//Midis Latinas/

Some interesting articles about MIDI Karaoke

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MIDI Formats – SMF and .KAR

The Standard MIDI File Format - SMF

MIDI messages are very easy to collect and put in a file system on your computer. The standard MIDI file is also known ad SMF. Its specifications were created by the MMA, MIDI Manufacturers Association. The MIDI files are made with the help of a computer sequencing software or even a MIDI instrument/workstation. These tools help organize the sounds independently.  Each track has its own MIDI channel or an instrument patch. You can even connect your instruments and then name the track after it as long as it complies with the General MIDI standard. Also, the SMF file is created of a header chunk plus more track chunks. There are also three SMF formats. The Format-0 has one single track. This means that is you use this MIDI file in a karaoke performance, it will be a single song performance. The Format-1 can have a different number of tracks but you can also adjust it for the single song performances. The Format-2 can have many tracks but every one of them is a single performance of one song.  An interesting fact is that the sequencers don’t usually support the Format 2.

The MIDI Karaoke File - format - .KAR

MIDI-Karaoke has the file extension - ".kar". Some people call this format the "unofficial" extension of the MIDI files. This Midi Karaoke file is used to add the lyrics to a standard MIDI file. The lyrics are synchronized with the whole song and the PC is turned into a karaoke machine.

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The Karaoke Machine
            The standard karaoke machine is made of one music player, microphone input and audio input. The low-end machines are providing vocal suppression. This means you have to feed the machine with regular songs and then suppress the original voice.  For a long time, these karaoke players were very effective.  But the majority of the karaoke machines are Laser Disc, CD+G, VCD or DVD player that have microphone input.  The machine uses a specific track named subcode so that it can encode all the lyrics or pictures. They display video and audio in the same time. The old karaoke players used cassettes and the playback was altered manually. These ones are no longer available.
            The more advanced karaoke players that use the MIDI technology and that are able to change electronically the pitches of the music. In this way, the karaoke amateur singer will sing along with a key more appropriate to his vocal capabilities. There is also a popular karaoke game where you can type a number and a song will appear. Some karaoke machines using this system are limited to s specific number of songs or a specific musical genre. This kind of player was called Kamikaze Roulette or Kamikaze Karaoke in US.

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The MIDI interface
            The Musical Instrument Digital Interface, popularly called MIDI, is a protocol used in the industry. It was defined in 1982. This standard is enabling electronic music instruments like computers, keyboard controllers, or some other equipment to control, communicate, and even get synchronized with each other. For example, MIDI allows the computer to control the drum machine and synthesizers. MIDI is simply transmitting the pitches and the musical notes’ intensity or the control signals of parameters like vibrato, volume, cues and the clock signals that are setting the tempo. This electronic protocol has rapidly spread throughout the musical industry. In karaoke, MIDI is highly important.
            Many music formats used for karaoke are based on the MIDI files byte stream. This is because the MIDI file formats are quite compact. For example, small files that only have 10 KiB will give out a full music minute or even more.  The cool MIDI synthesizer can also be built in the operating system, in the sound card or some other embedded device or synthesizer. The MIDI files will storage the information on the note you are playing and then it will give it in the same note.
            This is why the Midi technology is very useful for applications like karaoke software, ringtones or video games. But you should know that the MIDI based mobile ringtones can sound much more different on the handset in comparison to the PC. It all depends on how modern the software synthesizer is. The best the synthesizer is, the more accurate the song is. Because for many years the synthesizers were not that efficient, the notion “MIDI sound” tends to refer to a poor quality sound.

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Applications of MIDI and file formats

After the year of 1980, when the MIDI standard was published, many music formats were developed. Many of them were based and used the MIDI byte stream. The good thing is that the file formats are short and very compact. For example, a small file that has 10 KiB will be able to produce one full music minute and sometimes even more. This happens because the files are storing the instructions about how to recreate that sound using MIDI synthesizer and not the waveform that was used to produce it.
The MIDI synthesizers can be built into the operating system, sound cards, embedded devices or different types of software based synthesizers. These file formats are storing the information about the note the sound is played on and some other types of information like the pitch or the velocity of the note.
This is great for applications like a mobile phone ringtone, video games or many others. Still, it is not good to use this system in more sophisticated applications because it does not guarantee the accurate waveform that you may want. This is because the sounds are recorded and then replayed using the MIDI file system.  For example, if you use the Microsoft MIDI Synthesizer that is in every Windows OS, the sound will sound similar. But if that MIDI bytestream gets played on a different synthesizer with another OS, it will sound very different. Also, there are sound card synthesizers that do not reproduce sounds from other synthesizers.

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Karaoke beginnings

Karaoke comes from the Japanese word “kara” and “orchestra”. Some people with a poor English pronunciation spell the word "kareoke". It is a form of live entertainment that requires an amateur singer to perform along a recorded song or music video in front of an audience. The amateur singer is using a microphone and he sings along. Usually, the genre of the songs played on karaoke music night is pop. The karaoke system means that the lyrics are shown on the screen and a moving symbol is showing the singer how the lyrics are integrated with the music. As the singer sings his song, the lyrics change their color. In many countries, there are even karaoke music videos that have lyrics and an option to get disabled the original voices on the track. This karaoke video is named KTV.
The history of karaoke goes back in time, singe they first started recording sounds. There are many cases when it is hard if not impossible to get a band or an orchestra. Here is where the karaoke comes in hands by replacing the band. Karaoke does not mean playback or "lip syncing" because the singer can actually hear his own voice when he sings.
Right now there are many disputes about how has invented the karaoke. But there is a common conception that it was invented by Daisuke Inoue, a musician from Japan in 1971. It was a huge success and it spread out to the Asia continent and afterwards in America and Europe.

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The history of MIDI

MIDI is short for Musical Instrument Digital Interface and it is a musical industry protocol created in1982. This protocol allows the musical instruments to get connected to each other using a computer.
In 1970s, the electronic musical instruments and devices were becoming quite affordable. But devices that came from different manufacturers were not compatible with each other. Some of them couldn’t even get interconnected because of the various standards. So it was the need for a different system that would reunite all the instruments from different producers. In 1981, Dave Smith, an audio engineer from Sequential Circuits, Inc. designed an interesting digital standard used for the musical instruments. He send his discovery to the Audio Engineering Society and the system was called MIDI. The Engineering Society published the specifications in the month of August 1983.
From then on, the MIDI technology became a standard and the MMA (MIDI Manufacturers Association) was also born. The Association also published the standard in USA and also Japan. Free downloads were also offered on the site of MMA and a lot of MIDI specifications and links. But they removed those after a short while in the hope that people would buy the documentations. Today, a big part of the documentation can be found on free websites on the internet. After 1980 MIDI helped bring down the synthesizers wall when many performances on keyboard were done by huge analog synthesizers or electric pianos. But with the MIDI standard, used also in karaoke playing, all the instruments are now controlled by a single keyboard.

Music and Technology

Musical technology has come a long way in recent years. With the invention of MP3 players and the ever increasing advances for mobile phones, we are able to listen and enjoy music in an easier, more portable way. Devices are small and compact, storing more music than we would have dreamt of not so many years ago. The days of carrying cassette tapes or CDs and a portable player are long gone.
With advances in portable music players comes the world of downloading. There is a variety of musical genres to be found on download websites. It is easy to find what you want from a huge selection of artists, with a small charge per track. It is also possible to download free karaoke and MIDI songs, for your enjoyment. Those unfamiliar to this or a little technologically fearful need not worry, this is easily learnt and you will soon be able to download your favourite tracks, to listen to on the move or relaxing at home.
Free MIDI files range from Bossa Nova to Shrek’s Hallelujah, there’s even Christmas songs; the choice is endless. So whether you’re into world music, pop music or movie theme songs, there is something for everyone. Karaoke songs and even a karaoke player can also be downloaded free, for even more fun with music. So if you prefer to sing along to your favourite track, rather than just listen to it, this is probably for you. Again, there is so much choice available and you can search through hundreds of artists and tracks. So don’t delay, start downloading and enjoy.

A World of Music

Music has come a long way in the last twenty years. There have been so many technological advances to help us listen to our favourite songs; we have so much choice.
Of course some people will remember vinyl and may even still use them today. However cassette tapes became a great substitute, especially when portable players were manufactured. CDs followed and were so easy to play, with no need for all that rewinding or fast forwarding, becoming so popular that cassettes have all but died out. Currently, we have MP3 players and mobile phones to play our favourite tracks on. It is very easy to download music from huge selections on the internet.
A large portion of the population chooses to download music to listen to on small, portable devices. It is also possible to download free karaoke songs with lyrics and free MIDI files. MIDI or Musical Instrument Digital Interface was developed in 1982 and enables electronic musical instruments to communicate with each other. Most popular music is written and performed using MIDI equipped keyboards. Even film and TV scores are usually created in this way and with digital advances, the sound is extremely realistic. A popular choice at the moment seems to be the Shrek, Hallelujah MIDI but there is a wealth of free files to download, including Christmas MIDI.
With the help of suitable MIDI software it is possible to use it to learn and create music as well as just listening to it. Even mobile phones make use of this medium as ring tones are often produced using a built in synthesiser. So, why not take the opportunity to download your free MIDI songs today.

Written by Sheryl Thompson 2009

Karaoke has become an increasingly popular pastime for many people today. In fact, a National Karaoke Week exists and is usually held on the last week of April, each year. Also, the 9th Annual National Karaoke Contest is currently taking place in Nevada, USA. Wherever you live, there is always something on offer, be it large national contests and events, or a simple night out with friends at a local venue.
Karaoke has come a long way since its development in Japan in 1971. Its popularity soon grew, spreading across Asia, then to the rest of the world in the 1990’s. Early karaoke machines used cassette tapes, but subsequent advances meant that CDs and DVDs replaced those. These days however, you don’t even need a machine as you can download a free karaoke player online, with just the click of a button. There is also such a wide choice of free karaoke songs with lyrics, together with a huge selection of free MIDI songs on offer too. It’s easy to browse through the artists or search within a website to find exactly what you are looking for. Then, all that’s left to do is sing.
Whatever your musical ability or your financial circumstances, karaoke is an enjoyable and entertaining thing to do. Whether you stay at home with the family, go out with friends or enter the big contests, it’s all fun. If you don’t have the confidence to sing a song, it can be just as amusing to watch someone else do it. So there’s no excuse, get out the karaoke.

Written by Sheryl Thompson 2009