Now I'd like to show you to some of my favorite WWW sites ! Many of them belong to people whom I've had the pleasure to get to know over the Internet. All of them belong to people who unselfishly dedicate their time and energy to support the Internet MIDI community. I had a really hard time doing this page because I have so many favorite WWW sites, that it wasn't easy to decide which links to include.And please excuse me for having gotten a little bit corny with the images here. It's just that I love Internet, and especially the Internet MIDI community so much that I got pretty sentimental about designing this page. Like the old saying goes, "Home is where the heart is...", and I feel really at home in our Internet MIDI community, so the only images that I could imagine to be fitting here were hearts and gold. :^)
So here are just a few of my favorite links for your surfing pleasure. Since some of you may prefer a list, rather than reading the whole text in order to come to the links, at the end of this page is a list of the links mentioned below, as well as some more of my favorites.
Ragtime has always been one of my favorite types of music. Other ragtime fans should definitely download John Cowles' wonderful collection of ragtime MIDI sequences, rags.zip (186 kB). You should also check out the ragtime FTP site , featuring many ragtime sequences by John Cowles, Mary Haley and Warren Trachtman. There's also a ragtime newsgroup called rec.music.ragtime.
You'll also want to drop by and visit Mary Haley's Ragtime Home Page , Warren Trachtman's Ragtime MIDI Page, and The Ragtime Press MIDI Music Archive. In addition to lots of wonderful ragtime sequences, they've also provided many interesting ragtime-related links. All the names I mention here are synonymous with ragtime on the Internet, so let them take you on a guided tour back through time, to the good old days of ragtime !
I just stumbled across a real gem for ragtime fans, John Roache's MIDI Music File Libraries ! John describes himself as "an amateur ragtime enthusiast", but after hearing his sequences, I must say that, although the rest is true, "amateur" is very far from being an accurate description. ;-) He confesses to having played piano for 50 years and to having made MIDI-sequences back in the old Commodore-64 days, and his experience is very audible in his sequences. In addition to his great sequences, John also includes interesting tidbits of information about the songs he's sequenced. John's a real ragtime lover, who wears his heart on his sleeve. :-) Be sure to drop by and pay him a visit !
Another one of my favorite styles of music is big band music ! arranger here in the Internet MIDI community, and if you've spent any time browsing in the UseNet newsgroup alt.binaries.sounds.midi, you've probably already enjoyed some of Gary's sequences. He's known and loved by one and all as GaryW0001, and if you're a big band fan too, you won't want to miss hearing some of the great MIDI sequences that Gary just "cooks up" in his spare time ! Now Gary's sequences are easily accessible over the MIDI CITY site. While you're visiting there at MIDIDave's site, you can also follow his links to Gary "Doc" Allen's wonderful bluegrass sequences, and Norma Williams' MIDI sequences too !
If you like big band music, maybe you're a jazz lover too, like me ! If you are, be sure to drop by One Stop Jazz On the Web. It's a very well-done site where you'll find alphabetically sorted links to WWW sites for just about every jazz artist that you can think of.
If you're looking for new and exciting MIDI sequences, there's an endless supply of original compositions on the Internet. For example, on Han de Bruijn's FTP site you'll find a great collection of original MIDI sequences, including some from your's truly ;-), as well as those of other Internet MIDI musicians like Michael D. Walthius, Ellsworth Hall, Tim Sattler, Jeff Bossett, Edwin van Veldhoven, Johannes Karhula and Don Carroll to name just a few. Han's newest addition is a WWW page (complete with a photo of himself). ;-)Steve Allen's MIDI Composers' Exchange is also dedicated to supporting original MIDI music. Steve has links to most of the sites from original MIDI composers on Internet. Take a look (...or a listen) and find out for yourself what great music some of the folks in our Internet MIDI community are creating with MIDI !
Another favorite of mine is Dave Schmid's site, The Music Shoppe. Dave's Midi of the Week site provides his visitors with some of the best MIDI files chosen from The Music Shoppe's BBS, including Dave's own original MIDIs, as well as many fine others !
Dave's newest projects, in addition to composing with MIDI and designing WWW sites, are The MIDI
and The Composer's Cogitation Ring. Both rings represent collections of homepages and music sites that strive to bring fantastic midi music and outstanding graphic design to the web. They're also part of Web Ring, a larger collection of Rings pursuing the same web goals, but in other areas of interest. Since The Composer's Cogitation Ring and The Midi Ring have recently been founded, they may be new to you, but keep your eyes (and ears) open, because they will be providing you with a collection of some of the finest MIDI sites on the WWW Dave's, and Michael Walthius's ! Any questions about The Composer's Cogitation Ring or The Midi Ring may be addressed to Dave@MusicShoppe.com.
Speaking other Don Carroll, he's got his own WWW page now ! Thanks to Don's pal, Dave Gipson, you can visit Don and get his great sequences at Don Carroll's MIDI-Riff-Bulge. The name of the site tells you a lot about Don's sense of humor, and his great sequences speak for themselves !
And Tim Sattler, who was always kind enough to keep Don's MIDI sequence collection on-line still has it accessible on his WWW site as well. Tim also has lots of other great interesting MIDI stuff , so drop by and visit Tim Sattler's Web Page Design and Midi Music Page too ! John Sauvageau also features Don Carroll's sequences on his page, so you can drop by John's page and pay him a visit as well.
Of course, no community is complete without its' wizard, and the Internet MIDI community is no exception. He's put everybody under his spell with his wonderful compositions, and in case you haven't guessed by now, I'm talking about the one and only Keyboard Wizard, Michael D. Walthius. He's never mentioned what that "D." stands for, but if after hearing his work, I'm pretty sure it must stand for "Dynamic" or "Dynamite". Treat yourself to a taste of the Keyboard Wizard's magic elixir, Michael's original MIDI sequences.
I'm also a classical music fan, and if you are too, you won't want to miss one the oldest and most established MIDI sites, The Classical MIDI Archives. Pierre R. Schwob has dedicated himself to maintaining probably the most complete classical MIDI sequence library in existence. And the beautiful way it's presented makes it not only a feast for the ears, but for the eyes as well ! There are also several mirror sites to accomodate the large number of visitors, and I've also included these in the list below for your convenience.
As long as we're on the subject of classical music...another wonderful classical music WWW site is The Classical MIDI Connection. This is a very well-frequented site as well, and they also have a couple of mirror sites set up for everybody's convenience. I've included them in the list below too.
Of course, my list of favorites just wouldn't be complete without Piet van Oostrum's Midi Page ! Piet's is one of the oldest and most established MIDI sites on the Internet. He's dedicated so much of his time and energy for promoting and supporting MIDI on the Internet. This is truly one of the MIDI landmarks in cyberspace, so be sure to pay Piet a visit !
Another site that is simply a must see for anybody interested in MIDI is The MIDI Farm ! It's also one of the older established MIDI sites on Internet. Peter Farm (yes...the site is named after a person) has spent a lot of time and effort to create one of the biggest, most interesting MIDI sites on the WWW. This site is so awesome that it's impossible for me to describe it here. You just have to see it for yourself !
If you're looking for info about MIDI, be sure to drop by Jeff Glatt's new WWW site, The MIDI Technical Fanatic's Brainwashing Center. Jeff is a genius, with a great sense of humor as well...an unbeatable combination. We can consider ourselves lucky that he's so willing to share his knowledge with all of us ! His site has mostly reference material and tutorials about MIDI and related topics, suitable for everyone, ranging from MIDI newbies, to experienced MIDI musicians and MIDI programmers.
While I'm speaking about info...other Kai in Finland has taken on the task of writing a workshop about installing and using the AWE-32 and soundbanks, so if you're also an AWE-32 user, be sure to drop by and check out his AWE 32 Workshop. While you're there, be sure to visit his wife Elina's page Musicbox too. From there, you'll also find a link to the AWE 32 Home Page.
Talking about info...one of the most important things to know is where to find what you're looking for. I hope you can imagine how much work it is to compile these lists of links that help to get you pointed in the right direction when you're looking for something ! (I know how much work it is, since I just had the experience of making quite a few link lists !) If links to MIDI sequences is what you're looking for, Charles Kelly has a fantastic collection of links on his site, Standard MIDI Files on the Internet ! Another great site for finding links is Kirk A. Oberlander's Sites & Sound Links , where you'll find alphabetically links sorted into categories. The Monster MIDI Links Page is also an excellent, well-organized site for searching for links.
There are so many wonderful WWW sites that I could just go on and on forever ! There's so much to see and do out there in cyberspace...so many endless sources of information and inspiration ! But I have to stop somewhere, so I guess I might as well stop now. Here's the list I promised you. Have fun ! :-)
AWE 32 Home Page - A great site, with loads of info and links
