Select a device or software application to use as the MIDI clock master. If you are using a digital audio workstation application in your studio, it will be the best choice in most cases. If your setup is hardware-only, choose the device that dominates your production activities, such as a MIDI-capable digital mixer or workstation synthesizer. For smaller setups, the device that generates the musical rhythm in your work, such as a drum machine, will be a good choice.
Make all of the necessary connections between your MIDI devices using MIDI cables. Generally, MIDI devices will have at least a "MIDI In" and "MIDI Out" port. Some will also have a "MIDI Thru" port. The "MIDI Thru" port passes MIDI information along unchanged to devices downstream, making it useful, but not necessary, for establishing MIDI clock setups. At a minimum, there must be a cable running from the "MIDI Out" port on the master device to the "MIDI In" port of each slave device.
Turn on the MIDI clock master setting on the device you selected as master. The procedure for doing so will vary considerably between devices, but generally it will be an easily accessible function due to the MIDI clock's importance. Consult the device's documentation for detailed information. The device will begin sending a MIDI clock transmission.
Turn the MIDI slave function on for each device downstream of the master in order. For example, say you are using a DAW application connected to a hardware synthesizer that is connected to a hardware sampler. Turn on the synthesizer's MIDI clock slave function first, then the sampler's. If a MIDI hub is being used, however, it generally won't matter in what order the slave devices are slaved to the master. Consult the documentation for each device to ensure correct use.
Check each device to ensure the MIDI clock function is working correctly. Most devices will have some way of indicating correct MIDI clock function, such as a blinking light, an on-screen message or some other mechanism that will tell you the MIDI clock transmission is being sent or received.
Press "Play" on the MIDI clock master device when ready to test for correct synchronization. Occasionally, a phenomenon known as "clock drift" may occur in which one or more devices downstream of the master will fall out of sync due to signal latency. Signal latency is the delay between the transmission of a signal and its arrival at the next device downstream. In this case, resetting the MIDI clock on the master device often solves the problem.