IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR SOFTWARE FOR ANDROID DEVICES see the next page "Midi Files Help"
If you simply want to "hear" your music play back, ignore this page. Most computers and devices have software installed that will automatically play a midi file. If you want to "see and hear" your music and work with it, then read on.
ADVICE FOR CHOOSING BETWEEN FINALE NOTEPAD & MUSESCORE SOFTWARE [for computer users. Android users look at the page "Mid Files Help]
Which midi player to use – Finale Notepad or Musescore?
Why use Finale Notepad?
http://www.finalemusic.com/notepad/default.aspx
1. You just want to hear your music as you see it on the screen.
2. You don’t want to manipulate it much
3. You have basic computer skills
Finale Notepad is free to download and use. You do have to register and give them an e-mail address. They have versions for both Windows and MacIntosh. It will open midi files [.mid]. You can leave the file as a midi file or save it in Finale Notepad’s own format.
Once you have downloaded and installed Finale here are the steps to using it.
To use:
1. Download a .midi file that has your own part
2. When you save the .midi file make a note of where it got saved
3. Open Finale Notepad. Go to the File menu. Choose Open. Find your file and run it.
4. After the first opening, it should be listed under Recently used files. Remember to then Save your file as a Finale file. Otherwise no changes will be saved. Save again after every change.
5. For basic use, go to the menu bar at the top and choose Window. You can turn off all the controls you won’t use and simply see
the music. There is also a choice so you can turn off all the other voices and hear your part as a solo.
Why use Musescore?
1. You want to make changes to the music including changing tempo, listening only to your own part, changing how loudly each part sings, or changing the instrument that plays each part.
2. You are comfortable with using a computer.
3. This section used to include what Musescore did not do well. The software is now up to version 4.xx and most of those problems are gone. It now includes a metronome and you can turn on a view of a piano keyboard to see where on the keyboard your part is playing, you can even make your part a different colour. For what we do the only real competition for Musescore now, in my opinion, is commercial software that requires spending substantial money. I would also encourage using version 3.6. rather than a later version. Keep life simple.
4. You can click on individual notes and hear them to follow your part. Finale will do this also but in a more awkward manner. I also find it easier to see the music play on the screen. You can watch it a page at a time or as a continuous view.
5. You can import / export to a lot of other formats including sound files which can be played on your portable device of choice.
6. You can save your changes, unlike with Finale Notepad which has limited capabilities.
7. If there are lyrics included with the midi file you are loading then Musescore shows them but Finale doesn't.
8. Musescore has versions for Windows, Mac, and Linux. There is also a version that runs from a USB thumb drive. If your devices use Android see my notes about the Midisheetmusic app from Google Play.
OR try both. See which you prefer. They are both free. There are full instructions below. See the link to file at the bottom of the page entitled "Using MIDI files and MIDI players2015"
Using Musescore
1. Download a .midi file that has your own part
2. When you save the .midi file make a note of where it got saved
3. Open Musescore. Go to the File menu. Choose Open. Find your file and run it.
4. The first thing you will see is a daunting menu with a kazillion choices. Ignore most of that for now.
5. Your music will appear. Save it as a Musescore file and again whenever you make changes.
There are detailed instructions for usage if you click on this link.