Tech: MIDI to Image File

Subject: Tech: MIDI to Image File
From: Jeri
Date: 08 May 03 - 11:07 PM

I have software to edit MIDIs and I have software to edit images. Where it gets complicated is when I want to create a jpeg (or other format image) to put on a web page or in a document. I have a vere convoluted way of doing this now:

1. Use MIDIText to get the ABCs, edit the mistakes out, save.
2. Open ABC file with ABC2Win
3. Click "Print Preview" and save the result to clipboard
4. Open an image-editing program and paste the image from the clipboard

Other than the fact there are too many steps and too many programs involved, ABC2Win doesn't let me change the layout the way I'd LIKE to be able to change it before I copy the image. I can get it close though, so this is a minor annoyance.

Does anyone know of a program that will convert a MIDI file into a jpeg, gif, bmp, etc, and allow me to save it? If there are many programs which can do this, which do you think is best? A trial version of an inexpensive program is good - a free one would be better.

Thanks!
(I'm not ignoring folks, but I'm going away for the weekend. I (probably) won't be able to reply until Monday.)

Subject: RE: Tech: MIDI to Image File
From: Helen
Date: 08 May 03 - 11:45 PM

Hi Jeri,

I use the music notation software called Noteworthy. It has a very good free demo version, but it costs very little (around $30 when I bought it, I think) and is a good basic notation programme.

NoteWorthy ArtWare Home - Music and Midi Software

http://www.ntworthy.com/

You can open a Midi file in Noteworthy and then click Print Preview, and adjust the preview until it is what you want, and then click the Copy button on the Preview page. You then get a couple of options: copy to clipboard, or copy to a windows metafile.

Choose the clipboard option, then open a graphics programme, open a new file and go to the Edit menu and click Paste.

Then you can save the image file into any format your graphics programme can use.

Helen

Subject: RE: Tech: MIDI to Image File
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 08 May 03 - 11:57 PM

Unless you are particularly comfortable using ABC, that step is probably the point where you could save the most work.

Almost any decent notation program will import MIDI directly and show it as a score. You should be able to do all the editing needed to get it so it looks like what you want in a single step in the notation program.

Your method of copying the print preview with the clipboard is okay, but won't give you anything better than screen resolution - normally about 72 dpi. Unless you have a large screen monitor, that's 72 dpi on the monitor, and if it gets blown up to 1.5 or 2x to view other than full screen, or to print, you're likely to get some visible pixellation.

My own normal procedure would be to print the score, and then scan the print directly to my graphics program. Printed from the notation program on a decent laser or inkjet printer, you should have a print with usable 300 or 600 dpi at full scale to work with, and the scan can be at any resolution you choose.

If you're able to print something that satisfies you, you might be better off using the software you have and investing in a usable scanner. You can get fairly decent ones for under $100 - sometimes quite a lot under - depending on how fussy you want to be about the accuracy of your scans.

Note that setting sheet size to something like 5 x 8 inches to print, with 300 dpi print, scanned back at even 200 or 300 dpi and enlarged to 8 x 10 you still have better resolution than the 72 dpi half-size screen picture, so you don't necessarily need a big scanner.

Sibelius will save as graphic files, but I haven't looked at any cheaper notation program recently that does - and I can't afford Sibelius. Even with Sibelius, you're pretty much limited to bitmaps or eps files, and eps is a real hassle unless you're set up to work with it.

IF one of your graphics programs can read eps files, you can just "print to file" through any PostScript printer driver, rename the file to "something.eps" and go with it; but there are no guarantees about how well this will work unless you're willing to make it work -usually requiring some force and effort - with your setup. You don't have to actually have a PostScript printer to do this, but you will have to convert the eps files to something else in your graphics program to be able to use them.

John

Subject: RE: Tech: MIDI to Image File
From: Helen
Date: 09 May 03 - 12:06 AM

You're right, John, about the resolution, although if high level resolution is not needed then maybe the clipboard option would do. Scanning the image is a good idea.

Helen

Subject: RE: Tech: MIDI to Image File
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 09 May 03 - 01:26 AM

The "native" format for what the clipboard picks up is that strange wmf file, and if you put it into almost any graphics program it pixillates badly with virtually any changes you make.

Surprisingly, if you just want to print it, pasting it into Word lets you resize over a wider range, without having the picture fall apart, than what you can do readily in a good graphics program.

It's still not a very good picture by "publishing graphics standards," but it might come in handy.

It doesn't help with making it into a jpg, although if you've got the right tools loaded in Word, you can save directly as pdf...

John

Subject: RE: Tech: MIDI to Image File
From: Bill D
Date: 09 May 03 - 12:36 PM

Jeri...here is a wonderful screen capture program which will take anything you can display on screen and save it in various formats...(free, of coures)

MWsnap

Subject: RE: Tech: MIDI to Image File
From: M.Ted
Date: 09 May 03 - 06:03 PM

A trick that I used to use was to simply FAX the doc(don't really need to actually send it) and then open the saved copy from your fax app, it will be a graphic file of some type that can be easily converted using, say Graphic Converter--

Subject: RE: Tech: MIDI to Image File
From: Joe Offer
Date: 09 May 03 - 09:39 PM

Now, if you want to get an image quick from ABC, paste it into Concertina.net. I usually go from a MIDI file by using Noteworthy, but I'm not totally happy with that method.
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Tech: MIDI to Image File
From: GUEST,Jon
Date: 09 May 03 - 10:48 PM

Concertina.net is handy but take care with graphics there. The site reports it uses abc2ps. abc2ps has some problems with the abc standard (I've a feeling gace notes neede a tilde even when {} is presented) and the "draft" standard which adds the things like the w: for words.

The implication here is that you can make an abc that looks right there and would be fine for a graphic BUT, in certain circumstances the same abc would not display correctly on systems under current and active development and working to standard. These would include Barfly and Skink as well as the abc2ps clone, abcm2ps, that I run. The differences to me at folkinfo were significant enough for a discussion in the early days to decide which to use...

Jeri, I've a feeling that abc2win comes into the "dead" category with words.

Subject: RE: Tech: MIDI to Image File
From: GUEST,.gargoyle
Date: 10 May 03 - 12:31 PM

WOW!! Concertina is amazing! THANKS Joe!

Sincerely,

Gargoyle

Subject: RE: Tech: MIDI to Image File
From: John in Brisbane
Date: 12 May 03 - 07:32 AM

So many choices! These days when I'm chasing the highest quality gtaphics for sheet music I create a PDF file - really easy using PDF595 (and free).

To create a GIF or PNG (the best formats for music apart from PDF) you can simply copy the image from the PDF using Acrobar Reader, paste to your favourite graphics editor and save in whatever format you desire. I would NOT recommend JPG for music. The tip here is to magnify the PDF in Acrobat Reader to get the best combination of quality vs size - the greater the zoom size the bigger and better quality you get.

There's a whole thread on this this subject going back maybe 9 months.

PDF's rule!

Regards, John

Subject: RE: Tech: MIDI to Image File
From: GUEST,Jon
Date: 12 May 03 - 07:42 AM

Of the 2 choices (GIF and png) John has mentioned, I opt for png. The free ghostcript for example will make them. I really don't know the full story about gifs but I believe they are a proprietry format and that Compuserve are involved somewhere along the line.

I'm another admirer of PDFs BTW.

Subject: RE: Tech: MIDI to Image File
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 12 May 03 - 01:45 PM

PNG files are as stable as GIF files and compress in such a way that they're not as large and they can use more colors. JPG files are "lossy," or they can lose detail. Several years ago I picked up a book that was a guide to PNG, GIF and JPEG files. I remember at the time thinking I'd like to change over to PNG files, but they weren't much used then. Now whenever I work with a PNG file I see it is associated with Macromedia software, so I guess this technology has arrived.

SRS

Subject: RE: Tech: MIDI to Image File
From: GUEST,Gary Olson
Date: 15 May 03 - 08:04 PM

John,

I found your posting from 1999 asking about the music to Amelia Earhart. Are you still interested? I have 2 versions in mp3 file form - one is a bluegrass version by the Country Gentlemen and the other is by a group called Plainsong. In both cases, the song is entitled Amelia Earhart's Last Flight. The words are the same as Dave McEnery's (approximately) but without the second verse. If you'd like these, I could email them to you. Just give me an email at [e-mail] and I'll reply. This is one of my favorite songs - I play bluegrass and it is one in my repertoire.

Note: I also posted this reply to your original posting, but thought I should reply to a recent one to up the odds you get this

Subject: RE: Tech: MIDI to Image File
From: John in Brisbane
Date: 23 May 03 - 08:08 PM

Thanks Gary, pardon the delay but I tend to check in infrequently. Joe Offer posted the tune a few years back.

Thanks very much for the offer. I used to sing this with a friend who died of cancer at 45 almost exactly 5 years ago. Being in OZ I've only ever heard one version and I've never heard anyone else sing it live.

Please send me a note at johninbrisbane#lycos.com.

Many, many thanks, John