Did you know that your computer is a musical
instrument and sound effects generator? As long as
it has sound-producing hardware (a sound card, in
the case of IBM-compatibles) and software, it will
allow you to compose and probably even record your
own music and sounds.
  
Not much of a musician, you say, but you know a
good tune when you hear it? Well, that same
hardware will play pre-recorded music and sounds as
well. That's where the wonderful world of GEnie
comes in. GEnie's Software Libraries have loads of
files that contain music and sounds practically
aching to be heard.
  
Sounds Like...
  
Sound files, which are also known as "samples," are
actual real-world sounds that have been recorded as
numbers so computers can read and store them. Any
sound can be sampled -- a bird call, a telephone
ringing, the cry of a baby, musical instruments or,
for that matter, even a toe-tapping tune. Anything
you can hear can be turned into a sampled sound and
saved on a computer.
  
Although the basic information in all sound samples
(the raw data) is the same, not all sound files are
alike. Sounds come in different file formats, each
pertaining to the type of computer on which it was
created. Apple has its AIFF file format while Amiga
has IFF; IBM DOS has the VOC or Sound Blaster voice
file format, and so on. One of the most popular
formats in use today is Microsoft Windows' WAV
sound. The important thing to remember about these
different file formats is that they can easily be
converted with software to be made playable on any
type of personal computer.
  
In order to play sounds you need a player program
and, depending on the format of the file you want
to hear, possibly a program to convert it to the
format required by your computer. You'll find a
selection of players and conversion programs in
your favorite Computing RoundTable. They're also
available in RoundTables like MIDI (GEnie Page
430) and Multimedia, Desktop Video, and Virtual
Reality (Page 2000). Popular players include
Multimedia Jukebox for Windows, Play v1.2 for DOS,
and Sound Lab for the Atari ST. All of these
programs handle a variety of formats, including
WAV.
  
Besides playing sounds for pure enjoyment, there
are a number of things you can do with them. Sound
effects can make ALL the difference in multimedia
presentations and slideshows, and you can have lots
of fun enhancing your computer's desktop with them.
There are utility programs in most Computing
RoundTables that allow you to attach sounds to
system events such as opening and closing windows
or icons. The possibilities are limited only by
your imagination. In addition to sounds, musical
effects can be used in a variety of situations,
particularly if you have some programming skills.
  
Music Synthesis
  
Music, as it pertains to computers, comes in many
different forms, the most universal being MIDI and
MOD files.
  
MIDI files can almost be considered the opposite of
WAV files which, you will recall, are little
recordings (digitized samples) of real-world
sounds. MIDI, which stands for Musical Instrument
Digital Interface, is a communications protocol or
computer language used to communicate with music
synthesizers. In other words, a MIDI file is simply
a set of instructions.
  
In order to make music using MIDI you must have (1)
a MIDI file containing musical instructions, (2) a
MIDI program capable of understanding that file,
and (3) a music synthesizer that will follow the
MIDI instructions and generate the sound.
  
Music synthesizers don't always have
black-and-white piano-style keyboards attached to
them. In fact, if you use a Macintosh, Amiga or
Atari, you're in luck since those computers come
with basic music synthesizers built-in. If you use
an IBM-compatible, you will probably want to
install what is known as a sound card. Sound cards
(such as Creative Labs' Sound Blaster) are hardware
devices that let your computer make, well, sound...
and most sound cards have synthesizers that will
play MIDI files.
  
If you're serious about music, you can forego a
sound card (or simple built-in synthesizer, if you
have one) and get a dedicated, MIDI-compatible
music synthesizer -- again with or without a
piano-style keyboard since you can control it using
software. Connect the synthesizer to your computer
with a MIDI interface and cables, and you can
really rock 'n' roll!
  
MIDI versus MOD
  
As wonderful as MIDI files are (their small size
makes them easy to transport and store), it can
sometimes be difficult to reproduce MIDI music as
the composer intended. You see, in order for
MIDI-controlled music to sound exactly the way the
composer intended, the listener (you) must play it
on the same type of synthesizer he composed it on.
The more recent General MIDI Standard (indicated by
the letters GS in a file name) has done wonders to
overcome this situation provided you have a
GS-compatible synthesizer, but with MOD files that
limitation is completely abolished.
  
MODs (short for MODule) trace their heritage back
to the Commodore 64 days, and are actually hybrid
MIDI and sample files. MOD files offer the best of
both worlds in that they contain both music data
(notes, tempo, and the instructions found in MIDI
files) and sound samples (WAVs or other instrument
sounds) combined in one file. This makes MODs easy
to deal with and portable, despite their
comparatively larger-than-MIDI file size. As long
as you have a MOD player for your particular
computer, you can download and play any MOD file.
Best of all, you don't need MIDI equipment or a
dedicated synthesizer to hear the music exactly as
the composer intended.
  
Seek and You Shall Find
  
GEnie's Software Libraries contain thousands of
music files -- sound samples like WAVs, MIDI files
and players, and MODs -- just waiting to be
downloaded. Rock, Pop, Jazz, NewAge, Classical --
you'll find all types of music online. You can get
file players for your computer, as well as music
and sound files, in the Computing RoundTable
Libraries, and the MIDI (Page 430), MUSIC (Page
135) and MULTIMEDIA (Page 2000) RoundTable
Libraries.
  
And those aren't the only places to look. Many of
GEnie's other RoundTables offer a variety of music
and sound files unique to their genre. For
instance, take a trip to the Japan RoundTable
Library (Page 225) for some interesting bits
relating to that culture, or visit the Space and
Science RoundTable Library (Page 460) for sound
clips from the Apollo 12 space flight. You can find
music and sound files for just about anything on
GEnie.
  
Sound Advice
  
Discussions about digital music and sound can be
found in the Bulletin Boards on these RoundTables
as well. In particular, check out Categories 2, 3,
4 and 5 in the MIDI Bulletin Board for discussions
pertaining to your specific computer, and Category
9 in the MULTIMEDIA RoundTable Bulletin Board for
more music and sound advice.
  
  
Music and sound are enjoyed by everyone. Music can
pick you up when you're feeling down, and sound is
so much a part of our everyday lives we often
aren't even aware of it. Now that personal
computers are coming up to speed in the audio realm
you can start having fun with this wonderful
medium.
  
The next time you're in the mood for a soothing
melody or perhaps the sound of a fantastic flight
into space, look no further than GEnie, your
ultimate music and sound source.
  
Here are some recommended files to get you started:
  
For IBM (Windows):

 File#  Filename    Description         RoundTable
 -------------------------------------------------
 8097   MMJUKE4     WAV & MIDI Player   MIDI
  448   WMP004B     MOD Player          MULTIMEDIA

For IBM (DOS)

  378   WOWII200    MOD Player          MULTIMEDIA
  988   PLAY12      WAV & MIDI Player   MULTIMEDIA

For Mac

 4600   SNDTREK1    MOD Player          MIDI
15106   MIDICP      MIDI Player         MAC
31369   SOUNDAPP    WAV Player          MAC

For Amiga

18017   OPLAY123    WAV Player          AMIGA
22648   MIDIPL      MIDI Player         AMIGA
23116   DMODP301    MOD Player          AMIGA

For Atari

29518   SNDLB111    WAV Player          ST
 4806   MMM221      MIDI Player         MIDI
 4242   PAULA20     MOD Player          MIDI

For All Systems

 7423   PIECESD1    WAV File (music)    MIDI
 7350   COMPLETF    WAV File (sound fx) MIDI
 4575   A12-WAVS    WAV File (sound)    SPACERT
 7979   PINBALL     MOD File            MIDI
 7959   CRYSDRAG    MOD File            MIDI
 5169   BANJOS55    MIDI File           MIDI
 6102   ROCKTHIS    MIDI File           MIDI
 7319   FAITHFLL    MIDI File           MIDI
