
There are some instructions here.īoth of these applications can output to a file, so either one can be used for converting MIDI files. If VLC isn’t your cup of tea, or you want to enable MIDI playback for all applications under Linux, SoundFont files are also supported by the somewhat less user-friendly Timidity++, which can be configured as a local MIDI server.

ONLINE MIDI JAM MAC OS
However, as far as DLS goes, you’re stuck with using Windows or Mac OS X. The SoundFont format, due to its popularity, is well supported by the open source community, and can be utilised under most operating systems. SoundFont took off and gained a large following, whereas DLS, which never gained any sizeable momentum, is ironically the format supported natively by the synthesisers built into both Windows and Mac OS X. Though several different formats of soundbanks surfaced, the two notable formats are Creative’s SoundFont and MMA’s Downloadable Sounds (DLS).
ONLINE MIDI JAM MOD
This solution offered increased flexibility, and was actually rather reminiscent of module music, a format which contained samples and instrument instructions in the one file (and which I happen to have a bit of a soft spot for, see my article on MOD music.) In order to extend the format’s potential and facilitate better results, several organisations worked on developing file formats that would allow composers to create their own custom soundbanks, which could then be loaded by MIDI synthesisers, to ensure the end user heard exactly what the composer had intended. The final sound depended on the soundbanks (collections of pre-recorded samples) that the user’s synthesiser or sound card used for playback, which were often low-quality and rarely sounded the same as those used by the composer. However, the nature of MIDI somewhat limited the potential of the format, since composers had no control over what end users actually heard.

The format was favoured due to its relatively low computational overhead, which suited the limited hardware of the day, as well as the small filesizes that made it ideal for transferring over the internet.

Methods of playing MIDI files using custom soundbanks, without the use of a music sequencing application. Article: Playing MIDI files using custom soundfonts
