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Could media player actually just play midi dumps like this back in the day? I've been on Linux for so long now, that being able to just play a MIDI file withou
by kelvie 1y ago
Could media player actually just play midi dumps like this back in the day?
I've been on Linux for so long now, that being able to just play a MIDI file without making a bunch of decisions about soundfonts and synthesizers [1] just seems mind-blowing to me now.
Part of me wishes that just by default, mpv or something would just pick a softsynth and just play it (like WMP here) rather than have me install a separate program, pick a sound font, invoke it in some weird way to let it know what soundfont I want, and not even be able to seek back and forth.
[1] https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/MIDI#List_of_SoundFonts https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/MIDI#List_of_SoundFonts
- dleslie 1y agoYes, and sharing midi files was commonplace before mp3s took over. Mid and mod, what an era.
- tripflag 1y agomods are still alive, and crazier than ever -- proof that 4 channels is all you need! https://www.stef.be/bassoontracker/?file=ma-205456 https://www.stef.be/bassoontracker/?file=ma-205456
- Intermernet 1y agoOh that's beautiful. You made me a happy person.
- saint_yossarian 1y agoYes, there was even a <bgsound> HTML tag to play MIDI files, which was heavily used in places like Geocities.
- TazeTSchnitzel 1y agoWindows and macOS have both bundled similar low-quality licensed versions of a Roland GS sample set and low-quality software synthesisers since the late 1990's. Neither of them are as good as even the lowest-end dedicated hardware General MIDI synth from Roland was, but they're still better than nothing. You're unlucky because you happen to be using Linux. unfortunately the best in that field was and remains proprietary so this will probably never be solved on that platform.