Fourteen years ago, more than a hundred companies agreed on a standard way
for making music with computers鈥攖he Musical Instrument Digital Interface.
Midi player software turns your computer into a virtual musical instrument, as
music files tell it鈥攐r an electronic instrument connected to it鈥攚hat
notes to sound and in which order. Most modern PCs, when fitted with a sound
card, can play the thousands of Midi files stashed around the Web鈥攁nd all
Macs come with sound circuitry built-in.
You鈥檒l find a selection of music files in the Electronic Music Forum at
http://computingcentral.com/forums/default.asp?electronicmusic/index.htm or
you can search for works by your favourite artist or a well-loved tune by following the advice at
http://www.aitech.ac.jp/~ckelly/midi/help/midi-search.html.
