MIDI (Sound) Files
MIDI sequence files are digital music files that can be embedded into the background of your web page to play when the page loads, when visitors click the play button, or when visitor clicks on a direct file link.
HINT: To save bandwidth, you can use a short piece and loop it to play 2 or more times. Continuous looping is possible, too (i.e. song repeats indefinitely until user leaves page).
CAUTION: Some people find background music highly irritating. So utmost care and consideration must be taken when including sound or any other media on your web pages. An OFF button is good, but an ON button is preferred. That way the user decides whether or not to play the sound.
Embedding Sound Files
The embed tag is deprecated (not valid based on current W3C standards). However almost all modern browsers still support it.
Example 1 - automatically plays when page loads and repeats until visitor turns it off, exits page or closes window.
<embed src="yourfilename.mid" autostart="true" hidden="false" loop="true" height="46" width="145">
Example 2 - automatically loads the player controls but users must hit the "play" button to hear the sound file.
<embed src="filename.mid" autostart="false" hidden="false" loop="false" height="46" width="145">
The difference between MIDI and other music files (.WAV, MPEG, RAV, AU, etc...) is that MIDIs are relatively small in file size and they play on almost any computer equipped with a basic sound card and media player. Typically, when a user clicks on a link to a sound file, the file is downloaded into the browser's cache which sends a message to the appropriate Plug-In and launches the required media player.
NOTE: If a site visitor does not have the necessary Plug-In installed in their browser, they will not be able to hear your embedded sound file.
Some popular media players:
- Microsoft Windows Media Player
- REAL Player
- Quick Time Media Player
- Plug-ins for Firefox
- Crescendo MIDI Player Plug-In & other MIDI Utilities
MIDI Ringtones
MIDI files make excellent ringtones for cellphones too. If your particular brand of cellphone doesn't accept MIDI sequence files, fear not. Here is a Free On-line MIDI to MP3 Converter.
- Click on the direct file links below to download & play tunes.
- Or use "right click" to save file to your hard drive (use left click if you're left handed).
- Enjoy the concert!
