Help with sound formats

[seikendensetsu]

Because Flash doesn't support midi, I need a FREE midi to wav or midi to mp3 converter. Does anybody know of one?

Also, how can I reduce the filesize of an mp3 so it doesn't make the filesize of my movie huge? Is there a way to compress it?

Thanks in advance.

[Haze Webdesign]

I don't know about converters, but mp3 can be compressed at different bitrates and will produce different size and quality files. At a very low bitrate you can squeeze it down to about 200kb per minute of audio, which is about as good as it gets.

[seikendensetsu]

Thanks. Now, how would I go about compressing mp3 to different bitrates? What programs do I need?

[Haze Webdesign]

Well, I use CDex, (available from download.com) but:

1) You need to already have the track on CD or as a WAV.
2) It seems to be better at producing high-quality mp3s. Whenever I have tried to produce lower bitrate files the sound quality has always been very bad, even considering the compression.

[ikaros]

If you want to convert from midi to wav or mp3 you should take a look at:

http://www.musicmasterworks.com/midi...converter.html

But be aware that the quality of midi cannot be improved. I would rather listen to 5 seconds of wav then 5 minutes of midi…

regards
ikaros

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I cannot live without dreaming, but maybe it is just a dream that I am living...

[hp3]

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I would rather listen to 5 seconds of wav then 5 minutes of midi…
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I never did understand this rational.

MIDI has nothing to do with sound quality. It is the sound synthesizer that should get the blame or praise.

95% of all music probably has somekind MIDI sequencing in it so people are listening to MIDI all the time, just recorded from quality sounds.

Dont blame MIDI, just the synthesizer/sampler.

[seikendensetsu]

I don't care about the quality of the midi file, I just have a load of midi files from SNES games that I need to convert so I can import them to Flash.

I've downloaded WinAmp (thanks ikaros), and I can open and play my midis fine, but how do I save to wav format?

[ikaros]

how do I save to wav format?

Converting to wave.
Load up winamp. Press Ctrl + P. Go to Plugins > Output and select the Nullsoft Disk Writer plugin.

Click configure and select a location for your output file.
Load your audio into winamp and "play" it. Instead it will be very quickly written to disc as an uncompressed wav.

I never did understand this rational.

About quality sound. Well, the way I see it is the way I hear it. I understand your point, hp3. But the music that reach my ear, my body and soul is for me of very different quality.
The difference in size between midi and wave is enormous. And those bytes in between, that makes a big difference in my experience of the sound. Maybe I use the term "quality" wrong in some senses of the word. Anyway, quality for me is music that sounds well in my ears.
It is perhaps not relevant, but my profession is Music Teacher


Regards
ikaros

_______________________________________________

I cannot live without dreaming, but maybe it is just a dream that I am living...

[seikendensetsu]

I must be sounding like a complete n00bie here, but in the preferences menu (CTRL-P) I can't find anything marked plugins. Down the side I get bookmarks, system, internet, audio, video, skins, addons/skinmods, color themes, media info editor, and various subcategories, but no plugins. And I can't find plugins in any of these categories either.

Thanks a lot for your help.

[MopFlash]

i have done it, i know how to convert midi to whateva u want, without having to pay a cent, go here www.********.tk then click mf original, then click one of the links to the midi to audio tutorial.
and u can chose the quality of the file.

[hp3]

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About quality sound. Well, the way I see it is the way I hear it. I understand your point, hp3. But the music that reach my ear, my body and soul is for me of very different quality.
The difference in size between midi and wave is enormous. And those bytes in between, that makes a big difference in my experience of the sound.
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I have a master's degree in music composition, and was a music educator for 2 years.

95% of the music we hear every day has somekind of MIDI sequencing and synthesis involved. Often times we are listing to MIDI compositions recorded to "wav" and burned onto a CD. Most people are not aware that MIDI plays such a large role in contemporary music production. The quality of the production is a combination of high level studio musicianship, composition/arranging, professional use of technology, and high quality recording. So the notion that MIDI equals poor quality sound is a myth. MIDI and synthesis is an enormously powerful tool for creating and producing music.

Most people associate MIDI with "cheesey quality" because they are listening to poorly created MIDI files that they find on the web and then played through a computer sound card, with a less than professional synthesizer. These MIDI files are often created from music notation programs and have a very stiff rhythmic quality, almost robotic. Combine that with the poor renditions of accoustic instruments from the sound card, and you get a laughable version of any song. They are not produced in a professional way, nor are they intended for this. But that is just poor use of the technology, not a fault of the technology itself.

I think it is important to understand, especially for an educator in the 21st century, how music is produced and how the process impacts the end quality.

Of course acoustic music does not generally include synthesized sound or MIDI sequencing for that matter.

Though in the end, all sounds are equal and it all depends upon how well the composer fits the sounds together. (just like all colors are equal to a painter)

[seikendensetsu]

Thanks ********, that did the trick. Now all I need is a way to compress mp3s... CDex didn't work too well. Anyone know?

[ikaros]

Have a look at the program DietMP3 at:
http://www.iomation.com/products/pro...ductID=dietmp3

Or maybe this tutorial will do the trick:
http://www.angelfire.com/journal/compress/

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As for the computer sound quality, I should just say that I prefer wave to the poorly created MIDI files found on the web.

ikaros

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I cannot live without dreaming, but maybe it is just a dream that I am living...