123
Bird Tweet
124
Telephone Ring
125
Helicopter
126
Applause
127
Gunshot
Common questions
Which MIDI message selects the instrument?
The Program Change message selects the instrument, using a value from 0 to 127. Bank Select, sent as CC0 and CC32, chooses the bank first; the Program Change then picks the instrument within it. General MIDI has one bank, so the Program Change number alone maps to a fixed instrument.
How many General MIDI instruments are there?
General MIDI Level 1 defines 128 melodic instruments, numbered 0 to 127, in 16 families of 8 sounds each.
Why do some charts number them 1 to 128?
MIDI sends the value as 0 to 127. Many DAWs label the same sounds 1 to 128 for readability. If your software starts at 1, add one to the number in this table.
Where are the drum sounds?
Drums are not a Program Change instrument. General MIDI percussion lives on MIDI channel 10, where each note triggers a different drum sound instead of a pitch.
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