MIDI Files for Viola da Gambas & Recorders              (updated 12/10/2020)

I have setup this website to share MIDI files of music written for Viola da Gambas and Recorders.  I have found them to be an invaluable rehearsal aid and hope you will find them useful too.  MIDI files 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, or concertos with me as the soloist! 
  • MIDI files are a great aid for intonation training by muting all lines except my own.

Sheet Music
Links to the sheet music have been provided.  These links appear as boldface, underscored text.  For some works I could not find the sheet music freely available, but you can always print the sheet music from the MIDI file using any music notation software.  The free program MuseScore is recommended for this purpose.  See the blog entry of 7/6/2020 for how to do this.
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 easy to reconstitute the sheet music from a MIDI file using any music notation program (Finale, Sibelius, MuseScore, etc).

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 easily change:
  • The tempo of the music
  • The key the music is played in
  • The volume of each line
  • The instrument that plays each line

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 any notation program (Finale, Sibelius, MuseScore, etc).

Tempo
Usually, there is no way I can play a new piece “up to tempo”, but 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 by going slowly!  (Here is the blog entry on How to change tempo in MuseScore)

Pitch
If the music is at A415 but your instrument is tuned to A440, no problem!  The MIDI player can transpose the music up 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.  For intonation, the most unforgiving interval is the unison; mute all lines except your own to quickly find out if there are any notes you need to adjust.
How do I play a MIDI file?
Simple MIDI file players
  • 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.
Full-featured Programs
  • MuseScore is a truly wonderful program!  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 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 a simple MIDI player.  Waveform Free is one such product and it runs on any platform.  It gives you a full Digital Audio Workstation (DAW)!
  • Another 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, anyway?
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.  Also, MIDI files are tiny (not that that matters in these days of terabytes!).

It is the MIDI 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 controls available are entirely determined by the MIDI player you use, not the MIDI file itself.  Which program you use to play your MIDI files makes an enormous difference!

FYI: The synthesizer within MuseScore is quite good, rendering pleasing sound and a broad range of instruments.