Learning Music Using Midi Files
For the person who doesn't read music this section is on using midi files to learn your part. It includes explanations about what .midi are and what software you can use to see and hear your part. Midi is simply the last part of a music file name. [Oh Canada.midi] When a computer runs a midi file it will look for a program to play the music written in the file. The result is sound only or, with different programs, both sound and a page of music showing on your screen looking like your music score.
PLAYING MIDI FILES
Midi files are salvation for those who don't read music or who "sort of" read music. They are often available on the Internet for downloading. You can simply listen to them or, if you have basic computer skills, you can load them into midi software that will show you a page of music, play it, and let you perform simple tasks to make your music learnable.
Where separate files are provided for S, A, T and B, you can play the individual parts using whatever audio player is installed on your computer (Windows Media Player, Real Player, QuickTime, Winamp,....):
- either by going to the Web page specified every time you need it and left-clicking on the appropriate link,
- or by right-clicking on the link once to save it in your computer, and then opening it either from the Player program or from your file listings. (Note that this is no longer possible from Cyberbass.)
The standard players listed above only provide volume and balance control. It's also sometimes very handy to be able to change the speed or amplify your own part relative to the others. For works where all the voices are included on a single midi file, this is essential, since, if they're each on a separate track, you can then emphasize or isolate your part. Various programs will allow this; one that's available free and is simple to install and operate is vanBasco's Karaoke Player. If you're not familiar with downloading programs, get your neighbourhood computer guru to help. It's worth the trouble!
Other free programs recommended by choir members for computer rookies are Finale Notepad, MuseScore, and Anvil Studio. These provide additional features, such as allowing you to write or edit midi files, produce a score, or convert files to wav or mp3 form. Advice on using Notepad and Musescore is given on the previous page. There are more detailed notes "Using midi files and midi players2015.pdf" on how to save midi files, and how to install and use these programs ( at the bottom of this page).
Further advice on playing midi files and on the various player programs can be found on the Learning Choral Music site.
ANDROID DEVICES may play the sound of your midi file without downloading any extra software. If you want to both hear and see the music [like Musescore] I have found Madhav Vaidyanathan's "Midi Sheet Music" program to do an astonishing job even on my basic phone. See the link above or download from Google Store. I presume if you also download the midi file with your Android device, the file will end up in your download folder. Midi Sheet Music looks for files there. [I haven't done this myself. If it doesn't work let me know]
CD Players: Midi files (xxxxx.mid) are just a digital form of sheet music (and so much less bulky than audio files such as .mp3), and require a computer program to turn them into musical sounds. Therefore they cannot be played directly on CD players, which require .cda (Compact Disc Audio) format. But, with a suitable program, midi files can be converted to .wav (audio Wave) form, which (like .mp3 files) can then be played using your regular audio player.
The simplest conversion procedure is probably to use Apple's iTunes program (comes with iPods but is also available as a separate free download), which can convert midi files to other formats and will burn a CD directly from a midi file. Less directly, there's a shareware program called Wingroove, costing US$20, which will convert midi to .wav files and which is fairly easy to use.You can also download the free Musescore and do File, Export to save in a variety of formats