Last Updated on Tue, 02-Sep-2008 13:57

MIDI FACTS AND THINGS
 
All About Midi Midi Manufacturers Association
Midi - How Does It Work

Simple explanation and tutorial on how it works
Midifiles on the net

Hittrax (Professional Midifiles - Pay Site)
Midi King (Professional Midifiles - Pay Site)
Tune 1000 (Professional Midifiles With lyrics- Pay Site)
Technote Midifiles Pay Site
Style Disk Warehouse Pay Site
Searching For Midililes On The Net Free Midifiles
Midi Specifications Midi Manufacturers Association
General Midi Midi Manufacturers Association
Keyboard & Digital Piano Software Technote - Technics Software Pay Site

Yamaha Pay Sites
Technote - Yamaha Software Pay Site

 

Frequently Asked Questions
I have been told that MIDI Files will only sound as good as my computer sound card, and that Variances in quality can be dramatic. What do I need to improve the quality of the sound.

There are a number of solutions to this problem. You can buy a dedicated General Midi (GM) Sound Module, use a GM compatible keyboard, or you can update the soundcard in your computer. Most computers come equipped with a low cost sound card that is designed to do a hundred things in your computer, and as a result, the sound quality is usually less than spectacular. You can try finding a Free GM Soft Synth on the net, or you can purchase a program such as Cakewalk Home Studio, which is an inexpensive basic sequencing and recording program, which comes complete with an excellent Soft Synth onboard.

An inexpensive keyboard, such as the Yamaha PSR E313 not only has a great sound engine, but it has the Yamaha XG sound set (expanded GM), and can be used as a controller.

Can I record my midifiles straight onto a CD

Basically, not easily.
Midifiles are NOT sound files, they are instructions telling your sound source what to do. (See Midi - How Does It Work). These files need to be converted into wave files, and THEN can be burnt to a CD. Again, the better the quality of your audio card, the better the quality of the recorded sound. Contact our Hi Tech staff for advice on what you need to do to upgrade your computer's audio card.

A sequencing program such as Cubase, Logic (Mac only) or Cakewalk is an excellent way of not only recordng your midi files to audio, but depending on the version of the program, you are able to enhance the resultant WAV file to get maximum results. Again, contact our Hi Tech staff for advice.

Band In A Box is another program that has the ability to create MIDI backings easily and the resultant files can be burnt to CD - and it is inexpensive.

Check out Apple's iTunes. Its has the ability to make CDs from MIDI files. Just create a new playlist and add some MIDI files to it. Click "Burn Disc" and iTunes will converts the selections and makes the music CD. It uses the QuickTime MIDI synthesizer. Best of all - it's free.

You can also use iTunes to convert WAV files to MP3, and vice versa.

Available Software can be found here