Program to show instruments and notes from a MIDI file

[Joe Caverly]

Hi,
Many years back, there was a PC Mag program that showed the
instruments and notes played from a MIDI file. I can't remember the
name of the program.

Is there a freeware equivelent to this? Needs to run on a Win98 and
WinXP Pro system.

Thanks,

Joe

 

[Tom McDonald]

Hi,
Many years back, there was a PC Mag program that showed the
instruments and notes played from a MIDI file. I can't remember the
name of the program.

Is there a freeware equivelent to this? Needs to run on a Win98 and
WinXP Pro system.

Thanks,

Joe

Anvil Studio will do this, as well as allowing you to change the
instruments and notes, and save your results. In fact, it does many
useful things, even if you never purchase any of the upgrades.

Depending on your point of view, this may be considered crippleware.

http://www.anvilstudio.com/

 

[Lord Possum]

Anvil Studio will do this, as well as allowing you to change the
instruments and notes, and save your results. In fact, it does many
useful things, even if you never purchase any of the upgrades.

Depending on your point of view, this may be considered crippleware.

=================================

In this particular usegroup, Anvil Studio is definitely crippleware,
and in nowise can it be considered a freeware product. What good at
all is a 1-minute trial?

 

[Roger Johansson]

In this particular usegroup, Anvil Studio is definitely crippleware,
and in nowise can it be considered a freeware product. What good at
all is a 1-minute trial?

There is no limitation for the midi part, which is the important part
for working with midi files. In advanced midi and sound sequensers you
can also mix in waw files and that is the part that is limited in this
program, unless you pay for an upgrade.

For the purpose of working with pure midi files, composing music, etc..
this is freeware. And it looks like it is working very well, I tried a
few good midi files and looked at the features, it has all the features
you could ask for from a good midi sequenser. Except mixing in waw
files.

It is like a very good freeware newsreader where all the newsreader
functions are enabled, but it has an extra feature, real time chat,
which is limited to one minute if you don't pay for an upgrade. Is that
newsreader crippled? No, not for reading news.

Very useful and valuable freeware, in my opinion.

 

[aafuss]

Babya Logic:
http://www.winsite.com/bin/Info?26000000037648

 

[Lord Possum]

There is no limitation for the midi part, which is the important part
for working with midi files. In advanced midi and sound sequensers you
can also mix in waw files and that is the part that is limited in this
program, unless you pay for an upgrade.

Very useful and valuable freeware, in my opinion.

Indeed .. very useful. I agree that the limitation isn't annoying for
the purposes you and the original poster desired.

In regards a related similar product. I found in my archives from
earliest Win 3.11 days a program called TRAX which was a freeware
offering from a now-defunct company called Passport Designs. Trax
version 2.20 was shipped as a freebie adjunct with many soundboards
during the 1980's. I've searched the web for this product, and found
that GVox acquired Passport Designs out of bankruptcy. GVox offered a
product similar in name with heavily advanced features, but the old Trax
version 2.2 seems available only in the archives of those aficianados of
Win 3.11 days. I installed my old copy and was delighted to see that it
dances just fine in XP, listing instruments, allowing changes, as well
as changes in tempo and key transpositions. Another freebie MidiNote
allows me to print out .MID files into sheet music.

 

[BoB]

You're probably looking for something like Music Sculptor v1.7,
the best I've ever seen, demo with nag though.

Description here:
http://www.harmony-central.com/Software/Windows/musculpt.html

Also here:
http://www.filelibrary.com/Contents/Windows/135/19.html

BoB

 

[nowayjose]

Hi,
Many years back, there was a PC Mag program that showed the
instruments and notes played from a MIDI file. I can't remember the
name of the program.

Is there a freeware equivelent to this? Needs to run on a Win98 and
WinXP Pro system.

Thanks,

Joe

EasyMid:http://perso.wanadoo.es/rollitop/easymid.htm

Easy Midi is a 100% free program for playing music using midi files and a
midi keyboard

Megamid:http://www.neutrio.com/megamid/index.html

MegaMID started as a MIDI player for DOS. It is now in the process of being
rewritten from scratch for Windows. It does not have as many features as
the DOS version yet, but it has a lot of potential and will hopefully one
day be much better than the DOS version ever was.

MegaMID is special - it allows you to see all the neat stuff going on
behind the scene as your MIDI file plays. For example, you can see the
instruments used, and the notes that are being played (and that's the tip
of the iceberg).

 

[Roger Johansson]

Megamid:http://www.neutrio.com/megamid/index.html

MegaMID started as a MIDI player for DOS. It is now in the process of being
rewritten from scratch for Windows. It does not have as many features as
the DOS version yet, but it has a lot of potential and will hopefully one
day be much better than the DOS version ever was.

I was in contact with the author Chee Keat for a few years before 2003.
He hasn't been heard of for 3 years now.
Last words from him said he was too occupied with other work.

The windows version works fairly well but is not complete.
The real masterpiece of programming is Megamid 166 for DOS.
The most fantastic midi player ever made.

It makes it worth the trouble of running in DOS, which I have done
successfully under win98. You will be totally engaged in watching music
so there is no real need for multitasking while running Megamid, but I
remember being able to switch between the Megamid display and other
programs.

MegaMID is special - it allows you to see all the neat stuff going on
behind the scene as your MIDI file plays. For example, you can see the
instruments used, and the notes that are being played (and that's the tip
of the iceberg).

I have made my own background picture, a clean dark grey background,
the tool to create new backgrounds is included in the Megamid 166
package.

The default background is bit too disturbing, in my taste.

It needs some setting up too, but all you need is included and
explained.
Some computer knowledge is needed, like how to edit autoexec.bat.

This program does not show sheet music view, but shows the music
visually, with 16 big keyboards where you see how keys are pushed with
different strengths.

You see how the musicians operate all controls like pitch bend, pan,
etc..
You can change key, instruments, speed etc..

The karaoke view is perfect, with a bouncing ball over the text showing
exactly when to sing each part of every word.

I have spent a hundred hours watching music visually with the help of
Megamid, seeing how harmonies are built up on all the keyboards
simultaneously.

It is a fantastic experience which no other midi player gives.
(I tried to talk vanBasco into developing his midi player towards
Megamid capability but he could not for technical reasons, he said. His
view of all keyboards simultaneously is too small, and useless for
seeing chords clearly)

The view with pitch bend showing bending of tones visually is great.
I prefer to see the keyboards so I can see the chords clearly, but you
can hide the keyboards and see only the active tones if you like.

This link to version 166 works, but there are other working links too.
http://www.neutrio.com/megamid_dos/download.htm

I can imagine having Megamid projected on a big wall for parties,
karaoke nights, or for serious study of music for classes. If I was a
music teacher I would see Megamid as a very valuable program for
teaching composing and orchestration.

Thanks for mentioning Megamid, even if it does not exactly fit the
needs of the person who started the thread.