So... what *are* MIDIs for anyway?

Back when I was quite new to the online world I was actually quite facinated/obsessed with MIDIs. :riiight: I found some FFVII MIDIs (by accident I think...) and from then on one of the things I'd do was search for as many MIDIs as I could find from what ever Game/Movie/TV Show I happened to be obsessed with at the time.

Of course when I realized that real music (i.e. MP3s and the like) sounded just fine on computer, I pratically gave up on MIDIs. And aside from RPGMaker, I was never really able to do anything with them.

So why do they exist? I don't hate them, part of me still likes them (just not as much), but why where they made? It can't be for RPGMaker 'cause they existed before that. Also MP3 is superior by far so...

For one thing, they take up way less space and are in a form for which the music can be manipulated on a more precise level.

That's what I'm guessing.

EDIT: I would tell you to go Wikipedia its uses, but it seems a lot more like technobabble than not, rather than a concise explanation of its uses or intended creations. Maybe you would learn something, maybe not.

Also, not all platforms or systems may support playing backs more advanced sounds.

I love my midis.

They're small an easy an fun. :D

Theyre smaller and fun, and can be put on older phone models. Also if you had a midi synthesiser you can edit midi's and change instruments so you change all the instruments to piano or string or something and it sounds awesome.

It's also good if your a composer and your not too good at writing sheet music and imagining it in your head.

synthesizers.

The quality of sound all depends on the quality of the profile you use for playback. Some of them sound terrible, but others can sound amazing.

read the big paragraph on this page
FREE MIDI Files - Music - Karaoke - MP3 - Lyrics - CD - TAB - WAV - Finder - Search and Download 100,000+ Songs!

RPGMaker 2000

edit: oh, you mean outside that. Then background music at annoying multicoloured geocities homepages

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Originally Posted by Tavrobel

For one thing, they take up way less space and are in a form for which the music can be manipulated on a more precise level.

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That and they're a great way to compose original music without needing to play an instrument, serving as a placeholder for the real thing if necessary. Did you know that FF was using MIDI music all the way up to FFIX? Can't speak for FFX like, but still.

You know you're a young kid when midis don't make sense to you.

Back in the day it was the best way to acquire music. I had a pile of classical music on midi, and since a full audio recording at the time would be a 20 megabyte wave file, it was much better to use midi if you didn't care about vocal audio

Midis are for Roos.

MIDIs are good for playing in a MIDI editor and changing the instruments of the channels to play the music back with a different combinations :p

Thank you for the feedback everyone. You have all come up some great explinations.

To thoes who directed me to other pages, I will study them close when I have chance.

I too still have a fondness carried over from an age-old obsession. They have a pleasant quaintness about them. I've come across some amazing ones over the years. And they make good polyphonic ringtones for phones