This website contains MIDI practice files for the current semester, as described below. In addition, scroll down the navigation bar on the left see links to Polyhymnia’s bylaws and policies, minutes of members' and board meetings, and other information of interest to our members.
Options for reading the practice files
On Windows computers:
1. Download the midi file (.mid), and double-click to play. Very simple, but doesn't allow you to emphasize your part (though you can change tempo.)
Method 2: This is good if you want to emphasize your part.
Download the free reader from VanBasco from http://www.vanbasco.com/ and use it to open the Midi files (.mid)
The "Output" button opens a screen that lets you pick which part(s) to play. They aren't labeled, so just count down from the top (sops at 1, basses often at 4, there may be extra parts if some voices split). Click on the second button from the left on each line to emphasize that part (but keep other parts in the background). Click on the leftmost button to turn off a part completely..
The "control" option opens a window with tempo change and other options. You can even change key!
Method 3: This is good if you want to play just your part and/or see the music on screen.
Download the free reader from http://www.mozart.co.uk/ (green button) and use it to open the Mozart (.mz) files. You will be able to pick out your own part, play all parts together, or play all parts except yours, as well as change tempo.
The round button with a red 1/8 note at top left is like a "file" button.
To play just one part, click on "any" and then "select strands" Pick which strand(s) you want: they are usually labeled Then click the black "play" button to bring up the playback toolbar (it's a mystery why it isn't there by default). Finally, click on the "broken" right-pointing triangle to play just the chosen parts.
Note: In some versions of Windows the playback toolbar remains hidden. To get it back go to "help" at top right, where there's a tool to retrieve it.
On Macs:
Simplest:
Download the Midi file and double-click to play. Very simple, but doesn't allow you to emphasize your part (though you can change tempo.)
Much better:
Download Midi and MusicXML Player from the App Store ($1.99). Right-click on a Midi file and use "open with" to open with the player. It's audio only. You can turn off all but your part, play all parts but yours, or (with a trick described below) emphasize your part. You can change tempo globally. You can set a start mark and loop back to it to practice a passage repeatedly. You can change the instrument part by part, though I haven't found that useful. You can also change key.
Trick to emphasize your part: There are no separate volume controls for individual parts. However, you can set your part to one speaker (say right) and the other parts to the other speaker. Then, if your speakers have a balance control, you can increase the volume on the relevant speaker. If you don't have a balance control knob, you can use the Mac's sound control to set the balance. Go to System Preferences, Sound, and choose the Output tab. You will see a balance slider.
Most capable but most complicated:
Download Garageband from the app store ($4.99) and use it to open the Midi (.mid) files on this page, You will be able to pick out your own part, play all parts together, play all parts except yours, change instrumentation, and change tempo, edit the notes and save your changes. I
Some tips:
--The default display is like a piano roll. To see notes, click on "view/show editor" and then click on "score" in the bar halfway down the screen.
--The order of parts is the same as on the printed score, though they aren't named.
--Click on the green piano roll display for your part and that part will appear in the "score" window at the bottom. You can see multiple parts with shift-click.
--Click on the instrument to the left of your part to change it. (eg use a trumpet to emphasize). This doesn't often work: I've not figured out why.
--The sliders to the left control volume part by part.
--To change tempo, find "bpm" (barely visible in the panel of numbers in the top center of the display, just to the left of the key signature). Click and hold on the number, and slide your mouse up or down to change the number. Who still says that Macs are intuitive?
On Linux, it's a bit more complicated. Musescore works with Ubuntu so long as you don't have any other program wanting to use the audio output. Rosegarden will import midi files and let you manipulate them. However, audio settings on Linux for midi files are complex and machine-dependent. I use Linux for most things, but for Midi files I go back to Microsoft. Let me know if you figure out a good Linux solution.
On Android phones:
Download Walkband from the Google Play store. You won't need the in-app purchases. It's fairly good for playback of a single part and gives you speed control. Music shows as piano roll.
To get the midi files on your phone, you can either use Dropbox or download them directly. For direct download, open the rehearsal file website in your phone's browser. Probably the easiest way is to click on the (very long) URL from an email message. Then download the file you need by clicking on it. It will land up in your Downloads folder.
To get full control of playing the file, you need to use the Multitrack Synth component. Click on it, and the display will go to landscape mode. Click on "create from recordings".
and choose "Midi in file system". Find your Downloads folder, and click on that. Finally you will see your downloaded file.
When you click on it, you will be asked for a new name because you are making a new file. Then you can play as usual. The icons to the left let you mute tracks on the fly, so you can pick out your own. There's a "song speed" icon at the top.
Next time you open Walkband and go to Multi-Track Synth, you will see your newly created files (you don't have to go back to Downloads).
Walkband playback is a bit jerky. There's a "low-latency" switch in Settings, which ought to help, but I didn't notice any difference. Playback is definitely better if you play only one track. I don't think you can start anywhere but the beginning (if you find a way, let me know)
On Iphone/Ipad (from Len Burman)
Use SweetMidi, $15 in the app store.
Instructions are here
The site is now owned by Polyhymniasings, the Polyhymnia Google account. Members of the Board, John Hewes, and Bob Dennis have rights to modify it.
To add files, log into the Polyhymnia Gmail account (same people have rights) and go to Drive. Find the appropriate folder, and drag and drop your file into the folder. For example, the rehearsal files for 19 1 (the first semester of 2019) are in Practice Files, in a subfolder named Practice Files 19 1. That subfolder is linked to the corresponding page on the site, so there's nothing more to do. (I am currently--Feb 2019-- slowly reorganizing the folders so that they better match the organization on the site, and transferring ownership of the files to Polyhymniasings.--Bob D)
To create a new page (eg for a new semester of practice files)-- assuming you have rights-- it's best to begin by creating the appropriate folder on the Drive and putting something in it. Then go to this site, and click on the pencil icon in the bottom right. (If you don't have rights you won't see it.) Click on Pages in the right-hand pane, "+" at the bottom, and pick "New page". Place the new page where you want it, then click on "Insert" to add text and a link to the Drive folder. I generally put a few lines of text in a box at the top, and then click below the text box and click on "From Drive" to add the link to the Drive folder. It will create a box with the links to the files in it. (You can drag the edges to resize.) While you are editing, the box won't scroll, but don't worry. Click on "Publish" to save your work, then click on "view" at the bottom of the screen to see your handiwork.
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