Macs, Music and MIDI

Subject: Macs, Music and MIDI
From: Amos
Date: 07 Oct 01 - 11:15 PM

I submit this as a possible permathread.

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This is a Mudcat PermaThread^TM - it is intended to serve as a permanent reference. Messages in this thread may be edited or deleted. This thread is controlled by Amos and edited by Joe Offer.

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The following links provide a starting list for anyone wishing to learn about the range of music and MIDI saoftware available for Mac platforms.

The Macintosh MIDI User's Internet Guide

Harmony Central: Macintosh Software

Harmony Central: MIDI Tools and Resources

Music Software - Shareware Music Machine

www.yav.com

SYNTAX MIDI Software Laboratory

Better MIDI on the Macintosh

The MIDI Farm Internet

Google Web Directory - Computers > Multimedia > Music and Audio > MIDI > Software

LanBox DMX and MIDI software downloads

MacMusicLinks: the biggest Music and Macintosh directory

Regards,

Amos

Subject: RE: Macs, Music and MIDI
From: Anglo
Date: 10 Nov 01 - 01:41 AM

A lot of tunes have been posted in miditext. Is there a way to import miditext to play thriough a Mac?

Subject: RE: Macs, Music and MIDI
From: Mark Clark
Date: 11 Nov 01 - 01:38 AM

As far as I know, the MIDI-to-Text programs are only available as MS-DOS executables. I don't think there are even native Windows available.

I notice the original home for the MIDI-to-Text programs is no longer extant. Does anyone have the source code for the programs? I'm thinking we could produce Java versions of them that would run as well on Macs and provide drag-and-drop integration with Web browsers.

Just a thought.

      - Mark

Subject: RE: Macs, Music and MIDI
From: Amos
Date: 11 Nov 01 - 02:54 AM

Good idea, Mark!!

A.

Subject: RE: Macs, Music and MIDI
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 11 Nov 01 - 03:58 AM

The README.TXT file with my MID2TXT indicates that it was "tailored" for mudcat - and included some html for easy posting in the text result. One of our guys must have done it - but I don't know who it was (it wouldn't be fair to name suspects without evidence).

There is a freeware/shareware? program called mf2t for PCs, that appears to do the MIDI to text for the outside world, but nothing comparable found for Mac.

A rather strange Dutch site at here has a Pascal program(?) with the MID2TXT name, that says it does (sort of) the same thing??? Refers to mf2t, and gives a link to mf2t's originator - also Dutch. Related homepage here. If it works, and he would share his code (the site looks friendly), it might be recompiled - if somebody has a Mac Pascal compiler?

John

Subject: RE: Macs, Music and MIDI
From: GUEST,Sonja
Date: 07 Dec 01 - 10:54 PM

refresh

(I agree, Amos, this should be a permathread.)

Sonja

Subject: RE: Macs, Music and MIDI
From: Amos
Date: 07 Dec 01 - 11:40 PM

Here are several references to Midi-to-Text for the Mac:

http://home.earthlink.net/~darrenv/midi.html

http://wuarchive.wustl.edu/systems/mac/amug/files/midi/00midi-abstracts.txt

http://www.ibiblio.org/emusic-l/back-issues/vol058/issue18.txt

A

Subject: RE: Macs, Music and MIDI
From: Joe Offer
Date: 09 Dec 01 - 06:49 PM

Alan Foster of Australia programmed MIDITEXT for Mudcat, but it works only on DOS. The program also creates line breaks, so the output of MIDITEXT can be pasted directly into a Mudcat message. I'm using a new, experimental version of Mudcat that makes line breaks automatically, but it double-spaces MIDITEXT output. When we get the new version of Mudcat functioning, I'll ask Alan to whip up a new version of MIDITEXT. We'll see if we can come up with something for Macs at the same time.
I imagine MMario will remind me if I fail to come through on that promise. [grin]
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Macs, Music and MIDI
From: John in Brisbane
Date: 09 Dec 01 - 10:13 PM

Hi, I'd hope that the need for a MIDI to text converter (and vice versa) for Mac's was now largely redundant. Alan Foster was truly innovative in creating his software because we had no other effective way of posting tunes to Mudcat. But Alan then took this concept much further by creating a dedicated Website where Mudcatters could post the actual MIDIs themselves, hence eliminating the need for the intermediate conversion software. Hopefully most of the MIDIs originally posted in text format are now housed at Mudcat MIDIs in .mid format available to users of PC, Mac or Linux.

In terms of omissions from Mudcat MIDIs, I may be one of the offenders here, because I posted a couple of hundred tunes in the old text format to Mudcat, but was slack in my house-keeping. Over time I hope that the majority have been converted back to normal MIDIs.

BTW the MIDI format means that tunes can now be posted with harmonies, accompaniment tracks or something as basic as key or time changes, facilities not available as text conversions from MIDI.

Regards, John

Subject: RE: Macs, Music and MIDI
From: John in Brisbane
Date: 11 Dec 01 - 12:57 AM

Hi Amos,

I'm not a Mac user but I often get asked to nominate a good (preferably free) MIDI player for Macs. Ideally it should (in terms of priority):

- Allow you to vary playback speed
- Alter the playback volume by channel
- Change the instrument for each channel
- (Ideally) Let you change the playback key (pitch)
- Save any modofoed .mis file

I note that you provided a heap of links above, but do have a personal favourite MIDI player for Macs?

Regards, John

Subject: RE: Macs, Music and MIDI
From: wysiwyg
Date: 15 Feb 02 - 10:39 PM

Good News? Macs & PalTalk

~S~

Subject: RE: Macs, Music and MIDI
From: GUEST,.gargoyle
Date: 16 Feb 02 - 12:22 AM

So......?

Five years ago it was mainstream PC....for those that wanted it!

Subject: RE: Macs, Music and MIDI
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 10 Oct 04 - 11:08 PM

The midi to text program for PCs mentoned above in message of 11 Nov 01 at hitsquad still exists.