I've just gotten NWC, and am finding it wonderful for helping me (and others) learn our music (we're choral singers, please no flames about our abilities to read/play music). I'm trying to create CDs of MIDI files for others in my section & have followed the instructions on "Making an audio CD of *nwc files" with no luck. Synthfont simply stymies me. Any help available for this? Thanks!
Sooz
If you have a Soundblaster sound card on your computer, you will have a program called Creative Wave Studio. Open it, set it to record, then switch to NWC and play your song. All the sound signals that go through your sound card will be recorded as a WAV file. WAV files are what are on a CD. You can do the same thing with SoundRecorder that comes with Windows, but you have to tinker with it to allow more than a minute of recording time.
Wow! That's the easiest explanation ever!
I tried it and it works quite well.
However, a 50K MIDI file turns into a 23.4M Wave file,
an 89K MIDI file turns into a 41.9M Wave file, etc.
Is that right? Am I doing something wrong?
Moin SusanLee,
this is not as easy as one may think, basically you have to play MIDI on your system an record it at the same time. The instruction to play a note on a specific (MIDI-)instrument takes almost no space whereas the recorded sound is occupying a lot of memory depending on the sampling fequency.
If David's approach is not working for you try downloading synthfont at http://www.synthfont.com/. The free software allows you to play specified MIDI-channels and save the sound into a WAV or MP3 file. Files of those types are accepted on state of the art CD-players.
- wolfman
Yes, wav files are big, I figure around 10 megabytes per minute of music. I wasn't aware of the software Wolfman tells us about.
Without that, you can "rip" wav files to MP3 format, about 1/10 the size. There are programs you can find online that will do that, or your CD burner may have come with software to rip an mp3 from a CD. If the software accepts the wav file on your harddrive as input, you're in business.
Also, you can export to MIDI, import those into certain CD burning software packages, and just burn to a CD. (iTunes can convert from MIDI to MP3, or burn MIDIs to CD.)
Sooz,
If you can play the music through your PC's speakers, then making a 'wav' file of the music should be easy. You save the 'wav' file somewhere on your PC and then copy it on to a blank audio CD. This will then play back through the majority of CD players.
There are several ways of making that 'wav' file as has already been said. Personally, I use a program called RipVinyl (www.ripvinyl.com) which you have to purchase, but at a very low cost. Buyng it is instantaneous, all done over the Internet. I use it because for me it is the easiest to use and at 83 years of age that is important! It will make a 'wav' recording of whatever you are hearing on your PC at the time.
Copying the 'wav' file on to a CD can be done in numerous ways. You may find that your PC operating system already allows for this or you may use one of the many CD "burner" programs.
Tony
Wow Tony! 83 yrs. old? That's amazing. Most people your age steer clear of all that hi tech electronic stuff. I know it drives me crazy at about 30 years your junior. Just when you thnk you've got it, they change it! More power to you and God Bless!
My maxim has been to interest myself in as many different kinds of activity as possible, having regard to the fact that my reduced physical fitness means that some kinds of energetic pursuit are not on!
Music notation with NWC also allows me to "play" music that would otherwise be beyond me. With a good pipe organ sound font I can play Widor's Toccata without a single mistake! Notating the music is equivalent to a few hour's practise on a real instrument.
Tony ( 84 in November)