Open Source Midi
- Open
Source Midi Proprietary software
Being the best doesn't always mean being the most popular. We all know of many inferior products that are immensely, sometimes perplexingly, popular. However, this does not mean that one must forsake the pursuit of excellence when pursuing a broad market share. As proponents of open source software, it should not be beneath us to pursue popularity or to look to proprietary developers as examples. And by following the right examples, we can help spread the usage of open source software without sacrificing the goal of software excellence. In the absence of a monopoly, there are three traits that are likely to make an application popular: it is cool or attractive in some way, it provides easy entry, and it is addictive. Barring these things, most average users will stick with the status quo. In fact, many users never use a program on their computer that did not come pre-installed.
- Open
Source Midi
Pronounced middy, an acronym for musical instrument digital interface, a standard adopted by the electronic music industry for controlling devices, such as synthesizers and sound cards, that emit music. At minimum, a MIDI representation of a sound includes values for the note's pitch, length, and volume. It can also include additional characteristics, such as attack and delay time. The MIDI standard is supported by most synthesizers, so sounds created on one synthesizer can be played and manipulated on another synthesizer. Computers that have a MIDI interface can record sounds created by a synthesizer and then manipulate the data to produce new sounds. For example, you can change the key of a composition with a single keystroke.
- The Musical Instrument Digital Interface
The Musical Instrument Digital Interface is a music-definition language and communications protocol enabling electronic instruments from all manufacturers to communicate musical information. A MIDI (.mid) file conveys music like a musical score: both translate music into a simple set of performance instructions. Unlike digital audio (.wav) files, compact discs, or cassettes, MIDI does not capture and store actual sounds. Instead, it is a set of data which describes the specific steps that a soundcard or other playback device must take to generate the same sounds via electronic synthesis. MIDI files are very much smaller than other audio files. The compact size of MIDI files makes them especially well suited for delivery over the Internet. A one-minute MIDI file might require about 10 KB of disk space. Compare this to a .wav file of the same duration, which might require from 5 MB to 10 MB of disk space, depending on the audio qualities of the file.
- THE Plumstone MIDI PROJECT
Currently, the Java versions 1.4.2 and 1.5 installed on Apple Macintosh OS X computers do not identify connected MIDI devices in a way that is completely compatible with the standard Java Sound API package (javax.sound.midi). Plumstone is an open source Java project which fills in the gap, providing javax.sound.midi compatible MIDI input and output on Apple Mac OS X. Once installed, standard Java programs written on other platforms should execute correctly (Errors/bugs/misunderstandings notwithstanding). Plumstone is free and so comes with absolutely no warranty. You use it at your own risk; however, very few users have reported problems with it. Plumstone is only required for Apple Macs. Don't try it on other platforms.
- Open Source Midi Technology
A MIDI sound file that contains MIDI messages. MIDI files used in DOS and Windows have a .MID extension. A variation of this format is the RIFF MIDI file, which uses the .RMI extension. The format of a Standard MIDI File (SMF) contains a header "chunk" at the beginning that defines the type, followed by one or more track chunks. Type 0 files store all tracks in one track chunk. Type 1 files use a separate chunk for each track, with the first chunk storing the tempo. Type 0 files use less memory and run faster than type 1. Thus, original MIDI music is maintained in type 1 format and frequently distributed in type 0. MIDI files distributed for editing are usually in type 1 format, since it is difficult to convert from type 0 to type 1 using a MIDI sequencer.