MIDI HELP
Hopefully this page should have everything you need to get you jamming with your own virtual band!
First things first, if you have any version of Windows later than 3.11 and you have a sound card then you should be able to play MIDI files. It's just the quality of the sound you have to worry about now. I don't know about other operating systems as I don't use them, but I'm sure you can find some info somewhere on the net.
Let's see if you are already set up to go. If you click on the samples below you should hear a little bit of music. If you heard the music your half way there! Did it sound pretty close to CD quality or like a really poorly recorded tape?
Here is an example of what a MIDI files should sound like.test1.wav
(689K)
Here is the same tune in MIDI format. test1.mid(365
bytes)
If it sounded close to CD quality then you should be right to go! ( but keep reading if you want to know how to get the MIDI files up to a decent volume to jam with.)
If it sounded like a poorly recorded tape then you should get either a wavetable soundcard or what's called a "softsynth" which is a software synthesizer or wavetable synthesizer. It uses your existing soundcard but also uses your processor to make up the sounds and the result is a more natural sound. These softsynths are emulators and can be pretty processor intensive, you can use them on a 486 but for the best results you really need a Pentium (at least a Pentium 100). I use a program called WINGROOVE. It works great!!!
If you do not hear any thing when you click on the MIDI test (above) then you will have to grab a MIDI player. These come in all shapes and sizes so the choice is ultimately up to you. Just make sure you get the correct one for your operating system and make sure it will do everything you want it to.
Click here to go to the shareware
music machine. This place has almost every music program ever made!
Just
click here if you need a Softsynth or click
here if you need a MIDI player
Now on to the fun stuff....VOLUME!!!!
If you have a look at the back of your soundcard you will see a speaker and/or a line out socket. If you have a line out socket use it!!! The sound quality will be much better. What you need now is a cable with the same type of plug. It is usually a 3.5mm (1/8") stereo plug (like a headphone plug). On the other end of this cable you will need RCA plugs, like you have in the back of your stereo.
Now you will need an amplifier, it doesn't need to be a huge power house (but it would be nice!) and a pair of speakers (a sub woofer is also a definite plus if you can afford it).
I have my computer hooked up to a power amp, two 15" subwoofers and
a good pair of two way speakers.
It shakes the room ;-)
Just plug the cable into the back of your sound card and plug the other end into the amplifier, crank the volume and enjoy!
I have been asked this question a billion times, well not quite, but it seems like it sometimes ;-).
The first thing we have to do is change those MIDI files to a format that can be used with the CD burning software you have. There are quite a few programs that can do this for you, but as yet I have not found a free one. The format you need is .Wav.
The best and simplest program I have found is Wingroove. It is Shareware ($20.00 last time I looked), but it is well worth it. This will convert MIDI files to .Wav with great results. All you have to do is open Wingroove, click on the "file" button, select the file you want to convert, then go to "file" in the menu at the top of the Wingroove window and select "Create WaveFile". The sample rate you want is 44.1kHz (CD Quality). You will also want to select "Stereo", "16 Bits" and possibly "Compressor". Then just press start and it will do the rest.
Then just use your burning software to burn the .Wav files on to a CD and your done (all CD recording software is different so please look at the help files for your software if you get stuck). If I find any other programs that I feel are good value for money or do as good a job as Wingroove I will add them to this page. You can have a look for more converting software at The Shareware Music Machine
If you have any questions or I missed something please feel free to E-mail me