THE OFFICIAL ALT.MUSIC.MIDI FAQ

GENERAL INFO & FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Last Modified: [01 Dec 2011]
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CONTENTS

0. PREFACE

0.1  Why This FAQ Exists

This document is designed to provide some insights into the culture of the newsgroup and some basic answers to FREQUENTLY asked questions.  There is no plan for this FAQ to cover ALL topics related to MIDI, or even most of them, or to summarize the many long and excellent articles that can be found elsewhere.  This FAQ is intended to be a STARTING POINT, or a supplement, not a replacement for the AMM newsgroup or a substitute for Google.

Due to the size of this document it won't be posted to the newsgroup.  A MINI FAQ will be posted roughly weekly containing answers to most frequently asked questions, and a link to this full FAQ.

0.2  Always Under Construction

Please feel free to comment constructively on this document.  If there's something you feel needs to be added, corrected, or even deleted, please send your comments referencing this FAQ by section number to me, Jim Higgins, quasimodo at yahoo.com.  Please DON'T e-mail me the complete FAQ when you comment; this will trip my spam filter and I won't see your comments.  Use a subject like "AMM FAQ" or "MIDI, MIDI, MIDI, MIDI" so your email isn't lost in all the spam.

Be aware that I'm a "Windows" person, so if any of you MAC (or other) folks feel slighted, feel free to provide me with a writeup of any basic MAC-related information you feel is appropriate for inclusion in the FAQ.  Try to provide some URLs wherever possible so some double checking can be done.  If you don't think you write well, just do the best you can to get your information across.  I'll probably edit it anyhow.

0.3  Credits

Original Author 26 Apr 1998: C.C. van der Velden, (THANK YOU, CC!!)
Maintenance since 16 Dec 1999: Jim Higgins, quasimodo at yahoo.com

Special thanks to "Tal Rhen" for his great help in providing information on SoundFonts.

If you too want to see your name here, send in a writeup of some useful information appropriate for inclusion in the FAQ.  It's all subject to editing, but if you provide the initial basic writeup; you get the credit!

0.4  Tips for Reading This FAQ

This document was converted from plain text to HTML beginning on 16 Dec 1999 so it could be posted on a website for viewing and download as needed vs overloading the newsgroup with frequent reposting.  It's designed so you can save it to your hard drive and read it off-line without connection to the Internet if you wish.  You will need to capture copies of the small GIF images and save them as files named "new.gif" (NEW), "update.gif" (UPDATE) and "toc.gif" (TOC) or these images won't display offline.

All links are displayed in bold, one font size larger than surrounding text, using your browser's default colors.

GREEN TEXT is used to catch your eye or to set off sections where separate section numbers or more indenting seemed cumbersome.

Clicking on external links in this FAQ will open a new browser window to allow easy return to this FAQ by closing the new window, saving the time needed to reload the FAQ.

Click on TOC wherever you see it to return to the Table of Contents.

NEW indicates material new to the FAQ within the past 3 - 4 weeks or since the last revision, whichever is longer.

UPDATE indicates updated material.

0.5  Note for Newbies

If you are new to Usenet News (newsgroups), then please read the articles with subjects beginning with "TIP" in the news.newusers.questions newsgroup.

Specifically look for,

What Newsgroups Are and How They Work
How to Get Your Question Answered Without Even Asking It
How to Help Us Help You
Why Newsgroups Are Not E-mail

0.6  Disclaimer

This document is provided as is, without any express or implied warranties.  While reasonable efforts have been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this document, the maintainer assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein.

0.7  Use of FAQ Material

All use of material from this FAQ, other than a link to the full FAQ from a non-commercial site, requires specific permission before such use.  Commercial use of any portion of this FAQ is strictly prohibited.  "Commercial use" includes (but isn't limited to) any association with the promotion of any products even if such products are provided completely without charge.  "Noncommercial use" includes (but isn't limited to) the providing of helpful information in a context which is free of "commercial" product association.  Those desiring to use excerpts from this FAQ for non-commercial use must obtain permission before making such use by contacting the maintainer of the FAQ, Jim Higgins, quasimodo at yahoo.com, before proceeding.  As mentioned, links to the full FAQ from non-commercial sites do not require permission.  In all cases, credit must be given to "The Official ALT.MUSIC.MIDI FAQ" and a clickable link to the full AMM FAQ must be provided.

No FAQ material may be presented in association with other material in such a way that the excerpted FAQ material gives an impression other than the one presented in context in the FAQ.  Excerpts from the FAQ shall never be used in a manner which seems to favor one specific commercial or freeware endeavor over another.

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1.0  GENERAL INFORMATION

1.1  MUSIC NEWSGROUPS

1.1.01  ALT.MUSIC.MIDI

A forum for MIDI enthusiasts to EXCHANGE INFORMATION concerning MIDI.  The capitalized words tell you exactly what this newsgroup is all about.  It's about sharing information directly related to MIDI.  The main purpose is to learn from each other by sharing knowledge.  That will give everyone the potential to enjoy MIDI to the fullest, regardless of the hardware and software being used.

1.1.02  Other MIDI Newsgroups

alt.music.midiweb
alt.binaries.sounds.midi  (THE PLACE to post and request MIDI files)
alt.binaries.sounds.midi.d  (The place to Discuss MIDI files)
alt.sounds.midi.originals
comp.music.midi
Search your list of newsgroups for the word "MIDI" for more

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1.2  UNABLE TO REACH CERTAIN NEWSGROUPS?

1.2.01  There Are Several Reasons Why

1.  You didn't search the list of newsgroups carefully or didn't type the name correctly.

2.  The list of newsgroups you searched isn't the latest list of newsgroups on the news server.  Use your newsreader's "Refresh Groups List" function to obtain an updated list.

3.  Your ISP doesn't support the newsgroups you can't access.  Check with your ISP to be sure.  Many will accept requests to add newsgroups.

4.  There are ISPs, which do not support the alt.binaries.* newsgroups.  For some this is a matter of limited disk space.  For others it is a way to avoid handling pornography, copyrighted materials, and ripped-off commercial software, which make up a fairly small percentage of total groups, but probably comprise 95% of the very substantial total byte traffic on Usenet.  If this is the case, and your ISP won't add a few specific alt.binaries.* groups for you, you will need to change ISPs or subscribe to a separate news service to access the alt.binaries.* groups.

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1.3  SPECIFIC "RULES" FOR ALT.MUSIC.MIDI

1.3.01  DO NOT Post MIDI Files

Alt.music.midi is NOT a binaries newsgroup!  Do NOT post MIDI or other binary files to this newsgroup.  There are special newsgroups for binary files, which you will find in the alt.binaries.* area of your newsgroup list.  (see also 1.1.02 Other MIDI Newsgroups)

1.3.02  DO NOT Request MIDI Files

Because alt.music.midi isn't a binaries group, it makes little sense to request MIDI files here.  If you're looking for MIDI files, then visit the newsgroup: alt.binaries.sounds.midi.  It's THE place for MIDI files!  You can also search for MIDI files using assorted WWW search engines.  See Learn to Search for a list of several search engines, including a few designed specifically to find MIDI files.

If someone "accidentally" requests a MIDI file in this newsgroup, please ignore it or politely tell them that alt.binaries.sounds.midi is the place for such requests.  Please be polite.  The goal is to keep MIDI requests from taking over the group, not to drive away new participants.

1.3.03  Advertising in the Newsgroup

Advertising isn't the main purpose of this group, so please don't abuse this privilege.

This newsgroup is NOT the right medium for commercial advertisements.  If you're in the MIDI business you will do yourself far more harm than good by aggressively advertising here.  Angry people do not make good customers.  Private individuals may offer their used (second-hand) MIDI gear for sale.

Please start the subject of "For Sale" postings with "FS:" and include the name of the item for sale so those not interested in "For Sale" ads can skip the article and those interested in your item will be sure to read about it.

Provide a SHORT desciption of your item - NO pictures!  If prospective buyers want a picture, send it by e-mail or include a link to it.  Say where you are located so people not willing to pay shipping costs from Antarctica won't respond.  Provide a working e-mail address where you can be contacted.  Negotiate in private; other subscribers won't appreciate negotiations in the newsgroup.

This is probably not a good place for posting even personal ads to occasional eBay auctions.  If you must, please start the subject with "FA:" - meaning "For Auction."

Do not advertise equipment that has nothing to do with MIDI.  There are special newsgroups for other music equipment.  One of them is: rec.music.makers.marketplace.

1.3.04  How to TURN OFF HTML Posting

Please do - including V-cards!  Here is how to turn off HTML posting in Netscape and Microsoft products:

Netscape:

From the top menu bar, select Edit | Preferences | Mail & Newsgroups | Formatting
In the Message formatting box, select Use the plain text editor to compose messages
You should also check the first box in the next section on the right in formatting: "When sending HTML mail messages to recipients who are not listed as being able to receive them": Select "Ask me what to do if the message has html formatting, otherwise, send in plain text".
To disable vcards, please also go to Mail & Newsgroups | Identity, and make sure the box is empty next to Attach my personal card to messages (as a vCard).

Microsoft Internet News:

Select menu News
Select Options | Send
Check the Plain Text box

Microsoft Outlook Express:

From the main menu, select Tools | Options | Send | Mail or News
Check the Plain Text box, preferably for both mail and news.

The above is from information obtained from the newsgroup news.newusers.questions.

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1.4  IN CASE YOU MISSED: NEWS.ANNOUNCE.NEWUSERS

1.4.01  How to Get along - The Basics

There are a number of standard practices which get lumped under the general term "netiquette" which should govern your behavior on Usenet and in the alt.music.midi newsgroup.  These boil down to:

1.  Seek not to offend.
2.  Be not easily offended.
3.  Look before you leap.
4.  If you are corrected, consider changing your behavior.
5.  Be kind when correcting others - use private e-mail if embarrassment is likely.

1.4.02  Language

Although this is an international forum and all languages are welcome, it is advisable to post your articles in English.  Even when you think your English isn't so good, give it a try first.  For most people "bad" English is more widely understood than "perfect" Antarctic.  Don't be afraid of making language mistakes; you will be forgiven.

1.4.03  Being Cute :-(

Use standard English.  Avoid slang expressions and odd abbreviations.  Some think it's cute to write "See you later" as "CUL8R," but some won't understand and many will find it annoying and childish and won't respond.

1.4.04  Use Descriptive Titles

The subject line of an article is there to allow a person (with a limited amount of time, or high Internet connection charges) to decide whether or not to read (or even download) your article.  Don't expect people to read your article to find out what it's about, because many of them won't bother.  Tell people what the article is about before they (have to) read it, or perhaps worse, ignore it.  A title like, "Question for genius only!" doesn't help as much as, "Help with YAMAHA PSR-510, some instruments won't play!"  Also keep in mind, that some rare sites may cut the length of the subject line to 40 characters, so try to keep your subjects to the point and shorter than the example given.

1.4.05  Don't Overdo Signatures

Keep your signature (file) short.  Four lines and 300 characters is a generally accepted maximum, no binary images.  Separate the signature from the other text by "-- " on a line by itself - that's two dashes followed by a space - all on a line by itself.  To those who get annoyed by the same old repeated signatures - be not so easily annoyed.

1.4.06  Responding to Articles

Normally when you respond to an article, the text of the article you're replying to is included in the reply.  It's generally not necessary, and usually undesirable, to quote (repeat) the complete article.  Please trim out unnecessary quoted text, leaving only the essence of the article you're responding to.  It's not much effort and the result will be more readable.

1.4.07  Check Your Return E-mail Address and Expect Responses

If you expect responses by e-mail, be sure you provide a valid e-mail address either in the headers, in the body of the article, or in your signature.  Although it was at one time desirable on Usenet to reply to articles by posting AND e-mailing, or to engage the poster in a private e-mail exchange, this practice has become largely unwelcome.  We're a pretty friendly group here, but if you do this and get no response, or if you are asked to stop, it is advisable to stop e-mailing that person.

Posting from an unrepliable address while using a false identity is a questionable practice in newsgroups such as this one.  It can affect the credibility of the poster.  In the end it's your decision to make.  I suggest doing whatever you need to do to protect your email address from spam, but use your real name.

1.4.08  Posting to a Newsgroup You Do Not Read

If you do not read a newsgroup, you may not know what the subject of the newsgroup is, what the standards of behavior are, or what the frequently discussed topics are.  Too often questions are asked to which answers were given one or two days before.  This tends to make people very irritable after a while, so please READ before you WRITE!  The old standard was to read a months worth of articles in the newsgroup before writing.  In fairly active groups this may not be reasonable, but please read at least a weeks worth before jumping in with a potentially common question.

It's also considered rude to post a question to a newsgroup you do not read regularly and ask for replies by e-mail.  By doing so, you are telling the people there that you want an answer to your question, but that their issues and interests are not important to you and that your only purpose is "to gain," not to contribute.  Responses by e-mail in this case are not likely.

1.4.09  Don't Ask "Dumb" Questions!

Before posting a question in the newsgroup, make an effort to find the solution yourself.  Read your manuals, ESPECIALLY read the articles that are already posted, read the FAQ, ask your local dealer, do SOME searching on the internet through search-engines like Google, or whichever search site you prefer.  It doesn't look too good asking for (general) info that can be found on the first page of your manual or that pops up within a minute using a search-engine, or that was answered the day before.

1.4.10  Check the Headers When "Following-Up"

When posting a follow-up, be careful about how many (and which) newsgroups you post it to.  The article that you're responding to might have been cross-posted to several newsgroups, and by default your follow-up may go to ALL of those newsgroups, and follow-ups to your response will come back here.  You should ensure that your article is posted only to newsgroups where its content is appropriate so our newsgroup isn't fouled with angry responses from elsewhere.

1.4.11  World Wide Newsgroups and Private Mail

Articles in the newsgroup are sent to thousands of computers around the world, so consider before you post to a newsgroup whether what you have to say is of potential interest to many people on thousands of systems worldwide.  If you have a personal message (like a "thank you note"), KEEP it personal - use e-mail.

1.4.12  Illegal Software

Requests for illegal or "pirated" software should be ignored. There are many ethical (and legal) reasons not to steal software, but put simply... authors robbed of their incentive don't improve their software and then we all lose.

Questions about the operation of commercial software when those questions are easily answered by the manuals are often interpreted as a request made by someone who has stolen the software and doesn't have a manual.  Often this is true, sometimes not.  If in doubt, it is better to not answer than to accuse openly.  A polite suggestion to read page 56 (or other relevant page) in the manual will often resolve the matter.  If that results in confusion, the software is probably stolen.  Please do not provide software operating help to those who appear to have stolen the software.

1.4.13  Multiple Posting

Don't think that double or triple (or more) posted articles will get you better attention.  Multi-posted articles are very annoying and will certainly reduce the chance that you'll get a response.  You even risk being "flamed" (an angry personal attack by those you irritate).  If you don't see your posting immediately, don't assume it failed and don't try to repost it at once.  Some sites have set up the local software to process news periodically, so your article may not appear immediately.  If you post again, you may have multiple copies of the article in circulation.

1.4.14  Testing

If you're not sure how things work and you need to do some test postings, go to alt.test or alt.just.testing.  You can test as much as you like there without bothering anyone.

A TIP: Before posting to a test group, execute the function on your newsreader which "catches up" with the test group.  This makes your newsreader think it has seen everything already posted to the test group so you won't have to wade through many thousands of old test postings to see your new one.

1.4.15  DO NOT Use Abusive Language

Everybody is welcome in this newsgroup - male, female, the very young, the very old, all nationalities, all races, etc.  Abuse of others for any reason will NEVER resolve an issue; it will only escalate it.  Usenet is perhaps the most public area you could ever hope to find.  Consider what you say in light of the ability of your children, spouse, friends, enemies, present and future employers, and millions of others to see your words.  Remember also that your words do not go away after a few days.  Google Groups and a few other archive sites archive Usenet articles.  Google Groups archives ALL (except binaries) articles, FOREVER.  Let that be a sobering thought when you're tempted to be rude or crude or even reveal a bit too much personal information.

Note that disagreement and debate, even strong disagreement and strong debate, are NOT the same as flames and abusive language.  No one is right all the time and disagreements are inevitable, and often informative.  If you disagree, do so politely and be prepared to defend your position from similar disagreement.

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2.0  FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

2.01  WHERE CAN I FIND....?

2.01.1  Why No Long Lists of URLs?

Well, actually there are some URLs, but I've tried to avoid extensive lists of URLs beyond a few that I considered "necessary" based on frequent questions.  These are mostly sites with exceptional informational content which have been around for a long time, or are software publishing sites.  If every site that might want to be listed in this FAQ were listed, the FAQ would soon become a nightmare to maintain.  Sites come and go too quickly, and many topics are covered on more than one site.  Some additional URLs will be added as an aid to those new to MIDI, and suggestions are welcome if submitted along with a description of the site's content.  Do NOT submit your personal site unless the MIDI information (NOT MIDI music files) content is exceptional.  Note that my own site (except for this FAQ page) would not qualify to be listed.

2.01.2  Learn to search!

If you want to know or find something, a quick search through one of the search-engines such as Google generally will bring you faster and more complete answers than a question or request in the newsgroup.

Searches for specific MIDI files can be performed at Music Robot, MIDI Search 1 or MIDI Search 2.  If that fails, ask in the newsgroup alt.binaries.sounds.midi, which is devoted to the exchange of MIDI song files and is very active.

2.01.3  Let's use Google as an example:

Once you arrive at Google, type one or more key-words in the search field and click Search.  Google will find "all" the sites that contain at least one of those key-words.  If it returns too many sites, you can narrow the search down by adding an extra key-word and make it mandatory by a preceding "+" sign.  (Other search sites may work differently - read the site help pages for details.)

A few things to keep in mind:

Don't use CAPITAL letters.  (Most search-engines are sensitive to that.)
Leave spaces between key-words.
If you use more than one key-word, Google will look for pages that mention at least one of the key-words.
If you only want pages that mention ALL the keywords, you must add "+" signs before each of the keywords.
If your "key-word" is a phrase (contains spaces), you must place it between "quotation marks".

Examples:

You're looking for anything about the Spice Girls.
Type in the Search field: "spice girls" and click Search.

You want MIDI files with music by the Spice Girls.
Type in the Search field: +"spice girls" +midi or +"spice girls" +midi +file and click Search.

You want the GM (General Midi) specifications.
Type in the Search field: +midi +gm +spec or +midi +gm +specification and click Search.

Try it yourself!  You might be surprised at what you can find this way and how quickly.  Also have a look at the "HELP" that every search-engine offers.  (It really does help to make the best use of that search engine!!)

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2.02  WHAT IS MIDI? WHERE CAN I FIND BASIC INFORMATION?

MIDI stands for Musical Instrument Digital Interface and is an international hardware AND software standard.

MIDI specifies the hardware interface, the communication protocol, and the content of messages which allow you to connect and communicate between electronic musical instruments and computers from different manufacturers.  In other words, the "wiring diagram" and the "language" are standardized.  (See below for sites with info.)

So we have a hardware and software standard.  That should do it, right?  Now let's go make music!

Wrong!  Something turned out to be missing.  MIDI worked well and the devices from different manufacturers could indeed communicate, but the results were sometimes unexpected.  One of the main problems was in the instrument list (the manner and order in which the instruments are numbered inside the synthesizer).  When a MIDI message tells a synthesizer to use instrument number 12 (and that IS how it works) then one synthesizer would generate the sound of a vibraphone and another one would generate the sound of a violin.  The instrument lists were different and this resulted in significant incompatibility between the different MIDI devices.

To overcome this problem the MIDI manufacturers put their heads together, formed the MMA (MIDI Manufacturers Association) and defined a standard instrument list.  And while they were at it, they not only agreed upon a standard instrument list, they also specified some additional items and called this total package "General MIDI" (GM).

The General MIDI (GM) specification includes the definition of:

An instrument list (also called a Patch List, Patch Map, or Sound Set)
A list of percussion sounds with their matching note numbers.
A set of minimum hardware capabilities, like number of voices, MIDI messages recognized, etc.

You can visit The MIDI Mfgrs Association site for a few more details, but one of their objectives is to SELL copies of the specification (which aren't cheap) so you won't find the full specification posted.

Although GM still works fine as a standard, it has its limitations.  Therefore some manufacturers developed extensions to it.  Roland developed GS and Yamaha came up with XG.  (Too bad they both went their own way!)

Both systems are GM-compatible in that they will both play GM MIDI files, but they are not fully compatible with each other.  You can play the music, but you will lose many of the extra effects.

Rather than trying to explain here all of the "extras" that GS or XG provide, I suggest you visit the Yamaha (XG) and Roland (GS) sites and see for yourself what this is all about.

If you want a concentrated dose of MIDI information, hardware and software, then you should visit these excellent on-line sources:

MIDI Technical Fanatic's Brainwashing Center
Harmony Central - MIDI Docs
Somascape  (Looks like an excellent source of detailed info on MIDI file structure including things like meta events.

Another good place to start out with MIDI is the book, "The MIDI Files" by Robert Young, Prentice Hall, ISBN: 0-13-262403-6 (paperback), which comes with fifty short MIDI files that demonstrate techniques explained in the book and can be used as practice vehicles so you don't mess up anything you've tried to put together.

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2.03   SOUND, WAVE, MP3, MIDI AND MOD, WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE?

SOUND

For sound you need an "instrument" and a "musician" (in the broadest sense of these words).  If you like the sound of a piano, you need to have a piano and someone playing it.  If you love the sound of breaking glass, the neighbor's window will do fine as an instrument and your son, throwing a baseball carelessly, could be a great musician.

Let's stick to the piano.  When the pianist is playing the piano, little hammers strike the piano strings.  The strings start to vibrate and make the air-molecules around them vibrate.  The air-molecules pass this vibration on to other air-molecules, until finally these vibrations reach your eardrums.  Sound is how you (your brain) interpret these vibrations.

The continuous "flow of vibrations" from the sound source to your ears is called the "sound wave."

When two or more instruments are played at the same time, all the vibrations coming from those instruments will be mixed (in the air), so there will still only be ONE sound wave, but a far more complex one than from the piano alone.

WAVE

When you want to save sound so you can hear it later, you can record the sound wave in several ways.

In the past, people could only save sound in an analog way.  The sound wave was "printed" on a tape (magnetic patterns) or a vinyl disk (wavy groove).  The frequency and amplitude of the magnetic pattern or the wavy groove varied with the amplitude and frequency of the sound.  You can easily see this on a record with a magnifying glass.  (By the way, does anyone know the standard number of grooves on each side of a 33-1/3 RPM record?)

Nowadays it's possible to record sound in a digital way (WAV file).  To do this the sound wave is "cut" into thin slices, called samples.  Each of these samples is given a value, depending on its amplitude.  This way we "convert" an analog sound wave into a string of values representing amplitude (loudness) at each sample point.  But don't forget, this long string of numbers (values) still represents the sound wave, the vibration of the air.  No more, no less.  This string of numbers that can be stored on CD, hard disk or tape, is the basic content of a WAV file.

Two things are important in this process; the sample rate and the sample value.

The sample rate tells you how many times per second the sound is sampled.  More samples per second (thinner slices) mean a more accurate representation of the sound is obtained, giving better sound quality.  A typical sample rate for very good (CD) quality is 44,100 samples per second.

Each of these samples will be given a value representing the amplitude of the sound at the sample time.  To be able to represent a smooth range of loudness values, without noticeable steps, you need to use a broad range of numbers to represent the loudness.

We can compare this to a large number of athletes that run the 100 meters.7nbsp; If we could only measure their time in full seconds, the numbers 0 through 15 (4 bits to a computer) would be sufficient.  The good ones would all do the 100 meters in 10 seconds, making them all world champions.  Since that rough measurement isn't useful to us we measure their time in thousandth of a second, which gives us a broad range of 16,000 numbers (roughly 14 bits) to allow us to distinguish clearly between the performances of the different athletes.  Now we have only one world champion and we have the ability to rank each of the next nearest competitors in order.

We need something along this same line when we assign values to samples.  Since computers work with bytes and 1 byte (256 values) isn't really enough for reasons of quality, we use 2 bytes per sample, which gives us 65,536 values (16-bits) to choose from.

From this you should now realize why good quality WAVE files are huge.  For one second of CD-quality sound you need 44,100 samples at 2 bytes each.  That makes 88,200 bytes for every second of sound and...  that's just one channel!  For stereo you have to double that, which gives you a total of 176,400 bytes for one second of sound.  So a minute of CD-quality sound will contain roughly 10.6 megabytes!

MP3

MP3 is the file extension for MPEG Audio compressed files.  The .MP3 files are WAVE files, but they're compressed in a very special way.  Maybe you've heard of file compression methods or maybe you even use a program like PKZIP or WINZIP to make .zip files yourself.  MPEG is a completely different compression method.

When you compress a file and turn it into a .zip file, nothing is left out or lost.  It's a method to save ALL data in a smart way using less space.  There are many ways to do that, but let's look at a very simple example.

When there are 40 dashes in a standard file, they are written as: ---------------------------------------- taking 40 bytes of space.  Another way of writing these same 40 dashes is:  40x- (40 times -) which only takes 4 bytes of space.  The compression ratio in this example is 10:1, which is, as you may understand, quite exceptional and certainly not the average for a whole file.  The advantage is that ALL data are still there, although the file takes up less space.  The downside is a .zip file has to be "unzipped" before you can use it, which means that (after "unzipping" it) it will take up the same amount of space as it did before it was "zipped".  In addition, "zipping" a WAVE file won't gain you very much.  A compression ratio of 2:1 at the most.

The compression method that's used to make .mp3 files is totally different.  In this method some things are actually left out or lost, but in a very smart way, so you won't notice (hear) it.  Information that isn't important will be stripped.  Based on research on human perception the encoder decides what information is important and what can be discarded.

When a sound wave hits your eardrums, the incoming data are analyzed by your brain.  The brain interprets the sound and filters out irrelevant information, which means you just don't hear everything that is in the sound wave.

Another simple example:

You're listening to the Rolling Stones using your headphones.  Now turn off the sound.  You can hear almost everything that's going on around you.  The headphones don't really completely block the sound that's coming from the "outside".  Turn the sound back on and listen to the Stones again.  This time you won't hear "outside" sounds, although they're still there.  The music on your headphones is so loud in comparison to the "outside" sound that this "outside" sound is filtered out by your brain.

MPEG Audio compression does this job for you.  It's called "perceptual coding."  This is quite clever, because the information that would be stripped by your own "brain-filter" anyway no longer needs to occupy hard disk space or internet bandwidth.  You have to be a bit careful though, because if you encode at a very strong compression level, MPEG also strips information that's audible.  With "light" compression (up to a ratio of approximately 12:1) you won't hear the difference between the .mp3 file and the uncompressed original.  Compression rates of 12:1 without losing quality are normal for MPEG Audio compression.  So now a minute of sound occupies roughly 0.9 megabytes instead of roughly 10.6 megabytes.

The disadvantage of MPEG Audio compression is that there's a lot of processing power required to encode the files initially.  Decoding is relatively easy.

If you would like to learn more about MP3 files, you can visit the following website and newsgroups for more information:

Xory's MP3 FAQ
alt.music.mp3 or
alt.binaries.sounds.mp3

MIDI

Let's go back to the pianist we met in the section about WAVE.  We see him playing ("commanding") the piano and we hear the sound.  We already saw that we can record this sound.  (see WAVE)

Suppose we don't like the piano player and we want to get rid of him (for whatever reason), but we still like to hear THAT piano play the tunes.  In that case we must record the actions ("commands") of the piano player and find a way to execute these "commands" on the piano.  Well, this was done ages ago with the player piano, also called the pianola.

The "commands" of the pianist were recorded on a roll of paper (the piano roll) by punching holes in the paper at exactly the right places.  That way a "smart" mechanism could read the roll and play the piano.  These piano rolls, representing a sequence of "commands," are in a way the first MIDI files.

Todays computer and synthesizer techniques give us many more possibilities and we don't need the roll of paper anymore, but the idea is about the same.  In a MIDI file we record (lay down or sequence) the "commands" of the musicians playing their instruments.  So there is no sound in a MIDI file, there are only "commands."  In MIDI these "commands" are called messages or events and they are used to control a synthesizer-unit which in turn generates the sound(s).

MOD

Now that you have a general idea of MIDI and WAVE files, we can move on to MOD files.  A Module (MOD for short) is sort of a hybrid, a mixture of MIDI and WAVE.  The MIDI file depends on the instruments that are on your soundcard or in your external sound module.  A MOD file has the sequencing information AND the instruments (in the form of "samples") in it.  These samples can be looked upon as short WAVE files of one note of an instrument.  It's like a MIDI file with a soft-synth (software synthesizer) (See 2.16 What is a Soundfont / Soft-Synth inside.

It's up to you, the MOD composer, which samples you include in the MOD file.  This way you're not dependent on the instruments built into the soundcard, which means that the song will sound the same on any computer.  On the other hand, you are limited in the number of samples you can put in a MOD file and changes are less easy to make.  When you buy a better soundcard or sound module, all your MIDI files will sound better, without any (relevant) changes.  Whereas, in a MOD file the quality is laid down "forever".  Also the size of MOD files is larger because the wave samples are included and good samples take a lot of space.

If you would like to learn more about MOD files, you can visit the newsgroups:

alt.music.mods or
alt.binaries.sounds.mods

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2.04  WHAT CAN YOU TELL ME ABOUT GENERAL MIDI AND STANDARD MIDI?

Big difference!  You can't compare the two.  When people talk about Standard MIDI, they usually mean the Standard MIDI Format (SMF), which is a file format.

General MIDI (GM) is an agreement about musical possibilities of equipment and the Standard MIDI Format (SMF) is a description of the file format that is used to save MIDI files in a standard way.

For better understanding you can (loosely) compare GM to a symphony orchestra, in which case you can compare SMF with the full score of the music as it is notated on paper.

Like GM, a symphony orchestra is, in a way, an agreement of musical possibilities.  If you bring together a bunch of musicians to form a symphony orchestra, you need strings, brass, woodwinds, timpani and a couple of other instruments.  The instruments (and therefore the musicians) even have a fixed place from the conductor's viewpoint.  Violins and violas to the left, flutes in the middle, cellos to the right, timpani in the back, etc.

GM is like that, because for GM you also need to have free disposition of certain instruments (sounds) like piano, organ, guitar, brass, etc., and these sounds must also have a fixed place.  The first "patch" (instrument) is the acoustic grand piano, number 25 is the nylon string guitar and the trumpet is number 57.

Now Standard MIDI Format (SMF) is quite a different agreement.  SMF tells you how MIDI data have to be saved.  You can compare this with the sheet music the conductor of our symphony orchestra has.

To write down music we use staff notation.  It's an agreement about the use of staves, musical notes and symbols.  Looking at the conductor's sheet music you will see different staves for different instruments (neatly organized), just like different tracks for different sounds in an SMF file.

Staves start with a clef and some information like "meter" and "key".  In the "same" way we have headers in an SMF file at the beginning of each track with some information about the track.

After the clef/meter/key information you'll find the musical notes, (with or without dots, stems and beams) giving you information on pitch, duration and timing.  Again you'll find similar information in the SMF file after the header, where pitch, duration and starting time of each note are saved in the corresponding track.

Staff notation ends with a closing barline (one thin and one thick vertical line) to let you know that's the end of the piece.  And of course the SMF file (track) is similarly closed with some specific bytes to let the software know where the MIDI information ends.

It's possible to continue this comparison to the last detail, telling you about all the special symbols in staff notation and the comparable controllers in an SMF file.  However, that would only extend this text well beyond its proper scope.

Of importance is that you understand why and how General MIDI (GM) and Standard MIDI Format (SMF) are different.

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2.05  WHAT DO I NEED TO GET INTO MIDI MUSIC?

This explanation isn't a guide for installing hardware and/or software (although there may be a few tips).  For installation procedures you need to read the manuals that come with your hardware and software.

Also I assume you're using a PC (with Windows), since the majority of you do, but it works similarly for the MAC, or other Operating Systems such as Linux.

So what DO you need?  Well, it depends on what you want out of it.  Do you just want to play MIDI files for listening pleasure only, or would you like to play an active role as a composer/sequencer and make or edit MIDI files yourself?

Is the minimum of sound quality enough for you because you don't know the difference between a violin and a cat in heat anyway, or do you want the best sound quality possible?

Let's look at the basics and take it from there.

PLAYING MIDI FILES (very basic)

Since you're reading this, it's safe to assume that you already have a computer, so what you at least need in addition is:

Unless your computer is really, really old, you probably will have all of the above available already and you should therefore at least be able to PLAY MIDI files.  Otherwise you'll have to do some shopping!

The MIDI file is a sequence of commands (see MIDI) that you'll have to send to a synthesizer, which in turn will generate sound.  The most simple way is by using the synthesizer on your soundcard.

Just start the MIDI Player or Media Player program in Windows, load the MIDI file and push the "Start button".

TIP: if you don't hear sound while the MIDI Player software seems to be running your MIDI file properly, check the controls in the software that came with the soundcard.  Normally when a soundcard is installed, there will be some on-screen control panel for controlling the volumes of "Wave", "MIDI", "Mic", "CD-audio" and "Line-In".

TIP: if your soundcard sounds like a kiddy-toy, like a kazoo, like humming on waxed paper wrapped over a comb, but you're sure that there's a Wave-Table on the card (because it said so on the box), go to Windows Configuration, choose Multimedia and go to MIDI.  Chances are that the OUTPUT Port is configured for OPL2/OPL3 FM-synthesis.  Set this to Wave synthesis instead and click "Apply".

MAKING MIDI FILES (also basic)

If you like to play around with MIDI; i.e., edit existing MIDI files or make your own MIDI files, you need sequencing software instead of the above mentioned MIDI Player.  (Also see 2.06 What is a Sequencer).  You'll probably find some software for MIDI sequencing with your soundcard.  Usually this is a "light" version of Cakewalk, Cubase, Orchestrator, Musicator, etc., but it will do for starters and it's free.  If there doesn't seem to be any MIDI sequencing software with the soundcard, then you can download one of the available freeware or shareware programs on the Net or buy sequencing software in a store for computers and/or musical instruments.

After you've installed the software properly (DO read the manual!) you should be able to load and play a MIDI file.

But now, with the sequencing software, you can also change the MIDI file or start from scratch and make a MIDI file yourself, just like you can make a document with a Spreadsheet Program.

How this is done depends on the (sequencing) software you have.  Some software will allow you to put notes on staff, other software will offer you something that looks like a piano roll.  Sometimes you can edit the Event List (the "heart" of the MIDI file) and with good software you can do ALL of these things.

KEEP IN MIND...

What has been discussed so far is the bare minimum.  The quality of sound you will get out of "your computer" depends on the soundcard you use.  For better sounds you need a soundcard that at least provides Wave Sample Synthesis (see 2.15 What is WSS, Wave Sample Synthesis).  For further improvement of sound quality, you can look at daughterboards for the soundcard and/or extra Sound Fonts to load (see 2.16 What is a Soundfont / Soft-Synth and 2.17 How Do I Load and Use a Soundfont).

Besides the soundcard, it definitely makes a difference what you plug into the card's "Audio Line Out" to reproduce the music.  In the worst case there will be some sort of sound coming out of two unpowered kiddy-toy speakers.  Some computer systems come with somewhat larger and fairly good speakers, and some people run the output of their soundcard into very expensive high quality stereo systems.  It's up to you what you want to spend, but beware of the fact that not all soundcards have sounds of such a quality that their sound can be much improved by spending money on the system that plays those sounds.

YOU WANT MORE ??!!

Have you tried (listened to) a dozen soundcards with all their available options in daughterboards and/or extra Sound Fonts and you still want to improve on the quality of the sounds?

Are you getting tired of step-sequencing your MIDI files using the computer-keyboard and mouse and above all you hate how this method of sequencing makes your MIDI file sound synthetic/mechanical?

Then you will need external MIDI equipment:

When it comes to (external) MIDI modules, controllers and keyboards, a site that does a good job describing the assorted available synthesizers is Synthzone.

The sound quality and features of these devices ranges from "toy" quality to professional quality.  Your best bet for sorting out what best suits you is to talk to others and visit local suppliers and hear these devices yourself.  You can also visit the suppliers' web sites to see lists of internal features that aren't apparent by just listening.

In the end you will have to make a decision based on your own subjective opinion, the opinions of others, the facts you have gathered, and your personal budget.  There is a strong tendency for cost and quality to track each other, but this isn't always the case, especially when comparing keyboards (which have the cost of keys and associated parts) and a sound module which has no moving parts, and a soundcard which doesn't even have the cost of a case or power supply.

Some factors to consider when buying MIDI equipment:

ONE LAST THING; THE CONNECTION.

Whatever external MIDI device you're about to use, you'll have to use a MIDI/Joystick port in your computer to connect the external gear to your computer.  Most people use the MIDI/Joystick Port on their soundcard.  There's no real advantage I know of in using a different connection technique unless you need to connect several modules and use more than 16 MIDI channels.  If this is the case, you may have some research to do.

TIP: Don't forget to change (check) the settings in your software.  Normally you won't have to change the "MIDI In" settings (for obvious reasons, but you will have to change the "MIDI Out" settings, since the MIDI signal must go to the MIDI/Joystick Port instead of directly to the soundcard's synthesizer.

When you want to use external MIDI devices, you need a MIDI cable, which has a D-connector at one end, that fits into the MIDI/Joystick outlet of the soundcard.

It's possible, that there's also an extra MIDI/Joystick D-connector.  That's only for your convenience, to plug in the joystick if you have one.  It's not relevant for MIDI.

Now for the other ends (yes, plural) of the cable:  You will normally find two round five-pin DIN plugs with (MIDI) IN and OUT written/printed on them.

TIP: You have an external MIDI device with MIDI IN and MIDI OUT, and you have a normal MIDI cable with two DIN plugs that say (MIDI) IN and OUT on them.  Make sure that the plug that says IN goes into the socket (of the MIDI device) that says OUT and vice versa.  Does that make sense?  It does when you think of the cable as being an extension of your soundcard.  The MIDI signal that comes OUT of the soundcard has to go into the MIDI IN of your external MIDI device the MIDI OUT of the external device needs to go to the MIDI IN of the soundcard.

If you have additional MIDI devices, they're chained together in this same way, OUT going into IN until the final OUT goes to the soundcard, making one big loop from soundcard through all your devices back into the soundcard.

Occasionally you'll see a MIDI cable with only ONE of these round DIN plugs.  These cables sometimes come with a piano-like keyboard, that can only be used as a controller; i.e., there's no synthesizer aboard and the keyboard can only SEND MIDI-signals.  Such devices are "OUT" only.

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2.06  WHAT IS A SEQUENCER?

When we talk about a "sequencer" in relation to MIDI, we can mean any of three things:

As a result of this, a MIDI song file is often called a "sequence" or "MIDI sequence."

SEQUENCING SOFTWARE

In a spreadsheet file you have sequences of characters to make words and numbers.  All these words and numbers together make the document.  Normally a document also has some sort of layout, section-headers in capitals and bold print, interesting parts are underscored or in Italics, etc.  For this you need controlling commands.  These controlling commands are not printed, they only tell what action must be taken on one or more characters to give your document the layout you want.  For instance, when there is an "underscore" command, all characters after that command will be underscored until the program encounters an "end-underscore" command.

It's much the same in a MIDI file.  In a MIDI file you have notes.  (We say notes, but in fact we mean note events.) Together these notes make up the melody (the "document").  Normally these notes do not all sound the same (same instrument, same volume, etc).  To make these notes sound different (different instruments, different volume, reverb, sustain, etc), you need controlling commands.  You won't hear these controlling commands; they only tell what action must be taken to make the notes sound like you want them to sound.  For instance, when there is a "sustain" command (like when you use the right pedal of a piano), all the following notes will be sustained notes until the program encounters an "end-sustain" command.

So, in a way, you could say that a sequencer (sequencing program) is to a MIDI music file as a spreadsheet program (such as Lotus 1-2-3 or Excel) is to a spreadsheet file.  In fact two of the most commonly used windows in sequencing software (Tracks Overview and Events) look and work very much like a spreadsheet.

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2.07  CAN I CONVERT A WAVE OR MP3 FILE TO A MIDI FILE?

This is probably THE most often asked question!

If the question is "Is it (currently) possible to have the computer convert a WAVE file to a MIDI file in such a way that the MIDI file, when played back, sounds like the original WAVE file?" then the answer is "No!"  (See explanation "why not" several paragraphs below.)

If the question is "Where can I find software that will do a credible job of converting a complex WAVE file into a MIDI file which, when played, will sound very similar to the original WAV file?" then the answer is that there is no software that will do a good job of this using a complex WAV file (typical of all commercial music) containing several different overlapping instruments.  There also is no software that does a good job of this for a WAVE file containing only one instrument with overlapping notes.

There is software that will turn musical notes contained in a WAVE file, or played into your soundcard input jack, into MIDI events, but its performance is disappointing on all but the most trivial music - such as a child playing Chopsticks on a piano (a simple instrument without strong harmonics or pitch bends) with one hand, no sustain pedal, no overlap of the notes, preferably with a brief silent period between notes.  Most available software requires WAV files as input, so MP3 files may need to be converted to WAV first.  Some software accepts direct sound input via microphone or line-in jack on your soundcard.

Some people seem to be impressed with some of the software that tries to accomplish this task, but the vast majority are not.  Some are impressed by a dancing pig - not because the pig dances well, but because it seems to dance at all.  You have to judge for yourself.

When researching this subject, be very wary, take nothing on faith, and hold very tightly to your wallet.  Download the demonstration software and test it extensively before deciding to buy.  Be very wary if your failure to achieve even fair results with a demo produces a response of "You have to play with the settings!" (Until your fingers drop off!)  Ask any person claiming the program works well once the settings are mastered to accept a WAV or MP3 file from you and return a MID file along with a complete list of the settings that will allow you to achieve the same result using the demo version on your own system.

If the answer is "no," look elsewhere, or wait until the vast preponderance of first-hand testimonials indicates this software has really arrived.  Believe me, if it really arrives you won't just be hearing about it from "hit and run" posters to the newsgroup.

Accept no excuses for any poor perfomanace by any demo software.  The author/seller has (I would hope) provided a demo version that will show his full version in the best possible light.  If the demo presents problems, you should assume the full version will also present problems.

In summary, you are very strongly advised to:

  1. BEWARE of testimonials from "hit and run" posters who can't seem to remember what their names are from one article they post to the next.
  2. DO NOT part with your money until you see with your own eyes, hear with your own ears, and assure on your own computer that a demo version of the software you are interested in performs to your satisfaction and is compatible with the hardware on your computer system.
  3. If the demo version is so short that you can't be absolutely sure the software is suitable for your purposes; you should consider saving your money until a better demo is provided.
  4. If there is no demo version, you probably would be well advised to drop any consideration of buying the software.
  5. Perform at least a portion of your testing using WAV files that were NOT obtained from the site selling the software.  Test using all varieties of music you're interested in converting.
  6. If you get this far, please inspect your converted MIDI files VERY closely.  Look at the actual note and controller events, and look at the resulting score in an editor to see if you can edit the resulting file.  Some programs produce files that contain 2% note events and 98% pitch wheel and expression events.  They use the pitch wheel controller to slide the note pitch back and forth to reproduce the original song.  These files are all but impossible to edit and are all but useless.  Look closely to see that any program that interests you produces files usable for *ALL* purposes you intend.  Listening is only half of a proper evaluation.
  7. Please strongly consider writing up your testing experiences and sharing them with others in the AMM newsgroup, as well as with the maintainer of this FAQ, Jim Higgins.

For those who just want to get to the list of software sites now, never mind everything else, just CLICK HERE.

Why can't I convert a WAVE file to a MIDI file that accurately represents the WAVE file?

WAVE and MIDI are completely different things.

A MIDI file is a sequence of commands designed to control one or more pieces of equipment (usually a synthesizer) that make sounds - predetermined sounds.  The commands in the MIDI file are not sounds; they are not even digital representations of sounds.  They're recorded operations telling the equipment to GENERATE sounds.  The sounds produced are determined by the quality and capabilities of the equipment.  A MIDI file sounds a bit different on each different piece of equipment on which it is played because the sound samples stored in that equipment, or the algorithms that equipment uses to synthesize waveforms, are different.

A WAVE file is digitized sound.  It's a series of values representing the amplitude of a sound at many discrete points in time.  Barring differences in speaker quality, it should sound substantially the same on any system playing it.  Because of these differences, a WAVE file can't be converted to a MIDI file that will EXACTLY reproduce the WAVE file when played back.

All this may sound like a matter of semantics, but it's an important concept to grasp and fully understand.  WAV files are sound, and all of the instructions and operations that were performed when making that sound have been lost - only the resulting sound remains.  MIDI files are commands to make sounds, but there are no sounds in MIDI files, only commands.  These commands do not control the quality with which the playing device produces the basic sound of each instrument; they just tell the instrument to do what it is capable of doing, no more no less.  The result may or may not sound like the original WAV file.  In the case of a sound card as the MIDI playback device, you might improve the sound quality by using a better sound font.  (This also seems to be something everyone wants and few seem to find.)

So WAV-to-MIDI is like asking "Can I convert a cake back into the separate operations of the baker AND back into the original ingredients - eggs, sugar, butter, flour, yeast, etc)?"

A WAVE file is like the cake - when the cake is on your plate, all data about the baking process are gone.  A MIDI file is like the recipe.  It contains a list of ingredients and instructions for using them, but it doesn't assure the baker is skillful, the oven is properly calibrated for temperature, or that the ingredients are fresh and wholesome.

Let's describe one more MIDI-WAV analogy before moving on.

Take a couple of newspapers.  Shred them into strips and small pieces, add water and some wallpaper paste (glue) and stir until you have a nice smooth mush - also called papier-mâché.  Make some sculptures from this mixture and let them dry.

Now what would you say when someone comes along, looks at the sculptures and asks you to reproduce verbatim (word by word) the information that was in those papers?

This task is equivalent to converting WAV to MIDI.

There is a lot of discussion going on (almost continuously) about WAV-to-MID conversion done by computer software.  Don't be overly impressed just because a few say it can be done well; ask them to demonstrate it.  And don't be overly impressed by references to assorted mathematical approaches to performing such conversions.  You'll hear all kinds of academic rationales for why WAV-to-MIDI is possible - such as FFT (Fast Fourier Transform), one of the most popular buzzwords.  FFT is real, but the problem is a lot harder than the theorists tend to lead you to believe.  FFT is a tool, not a complete solution.  You can't perform an FFT operation on the sounds of a single instrument within a complex waveform composed of several instruments if you can't tell exactly which parts of the waveform belong to this single instrument any more than you can separate straw from manure with a pitchfork if you're blindfolded.  This is almost exactly what you must do to recreate a single MIDI track for just one instrument contained in a complex WAV file.  It's a Herculean task which doesn't yield solely to strict mathematical analysis.  It requires a knowledge of not only the exact characteristics of every instrument, but also how those characteristics change when notes are struck, plucked or blown harder and softer, when the reed is bitten, when the note is bent, when the string is tapped, etc.  In short, if the software can't SEPARATELY recognize each instrument playing, and associate sounds only with the instrument originating them, and identify all sources of various sum and difference frequencies and apply them only to the original instrument, then FFT analysis CANNOT be applied effectively.

To a listener some sounds sound like music; other sounds are just noise.  We can appreciate the sound of 50 musicians playing 50 instruments at the same time because for we humans the notes that are played by these 50 musicians are related in some way.  To us it's music, to a computer it's all just "noise."  Because of this "relationship" between instruments that we humans hear in music, we can distinguish, or perceive, separate instruments or instrument groups like violins, more or less.  I say more or less, because when the orchestra of 50 musicians is playing at full strength, it will be all but impossible to pick out all the "moves" of every individual instrument.  Nevertheless, our ability to discern the different instruments fairly well, in general, enables us (those with the talent and practice) to "translate" a piece of music (by just listening to it) into a MIDI file - a MIDI file that, on playback, can present a credible (though not perfect) rendition of the original - with allowances for the differences between the original instruments and those reproduced by our playback devices.  A really good keyboardist doing this will make few meaningful errors that a bit of quantizing or an occasional minor pitch adjustment won't fix.

A computer program doesn't have that ability, that sense.  It can barely distinguish music from nonmusical noise, provided the noise isn't something like "white" or "pink" noise.  To the computer (program) it's just sound and we're asking it to unravel something it doesn't even "understand."  Let's take another shot at describing what that really means and what it involves.

There are 50 musicians on stage.  All have magic earplugs so they can't hear each other.  They all start playing a different piece of music at the same time.  Can you imagine how that sounds? It's still those same 50 musicians you liked so much before, but do you think you could make a MIDI file out of what they're playing this time? Can you even follow the tune that a single one of the 50 is playing?  Not likely!  That's pretty much what a complex WAV file sounds like to computer software.

I won't confuse you with all kinds of technical mathematical details that form the basis for some folks saying it's possible - partly because I can't and partly because that's the responsibility of those who say it's possible.  Just take this advice - offer them a nice, full-blown complex WAVE file of an orchestra, or a song from your favorite CD, and ask for a demonstration.  You will get the same result almost every time - absolutely nothing.  And when you do get a result, it won't be of a quality that will even remotely tempt you to buy the software.

In all fairness to some of the existing software, in cases of extreme simplicity it is possible to convert a WAVE file into a MIDI file with a somewhat reasonable measure of success.  In these cases we're talking about a WAVE file in which you have ONE "simple" instrument playing ONE note at a time, usually somewhat slowly and with no overlaps in (and preferably brief silence between) the tones!  In other words, we have cut the orchestra of 50 musicians down to only one musician - effectively leaving us a child playing "Chopsticks" on the piano with one finger.  And we're talking about doing this ONLY with "simple" instruments - those which generate very few harmonics and mixing products and no bent or otherwise modified notes.  Occasionally some programs will produce moderately recognizable results when chords are sounded by a single simple instrument, but this level of performance is usually highly inconsistent.  Note that claims (or even seemingly factual demonstrations) that others can make such software work are utterly meaningless if YOU can't do it when the software is running on YOUR computer.

Note that in simple cases, it's relatively easy for many, maybe even most, humans with suitable music skills to listen to a simple WAVE file and put the notes into the MIDI file themselves with success equal to or better than the best programs.  The human takes more time (and spends considerably more energy and frustration), but it's a simple case of good or fast - you basically get to choose only one.

The degree of final success depends not only on the hardware and software you use, but also on the instrument you want to "convert".  Instruments that allow less human influence will make a conversion easier.  For instance: you can hit a piano key with more or less "velocity," you can hold the key long or short, and you can apply several pedals, none of which distort the note, but that's about it.  When you play the saxophone, there's not just "velocity" and "hold".  There are a lot more human influences to the sound.  The way you breathe, open the valves, hold your mouth, use your tongue, bite the reed or even add a little human sound to it.  This makes the conversion of the sound of a saxophone a lot more difficult than the sound of a piano.

The conversion programs want simple music! Simple music generally isn't interesting music.

And in the end, NEVER FORGET to view any WAVE conversion to MIDI in a MIDI sequencing program and see if what you have can be edited.  If it's not easily editable, it's probably of rather limited use.

If you feel like experimenting with WAV-to-MID "conversion," you might like to try the free or demonstration versions of the following programs, but be warned - do not expect miracles.  Please be sure you've read the CAUTIONARY NOTES first.

WAV-to-MID SOFTWARE
Program Name Runs On Comments
Akoff Music Composer WIN Demo version won't save files.
Twelve Tone Systems
Cakewalk Music Software		 WIN/MAC Sound-to-MIDI capability isn't its strong point.
Digital Ear WIN Several second demo available.
Download & inspect the sample MIDI files very closely.
WAV2MID 0.93a PC This is a download link only.
Site (link here) is 100% Japanese language.
WAV2MIDI PC (DOS) Many files here.  Look under Freeware for wav2midi
Intelliscore PC Win 15-sec demo available.
Wave Goodbye PC Win Freeware.  Unrestricted conversion length.
WaoN *NIX WAV-to-MID for FreeBSD and other *NIX
Released under GNU GPL
Hanauta Musician PC Sound to MIDI.  Site is 100% Japanese.
More info here?
MuseBook Wav2Midi PC Win 15-sec demo version available.
AudioScore PC Win 10-day fully working demo available.
No examples of converted files on site.
AmazingMIDI PC 30-sec demo version available.
Solo Explorer PC Win 15-sec demo program won't save results.
Score Extractor WIN This program doesn't convert files directly;
it's an interactive transcription aid.
Read file at Quick Help link.  Demo available.
Capella-Audio PC Site is in German language only.
Demo seems to be available.
WIDI WIN/DOS Demo available.
Appears to be actively developed.

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2.08  CAN I CONVERT A MIDI FILE TO A WAVE FILE?

If you want the WAVE file to sound EXACTLY like the MIDI file did when you play it using your MIDI equipment, then you can use this method: Open up an application to play the MIDI file AND open up an application which will allow you to record the piece being played as a WAVE file.  Click "record" on the WAVE application then click "play" on the MIDI player.  Beware though that you will need a computer that is fast enough to have both programs running without noticeable stuttering.  Your soundcard must also handle MIDI play and WAV record simultaneously if it is called on to perform both functions.  Some soundcards have an internal connection from their sound output to their sound input, and others will require the use of a patch cable.  A tiny bit of thought will indicate you can also play thru your off-board MIDI synthesizer and route the output of this synthesizer to the appropriate input jack on the soundcard for recording as a WAV.  Some adjustment of software sound level controls may be necessary.  The optimum level for this sort of sound recording is about -3 dB.  The site at Cakewalk Music Software contains additional specific information on this topic that should prove helpful whether or not you own Cakewalk software.

Or you can use the following method which works for computers and soundcards which are a bit less capable.

You need a good (professional) tape recorder to maintain quality.  For home-users a high quality (HQ) stereo VCR (with audio In/Out) will do the job well.  Using a microphone (or two for stereo) held in front of your speakers is a large compromise, but certainly a lot better than nothing.

You don't want to use a simple (compact) cassette recorder/player for this process.  Although it will produce a result, the result is unlikely to have the quality desired.

A completely different method is the use of an application that will use its own sounds (wave samples) to directly generate the WAVE file.  It does make things easy, but the use of these wave samples is also the downside to this approach.  A MIDI file that sounds good on your MIDI equipment may not sound good when such a program turns it into a WAVE file using a completely different set of sound samples.

MID-to-WAV / MP3 SOFTWARE
Program Name Demo For? Comments
AWave PC Free demo available.  Appears to be actively developed.
WAVMaker PC  
MidiSyn PC MIDI to WAV or MP3, using soundfonts.
Visit the MIDISyn pages for more MIDI
and WAV-MP3 conversion resources.
Band in a Box PC MIDI to WAV or MP3, using soundfonts.
Demo version available.
SynthFont PC MIDI to WAV conversion using soundfonts even if you
don't have a Creative sound card.  VST Effects even
under Win98/ME.  Has batch and fast conversion
capability.  Free, donation appreciated.

There is a newsgroup apparently devoted to this topic, alt.binaries.sounds.midi.to.wav

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2.09  CAN I CONVERT A MOD FILE TO A MIDI FILE OR VICE-VERSA?

Conversions of MOD files to and from MIDI are more or less possible, but are rather difficult to accomplish with extreme accuracy.  MIDI files have a set of commands very different from MOD files, but one of the more important differences is that the MIDI device "knows" how to process its sounds when it receives commands from the MIDI player.  For example - how fast to decay a piano waveform.  This information isn't stored in the MIDI file itself, it's in the synthesizer.  A MOD file however would have to have this included in the file.

A MIDI-to-MOD converter has no means of asking the MIDI device how it would handle a certain situation, so it has to assume certain things.  Patches in a MIDI file are also a major problem for conversion to MOD files.  While a simple patch event in the MIDI file will find the correct instrument in your synthesizer, a MOD file needs to have the actual sound sample "built in".

The other way around is far from easy too.  A MOD file may for example have sounds included, that are "unknown" to any MIDI device.

MOD-to-MID SOFTWARE
Program Name Demo For? Comments
2MIDI PC  

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2.10  TYPE 1 AND TYPE 0 MIDI FILES, WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE?

There are three different "Types" or "Formats" of MIDI files.

Type 0 files contain only one track, and all the MIDI messages; i.e., the entire performance, are placed in that one track even if they represent musical parts on different MIDI channels.  Many keyboards with disk drives use this format.

Type 1 files separate each musical part to give it its own track.  This means that all the MIDI channels in use can have their own track.  It's even possible to have multiple tracks for one channel.

Type 2 files (which are extremely rare) represent a collection of Type 0 files, all packed into one MIDI file.  Therefore Type 2 files look like Type 1 files at first glance, because there are multiple tracks, but each track stores a complete Type 0 MIDI performance.  Type 2 can be used to store a collection of songs or patterns.

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2.11  CAN I CONVERT A TYPE 1 TO TYPE 0 MIDI FILE OR VICE-VERSA?

Yes, you can.  A lot of sequencing programs allow you to choose the file format as part of the "Save as" operation.  Sometimes, as in Cakewalk, you will find this under "Options" in the "Save" or "Save As" dialog box.  So opening the file using your sequencing program and saving in the desired format is one method of converting formats.

There are also utilities that will translate between MIDI file formats for you.  A shareware utility, GNMIDI, which does FAR MORE than file format conversion, may be found at the excellent Günter Nagler's MIDI Utilities site which is full of great free and shareware utilities for MIDI fans.  A simple converter that will convert MIDI files between Type 0 and Type 1 formats is available for free from MID Converter

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2.12  CAN I PRINT MIDI FILES AS SHEET MUSIC?

The answer is a limited "YES".  It depends however on how serious you want to get.  If your needs are simple, many sequencers will do a decent job of this.  But don't forget, many sequencers are designed only for sequencing and have this feature as an extra.  When they do, you normally will be able to bring up a window with a "staff view" and print this.  The possibilities for editing the sheet music (like you edit text with a word processor) may be limited and sometimes don't exist at all.

Also note that the MIDI definition includes no commands designed to store special notational information such as notes which are legato vs staccato, trills, crescendos, section repeats, a CODA if there is one, and other notational marks.  To create, save and print scores which include all of these little "extras" you will need special (professional) programs.  Most will import a MIDI file, but once you have added the notational extras, saving to a standard MIDI file will cause this added information to be lost.  This is why these programs use their own file formats, although they can usually write a MIDI file purely for playback purposes.  "Finale" is an example of a highly functional scoring program.  Do not expect much in the way of advanced MIDI sequencing abilities from some scoring programs.

Another thing to keep in mind is this.  Programs that can produce sheet music from a MIDI file vary in the way they display the notes.  Some tend to put the notes on a staff right where they are in the MIDI file, NOT necessarily where you like them to be.  They do this by inserting a rest of the nearest value to any offset that may be present.  Others quantize the staff view so that notes which are slightly off the beat appear on the beat.  The latter often allow you to choose quantizing to the nearest 32nd, 16th or 8th note.  Especially when you record a live-performance, most of the notes won't be exactly "on-the-beat" and durations won't be an exact multiple of a 32nd note.  The programs which quantize often allow you to decide what durations (in terms of standard note values) will be rounded off in the staff display.  Your choice here will have a very strong effect on the appearance of your printed score.

So if you don't quantize the MIDI file to put all notes "on the beat" and make their duration a recognizable 32nd note or a close multiple of that, some sequencing programs which have score printing as an afterthought can print sheet music which is hard to read.  The specialized scoring programs do essentially a universally good job of what they are designed to do and differ mainly in their ability to handle arcane or highly specialized notation marks and styles.  They can also differ widely in ease of use and their learning curve.

NOTATION SOFTWARE
Program Name Runs On Comments
Overture WIN/MAC Trial version available
Score Writer WIN Trial version available
Finale & Finale Notepad WIN/MAC Trial version available
Sibelius 6 WIN/MAC Trial version available
Melody Assistant WIN/MAC Freeware/Shareware
NoteWorthy Composer WIN/MAC Shareware
LilyPond Linux/WIN/MAC Free, open source, includes a
MIDI-to-Lily conversion program

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2.13  CAN I SCAN SHEET MUSIC TO MAKE A MIDI FILE?

Yes, there's software that will do this, and it can do it quite well in some cases! But it isn't perfect, just as OCR (Optical Character Recognition) isn't perfect, and this means you will have to do some, or a lot, of editing afterwards.  The best of this software seems to have developed to the point that the quality (clarity and size of notes) and alignment of the sheet music during scanning is the major deciding factor in final conversion quality.  Tiny, scrunched up notes on a page misaligned on the scanner bed will produce very poor results while "Standard" sized published sheet music, well aligned, will produce excellent results.  As far as I know, the main "problems" with the better software is in the area of handling special notation such as trills, crescendos, repeated sections, etc.  These are not recognized, or at least not interpreted.  For some people, and for some music, this is a very serious limitation.  You need to balance your needs, and the notational style of the music you plan to convert, to the capabilities of any software you select.

SmartScore is one of the best known, but I have no first-hand experience with it.  According to those who use it it is a very valuable tool for saving time vs sequencing from sheet music by hand.  Win and MAC versions.

Another capable choice is SharpEye Music Reader (WIN & MAC OS X) which turns scanned sheet music to MIDI.

A relative newcomer to this field (with both Win and MAC software) is: Neuratron PhotoScore

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2.14  WHAT DOES SYSEX MEAN, WHAT DOES IT DO?

SysEx stands for System Exclusive (Message).  It's a special kind of MIDI message meant (exclusively) for a specific MIDI device.  The definition of assorted SysEx messages varies with the instrument manufacturer.  There are a few Universal SysEx messages which should be understood by all GM compatible instruments.

Nonuniversal SysEx messages contain a device code, so when a SysEx message is transmitted, only the addressed device will act upon the content of the message.  Since the SysEx message is a message for a device, it's not bound to a specific MIDI channel, although it may contain "commands" which only affect one specific channel.

A "normal" MIDI message (like a Note-On event) has a fixed length.  This means when a message starts (with a specific byte), the hooked up synthesizer(s) automatically know(s) when this message ends.

This isn't the case with SysEx messages.  They can vary in length and therefore need an end-marker as well as a start-marker.

After the start-marker (byte), any number of data bytes may be sent and since it's not clear right from the start, what the length of the message will be, the end must also be marked.

This is very important for the addressed device that has to know what data belong to the message.  It's also important for the other devices that are hooked up and don't understand the content of the message.  They too must know the end of the message so they can pick up the stream of commands (messages) right after it.

SysEx messages serve two main purposes.  They can address one single MIDI unit in a setup with different MIDI devices chained together and, maybe more important, they can control a MIDI device beyond what is possible using the "normal" MIDI messages.  Manufacturers of expanded MIDI devices such as Roland (GS) and Yamaha (XG) add so many features to their sound modules that it isn't possible to access them all using only the "normal" MIDI messages; i.e., controllers.  In general, SysEx messages are used to change default parameters and it depends on your gear how far you can go with that.

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2.15  WHAT IS WSS, WAVE SAMPLE SYNTHESIS, WAVE TABLE?

A synthesizer is an electronic musical instrument capable of generating, modifying and combining a wide range of sounds using digital instructions.  The two most used methods in synthesizers for generating sound are Frequency Modulation (FM) Synthesis and Wave Sample Synthesis (WSS).  The latter goes under a number of other names, but you will usually see the words "wave" or "table" as part of it.

FM synthesis MIMICS musical instruments by mathematical manipulation of simple sine waves.  By todays standards the sounds coming from FM synthesis are considered "inferior", because they tend to be far less realistic.

Rather than manipulate sine waves, Wave Sample Synthesis uses high-quality, digitally recorded samples of real instruments as a basis for creating instrument sounds.  The result is an overall sound which is much richer and much more realistic than that of FM synthesis.

The total set of Wave Samples on a soundcard, or in an external module, is called the Wave Table.

VST plug-ins are software modules that can take the form of real-time instruments or effects that can be applied to an audio stream.

Click for more information on FM Synthesis
Click for more information on Wavetable Synthesis
Click for more information on Soundfont Synthesis
Click for more information on VST (Virtual Studio Technology)

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2.16  WHAT IS A SOUNDFONT / SOFT-SYNTH?

The definition:  A Soundfont is data (in a standard format) which contain the detailed information necessary to create musical notes (or sound effects) using Wave Sample Synthesis.

A piece of software which uses a Soundfont to produce sound (thru your soundcard) is generally referred to as a soft-synth or software synthesizer.  Some software synthesizers have only a single Soundfont embedded in the software while others are capable of using many different Soundfonts loaded from your computer's hard drive.

Such a Soundfont contains both the digital audio samples, which have been captured from a sound source, and the instructions to the wave sample synthesizer on how to articulate this sound.

The term Soundfont is used because it is very much like a typefont.  It is designed to contain information in such a way that a variety of wave sample synthesizers can reproduce the sound with an accuracy dependent only on the hardware's capability.

A piano sound, for example, is just like a letter "p" in a type font.  The different sounds produced by different keys and velocities of the "piano" in the Soundfont are analogous to different displays of the letter "p" in the type font.  The shape of the letter "p" is defined, but you may display/print it smaller or larger, normal or bold, upright or slanted.

A Soundfont file or Soundfont bank (typically ending with the suffix ".sf2" or ".sbk") is a collection of sound samples in the Soundfont standard format.

Here's where the SoundBlaster cards of Creative Labs come in.  I'm not sure if other soundcards can be used with Soundfonts today, but the Creative AWE cards were the first and are, as far as I know, still the only soundcards that allow you to use Soundfonts.

Soundfont files are designed to replace the standard "hardware" Wave Table on the AWE card by loading the Soundfont file into the RAM of the AWE soundcard.  The sounds contained in the Soundfont file can be assigned to any instrument in the set of instruments.

Soundfonts can be created and edited by anyone with the right software.  Creative's AWE cards typically come with the "Vienna" software package which is designed for this purpose.  This means that there are many Soundfonts available on the internet for free download.

Some sources for Soundfonts are:

Hammer Sound - Some treasures, *LOTS* of junk.
Personal Copy - No junk here.

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2.17  HOW DO I LOAD AND USE A SOUNDFONT?

Information on Soundfonts contributed by Tal Rhen.  (see 0.3 Credits)

This answer concerns the Creative Labs soundcards (see 2.15 What is WSS, Wave Sample Synthesis); i.e., the Soundblaster AWE 32/64 and the (new) Soundblaster Live!, which can use up to half of your system's RAM.  Instructions are intended for the use of Windows 95/98.

INTRODUCTION

Before you start downloading Soundfonts from the Internet, you should check how much RAM is available on your soundcard.  I ("Tal") am not very familiar with the (older) AWE32 software, therefore all software references will be concerning the software which is included with the SB AWE64 and the SB Live! cards.

The better the quality of all of the individual samples in the Soundfont, the better and more realistic your MIDI will sound.  A better quality of samples generally means larger samples.  Conversely, larger samples generally represent better quality.

Because of this there's no point in looking for full Soundfont files if you have limited RAM on the soundcard (like the default 512Kb on the AWE64 Value).  The Wave Table of the card itself is 1Mb and a full Soundfont file of only half that size can hardly sound better.

To check how much RAM is on your soundcard, go to: "Start/Programs/Soundblaster AWE64" and open the AWE Control Program.  Click on the "Synth tab" at the top of the window and a bar should appear near the bottom of the window showing how much RAM you have and how much is free (free RAM is in green).

LOADING A SOUNDFONT (SB AWE)

The Soundfont file you want to load can have all 128 instruments of the GM specification included (which would mean that it is meant to replace the Wave Table of the card) or it can have more or just a few of them.  We'll start with the first option.

To load the Soundfonts you must open the AWE Control Program and go to the "Synth tab".

Once there, select "User Synth" from the "Available Synth" box.  This will tell the soundcard to use whatever Soundfont you decide to load.  (Until you select one, it will use the default Wave Table.) Click on "Browse" and select the *.sf2/*.sbk file you want.  Click "OK" and then click "Apply" on the "Synth tab".  The Soundfont will be loaded into the soundcard's RAM.

Once the Soundfont is loaded, you must make sure that "Creative MIDI Instrument Mapper" is the selected MIDI output device.

Go to: "Start/Settings/Control Panel/Multimedia Properties/MIDI" and select it from the list under "Single Instrument".  This will make your MIDIs being played using the Soundfonts instead of the standard Wave Table.

Soundfont files can contain less instruments than the 128 needed to replace the complete Wave Table.  There can be just one instrument or several, but there can also be more than the 128.

If it contains more, then you load the file in the same way as described above.  The extra instruments included won't take effect unless specific MIDI events in the MIDI file take advantage of that particular Soundfont.

Soundfonts with less than the 128 instruments (or completely different instruments like weird electronic samples) must be loaded differently.  These Soundfonts can only be used by MIDI files designed to use that specific Soundfont.

If you wish to use them in conjunction with the standard Wave Table you need to load them into a different bank (number).  Normally MIDI files will use the Soundfonts in bank "00"; i.e., the standard Wave Table or your "standard" replacement.  Soundfonts in other banks can be accessed from within the MIDI file using special controllers.

To load a non-standard Soundfont into a Soundfont-bank in RAM, open the AWE Control Program and go to the "User tab".

Select the bank you wish to use (in the Current State box).  Browse to the Soundfont file you want and select it.  Click "OK", "Apply" and you're done.

LOADING A SOUNDFONT (SB LIVE!)

The Soundblaster Live! card can use up to half of your system's RAM for a Soundfont as long as you have at least 64MB of RAM in your computer.

To load a Soundfont (a 128 Instruments GM replacement), you first need to allocate a certain amount of RAM to be used for holding the Soundfonts.  You can set aside any amount from a couple Kilobytes to half of the system's RAM you have aboard.  To do this, go to the Start menu, and go to Programs - Creative - AudioHQ.  A window should pop up.  Double click on the Soundfont Icon.  In the window that loads up, you will see a box that lists all the loaded Soundfonts.  There should only be one in there, select it, and click "Clear".  The bar at the bottom will show "0 bytes Allocated".

Go to the Options tab at the top.  Select "Static Caching" from the top box, and then take the slider and select the amount of RAM you need for the Soundfont you want to load.  If you have a 12MB Soundfont, you would need to move the slider until it said "12.00 MB" or a little higher (to be safe).

Once that is done, go back to the "Configure Bank" tab, and click "Load", browse to the dir with the Soundfont you want to load, select it, and click "Select".  It will then load the Soundfont into RAM.

To load a non-standard Soundfont, you must select a different bank from the "Select Bank" box in the "Configure Bank" tab and go through the same process, making sure to allocate enough extra RAM for the additional Soundfont.

Additional information on Soundfonts may be found at Soundfonts (Wikipedia).

USING THE SOUNDFONT

To access the Soundfont from within the sequencer (when writing/editing your own MIDI file) you'll have to change the current bank to whatever bank you loaded the Soundfont into (use CC00 for this).  If you have enough RAM, you could even load 2 or more complete GM Soundfonts, each with 128 instruments, and use both in the same MIDI file at the same time.  But again, only one of them can be put in bank "00" as the (new) default Soundfont.  So you would need to edit the MIDI file to allow it to access the second Soundfont in bank "01" (or the third in bank "02".. etc.)

You can even use a Wave file to replace an instrument.  Open the AWE Control Program and go to the WaveFx tab.  Then, under instrument, select the number of the instrument you wish to replace.  (000 is Grand Piano, 030 is Distortion Guitar, etc ...) Click on "Browse" and select the Wave file you want to use instead of the normal sound for that instrument.  (The file must be in the standard *.wav format).

Suppose you've chosen the instrument "000" (Grand Piano).  Now, whenever a MIDI file sends commands (note events) to play the Grand Piano, the soundcard will use the Wave file you have assigned instead of the standard sample.  You can test this by going to the "Playback" tab.  Click "Apply" first to make sure the Wave file is loaded into RAM and select the instrument you changed in the "Instrument" box.  Then click on the keys of the piano and it should playback the Wave file at different pitches.

To make use of some really stunning Soundfonts you will need to allocate something like 32 Mb of RAM (or more) to the soundfont.

The supply of Soundfonts changes all the time, so if you're looking for some good Soundfonts, place a request in the newsgroup.  If there is a sondfont somewhere that doesn't contain some serious compromises in the case of some instruments, I don't know what it might be.  The search for the "best" soundfont is likely to be frustrating and endless.

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2.18  IS THERE SOFTWARE THAT WILL WRITE ORIGINAL MUSIC FOR ME?

Yes!  There is software which will write music for you in a variety of different styles.  Depending on what software you choose, and how you use it, the result can sound like bad elevator music (very sterile) or it can be quite exciting.  You will need to invest some effort in learning the program and working with its possibilities to obtain the more exciting results, but in general you do not need formal music training to achieve fairly good results.  The greatest control generally comes if you understand chords and can enter your own chord progressions for the software to use as a starting point, but most will also synthesize chord progressions for you.

Take a look at the following sites, some of which offer limited demo versions for you to try before buying.  Each of these programs has its own "personality" and added options, so speaking to owners of these programs and trying before buying is a very good idea.

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2.19  Where Can I find MIDI Sequencing Software?

There is a fairly wide variety of commercial sequencing software available.  This software varies widely in its features, price, and ease of use.  Which software you choose will depend on your budget and what you want to do.  Some only sequences MIDI files, others fully integrate digital audio (with full ability to create and edit effects), and multimedia events into your musical productions.

To obtain the best results with the most highly featured software will take a good deal of practice and a good deal of inherent talent.  This software provides tools for you to use; it doesn't automatically inject you with a heavy dose of talent and creative genius.

Take a look at the following sites, some of which offer demo versions for you to try before buying.  Each of these programs has its own "personality," features, and "quirks" so trying before buying is a good idea.  It's also a good idea to ask around for opinions, pros and cons, before investing in such software.

If you're looking for freeware or shareware sequencing programs, try looking at the following sites:

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2.20  What about Copyrights?

Let's limit this to copyright notices on files you sequence or modify rather than a general copyright discussion.

It is legal to apply your own copyright notice if the song is your own completely original creation.  You may not apply your own copyright if it's a rearrangement of a song originally written by someone else unless you have paid the required licensing fee, and then your copyright must be applied to your arrangement or interpretation, not to the original words and music.  One more time - if you didn't pay the required fee for the rights to make an interpretation of a copyrighted work, no matter how much effort and creativity you put into sequencing or playing a rearrangement or interpretation of someone else's work, you have no copyright rights and should not apply a copyright notice.  If you want credit for your effort, say something like "Sequenced by" or "Rearranged and sequenced by" and also give proper credit to the original artist.

But, but... Forget it, there are no "buts."  MIDI files are copyrightable works and wordplay involving calling them "performances" or "expressions" or "interpretations" or something else in an attempt to avoid observing copyright law is a waste of time.  If you don't legally own the rights you shouldn't apply a copyright.  It has nothing to do with whether or not you make a profit or anything else.  You either obtained rights from the copyright holder or you have no rights.

Removal of copyright notices from MIDI files is a common, but questionable, practice.  On occasion a valid copyright is removed, but in most cases the copyrights removed should not have been applied in the first place.  If you really must fiddle with copyright notices, please familiarize yourself with the few who really do pay the required fees and whose copyrights should definitely be left alone.  Works with legal copyrights are almost always of very high quality, and the copyright notice is usually rather detailed.  A visit to any websites mentioned in such files will usually help to confirm the legality of the copyright.

If you want credit for or comments about your work, place your own credit or contact information in the MIDI file itself.  Do NOT expect people downloading your files to edit them to add that information just because it was available in the article to which the file was attached, or somewhere on your web site.  Use a Latin alphabet if you want more people to be able to read your information.  Notices in Oriental or other predominantly non-Latin or non-ASCII character sets are generally unreadable to the majority of people downloading the files.

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2.21  Tips for Better Sounding MIDI files

STANDARD GM CONTROLLERS
Controller Number(s) Controller Description
0, 32 Bank Select (MSB, LSB)
1 Modulation Depth
6, 38 Data Entry (MSB, LSB)
7 Main (Channel) Volume
10 Pan
11 Expression
64 Sustain
91 Reverb Depth
93 Chorus Depth
98, 99 NRPN (LSB, MSB)
100, 101 RPN (LSB, MSB) (See below)
120 All Sounds Off
121 Reset All Controllers
123 All Notes Off
REGISTERED PARAMETERS
Number Description
0 Pitch Bend Sensitivity
1 Fine Tuning
2 Coarse Tuning
Do NOT place tuning changes in files for general distribution!
Such changes usually can't be reset using a simple GM Reset.

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2.22  Solving Keyboard Hookup Problems

You must connect the soundcard plug which is labeled MIDI IN to the MIDI OUT of your keyboard, and the one marked MIDI OUT to the keyboard's MIDI IN.  Still doesn't work?  Read the soundcard and/or MIDI kit manual about installing the proper software driver for MIDI out to an external device vs MIDI rendering by the soundcard itself.  Don't forget to install the proper MIDI IN driver if you want to record your keyboard keystrokes to a MIDI file.  Details of software installation and configuration on different systems with different software are beyond the scope of this FAQ.

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2.XX  FOR FUTURE ADDITIONS

Suggestions are welcome.  Write-ups included with suggestions are even more welcome.

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3.0  TERMS, CONCEPTS & ABBREVIATIONS

3.01  INSTRUMENTS, VOICES, POLYPHONY AND MULTI-TIMBRALITY

In MIDI we speak of INSTRUMENTS (or SOUNDS or PATCHES) and VOICES.  These words are often used as if they are interchangeable, but they're not.

INSTRUMENTS (or SOUNDS or PATCHES) are the sounds you hear, like the piano, the guitar and the trumpet.  Even strings, orchestra-hit and applause are called INSTRUMENTS.  If you feel that INSTRUMENTS isn't quite the right word to denote these sounds, because they're not all real instruments, then you could use the word SOUNDS or PATCHES.

Most synthesizer-units today are capable of producing at least 16 different types of INSTRUMENTS at once, where the drums are seen as one INSTRUMENT.  A unit that can simultaneously produce many INSTRUMENTS is called MULTI-TIMBRAL.  (A timbre being the characteristic quality of sound produced by a particular instrument or voice.)

VOICES are related to the wave samples (in your synthesizer) that represent the INSTRUMENTS.  And that is where you see the difference between VOICES and INSTRUMENTS.  Every note played is at least one VOICE.  When you hit two keys on "the piano", it's still only one INSTRUMENT, but you'll hear two tones and that means, at least, two VOICES.

I say "at least", because some synthesizers use 2 (or more) VOICES per note depending on the INSTRUMENT.  If 2 VOICES per note is the case with the above mentioned piano then the two notes mean that 4 VOICES are used.

The reason for the two (or more) VOICES per INSTRUMENT (note) is simple.  To generate good sounds, one wave sample could be inadequate.  When you listen to a real instrument like a violin for instance, you won'tice that the difference between the low tones and the high tones isn't only in the pitch.  The color, the character, is also different.  Something similar happens when you play the piano (which you should recall has more than one string per note), hitting the keys hard or soft.  The difference isn't just in the volume.  You can easily test this with a your own synthesizer, though not all synthesizers will produce this level of realism.

POLYPHONY is about how many VOICES a unit can (re)produce at any given moment.  32 VOICE polyphony means that up to 32 VOICES can be used simultaneously.  If you use only single-voice INSTRUMENTS, you'll be able to play 32 notes at once, but if some of the INSTRUMENTS use 2 VOICES, this number will drop to any number from 16 to 32, and if many use more than 2 VOICES, it could drop below 16.

Also keep in mind that even if a MIDI Note Off message is received, VOICES will be used for as long as the sound is held even if it isn't heard.  This often happens when you make use of the "Hold" controller (CC# 64); i.e., the sustain-pedal of the piano.

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3.XX  FOR FUTURE ADDITIONS

Suggestions are welcome.  Write-ups included with suggestions are even more welcome.

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-- THE END --