This site is intended as an aid to those who wish to learn something about MIDI music and it's potential. It is not just for the home or professional musician but for those in the education sectors who wish to give others not only the opportunity to play musical instruments but to become involved in the composition, recording , editing and arranging of music and song.

This site is not intended to be a technical but rather a gentle introduction into the potential and enjoyment of MIDI music. For further study of MIDI check out the WEBSITE page

All of the pages on this website open with a MIDI file accompaniment  which can only be fully appreciated with a proper sound card. A 32 bit or above, sound card would suffice. There are alternatives to an internal computer sound card which are discussed elsewhere.

WHY MIDI????????????

The use of MIDI technology can be as simple or as complex as a person wishes it to be.

MIDI music (usually referred to as Midi Files) is totally editable on a music sequencer 

Should you download Midi Files and are not using a music sequencer to play them back then the chances are that when you double click on your downloaded Midi Files either your media player or Crescendo player will play them for you. Remember, if you want to edit or create Midi music you will need at least a music sequencer.

Unlike other forms of recorded music eg. CDs, MP3s etc. you have total control over each instrument playing in a MIDI file. Not only can you change each instrument to one of a selection of 128 minimum but you can also add remove or change the volume, pan setting, reverb, chorus, sustain etc. governing each instrument.

You can "solo"  to listen to a single instrument or sound or you can "mute" it, to hear all the other sounds.

Each note played by each instrument may be altered by moving it up and down in pitch, lengthening or shortening, deleting, copying etc.

The entire piece may be speeded up, slowed down ,printed out in notation etc.

Verses and choruses may be deleted, moved, copied and pasted etc.

It's uses can be many and varied, from the professional using MIDI file backing tracks in a solo or group performance in a bar or theatre to the music instrument teacher using these classical, pop, country, traditional etc. MIDI files to help in the learning of the instrument, to the 5 or 6 six year old in a classroom environment learning to discriminate between the trumpet and the harp or the tuba and slap bass, to the use of MIDI sound effects in a stage performance  or MIDI files controlling the stage lighting etc. etc. etc.

It is vitally important that MIDI be used in conjunction with the playing of or learning about traditional musical instruments. In fact this is where MIDI music offers the greatest potential .

MIDI allows the practicing instrumentalist the opportunity to play along with a backing track which may be a full orchestra, a jazz band, a rock group, a traditional Irish group, a brass band etc. 

The instrumentalist, though, has complete control over the MIDI musicians. He/she may stop them, start them, speed them up, slow them down, listen to only one or a group of them, send them packing (delete them), replay the whole piece or part once, twice or a thousand times if needs be.

So please browse this site at your leisure and feel free to download what is relevant to your needs. Write to me offering comments and suggestions but most importantly, be constructive in learning more about MIDI from this site and some of the other websites on offer. If you're interested in the  5-part MIDI worksheets which I use in getting children to play music together as a rock group or jazz band or classical quintet etc., please download them and use them or, even better, create some of your own and send them to me as MIDI files and I can post them up for others to download.

To download a MIDI file, lyric sheet or image, right click on the object and then click on one of the options offered ( save picture as; save target as etc.) and download it to a place where you know you will find it. Also give it a name you'll remember. Prior to going on the Internet it is always advisable to open a new folder preferably on your desktop to download to and maybe give it a name associated with what you're downloading eg. "Midi Files".

Many, if not all, of the Irish Midi Files arranged by myself, can be downloaded with lyrics and notes relating to the particular midi file. See the pages "Irish MIDI Files 2" and "Lyrics"  for this option.

PG Music's "Band -in-a-Box" was frequently used for basic arrangements of the Irish Midi Files and these were then transferred to Voyetra's  "Digital Orchestrator Plus" for final polishing.