So I'm really totally ignorant of all this sound stuff connected to the computer.

What is the MIDI thing, and is that not as good as a USB connection? I think the PX-110 only has the MIDI connection.

MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is an industry standard protocol (language) used by "electronic instruments" to communicate with each other. "Electronic Instruments" can be much more than actual musical instruments though, such as sequencers (these record MIDI messages/words), sound modules (these play back sounds as a response to the MIDI messages/words), etc.

So, MIDI is primarily a language, and these words can be transmitted over any cable, including USB. However, MIDI has its own cable and connectors, which are commonly called just "MIDI cable".

If you only have MIDI connectors on your piano, you will need a MIDI Interface to the computer. This can be a very simple MIDI-to-USB adapter.

So, you have MIDI the protocol and MIDI cables/connectors. One is hardware, the other is software.

I know, it can be confusing.

Same thing, same quality.

MIDI is music information. When you press a key, it creates MIDI data. This includes info like velocity, decay, sustain, release, etc.

This data can be sent to your computer through MIDI ports or USB ports with a MIDI cable. I guess USB is more popular because all computers have USB ports. I don't have MIDI ports and would have to buy a separate sound card for it.

Having MIDI data makes it easy to edit on a computer with software. You can edit every single note by changing volume or moving it around. Imagine you had sheet music, and that you can use a mouse to drag the notes around, instead of having to revise it by rewriting the whole thing.

Other fun stuff includes changing tempo, editing what pedals to use, use any instrument to play the notes. All of that can be changed on your computer and it can play it for you to hear.

For example, you can compose music with your digital piano by recording. It saves the MIDI data of everything you press and you can go in to edit anything you want. You can make it sound like a flute or violin, etc.

I hope that's not confusing. Imagine it as a piano roll. It doesn't make sound, but it is information the piano can read to play the piece. MIDI is a piano roll that you can edit on your computer.

Here's an example of what you would need if, in fact, the Casio only has MIDI connectors (as opposed to USB):

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/XMIDI1x1/

You will have to make sure that it works with your Casio. It SHOULD work, as MIDI is after all a standard, but you know how it is with some companies...they take shortcuts, or "improvements" and things don't work as they should. For instance, my Yamaha CP-300 does not work with M-Audio's USB-to-MIDI interface.

Call Casio and ask for advice on which inexpensive USB-to-MIDI interface works with your keyboard.

Okay, that helps a lot. Thank you to all of you. It sounds fairly simple, as long as I have the right cable. Not sure my dinosaur computer can handle any of this, but that's another issue.

here is an excellent tutorial for midi beginners.

http://www.borg.com/~jglatt/tutr/miditutr.htm

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