MIDI Files for Viola da Gambas & Recorders

I have setup this site to share MIDI files of music written for Viola da Gambas and Recorders.  I have found MIDI files an invaluable rehearsal aid and hope you will find them useful too.  They allow you to play along with all parts present, every note perfectly placed and perfectly in tune!

MIDI files have been my "secret weapon" for many years; I can show up at the first rehearsal with a strong sense of how my part fits into the whole.  In these days of social distancing however, their value as a rehearsal tool has become even more apparent.  I can practice pieces with the entire ensemble "present".  I can explore music I rarely get the opportunity to play, such as the 6-part literature for my instrument, or concertos with me as the soloist!  MIDI files can be a great aid for intonation by muting all lines except your own.

You can find the sheet music for most of the MIDI files found here on the International Music Score Library Project
but you can also print the parts from the MIDI file using the free program MuseScore.  See my blog for details.
Why MIDI files?
MIDI files are the ideal medium for musicians, especially in these times of social distancing: they allow "music-minus-one" rehearsing, and it is also easy to reconstitute the sheet music from a MIDI file using the free program MuseScore.

With an audio file (MP3 or WAV, for example) the play-back is fixed; you have no control over the tempo nor the key.  MIDI files, on the other hand, give you the freedom to change:
  • The tempo the music is played at
  • The key the music is played in
  • The volume of each part
  • The instrument that will play each part

You do not have to change anything when using a MIDI file but you can, and that is what makes a MIDI file such a powerful rehearsal tool.  Additionally, you can print the score and/or parts from a MIDI file using the free program MuseScore!

Tempo
Usually, there is no way I can play a new piece “up to tempo”.  MIDI files can be played at any tempo I desire.  More to the point, they can be played at a tempo I can manage.  Once I can play all the notes correctly I then (and only then!) increase the tempo.  If you practice at too fast a tempo, what you will be ingraining in your muscle memory are the mistakes.  As in so many things in life, the fastest way to get there is to go slowly!

Pitch
If the music is at A440 but your instrument is tuned to A415, no problem!  The MIDI player can transpose the music down a half-step.  If the music is a flute sonata in the key of D major but your sheet music is for recorder in the key of F major, the MIDI player can transpose the music up a minor third.  The most unforgiving interval is the unison; mute all lines except your own to quickly locate any notes you need to adjust.
How do I play a MIDI file?
Free MIDI player (Windows-only) allows you to manipulate the playback tempo and pitch.
NoteWorthy Composer Viewer (Windows-only) is a free program that plays MIDI files and displays them in musical notation (very cool!)
Another option is Sweet MIDI Player.  The trial version is free and it is available for Windows and Apple products.  I use it on my iPad because it is portable and I can stream the music to any local Bluetooth speaker.  The free trial version has all features enabled and never expires, but will only play 75% of a MIDI file until you register it.
A truly wonderful program is MuseScore.  It will play your MIDI files, sure, but it can also turn them into sheet music!  It runs on Windows, MacOS, Linux and Chromebook.  MuseScore is a full-featured professional notation program (think Sibelius and Finale), but free!
If you are into audio technology, there are other free programs that go well beyond being simply a MIDI player.  Tracktion T7 is one such product and it runs on any platform.  It gives you a full-feature Digital Audio Workstation (DAW)!
Another full-featured DAW is Cakewalk by Bandlab.  Cakewalk the company went away in 2017 and their IP was obtained by BandLab.  They offer what used to be Cakewalk Sonar Platinum for free!  I bought nearly every new release of Sonar for years, and it is what I still use today.  It does EVERYTHING!
What are MIDI files?
MIDI files are not audio files.  They contain only the essential information about a piece of music: the pitch of each note, when it is to be played and its duration (i.e. the information contained on a sheet of music).  This is why perfect sheet music can be created from a MIDI file.

It is the MIDI file player that takes that information and renders it into sound, approximating the sound of the specified instruments as best it can.  The quality of the sound and the suite of controls available are entirely determined by the MIDI player you use, not the MIDI file itself.

MIDI files are tiny.  I can "beam up" a copy of sheet music and you can reconstitute a copy on your end using MuseScore.