Posting tunes with MIDItext

Subject: Posting tunes with MIDITXT
From: Joe Offer
Date: 13 Jul 99 - 04:10 PM

For quite some time now, we've had a nifty program that's designed specifically for posting tunes at the Mudcat Cafe. It's called MIDITXT, a program Alan Foster designed that converts MIDI tunes to test that we can post in the Mudcat Forum - it's those little red numbers you see in the threads at times. It's quite easy to use, and it's the best way to share tunes with your fellow Mudcatters.
Alan has been having some trouble with his Website, so we've created a new place for downloading the MIDITXT program. Just Click Here and follow the instructions.
It would great to get tunes for all of the database songs that don't have them. Can you help?
-Joe Offer-

I'll post a permanent link on our links page, and maybe bbc will add one to her Mudcat Resources page.

---

Note:

While MIDItest is still available for download, there is little need for it now and we haven't taken the time to update the program. If you use it, be sure to turn OFF automatic linebreaks when you post MIDItext tunes. I think it is much better to have tunes posted to the Mudcat Midi Page. E-Mail tunes to me or to MMario.
Thanks. 21 November 2002
-Joe Offer (click to e-mail)-

Subject: RE: Posting tunes with MIDITXT
From: Lesley N.
Date: 13 Jul 99 - 06:19 PM

Joe - this brings up a few questions!! Sometimes the ABCs and mids I convert don't turn out very well. Before converting I get rid of everything but the melody line and keep only one repetition - figuring simple is best. But maybe I need clean stuff up more.

I've been playing with abc and I've been using the abc stuff I've converted with midi text (using abcmus). They don't always work - sometimes not at all and sometimes there are error messages (which sometimes blow up the program and sometimes not) - and there are extra notes in the playback.

We've had several threads on abc and I went back to see if there was any thing that would help. I didn't see anything. I know you're very nice to clean things up here and there - but I'd rather you didn't have to! Any suggestions as to what I should do?

Subject: RE: Posting tunes with MIDITXT
From: Joe Offer
Date: 13 Jul 99 - 08:59 PM

Ah, Lesley, I thought YOU were the MIDI expert! Basically, you got it right - make sure there's only a melody line in the MIDI. For some reason, MIDI files created with Noteworthy composer don't make clean ABC files all the time when you run them through midi2txt, but the result is usually playable, and the MIDI ususally turns out fine when you run the text back through txt2mid.
these may be DOS programs, but you can set them up with Windows 95 so you hardly see the DOS. I have a Notepad file named songtext.txt, and I have an icon for that file on my desktop. Whenever I find a tune I want to save, I highlight and copy the red MIDITXT stuff in the forum, and paste it into that songtext.txt file (deleting whatever was in the file before that. Then I save the songtext.txt file, and drag its icon over the txt2mid icon, and I automatically have a MIDI file. It took some tweaking to set it up, though.
I'm still trying to drum up business, trying to get people to pay my way to their exotic homes so I can set up these Mudcat doodads for them. So far, no takers, although I think I may end up setting things up for Sandy and Caroline this fall. Some of this stuff, you just can't talk people through. It's not all that hard, but it does take some basic knowledge.
ABCMUS is a nice program, but it doesn't always like ABC tunes produced with MIDITXT. It will often return an error message, but still play the tune.
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Posting tunes with MIDITXT
From: Lesley N.
Date: 13 Jul 99 - 10:47 PM

Well, I AM an expert at midi - that is at the very specific midi thing I do create midis - it's called midi for idiots.. I SCAN music in and edit the millions of mistakes the scanning software makes by moving individual notes to where they are supposed to be according to sheet music. The trick is to purchase books that are out of copyright (I have lots of songbooks circa 1900) so that you aren't violating such things - at least as much as possible!

I've tried sequencing but I've never been happy with my personal forays into sequencing accompaniments (although they tend to sound more traditional because I can't add all that fancy stuff like Cecil Sharp does). Guess it would help if I were a musician!!

Now where was I? I hate to admit that I've never checked any of the midis or abcs I've converted... I just figured if it worked they were o.k... I only started messing the abcs because I've been thinking about posting abcs of tunes (at least the ones I've done) at my site in addition to the midis. I thought I'd experiment and see how well they turn out and see how much server space they take before investing a lot of time.

I find midi much easier but musicians seem to prefer abc to midi. The thought of converting all the midis is somewhat overwhelming - but if I found a good tool that worked well I might not mind. (Though I'm beginning to think I've lost that.) Is there a good tool to convert midi to abc?

But I'm also beginning to think that there are enough abc sites perhaps I should just refer people to them!

Subject: RE: Posting tunes with MIDITXT
From: WyoWoman
Date: 14 Jul 99 - 12:22 AM

Joe-- How long does it take to download the files? I don't want to get started doing it at a time when I need to use my computer for other tasks.

Tx/ww

Subject: RE: Posting tunes with MIDITXT
From: John in Brisbane
Date: 14 Jul 99 - 02:07 AM

WW, if I may answer your query the files are extremely modest in size. Even when unzipped they are less than 150k.

Regards
John

Subject: RE: Posting tunes with MIDITXT
From: Joe Offer
Date: 14 Jul 99 - 05:42 AM

In other words, the files should download in about the time it's taking me to type this message - although I do admit that I type slow>
Lesley, I think people prefer ABC because it requires less software and less bandwidth. As you can see from the ABC tunes posted here, they don't take up much space. However, I think the MIDIs at your site are much nicer to listen to. If you look at the tune-finding sites listed on our links page, you'll see sites with jillions of ABC files. they're a great resource for musicians, but not so good for listening. Many of just love your site just the way it is.
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Posting tunes with MIDITXT
From: alison
Date: 14 Jul 99 - 07:01 AM

Yes Lesley.. keep the MIDIs... I don't like ABC.

Joe.. the offer still stands... I'll go with you to these exotic places you put in the software I'll play in the tunes.... deal?

slainte

alison

Subject: RE: Posting tunes with MIDITXT
From: Jeri
Date: 14 Jul 99 - 07:21 AM

I downloaded it, which took all of about 30 seconds. I installed it and read the readme file. I found a MIDI file I'd saved from DT. Easy/no-brainer - you just click the icon and type the MIDI filename. It helps if you put the MIDI file in the same directory as the MIDIText programs. Now comes the problem. I tried converting it back to a MIDI after deleting the original MIDI. When I try to play it, I get an error message:

Cannot open 'C:\Program Files\MIDIText\ARAGONML.mid'. Please verify that the path and filename are correct and try again.

Suggestion: Check the web site or content source for information about playing this content.

Help?

I'm using Windows '98 and Windows Media Player, version 6.01.05.217
I've also tried with Audiostation 2 MIDI Player, (Voyetra)version 2.00.62 - It allows me to load the file, but doesn't make any noises when I click the play button.

Subject: RE: Posting tunes with MIDITXT
From: Ted from Australia
Date: 14 Jul 99 - 07:25 AM

I downloaded last night and had the MIDItext converter up and running (playing a midi file downloaded that evening)within 1 hr, The trick is to follow the instructions CAREFULLY,
I made a couple of mistakes by rushing in, but on redoing it step by step as per the instructions it worked out well.
Give it a go. "The longest journey(and this one is not all that long) begins with the first step" Thanx JoeO, Allan OA and John OB.

Regards, Ted.

Subject: RE: Posting tunes with MIDITXT
From: Jeri
Date: 14 Jul 99 - 07:40 AM

I figured out my problem. The MID2TXT converts the file to HTML for posting at Mudcat. The TXT2MID converts plain text (not HTML) to a MIDI. When you copy something from Mudcat and paste it in a txt file, it doesn't copy the HTML coding. Duh...

Subject: RE: Posting tunes with MIDITXT
From: Alan of Australia
Date: 14 Jul 99 - 10:19 AM

G'day,
Keep the interest going. MIDItext is intended for simple melodies of the type usually required for Mudcat. It seems to work reasonably well with the MIDI files produced by most sequencers. For the ABC to work best you need to quantise (change to strict timing - most sequencers can do this) before saving the MIDI. If you use a touch sensitive keyboard you can put some expression into your playing, but that's lost in the ABC part. You can also be creative with the timing and not quantise, but it's probably best to delete the ABC part if you do.

When I wrote MIDItext I could see a strong interest in the Mudcat community in both MIDI and ABC and I thought something that served both camps was very important. Actually, the need to put in an ABC component was the most difficult part of the task.

I'll soon be looking into alternatives to my web site but in the meantime Joe's great work with his site keeps the program available. The only temporary problem is that the link that goes with the red text points to my site.

Cheers,
Alan

Subject: RE: Posting tunes with MIDITXT
From: Lesley N.
Date: 14 Jul 99 - 10:19 PM

Thanks for the suggestions Alan - I will play more with the midis to try to get really clean abc and midi out. The program is very easy to use - and works A LOT better than the other stuff I've downloaded to play with!

And to Joe and alison - thanks for the feedback. I suppose it boils down to the fact that I have so much fun with the midi I probably won't take the time to do the abc!

Subject: RE: Posting tunes with MIDITXT
From: Joe Offer
Date: 14 Jul 99 - 10:28 PM

Oh, by the way, Click here to get to Lesley's site.
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Posting tunes with MIDITXT
From: John in Brisbane
Date: 15 Jul 99 - 09:05 PM

I'll be doing some experimenting to see what the translation issues are, but as has been discussed here before the problem seems to lie in the opening rests in the first bar. Even when I explicitly add rests to the first bar using NWC the output in ABC is still somewhat perplexed, but as we know almost every music program you try has some ideosyncratic behaviours. I use Cakewalk as well, so I'll examine it as well ...plus Poer Tracks Pro ..plus Midisoft...

Speaking of which - I've been playing with Music Ease/DT Player. It has some nice features, but the price is a shocker.

Joe, as a NWC user, do you use the keeeeeypad or mouse to select your note values. I think I need to re-train myself. Last night I entered the notes first then went back and adjusted the note durations - a lot quicker for me - I think.

Regards
John

Subject: RE: Posting tunes with MIDITXT
From: dick greenhaus
Date: 15 Jul 99 - 09:20 PM

John- The price of DTPlayer is zero, unless you like it enough to buy one of the upgrades.

Subject: RE: Posting tunes with MIDITXT
From: Joe Offer
Date: 15 Jul 99 - 09:32 PM

Dick, haven't you had any problems with memory when you use MusicEase? My computer gets really s-l-o-w when I use it.
Second Question, Dick - did you miss my first question - what's the best way for us to ID lyrics and tunes so you can harvest them for the database? Shoul the lyrics and tune be in a new thread separate from the discussion of the song, or should we more somehting special in the "subject" box, or what's your druthers?

John, I use my keyboard as much as possible for whatever I do - the mouse gives me cramps and slows me down. I've had other programs that let you use the abc's to enter tunes, but you have to use arrow keys on Noteworthy. I've gotten so I can enter tunes and hardly look at the screen and keyboard. wish I could figure out an easy way to divide syllables for the lyrics.
By the way, I try to have at least the first verse of lyrics entered before I start typing the notes. Otherwise, I lose my place. I gather that Lesley transcribes her Contemplator tunes on a computer keyboard - Lesley, any comments/shortcuts for us?

-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Posting tunes with MIDITXT
From: John in Brisbane
Date: 15 Jul 99 - 10:55 PM

Joe, because I (mostly) am supplementing tunes to existing words I guess I could follow your lead. But I practice one of the tips from NWC. (1) Write down the bar numbers on the score you are copying from (2) Make sure that NWC generates the bar numbers as you go by using File, Page Setup, Options, Measure Numbers, Circled (say). I don't get lost that way and it saves trying to juggle the syllable spaces. I know that pre syllabised text might ultimately save Dick a lot of work, but the .NWC format would only add a further layer of compatibility issues. (Just a thought though! Do you know how to easily extract the text from a .NWC file so that Dick could ultimately be saved a lot of effort? I know that it's really easy to copy in, but as above I've hardly touched the text function).

Regards John

Subject: RE: Posting tunes with MIDITXT
From: Paul Jay
Date: 15 Jul 99 - 11:22 PM

This all sounds very interesting, BUT I've tried the text2midi several times without sucess. I have wanted to submit songs for a while, but I just can't seem to get the hang of this midi program. Besides, I can't read music so I certainly can't write it. Can anyone with more knowledge than I (this probably includes most everyone in this thread for sure) help me solve this problem? Cheers Paul

Subject: RE: Posting tunes with MIDITXT
From: Lesley N.
Date: 16 Jul 99 - 12:28 AM

Joe - Shortcuts? I always seem to do things the hard way - that's why I have so many grey hairs!

Paul - I can't read or write music either. I sometimes find it incredible that the computer creates some really neat music for me. I also have problems going from text 2 mid. I cut and paste, save the file and run the program but nothing happens. However, as I mostly go the other way I haven't played a lot to figure it out. I'm sure it can be worked out.

Subject: RE: Posting tunes with MIDITXT
From: Banjoman_CO
Date: 16 Jul 99 - 01:58 AM

I've been reading this thread and I have a question. I'm relatively new to computers and I have tried to find all this MIDI stuff in my manuals. But to no avail. Where do I learn all this stuff. So far, abc, noteworthy, MIDI and all that stuff are just greek to me. Am I just not too bright, or what. I could use some help. Fred

Subject: RE: Posting tunes with MIDITXT
From: John in Brisbane
Date: 16 Jul 99 - 03:24 AM

Fred, my first suggestion is to go to the following site, http://homepages.together.net/~partner/tunes.htm

It's a pretty good no-nonsense view of the MIDI/abc world but two words of advice before you start reading:

- Ignore the description of the multitude of (mostly older) ABC software - it'll just confuse the shit out of you. If you get that ambitious check out the shareware called ABCMUS from a guy called Henrik Norbeck - ant decent search engine will find it very quickly.

- When it comes to MIDI stuff cut straight through the crap and download the freeware called NoteWorthy Composer (click here). You may end up taking a different path, but it's a great place to start.

The discussion above has got pretty detailed. Don't worry about that - it's mostly pretty easy once you take your first couple of steps.

Enjoy
John

Subject: RE: Posting tunes with MIDITXT
From: Joe Offer
Date: 16 Jul 99 - 03:35 AM

John - your guide to ABC is excellent - where is it?
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Posting tunes with MIDITXT
From: John in Brisbane
Date: 16 Jul 99 - 03:46 AM

Joe, as requested:
http://www.mudcat.org/thread.CFM?threadID=11114#81068 (click here-good stuff, sez Joe)

Have a great weekend to all
John

Subject: RE: Posting tunes with MIDITXT
From: Joe Offer
Date: 16 Jul 99 - 03:56 AM

It really is important to learn this ABC and MIDI stuff. Noteworthy and ABCMUS pretty-much install themselves, and they will open you to a marvelous world of music that's available on the Web. You'll find lots of links to tunes if you check our links page for tune and MIDI. I suppose John and I and Lesley are pretty good at it, but it wasn't long ago that we didn't understand it, either. Lesley and I barely read music - how 'bout you, John?
It does take a while to get the hang of MIDITXT, but it's actually pretty simple.
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Posting tunes with MIDITXT
From: JiB
Date: 16 Jul 99 - 04:20 AM

The more tunes I do the better I get, but I'm just a notation beginner cursed with a good ear. I'd like to have the best of both worlds - to be able to play/sing both by ear and the dots. Playing by dots is coming to me slowly, singing straight from a score is a vastly different matter. It takes lots of practice, but ultimately I'd like to do lots more arranging. If I get close to Barry Taylor's standard I'd be well pleased.

Joe, make sure that you or your friend Mark try out those pickin exercises as well.

Regards
John

Subject: RE: Posting tunes with MIDITXT
From: Lesley N.
Date: 16 Jul 99 - 08:49 AM

JiB - Barry is a tough standard! But you're right though - the more you do the better you get. Barry has always been a fantastic musician and sequencer - and HIS midis just keep getting better and better.

Once you get notation software it's very interesting to look at other people's midis. I often take a look into Barry's midis to see how the heck he does things - and I've stolen a lot of arrangement ideas from Barry and John Davis for those few tunes I do myself.

Subject: RE: Posting tunes with MIDITXT
From: Banjoman_CO
Date: 16 Jul 99 - 04:01 PM

Thanks John in Brisbane for the sights. Now let me expose my stupidity a little more. When I download something, do I download to my hard disk or a floppy? Remember, I said that I didn't know much about computers in relation to the 'net'. I've mostly worked with spread sheets and word processors. I would really appreciate your help.

Fred

Subject: RE: Posting tunes with MIDITXT
From: Joe Offer
Date: 16 Jul 99 - 04:49 PM

Hi Banjoman - I hope you have space on your hard drive, because floppy disks don't hold much. Hard drives are cheap storage, so people don't store much of floppies any more. I'd make a new folder (directory) and name it download then make sub-folders within that for various types of things you want to save. It helps to keep your hard drive organized into folders so you can find things.
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Posting tunes with MIDITXT
From: dick greenhaus
Date: 16 Jul 99 - 04:57 PM

Hi all- I must confess that I just haven't time to work much with MIDIs directly; I can deal with ABCs or NWCs with little effort. I suspect the trouble I've had with MIDITEXT relates to esoterica like line ending codes: can someone tell me exactly how one goes about downloading the MIDITEXT file for processing? Notepad? Word? SimpleText?

For those who are confused about all the formats, I use SongWright because it's compact and because I can synchronize words and music in the downloaded version. Compactness isn't too important in downloading a single tune, but when you're dealing with 4000 of them... The Web version uses MIDIs directly because of time constraints. SongWright (or Noteworthy or MusicEase or ABC) files must be processed before you can hear them , and processing time on a website is much more critical than storage space.

To answer Joe, I can deal equally well with ABC, SongWright, NWC and MEZ files; Please don't use pick-ups (incomplate initial measures), because many programs assume that the first measire starts out with the first note, and it gets very difficult to fix. Just add initial rests so that the first measure is the same length as the others. JPEG copies of sheet music are probably the easiest of all, since they show where the words fit.

Subject: RE: Posting tunes with MIDITXT
From: Joe Offer
Date: 16 Jul 99 - 07:16 PM

Well, Dick, you didn't actually answer my question, which was about POSTING tunes and how we should flag new tunes so you can find them easily. Do you want a new thread just for the tune, of one thread for all added tunes, or is ADD TUNE in the "subject" box good enough, or what do you need ot be best able to find the tunes (and lyrics) we post?

Here's how to make use of the MIDITXT files you find in the forum. I won't go into how to do this in DOS, because I assume even Dick (grin) has graduated to some version of Windows.

Notepad or simple text works best for downloading a MIDITXT file - you highlight the red numbers andd copy them [CTRL-C].

Then you paste the red stuff [CTRL-V] into Notepad or other text editor, and save it as a text file. I just use the same file over and over again, songtext.txt.

Then you drag the icon for your text file onto the icon for TXT2MID, and the program should produce a MIDI file.

You can tweak MID2TXT AND TXT2MID to work better in Windows 95 by right-clicking on the icon for each and choosing "properties" and setting the properties the way you want - I'd especially recommend keeping your songtext and MIDI files in a separate subdirectory, under the directory (folder) where you have all that MIDITXT stuff Alan made for us. You open that folder, drag songtext onto TXT2MID, and your reconstituted MIDI will appear. I can make a MIDI out of that red gobbledy-gook in less than a minute.
I suppose that all this verbiage may just have confused things more. Computer operations are very difficult to teach - the best and easiest way to learn is to jump in there and fool around with it yourself. Do take a look at the instruction Alan has prepared on the download page - he's a computer professor (and a very literate one, too), so he knows his stuff and explains it well.
About a year ago, my employer sent me an expensive-looking set of six training tapes for Office 97. I watched the Word tape and actually learned one thing I hadn't figured out for myself. I haven't made it all the way through the Access tape, and I haven't learned much there, either. Don't know if I'll ever watch the other four. Too boring, and I've already figured out most of it myself by just fooling around. Haven't broken a computer yet.
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Posting tunes with MIDITXT
From: Paul Jay
Date: 16 Jul 99 - 10:48 PM

Joe Thanks for the short and sweet version of using Notepad to get those little red numbers to actually work. Cheers Paul

Subject: RE: Posting tunes with MIDITXT
From: alison
Date: 17 Jul 99 - 02:40 AM

I find MIDItxt very easy to use.. but I couldn't install it..... computer thicky. so Alan installed it and set it up.. if you can get someone who knows what they are doing (borrow someone's teenager) to do this much and leave you some shortcut buttons then it really is very easy.

Slainte

alison

Subject: RE: Posting tunes with MIDITEXT
From: Joe Offer
Date: 21 Aug 99 - 03:07 AM

Hi - Tony Burns told me the download link on my home page didn't work. Sure enough, Tony was right (haven't proved him wrong yet, but I'm trying....). Anyhow, the download link is now fixed, and you can download MIDITEXT.exe at http://homepages.msn.com/YosemiteDr/joeoffer/miditxt.html (click).
Sorry about the mistake. I SWEAR I tested that link, but I guess I didn't.
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Posting tunes with MIDITXT
From: Phil Taylor
Date: 21 Aug 99 - 06:21 AM

Is there a MIDITXT equivalent for Macintosh users? If not, I could write one. Is the source code available for porting, or failing that, a description of the decimal number format used to represent the MIDI?

Subject: RE: Posting tunes with MIDITXT
From: Joe Offer
Date: 21 Aug 99 - 05:34 PM

Hi, Phil - click here to e-mail MIDITEXT creator Alan Foster, and talk with him about it. It certainly would be nice if our Mac users could post tunes. I think Max will come up with a way for us to post MIDI files direct to the Forum without converting them, but I don't have any idea how soon he'll be able to do it. In the meantime, the best we've got is MIDITEXT.
Hmmmmm. I wonder if ol' Dick Greenhaus has figured out MIDITEXT yet. I was surprised to see a message from dick last month that said he was having problems with MIDITEXT. Somehow, he seems to be including at least some of our MIDITEXT tunes in the database.
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Posting tunes with MIDITXT
From: Ed Pellow
Date: 06 Aug 00 - 09:07 AM

I've just posted my first tune to the forum using MIDITXT here.

Although I told my sequencer (Cubase) that the tune was in 'F' and I set the tempo to 110 bpm, MIDITXT converted it back to 'C' and 120 bpm. Do I need to manually edit the html that MIDITXT produces?

Also, the FAQ says that tunes should be sent to Alan. Is that preferable to posting them directly to the forum?

Thanks

Ed

- who's got this mad idea of eventually posting all of Peter Kenedy's book to the forum. That would keep Malcolm Douglas busy for a bit :-)

Subject: RE: Posting tunes with MIDITXT
From: kwas
Date: 06 Aug 00 - 11:51 AM

Hi! New guy here, so please excuse me if I've missed some relevant newbie FAQs.

I am interested in MIDI. But it looks like you want only the bare-bones one-track files. Yet there are some files in your MIDI listings that declare an instrument ... and some even start effects processors, or use Roland-style bank switching.

Will there ever be a place for fully-arranged MIDI files? I have a few, found at:

www.jps.net/jkwasnik/midium.html

Due to copyright restrictions, the tunes there are ALL public domain, though mostly folk and Celtic.

Also, as a suggestion, it would be nice to have a MIDI reset button on the file list pages. I've had to shell out of my browser to play a reset after some of the files have changed patch bank to one I don't have on my synth, transforming the playback to rhythmic clicking.

Thanks,

John Kwasnik

Subject: RE: Posting tunes with MIDITXT
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 14 Aug 00 - 09:59 AM

Fully-arranged midis are often more of a hindrance than a help when dealing with traditional song, which is mainly single-line melodies; "bare bones" are usually better for that reason.  I sometimes specify oboe, as it has a more voice-like quality than the default piano; as I have a fairly basic soundcard, I've been assuming that that wouldn't cause problems -if it does, I'll revert to default in future.

Ed: don't you dare!  I'd never get any work done!  Seriously, though, the Penguin book is long out-of-print and therefore fair game (though still in copyright); the Kennedy collection, on the other hand, is easily available, though of course not especially cheap, so I'd worry about putting too much of it up here.  I've done the whole of Purslow's Wanton Seed into html and midi, but have only posted a few things from it because EFDSS are considering re-publishing, and I don't want to risk losing them any potential income; if they decide not to re-publish, that would be a different matter.

Malcolm

Subject: RE: Posting tunes with MIDITXT
From: John in Brisbane
Date: 14 Aug 00 - 07:31 PM

John K, I don't see any real problems with posting multi-track MIDIs. This ground has been covered before but my understanding is that Max has ample disc space for the comparatively modest needs for any or all MIDI files. In the great majority of cases these files there is a track dedicated to the solo melody and isolating this track to either play or print is quite straightforward if you use a shareware package such as NoteWorthy Composer. NWC is probably the most commonly used programs for PC's around Mudcat.

If the tune is missing from the DT and has not been posted to Mudcat MIDIs I would encourage you to simply post the full versions.

As a further consideration these multi-track MIDIs provide unambiguous information about the arranger's view of harnony, bass lines and chords that will often be helpful to those people who aren't familiar with the song or genre. Let's provide every bit of assistance to newcomers that we possibly can so they can explore and enjoy our particular liturgy.

Regards, John

Subject: RE: Posting tunes with MIDITXT
From: Joe Offer
Date: 14 Aug 00 - 08:22 PM

Hi, Ed - I just happened to notice your message above about MIDITEXT. I've e-mailed you the MIDI I obtained from your MIDITEXT posting, and I wondered if you could listen to it and see if it sounds right. I was not aware that MIDITEXT was changing the key of tunes we posted - does the MIDI I produced sound right to you?
Alan of Australia is the one who created MIDITEXT, and you might want to contact him directly with your question. (Click here to send Alan e-mail)

I think Alan has pretty-much given up on MIDITEXT and devoted his interest to the Mudcat MIDI page. We couldn't get enough people to learn to use MIDITEXT, so he figured it was better to go to straight MIDIs. I have a slick setup for converting MIDITEXT, so I actually prefer that format for my own purposes because I don't have to wait for Alan to post the MIDI file. I guess, though, that MIDITEXT has officially been abandoned. Better to e-mail the files - to me, if they're Noteworthy; and to Alan if they're MIDI.

I'm looking forward to your Peter Kennedy project.

-Joe Offer (click to e-mail)-

-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Posting tunes with MIDITXT
From: Geoff the Duck
Date: 06 Sep 01 - 08:38 PM

Subject: MIDItext No Longer Supported
From: Joe Offer
Date: 21 Nov 02 - 03:00 PM

Back in the early days of Mudcat, we didn't have an easy way for people to share tunes for the lyrics they posted. Alan Foster created a nifty program called MIDItext just for Mudcatters, so they could post tunes in text that could them be converted to MIDI files. The program served us well for a long time, and I'd like to thank Alan for designing and supporting it for us.
Well, time has gone on, and Alan doesn't have the time he used to have. The program is still available for download here (click), but we have little need for it now that we have a new Mudcat MIDI page. I've crosslinked and closed all the other MIDItext threads, and I added a note to the first message of this page, saying that we don't support MIDItext any more. If people see a need for it, we can go back to using it. It still works, but I've been gradually converting posted MIDItext tunes to Mudcat MIDIs and replacing the MIDItext with a link.
If you have a tune you want to share with Mudcatters, please e-mail it to me or to MMario, and we'll convert it to MIDI and post it. We prefer to receive tunes in a format that includes lyrics, so we can submit it to the Digital Tradition.

Any thoughts on this? Is there any reason why we should continue to use MIDItext?


-Joe Offer (click to e-mail)-

Subject: RE: Posting tunes with MIDItext
From: MMario
Date: 21 Nov 02 - 03:14 PM

well - for some people it's the only way they have to convert to a text format - but only the abc section need be posted...

Subject: RE: Posting tunes with MIDItext
From: Snuffy
Date: 21 Nov 02 - 07:53 PM

The MIDI you get after converting back from text is fine, but the abc conversion of MIDItext is definitely not recommended. It usually needs extensive editing to make it useful: bar lines are in the wrong place if there are any pickup notes; ties appear the wrong side of barlines; it produces weird note values like 7/4 that have to be broken down; etc.

I think it would be best to either e-mail the MIDI, or post your own abc (preferablywith lyrics).

WassaiL! V