Version Date: 03-08-09
Posting Date: 03-07-10
Frequently Asked Questions about ALT.BINARIES.KARAOKE V3.22

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When sending comments, additions, suggestions, via email, please
remove
the "_fish" from the address. Thanks.

Based on the "Newcomer's Message" by Bunty Pritchard Jones,
et al, and distributed weekly by Alan Sharkis. To view this
message in html form, please go to:

http://members.chello.nl/j.a.komrij/faq.html (Who's computer is this?)

===========================================================
THIS NEWSGROUP IS FOR THE EXCHANGE AND
DISCUSSION OF _MIDI-KARAOKE_ FILES!
THE FILES POSTED HERE ARE NOT
INTENDED FOR SALE.

===========================================================

In this group you'll find people, from many different
countries, committed to making and sharing MIDI karaoke
files using MIDI sequences. Please do not post messages
concerning other format files such as MP3 or CD&G, etc.,
here, since they are considered off-topic. For MP3,
CD+G, etc., visit the newsgroups:

alt.binaries.sounds.karaoke

OR

alt.music.karaoke

For a comparison of the relative advantages and
disadvantages of midi-karaoke and CDG or MP3+G,
please go to:

http://members.chello.nl/j.a.komrij/faq/compare.html (Who's computer is this?)

To get you started with .kar files and midi-karaoke on
the World Wide Web, visit:

http://members.chello.nl/j.a.komrij/alt_binaries_karaoke.htm (Who's computer is this?)

http://www.midi.org/about-midi/smf/rp017.shtml (Who's computer is this?)

http://journals.rpungin.fotki.com/karaoke/category/midi/ (Who's computer is this?)

When you get to the last site, you will find information
on many facets of karaoke, whether done on a computer or
not. Select "History," "Karaoke On A PC," and
"MIDI-KARAOKE" for the information most relevant to this
newsgroup.

To know more about this group, read the following questions.
If you have more questions, then you can post them so that
they can be answered or even incorporated in this FAQ. Your
observations, contributions and comments are welcome.

->

Q: I'm looking for a particular midi-karaoke. Where can I

find it?

A: You can make a request to this group. Put "REQ" first in
the subject line of your post. Many users have a huge database,
so there's a good chance it will be posted or e-mailed to you
for download. If you wish to search the Web for midi-karaoke
files, there are some search engines specifically made of the
task. An excellent one can be found at:

http://www.vanbasco.com/midisearch.html (Who's computer is this?)

Another well-known one is:

http://www.musicrobot.com (Who's computer is this?)
->

Q: How do I play these files?

A: You can play them in a midi sequencer that will display
text events. But it's much easier to play them with a midi-
karaoke player. There are many of these and each has a
different set of features. The following are freeware for
the PC:

vanBasco:
http://www.vanbasco.com (Who's computer is this?)

The latest known version is 2.53. This version contains support
for more languages than previous versions, both in the interface
itself and for lyrics. There are other new features and bug fixes.
Be sure to check the version history when you go to the site.

winKaraoke Player
http://www.francisli.org/wink/default.htm (Who's computer is this?)

Mark's Player (Not for Windows 2000 or XP; has not
been tested with Vista.)
http://members.chello.nl/j.a.komrij/alt_binaries_karaoke.htm (Who's computer is this?)

Another freeware player is Gosing, which can be obtained at:

www.gosing.com

It's a very simple player which recognizes .mid, .kar, .ST3
and .MK1 files.

A player that will also search a lyrics data base and do on-line
searches
for karaoke files is called Karaoke 5. It's available at:

http://www.karaoke5.com (Who's computer is this?)

It will also play MP3 files.

FolksKJ Player adds high resolution photos as backgrounds to the
lyrics
display screen among other features. It's available at:

http://www.folksfun.com (Who's computer is this?)

KaraFun not only plays files in several midi and midi-karaoke
formats as well as several audio formats, but it can
integrate those files with your own voice recording (via
microphone) and it can produce proprietary ".kfn" files
that contain the music, the lyrics, annotations, visual
background(s) and more. You can find it at:

http://www.karafun.com/ (Who's computer is this?)

along with lots of other resources. The latest versions, both
designated 1.18, have many new features. There is
a free version, and a "studio" version. (Of course, most
of the new features are incorporated in the studio version.)

A good shareware player for the PC is Karawin. it comes in
"standard" and "pro" versions, and now there is also a
freeware version. It will play MP3 files as well.
You will find all three versions at:

http://www.karawin.fr (Who's computer is this?)

There are also commercial players for the PC as well as
players for other platforms. Consult

http://members.chello.nl/j.a.komrij/alt_binaries_karaoke.htm (Who's computer is this?)

for links to those other players.

->

Q: I've heard that Winamp can be used as a .kar file player. Is this possible?

A: WinAmp is up to version 5.54 as of this writing. Use the
following procedure
for older versions to display lyrics if they are present in .mid and
.kar files:

1. Go to Preferences/Plug-ins/Support
2. Select Nullsoft midi player 3.07
3. Press Configure
4. Go to the display tab
5. Enable "Show lyrics window while playing"
6. Press OK


You can find Winamp at the Nullsoft site:

http://www.winamp.com (Who's computer is this?)

->

Q: What about QuickTime?

A: QuickTime Plugin 7.0, when properly configured, comes up in your
browser and display the lyrics of .kar files that might be found at a
Web site. A .kar file can be loaded into your browser while offline
and the QuickTime Plugin will play it. Also, most versions of
QuickTime, including 7.2 for Windows and (I assume) the parallel
version for the Mac will play .kar files if you load them into the
program.

->

Q: How can I play these files and have the lyrics

display on my midi keyboard?

A: The files have to be converted to the SMF-with-Lyrics format
(see the section above on the history of midi-karaoke and
midi-karaoke files and follow the last two links for more
information.) If you have a Yamaha keyboard, you will have
to use Yamaha's XF midi format. First convert to
SMF-with-Lyrics and then to XF.

->

Q: What about players for other platforms?

A: It used to be that the Arnold player was the
only one for the Mac. I can't tell if it would
work under OS-X since I don't have a Mac, and its
official site seems to be down. But, according
to Hitsquad Musician Network, QMidi and iStar are
two programs that will play midi and .kar files
among other karaoke formats under OS-X. In
the Linux world, midi and .kar players include
PyKaraoke (Windows version also available,)
and Plarpebu (Java format, will run on any
platform.) The site for the older KaraLin
also seems to be down.

->

Q: I have management issues regarding my midi and/or midi-karaoke file collection. There must be many duplicate files in it, some files will play in one player program but not another, some have a long blank section after the music stops playing, my file-naming system is inconsistent, etc. Is there a package I can use to address these issues?

A: Follow this link for a detailed description of a package that will
do all of that and more:

http://members.chello.nl/j.a.komrij/faq/midi_util.html (Who's computer is this?)

Q: Where can I find freeware or inexpensive shareware

for making my own midi-karaoke files?

A: Before you begin, try to obtain permission from the
author of the midi file to add lyrics to the file and
to post the result, if you so desire, in ABK and/or
a Web site. NOTE: Files sequenced by Barry Taylor,
whether found at contemplator.com or not, may NOT
be karaoke'd.

Then, to find midi-karaoke creation software, look at
the following sites:

Karakan
http://members.chello.nl/j.a.komrij/karakan.htm (Who's computer is this?)
NOTE: This is a redirect to the Karakan site!
The latest version (4.2) is now available for
download, and now supports long filenames,
among other improvements.

WinKaraoke Creator
http://www.francisli.org/wink/default.htm (Who's computer is this?)
NOTE: This program was written for Windows 3.1!
It will load files and select tracks slowly
under Windows XP. It will crash when you attempt
to save a file if a file with that filename
already exists in the current folder under
Windows XP. (You can slightly alter the
filename and do a "save as" to get around
that problem.) It runs in a small window and
won't go full-screen. But it's still quite useable. It
hasn't been tested under Vista.

MidiX
http://agrgic.tripod.com/midix/ (Who's computer is this?) (updated!)

Serenade (inexpensive shareware)
http://www.1manband.nl (Who's computer is this?)
NOTE: There are other midi-related programs at this site that
are worth a try!

GNMidi
http://www.gnmidi.com/ (Who's computer is this?)
Although this program is really a midi utility,
it can be used to enter lyrics into a midi file.

Various midi sequencer programs can also be used
to enter lyrics. In addition, some player programs
can be used for spot editing of lyrics and most
programs that edit or create midi-karaoke can also
play midi-karaoke files.

->

Q: Is it possible to add chord symbols to a .kar file?

A: Yes, it can be done. However, the method will vary with the player
you are using. The following method can be used to get the chord
symbols
to scroll horizontally as the lyrics scroll vertically in Karawin:

If you know the chords and where they appear,
the easiest way to add them is to put them in
square brackets just before the lyric with
which they are associated.

If you don't know what the chords are in a
particular midi file, there are several
programs that attempt to "guess" what they
are. The utility, GNMidi (shareware) does
that,as do the latest versions of the
commercial programs, Band-In-A-Box and
PowerTracks ProAudio from PG Music. GNMidi
can put the chord symbols into a midi file
in several different formats to match
several different players, including an
automatic version of the procedure for
Karawin (see above, and refer to the
documentation for GNMidi version 2.49.)
There may be more programs that guess at
chords and they will be added as they are
made known. Meanwhile, some members of
alt.binaries.karaoke are willing and able
to do the job for you. Just post the file
that you wish to have chord symbols added
to and put REQ CHORDS in your subject line.

->

Q: What is Ultrastar, and how does it tie in to midi-karaoke?

A: There is a popular game made for the Sony Playstation
2 named SingStar. The game comes with songs, and
additional songs are available. The object of the game
is to sing the songs on key, and the player is rated
according to how well he or she sings. UltraStar is
an attempt, admittedly in alpha version, to do the same
thing on a computer.

You can find UltraStar and much information about it at:

http://ultrastar.byto.de/index_en.html (Who's computer is this?)

Q: What does [met tekst] signify when it appears in a subject heading?

A: One of our members, known as "Afoklala," started
using that designation for .kar files he created.
Here's his response:

"It's Dutch (my language) and it means 'with
lyrics'; these are karaoke files. I started
doing that to distinguish karaoke files from
other midi's on my hard drive (using the .kar
extension doesn't work, because my sequencer
and notation software don't recognize that
extension as a midi file). As it would be
too much trouble to change the filenames back
every time I post something to this newsgroup,
I simply posted them 'as is', and every now
and then I explain (to newcomers) what the
[met tekst] part means. I intended it to be
something happening only on my own hard drive,
but I've seen now people with no knowledge of
the Dutch language at all adopting it as a
standard :-)"

(Editors Note: files designated as *(met tekst).mid
are equivalent to files designated as *.kar for all
practical purposes; they are interchangeable and can
be renamed, if necessary.)

->

Q: I am making my own midi-karaoke's and I need help.

What to do?

A: You are in the right group. Most users here can help
or give some advice on hot to solve any problems you
may encounter.

->

Q: I have a midi-karaoke with a copyright notice. What

should I do?

A: Copyright is a complex and controversial issue. Some
guidelines for dealing with midi and midi-karaoke files
that carry copyright notices can be found at:

http://members.chello.nl/j.a.komrij/faq/copyright.html (Who's computer is this?)

There is a rather long discussion of copyright at a site that
is no longer up, but its contents can be found (at least
temporarily) at:


http://web.archive.org/web/20060929161458/members.aol.com/midipapa/frames.htm (Who's computer is this?)

Look at the left sidebar for the discussion of midi
files and copyright.

->

Q: I don't like a midi(karaoke)-sequence and want to

change it to make it sound better on my configuration. Is
that OK?

A: This is about some form of etiquette, really. Sequences
can always be changed for your own private use or taste,
but do not repost or redistribute them without asking
permission or approval from the original sequencer/author.

->

Q: Sometimes there is no indication of who created a

midi file, no copyright notice, and yet, it sounds like
it was commercially made. Should I be suspicious?

A: Again, be careful about distributing a .kar made with
such a file. Keep it for yourself unless or until somebody
can assure you that it was or wasn't copyrighted and/or a
commercial product.

->

Q: What is flooding?

A: Flooding is the term for the result of an individual
posting many files in a short period of time. Flooding is
done in many other newsgroups. Flooding is not completely
discouraged in ABK. However, since many users do not have
broadband connections, some are forced to download entire
messages rather than just headers, and people organize
their files differently, you can use these guidelines for
making your contributions:

1. Limit any posting to a maximum of fifty (50) files per
day.

2. Organize files you post; either alphabetically or by
category (by artist, by topic, by language, by time
period or style, etc.)

3. Post a message describing the set of files you post,
so that people who are not interested in that set can
skip it (or delete it if they are forced to download
entire messages.)

4. The use of zip archives, with a limit of twenty (20)
files per zip, arranged by category is greatly
encouraged. It would also be helpful to include a
short text file in the zip, describing the karaoke
files in the zip.

->

Q: I have read discussion in the group about a midi-

karaoke file that didn't appear on my server and I'd love
to have it. Should I request that it be reposted?

A: As you are probably aware, posts don't always show up
immediately. There will be some delay before some news
servers get them. As a result, some users miss posts.
If you know that a file has been posted but you
didn't see it, ask for a repost. Somebody will usually
repost it for you. If you were the original poster of
the file, but don't see it right away, you might try
waiting a day or two before asking if it showed up.
Sometimes files show up quickly on everyone else's
server but yours!

->

Q: Sometimes I see many messages with the same filename

mentioned in the subject-line. They have numbers like
(0/17) and (3/10) in them. If I try to open the messages,
I see what appears to be random characters. How do I get
these files to work?

A: What you are seeing are multi-part files. Usually they
are posted to newsgroups when the files are very large. In
ABK, we rarely see such large files. However, some ISP's,
AOL in particular, severely limit the size of a message
posted to a newsgroup. One way around that is to post
multi-part files with each part attached to a separate
message. There are programs that will do that automatically
for the person who is posting them.

Usually the (0/n) is a message that describes
the file in plain language, with the "n" being the number
of parts of the file you can expect. The other messages are
numbered with the consecutive parts of the file.

Without getting too technical, all binary files, whether
single-part or multi-part, must be encoded (usually with
a system called MIME 64) to be transmitted via newsgroups,
which really only use plain text. They must be decoded at
your end. All the news reader programs can decode single-
part files. But not all news reader programs can combine
and decode multi-part files.

A single program called YencPowerPost can encode files into
a system called yENC, which is supposed to be more efficient
than MIME 64 and then split those files on to multi-part
messages and post them automatically. All information and
a download link for it can be found at:

http://powerpost.free.fr/ (Who's computer is this?)


If your newsreader program fails to decode a file, save the
entire message, including multiple-part messages, as a
text file. You may then run it through a program like
WinZip where there's a better chance of its being decoded.
As an alternative, there is an extension to Windows Explorer
that will decode files contained in that saved text file. It
is donation-ware ($5 optional), it's called Decode Shell
Extension, and it's available from the "free program" section
of the following site:

http://www.funduc.com (Who's computer is this?)

Read the directions at the funduc Web site before attempting
to download and install the program. Better still, print
out those instructions before downloading! Once installed,
locate that text file that you prepared with Windows Explorer,
highlight it, and then right-click it and select "decode"
from the context menu that pops up.

->

Q: You mentioned YencPost. What is yEncoding and why

can't my newsreader decode it?

A: yEncoding is a method of encoding that is different
from the MIME 64 encoding mentioned in the last answer.
It's popular among some posters in some newsgroups. It
seems to make more efficient use of bandwidth. There
are newsreaders that will decode messages encoded with
yEncoding. They include YencPost and Forte Agent, beginning
with version 1.91. Unfortunately, they do NOT include
Outlook Express.

There are many free encoders, decoders and news reader
programs that will handle yEncoding listed at this
site:

http://www.yenc.org/windows.htm (Who's computer is this?)

->

Q: Can anyone tell me if there's a little program that

can convert midi to wav files? What about .kar files
to wav or mp3?

A: The same thing either way, .kar files are MIDI files.

The simplest method is recording the output of your MIDI
synth as it plays. If your soundcard can record the synth
out (check in Windows mixer, options/properties/recording),
then just use a sound recording program and a MIDI player
together.

If you don't like your synth sounds, you can upgrade them
and gain MIDI to audio file conversion using Roland's
VSC88 software synth. www.edirol.com -- it isn't
freeware but it does work very well for this purpose.

There is also a program for doing this in an easy way.
It's midi2wav, which can be found at:

http://www.midi2wav.com/index.html (Who's computer is this?)

Its about $25.

A Web site that links to the site of other, similar
programs and gives advice on how to use them is
listed below:

http://www.musicmasterworks.com/midi_to_wave_converter.html (Who's computer is this?)

A very versatile program that has, among other functions, the ability
to convert midi to .wav is Synthfont. It can be found at:

http://www.synthfont.com/ (Who's computer is this?)

->

Q: What about the reverse; converting .wav or other audio

files to midi?

A: The short answer is that it can't be done. For the
long answer, and for recent progress in this area, please
go to:

http://members.chello.nl/j.a.komrij/faq/wav_mid.html (Who's computer is this?)

This link now includes a graphical analysis of a short snippet
of an audio file containing a guitar chord played against a
snare drum (to keep time) and a very low volume rhythm guitar.
There is also a written description, complete with table, of
what this analysis shows and the difficulty of isolating notes
in a chord even with one instrument. The material was supplied
by a person identified only as "Soltron," in a message in the
Usenet newsgroup, alt.binaries.sheet-music, and used here with
his permission.

->

Q: Can midi and .kar files be converted directly to .AVI or

.MP3+G, or CDG?

A: It depends on what you mean by "directly." There are
several ways to do this with screen capture programs,
such as Easy Video Capture and others. These have not
been tested as of this writing. You can then convert
the native format of the screen capture program to the
format you desire. There are also programs from:

http://www.powerkaraoke.com (Who's computer is this?)

and

http://www.karaokebuilder.com/ (Who's computer is this?)

that will convert midi or .kar to .AVI,to.MP3+G, or
even to CDG. You can download demo versions of these
programs that work for a limited amount of time and
don't allow files to be saved unless they are registered.
The pay versions do come with full documentation.
Both programs also come with players that can be
used stand-alone or within the studio programs.
Consult the documentation for the programs or post
questions in either alt.binaries.sounds.karaoke
or alt.music.karaoke for specifics.

->

Q: Hi, just wondering if midi karaoke is as good as

it gets... I find it hard to believe there isn't any
mp3 quality karaoke with some sort of subtitle plugin
for the lyrics. Anyway, if someone knows anything
please let me know.

A: It kind of depends on what you mean by "as good
as it gets."
Please see:

http://members.chello.nl/j.a.komrij/faq/compare.html (Who's computer is this?)

->

Q: I'm new to midi and I want to learn more about it.

Is there a guide for beginners and where can I find it?

A: The entire area of electronic music production has
progressed to the point where such a source would be
difficult to find. In addition, the actual equipment
used to produce and edit midi varies so much that it's
essential to read and understand manuals, help files,
etc., that came with your hardware and/or software. In
addition to that, although old, the following links
have very useful information:

Go to

http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Balcony/7837/midtutrl1.html (Who's computer is this?)

http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/HOMESEQUENCERS/?yguid=258539292 (Who's computer is this?)

http://home.roadrunner.com/~jgglatt/ (Who's computer is this?)

http://www.midi.org/about-midi/tutorial/tutor.shtml (Who's computer is this?)


http://www.soundonsound.com/search?url=/search&Keyword="Midi+Basics"+part (Who's computer is this?)


http://web.archive.org:80/web/20080126084133/http://www.borg.com/~jglatt/ (Who's computer is this?)

You can also, at least temporarily, go to:


http://web.archive.org/web/20070224031005rn_1/members.aol.com/midipapa/ (Who's computer is this?)

The archive of this site, which is no longer up,
contains a wealth of information about midi, even
though some of it is dated. Among the items you'll
find there is the last known revision of the FAQ of
alt.binaries.sounds.midi.

And finally for this list, but perhaps not all that exist:

http://www.harmony-central.com/MIDI/ (Who's computer is this?)

for discussion groups, Midi documentation, etc.

There are books on midi, usually published around 1985 to 1995.
Later than that, you are more likely to see books on home
recording that concentrate on recording technique, devote a
chapter to midi (usually in the middle of the book and then
continue with digital audio. However, there is a very good
book that starts with a detailed discussion of midi and then
evolves into digital audio. The book is:

The MIDI Manual, 3rd Edition
by David Miles Huber
published by Focal Press

When sending comments, additions, suggestions, via email, please
remove the "_fish" from the address. Thanks.

Thanks for reading and enjoy this group and midi-karaoke!

---

If you really want to bug me via email, remove the "_fish"

_____

You can read the FAQ for alt.binaries.karaoke at:
http://members.chello.nl/~j.a.komrij/faq.html (Who's computer is this?)