✔️ What are MIDI files and how to open them in Windows 11?
– Reviews News
Although MP3 is one of the most popular audio formats, you may have come across some strange ones, such as MIDI (.MID) files on your computer or other device. Although you may be curious to open it and play it. However, you cannot play them on your Windows 11 PC until you use specific programs.
With that in mind, this article explains all about MIDI files and some ways to easily open them on your Windows 11 PC.
What are MIDI files?
It is commonly used by music producers to record the sound produced by electronic synthesizers, musical instrument digital interface or MIDI file packages on which musical notes/keys are played at the same time. It also includes details such as the length or volume of each note so that any software that supports MIDI playback can play the same sound sequence.
Although the data recorded in a MIDI file may seem rudimentary, MIDI offers much more flexibility compared to traditional MP3 or WAV audio files for two reasons:
- Lower file size: Compared to other audio files, MIDI files do not contain the actual sound, only the data needed to play the sound as a sequence of notes. Therefore, the amount of storage space required to store a typical MIDI file is miniscule (in KB).
- Editable even after being recorded: Unlike MP3 and WAV files, MIDI files can be edited note by note. Moreover, the same MIDI file can be opened with different virtual instruments to play the sound of any musical instrument, since MIDI only stores the data needed to play a sequence of notes but not the actual sound.
How to Open Midi Files in Windows 11
From using Windows Media Player that comes pre-installed with an earlier version of Windows to using third-party tools, there are plenty of ways to open MIDI files on your Windows 11 PC. Let's take a look at some of the 'between them :
1. Open Midi files using Windows Media Player
One of the easiest ways to play a MIDI file was using Windows Media Player on Windows 10 or earlier. However, to play MIDI files on Windows 11, you will need to enable Windows Media Player Legacy as an additional feature. This is because a completely redesigned media player in Windows 11 does not support MIDI playback.
Here is how you can enable Windows Media Player Legacy as an add-on feature on your PC and play MIDI files using it:
Step 1: Press Windows + I keys simultaneously to open the Settings app.
Step 2: In the Settings app, click Apps in the left sidebar. Then, in the right pane, click Optional Features.
Step 3: Click the "Show Features" button to the right of the "Add Optional Feature" section.
Step 4: Scroll down to the Windows Media Player Legacy option, check the box next to it and click the Next button.
5nd step : On the next screen, click the Install button.
After that, Windows 11 will automatically download and install the necessary files to activate Windows Media Player Legacy on Windows 11 and ask you to restart your PC. After that, you can use Windows Media Player Legacy to open and play MIDI files on your computer.
2. Open MIDI files using VLC Media Player
The second best method that can be used to play MIDI files would be to use VLC Media Player. However, you cannot play MIDI files using VLC Media Player right out of the box. Once you have installed VLC Media Player on your PC, you will need to install an audio codec that supports MIDI playback. That's how you do it.
Step 1: Click the Download button below and download VLC Media Player on your PC.
Step 2: After the download is complete, click on the VLC installer, select Yes and follow the on-screen instructions to install VLC Media Player on your PC.
Step 3: Now that VLC Media Player is installed, you will need to download a FluidSynth codec SoundFont file to play MIDI files.
Step 4: After downloading the SF2 file, open VLC Media Player and click on Tools followed by Preferences to install the codec in VLC.
5nd step : When a Simple Preferences dialog pops up on the screen, click on the All option located in the lower left corner.
Step 6: In the list of codecs that appear, click the Audio Codecs drop-down menu and select FluidSynth.
7nd step : In the right pane, click the Browse button to open a Select File dialog to install the new codec.
Step 8: Locate the SF2 (SoundFont) file on your computer and click on it, followed by Open.
Marcher 9: Click Save to confirm changes.
10nd step : Now press Ctrl + O keys simultaneously in VLC Media Player and select the MIDI files you want to play. Then click Open.
3. Open MIDI files using a DAW
One of the best ways to play or even edit MIDI flies on your PC would be to use a DAW or digital audio workstation. DAWs allow music producers and artists to record, arrange, edit, and layer virtual instruments and synthesizers stored as MIDI samples to create soundtracks.
For this article, we will be using an open source DAW called Audacity to open the MIDI file.
Step 1: Click the Download button below and download Audacity on your PC.
Step 2: After the download is complete, click on its installer and follow the on-screen instructions to install Audacity on your PC.
Step 3: Now that Audacity is installed, right-click on the MIDI file you want to open and click Open With, followed by 'Audacity'.
Step 4: When a MIDI File (Audacity) window appears on the screen, press the spacebar or click the Play button to play the MIDI file.
4. Convert MIDI Files to MP3 Files Using an Online File Converter
Although the above methods may work, at this time they will not allow you to play the MIDI files on your other devices.
In such cases, you can use an online file converter to easily convert MIDI files to a much more common MP3 format compatible with almost all devices. Here are the steps for the same:
Step 1: Open the Zamzar website and click the Choose File button.
Notes: You can use another online file converter, but be aware that the steps might be a bit different for them.
Step 2: When an Open window appears on your screen, select the MIDI file you want to convert and click Open.
Step 4: After selecting the MIDI file, click on the Convert to drop-down menu and select the mp3 file format.
5nd step : After selecting the MIDI file and mp3 file format, click Convert Now. Processing the file may take a few seconds.
Step 6: Then click on the Download button and double click on the downloaded file to play the MP3 file with any media player of your choice.
Easily Open MIDI Files in Windows 11
That is just about everything. After reading this article, you must know what MIDI files are, how they work and how you can play them quickly on your Windows 11 PC. Please let us know which method of playing MIDI file was the easiest to follow or s There's even a better way to open MIDI files in Windows 11.
SOURCE: Reviews News
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