Zoë Blade's notebook

Song position pointer

A song position pointer is a MIDI event that describes where in a song a particular piece of equipment has reached. By sending this information from a multitrack recorder to a MIDI sequencer, or vice versa, the two can synchronise, allowing quicker recording of sequenced parts that start later in the song.

SPPs work in conjunction with the MIDI clock: SPPs say where in the song you are; the clock says when you start, stop, and continue, and whenever you advance along.

Technical notes

Event types

MIDI Event Data
Song position pointer F2 ll hh

Key

Further reading

MIDI: DAW | Editor/librarian | MIDI clock | MIDI sequencer | MIDI timing | ST MIDI sequencer timeline | Song position pointer | SysEx file