While
trying out Linux mint I was surprised at it not being able to play midi files
out of the box. This can be easily remedied by installing the fluidsynth
soundfont plugin for vlc. I'll assume here that you have already the vlc player installed.
Step 1
Open your
software manager and search for vlc.
Step 2
Among the
results is one for vlc-plugin-fluidsynth. Select it and install it.
Step 3
Open your
terminal with Ctrl+Alt+T
Step 4
We want to associate the format to the player.
Type
gksudo gedit /usr/share/applications/defaults.list
Step 5
Press
Ctrl+H and search for midi.
Step 6
Replace
audio/midi=totem.desktop for audio/midi=vlc.desktop. Save your work and you are
done.
I must have been living in a cave or something, because I missed the most important development in midi file output probably ever. Now, I'll most likely get the following facts wrong, but this is how I experienced them. If you were not there back then, in prehistory, computers could only output *beep-boop* sounds. Slowly, but surely the quality of synthesization improved so much as to make 8-bit gaming possible. Around the mid-90s development got stuck midi-wise, thanks in part to the emergence of recorded digital music. The last important release was Yamaha's XG format. Windows computers have kept midi support up to this day, but it's quality is as bad as it was 15 or 20 years ago. This midi synthesization is what most people know and hate. But now, there is a way to easily fix this.
Up until a couple of weeks ago I have been enjoying my media library with my S-YXG50v4 Yamaha softsynth. Back in the day, I purchased it for around $50. This softsynth gives better quality than the usual fare, but an independent listener would probably say that by not much. When Vista came out, the synth could no longer be installed and no update was forthcoming from Yamaha. As a roundabout solution, I found that it could still work, if you installed it in a XP virtual machine resulting in no noticeable loss. I was so satisfied with this solution, that I even posted it on the official Microsoft forums.
But why stop here? Claudio Nicora wrote VirtualMIDIsynth which now seamlessly lets you load soundfonts that sound a couple of quantum leaps better than anything you & I have experienced before. The program works by just replacing the Microsoft synth with one of its own, which in turn can load the soundfont (*.sf2) of your choice. The solution is very neat as you no longer need a dedicated player to load the sound fonts and works with the included Windows media player. The solution is so roundly good, that even most of my XG files will play right. If you're a purist, there are at least a couple of XG sound fonts out there which mimic the format closely, but I think no sane person will now prefer that to the superior soundfont offerings which are for the taking. The page offers links to several on which you can sink your teeth into right away.
In conclusion: Rejoice! Spread the word! The problem of midi music in Windows has been solved.
Since about 1996 I have been collecting choice midi files and have just crossed the 1000 mark. I really like listening to them, especially when I'm doing boring stuff at the computer.
Through a circuitous route I recently came to realize how wonderful Touhou music is. In fact,
If you do not know what Touhou is (I didn't), watch this:
As a community service, I decided to post in one place all the best links that I have found where you can download Touhou midi files; or close enough. I am leery about hotlinking, so you will have to scroll around a bit to find the files. Just a bit.
Originals
Probably the first stop should be the Touhou Midi Central which tries to cover as much ground from all the games as it can.
http://touhoumidi.altervista.org/
Should that one fail, the original files from Touhou 6 to 8 are the most common. With some 9 included, you can find them here:
Some of the music here is in XG midi format which can sound poorly if your player doesn't support it (more on that on a later post- good stuff). For some reason I can no longer find here my first Tohou midi ever, Remilia_Scarlet_-_Septette_for_the_Dead_Princess_XG.mid. Do try to find it elsewhere.
For an extravaganza of notes do not miss this version of Necrofantasia
Touted to be the wildest midi ever, I can at least attest that the file is so packed that it is over four times as big in size as the previous title holder in my collection.
Update 10/13/15
Turns out there are even wilder whale-sized midis out there and most of them built on touhou music. However, in my estimate, none of these sound any good and they are probably unplayable anyway as the wiki owner notes.
http://impossible-music.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_Largest_MIDIs
Samidare's
http://samidare.ehoh.net/music.html
There is a link to a zip file of his music. Included is one of the very few medleys I've found
This one just came to my attention while looking for Link's "Molduga's battle". A treasure trove worth not just for Touhou but for everything else. I'm so new to it that I haven't mined its riches yet. Registration is required.
Managed to get a few mids from his old site and I've got to say that these are among the best renditions. Unfortunately the composer isn't sharing at this time. Keep on checking for, who knows? he might make them all available again...
http://iruka33.web.fc2.com/
Finally some medleys and music from the later games. Click on 'score' to the left. http://easypianoscore.jp/
Easier renditions. 80%+ of everything incl Cds by the looks of it. Menu at the left
The niconicodouga medleys have some of the themes in there:
http://kumikyoku.rintaun.net/Bad Apple: Tako8 has a really nice rendition of the shadow art Bad apple!! but doesn't sound right without his soundfont:
Hi. I'm interested in books, tea & tech of course. Chess (I'm about 1900 elo on Fics) and music too. Some anime on the side; have a Crunchyroll account over there.
I swim daily on weekdays and have joined a gym (I want my own Frank and Andy). Never learned to ride a bike though.
Thanks for stopping by.
