Enabling your PC to play MIDI files

You must of course have a sound card, with speakers or headphones.

Click the Start button.

Point to Settings - click Control panel.

Double-click Multimedia.

Click the MIDI tab.

Make sure that MaestroWaveSynth is selected. Click OK.

In Textease2000, create an object (i.e. type some text or insert a picture). Select it and click the Link tool (the chain link). In the Links box, click 'Browse' to find your Midi file. Make sure that 'Close' is ticked off.

De-select the object by clicking anywhere else on the screen. Left-click the object to play the tune. NB Once a link has been created, you will need to select with the right button to edit the object.

MIDI files take up little space, because they are simply lists of numbers. There are standard settings for MIDI instruments, pre-programmed into your sound card. The data in the file contains playing instructions for these "instruments". There's a website, Classical Archives, where you can download classical works recorded on MIDI equipment. Don't expect authentic performance - but the effects can sometimes be interesting!

There's no comparison with mp3. However, you need a fast connection to experience mp3 hi-fi quality.