What is MIDI?

MIDI stands for ‘Musical Instrument Digital Interface’. It is a protocol that enables
computers, synthesizers and electronic musical instruments to create and playback music.
Unlike other methods of recording audio, MIDI does not capture, store or transmit actual
sounds. Instead, MIDI uses computer code to describe the specific steps that a digital
playback device must take to generate a specified sound via electronic synthesis. MIDI
files are significantly smaller than other digital audio files (.wav, .au, aiff, etc.), which
make them ideally suited for delivery on the web. In the Infinity project, we will be
playing MIDI files on digital instruments that will run on the Infinity Technology Kit.

How do I install MIDI tools?

MIDI-OX and the MIDI Yoke driver are the tools that need to be installed on your PCs
before running any of the MIDI VABs. These can be downloaded for free from
www.midiox.com. The latest version of MIDI-OX available on the MIDI-OX website is
MIDI-OX 7.0. This version of MIDI-OX is designed to work with Windows 95 or later.
MIDI-OX is a multi-purpose tool. It can do a lot of operations on MIDI data streams,
such as filtering and conversion. You will be using MIDI-OX mainly as a connection
between a MIDI file and VAB.

1. MIDI-OX Installation:
Download the MIDI-OX setup/installation file (MIDIOXSE.EXE) from the MIDI-OX
website. Once this has been done you can proceed with the installation by running
MIDIOXSE.EXE. It is a self-extracting archive that launches a normal Windows
installation. Extensive help for the application is available in the MIDIOX.HLP file
installed with and accessed from MIDI-OX.

Note: The MIDI-OX installation program makes use of the latest version of the Windows
Installer, which is not present on all Windows 95, 98, ME, NT, and 2000 machines. If
your machine does not have the necessary version of the installer, a dialog box will
interrupt the installation and inform you of this fact. To obtain the newest version of the
installer, please visit the following websites:

Windows 95, 98, ME:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/release.asp?ReleaseID=32831

Windows NT, 2000:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/release.asp?releaseid=32832

2. MIDI YOKE Driver Installation:

As mentioned before, the MIDI Yoke driver is also one of the tools required for running
the MIDI VAB’s. It can be downloaded from the MIDI-OX website in a self-extracting
executable file (no special software needed – just run the file in question).

IMPORTANT NOTE: There are two different versions of the MIDI Yoke driver,
depending on which operating systems you’re using. Attempting to use the wrong driver
may prevent MIDI Yoke from operating properly (if at all). The file names are as
follows:

Windows 95, 98 ME: midiyoke.exe

Windows NT, 2000, XP: midiyokent.exe

After downloading the appropriate file for your operating system, run the self-extracting
executable. The program will then ask you to choose a folder in which to place the driver
files. Accepting the default folder will cause the program to place the files in a newly-
created folder called “myinst” on the hard drive (typically C:), which is fine for most
users.

Once the driver files have been saved, you’re ready to manually install the MIDI Yoke
driver. To do so, follow the instructions below for your specific operating system (taken
directly from the MIDI-OX website).

Windows 95, Windows 98

Under Windows 95, install the MIDI Yoke Junction via the Control Panel 'Add New
Hardware' applet. Answer 'No' to searching for hardware. Choose Sound, video and game
controllers. Choose 'Have Disk'. Browse to the directory containing the installation files
(MIDIYOKE.DRV and OEMSETUP.INF). Press OK.

During installation a configuration dialog is presented. The dialog allows you to specify
the number of MIDI Yoke ports that should be enabled, and the Feedback detection
desired. You can also change the controller number used to detect feedback. You can
access this dialog later on too, once the driver is installed, and the machine restarted. To
do so, open the Control Panel Multimedia applet, choose the Advanced tab, expand
'MIDI devices and Instruments', double-click on any of the MIDI Yoke port connections,
and press Settings. You can also remove the driver using this applet if need be.

WARNING: There is a bug in Windows 95 that limits the total number of MIDI Ports to
roughly 11. This total includes each MIDI Yoke port plus any other ports presented by
other drivers, so set the number of MIDI Yoke ports such that the total number of MIDI
ports is less than 11. If you exceed this amount it may prevent the driver from loading at
bootup time. This has been fixed in Windows 98.

Windows ME

Under Windows ME, install the MIDI Yoke Junction via the Control Panel 'Add New
Hardware' applet. After Windows forces an initial search, answer 'No, the device isn't in
the list' and press [Next]. On the next screen, press 'No, I want to select the hardware
from a list'. Press [Next]. Choose Sound, video and game controllers. Press [Next]. On
the next screen press [Have Disk...]. Browse to the directory containing the installation
files (MIDIYOKE.DRV and OEMSETUP.INF). Press OK.
During installation a configuration dialog is presented. The dialog allows you to specify
the number of MIDI Yoke ports that should be enabled, and the Feedback detection
desired. You can also change the controller number used to detect feedback. You can
access this dialog later on too, once the driver is installed, and the machine restarted. To
do so, open the Control Panel Sounds and Multimedia applet, choose the Advanced tab,
expand 'MIDI devices and Instruments', double-click on any of the MIDI Yoke port
connections, and press Settings... You can also remove the driver using this applet if need
be.

Windows NT

Under Windows NT, use the Control Panel Multimedia Applet to install MIDI Yoke NT.
Select the Advanced tab, highlight the MIDI Devices and Instruments section, and press
Add. Choose Unlisted or Updated driver, and browse to the directory containing the
drivers (myokent.dll and oemsetup.inf). Select the MIDI Yoke NT driver from the list.
Make sure you don't leave an expanded MYOKENT.DLL in your MIDI-OX directory: If
Windows NT finds this file it attempts to load it instead of the system one, and anomalies
result. It's perfectly okay to leave the compressed version in your MIDI-OX directory
(MYOKENT.DL_)
There is a bug under Windows NT 4.0 installer that can sometimes steal the MIDI driver
numbers from an already installed driver. If this happens to you, re-install the other
driver and then try using the auto-installer for Windows NT 4.0: MYNTAuto.exe
(Editor’s note: this file is available from the MIDI-OX website.)

Windows 2000

Under Windows 2000, use the Control Panel Add/Remove Hardware to install MIDI
Yoke NT. Click Next... Choose (*) Add/Troubleshoot. Click Next... Choose Add a new
Device. Click Next... Choose (*) No, I want to select the Hardware from a list. Choose
Sound, Video and Game Controllers. Click Next... Press [Have Disk]. Browse to the
directory containing the drivers (myokent.dll and oemsetup.inf). Select the MIDI Yoke
NT driver from the list. Make sure you don't leave an expanded MYOKENT.DLL in your
MIDI-OX directory: If Windows NT finds this file it attempts to load it instead of the
system one, and anomalies result. It's perfectly okay to leave the compressed version in
your MIDI-OX directory (MYOKENT.DL_).

Windows XP

The good news is that MIDI Yoke NT driver will work in Windows XP (Professional and
Home Edition). The installation is similar to Windows 2000.

How do I download MIDI files from the Internet?

There are numerous websites, such as www.mididb.com, offering free MIDI files for
download. A quick Google search on “MIDI” yields literally millions of sites, so there
are many possible sources for these files. As with any type of website, these sites may
vary in quality and selection, so you’re encouraged to look around and choose your
personal favorite.
What do I need to do to run the MIDI VABs?
1. Open the MIDIBar program (click on ‘Start’ → ‘Programs’ → ‘MIDI-OX’ → ‘MIDI
BAR’).

2. Now click the second button from the left on the MIDI BAR. This lets you select the
MCI port that you would want to use for the MIDI file.

Port
selection
button

Select any one of the listed MIDI ports. (Note: depending on your operating system, you
may have a different number of ports than what is shown in the above diagram. This is
just fine, since we usually only deal with one MIDI file at a time.)

3. Now click on the ‘Open File’ button (third from the left on the MIDIBar). This lets
you select the MIDI file you want to play. You and your students can download MIDI
files from the Internet by following the instructions above. Select the required file and
‘PLAY’ it by clicking on the ‘PLAY’ button.
 Open
File
button

4. Now open any of the VAB designs that play MIDI files. For example, let’s try the
MIDI Player in Chapter 2 (L02-05-02 Building the Sinusoidal MIDI Player Test.Lst).
Find and open this file in VAB.
5. Once the MIDI Player worksheet is open, double-click on the ‘Midi In’ block and
select the port. This port should be the same as the MCI port you selected on the
MIDIBar. After choosing the correct port, click OK to close the dialog box.

MIDI
In
block

6. Click the ‘Play’ button on the MIDIBar (fourth button from the left).

Play
button

7. Click the ‘Run’ button in VAB. You should hear the music from the selected MIDI
file.