John McAllister
Composer, Educator
  • Start Here
    • Blog
  • Music
    • Concert Band - VE
    • Concert Band - E
    • Concert Band - ME
    • Expandable Chamber Project
    • Marching Band
    • Jazz
    • Chamber Music
    • Christmas/Holiday
  • Instruments
    • Flute
    • Oboe
    • Bassoon
    • Clarinet
    • Saxophone
    • Trumpet
    • Horn
    • Trombone
    • Euphonium
    • Tuba
    • Percussion
  • Free Resources
    • Let's Read Music
    • Band Theory
    • Warm-ups
    • Scales and Technique
    • Arrangements
    • Sight-Reading
    • Jazz Center
    • Band Games
    • Strings!
    • Recruitment Materials
    • Other Resources
    • Coronastress Relief
    • Posters
    • Clip Art
    • Free Christmas
  • Cinematic Series
    • Complete Warm-Ups Sets
    • Long Tones
    • Flexibility
    • Articulation
    • Scales
    • Page of Patterns
    • Counting
    • Play Alongs
    • Music Humor
  • Me
Picture

Apple Computers and MIDI Files

6/16/2015

0 Comments

 
Today I'm discussing my frustrations with the fact that Apple computers no longer come with a program that natively and easily plays MIDI files. I remember when I first found out that Quicktime no longer plays MIDI files. This was a dark day for me as a composer/arranger.

Now, for those of us who don't know exactly what MIDI files are: Music Instrument Digital Interface. Surely that explains it...right? Basically, without getting too technical, it is digital language that can be created by electronic instruments (or software) and translated to a computer so you can hear the music/pitches/etc. The absolute best thing about MIDI files is that they are SMALL...TINY, compared to mp3's and other larger music files. Now, they transmit a different type of data than an mp3/wav/aiff does. This is why Quicktime no longer plays them... it no longer translates the data for immediate playback. You now have to use another program to open the MIDI file.

So... attention MAC users: you can open these with Garageband, the built in DAW (Digital Audio Workstation). It may tell you at first that there's no program to open MIDI files, but all you have to do is right click (or control click) and select Garageband. 

The thing I dislike about this, however, is that the instruments in Garageband are severely limited compared to what you might have in Finale or Sibelius. Garageband is largely set up for a more commercial sound, rather than a symphonic sound. And because MIDI files are small, they don't translate as much info as an XML file...because of this, there are something things lost in translation and the music ends up sounding quite wonky.

As I've read on many forums and blogs, Apple is known for killing technologies. The Macbook Pro I'm typing on has no cd drive...and Quicktime doesn't play MIDI files. Click here if you're interested to see what else has been killed over the years. 

Now, in light of being an educator and not simply complaining about the fact that we Mac users can't simply click on the midi files and play them.. here's your options for playing midi files.

1) Garageband - as we already discussed.
2) Download a third party player. Google "MIDI Player" there's a bunch. 
3) Find a copy of Quicktime 7 (the last version that played MIDIs)

The fact is you can still play the MIDI files, you may just have to do a little more than double click and expect it to work. 

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    The musings of a composer that also band directs!! ... or maybe it's the other way around..

    Archives

    March 2020
    February 2020
    March 2019
    December 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    April 2015
    February 2015
    December 2014
    September 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

the music
Free Resources
Compositions
Instruments
Cinematic Series
Picture
the composer
About
Contact
The Blog
JWPepper Composer Page
  • Start Here
    • Blog
  • Music
    • Concert Band - VE
    • Concert Band - E
    • Concert Band - ME
    • Expandable Chamber Project
    • Marching Band
    • Jazz
    • Chamber Music
    • Christmas/Holiday
  • Instruments
    • Flute
    • Oboe
    • Bassoon
    • Clarinet
    • Saxophone
    • Trumpet
    • Horn
    • Trombone
    • Euphonium
    • Tuba
    • Percussion
  • Free Resources
    • Let's Read Music
    • Band Theory
    • Warm-ups
    • Scales and Technique
    • Arrangements
    • Sight-Reading
    • Jazz Center
    • Band Games
    • Strings!
    • Recruitment Materials
    • Other Resources
    • Coronastress Relief
    • Posters
    • Clip Art
    • Free Christmas
  • Cinematic Series
    • Complete Warm-Ups Sets
    • Long Tones
    • Flexibility
    • Articulation
    • Scales
    • Page of Patterns
    • Counting
    • Play Alongs
    • Music Humor
  • Me