Yahoo Groups archive

Disklavier

Index last updated: 2026-04-28 23:20 UTC

Thread

Looking for MIDI file manager

Looking for MIDI file manager

2006-10-30 by Aaron Zornes

OK ... I have tried the idea of iTunes with MIDI files and am unable 
after 2 days to get anywhere ... am using iTunes 7.0.1 on Windows XP 
Pro (and Home) SP 2 ... no capability or postings anywhere )except 
here by nice PianoDisk people) about how to do so ... 
Inability to get it working (plus reticence to depend on iTunes in 
general for this "mission-critical app" as I have used it for 5 
years with my multiple generations of iPods and found it scary at 
times in terms of trashing our iPods) ... means I am walking from 
this path

SO HOW DOES ONE MANAGE THOUSANDS OF MIDI FILES?

I have practically all the Yamaha collections, plus everything PG 
Music published (great stuff, all but 4 titles out of print, jazz, 
Latin Jazz, New Orleans, Blues, Gospel, Classical Pianists series 
(16+ floppies alone), etc.) plus TUNES 1000 and Passport Software of 
Santa Cruz with several thousand Pro MIDI tunes ...

I am looking for jukebox capability … to manage thousands of MIDI 
files, search them by title, genre, composer, etc. and group them 
into playlists or other collections ...

I have talked to Yamaha tech support as I considered upgrading DC6A 
MK III to same MK IV configuration but found the price differential 
not worth it (yet) ... that and I found its 80GB (41GB user usable) 
HD inadequate even with the USB add-on drive (USB1 only) and fact 
that that it creates WAV files and not MP3 when ripping your 
personal audio CDs ... I had considered using MK IV PC tablet as 
high tech user interface to manage *all* our thousands of audio CDs 
and MIDI files but it is a "no go"

I have searched modestly for shareware or pro software and can't 
seem to find a modest file manager as described above (jukebox 
capability ... to manage thousands of MIDI files, search them by 
title, genre, composer, etc. and group them into playlists or other 
collections)

DOES ANYONE KNOW OF SUCH A PROGRAM?

Thanks!

--Aaron in San Francisco

Re: [disklavier] Looking for MIDI file manager

2006-10-30 by Shana Kirk

Hi Aaron,

I don't know of a MIDI jukebox per se--I used to recommend iTunes, but the current version has stopped supporting MIDI, it seems. (MIDI playback used to be a sort of hidden feature in Mac versions, don't know about PC.) I'll keep looking, though. Be sure to post if you find something, we'd all be interested!

Shana


On Oct 29, 2006, at 5:14 PM, Aaron Zornes wrote:

OK ... I have tried the idea of iTunes with MIDI files and am unable
after 2 days to get anywhere ... am using iTunes 7.0.1 on Windows XP
Pro (and Home) SP 2 ... no capability or postings anywhere )except
here by nice PianoDisk people) about how to do so ...
Inability to get it working (plus reticence to depend on iTunes in
general for this "mission-critical app" as I have used it for 5
years with my multiple generations of iPods and found it scary at
times in terms of trashing our iPods) ... means I am walking from
this path

Re: Looking for MIDI file manager

2006-10-30 by david962548

Hi

I used to use MidiManager but a quick search of the net suggests 
that it is no longer in use.  

If I want to play the piano from the PC I use Yamplayer this will 
play both midi and Eseq .fil files. It also has a playlist function.

Midi Magic

> 
> I have searched modestly for shareware or pro software and can't 
> seem to find a modest file manager as described above (jukebox 
> capability ... to manage thousands of MIDI files, search them by 
> title, genre, composer, etc. and group them into playlists or 
other 
Show quoted textHide quoted text
> collections)
> 
> DOES ANYONE KNOW OF SUCH A PROGRAM?
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> --Aaron in San Francisco
>

Re: [disklavier] Looking for MIDI file manager

2006-10-30 by Richard Kerr

I created a database in Microsoft Access which contains thousands of MIDI files which can be sorted by title, composer, performer, etc. Each listed piece is hyperlinked to the folder where the file is stored. Clicking the hyperlink launches the Van Basco player, which plays the file.
Although the database can be sorted to produce a list of pieces by whatever criteria one chooses (title, composer, etc.), the downside is that I have not determined how to make the pieces in the list play automatically in sequence. Instead, the hyperlink must be clicked each time to play the pieces individually. I do not possess the programming skill to take this to the next step and automate sequential playing.
RHK
----- Original Message -----
Show quoted textHide quoted text
Sent: Sunday, October 29, 2006 4:14 PM
Subject: [disklavier] Looking for MIDI file manager

OK ... I have tried the idea of iTunes with MIDI files and am unable
after 2 days to get anywhere ... am using iTunes 7.0.1 on Windows XP
Pro (and Home) SP 2 ... no capability or postings anywhere )except
here by nice PianoDisk people) about how to do so ...
Inability to get it working (plus reticence to depend on iTunes in
general for this "mission-critical app" as I have used it for 5
years with my multiple generations of iPods and found it scary at
times in terms of trashing our iPods) ... means I am walking from
this path

SO HOW DOES ONE MANAGE THOUSANDS OF MIDI FILES?

I have practically all the Yamaha collections, plus everything PG
Music published (great stuff, all but 4 titles out of print, jazz,
Latin Jazz, New Orleans, Blues, Gospel, Classical Pianists series
(16+ floppies alone), etc.) plus TUNES 1000 and Passport Software of
Santa Cruz with several thousand Pro MIDI tunes ...

I am looking for jukebox capability … to manage thousands of MIDI
files, search them by title, genre, composer, etc. and group them
into playlists or other collections ...

I have talked to Yamaha tech support as I considered upgrading DC6A
MK III to same MK IV configuration but found the price differential
not worth it (yet) ... that and I found its 80GB (41GB user usable)
HD inadequate even with the USB add-on drive (USB1 only) and fact
that that it creates WAV files and not MP3 when ripping your
personal audio CDs ... I had considered using MK IV PC tablet as
high tech user interface to manage *all* our thousands of audio CDs
and MIDI files but it is a "no go"

I have searched modestly for shareware or pro software and can't
seem to find a modest file manager as described above (jukebox
capability ... to manage thousands of MIDI files, search them by
title, genre, composer, etc. and group them into playlists or other
collections)

DOES ANYONE KNOW OF SUCH A PROGRAM?

Thanks!

--Aaron in San Francisco

Re: [disklavier] Looking for MIDI file manager

2006-10-30 by Richard Kerr

Aaron:
I fogot to mention that MIDICAT comes as close to doing what you want as any program I have found so far for playing MIDI files. However, it has limitations and that is why I moved to creating the MS Access database. You may want to take a look though: http://midicat.net/
Richard Kerr
Show quoted textHide quoted text
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Sunday, October 29, 2006 4:14 PM
Subject: [disklavier] Looking for MIDI file manager

OK ... I have tried the idea of iTunes with MIDI files and am unable
after 2 days to get anywhere ... am using iTunes 7.0.1 on Windows XP
Pro (and Home) SP 2 ... no capability or postings anywhere )except
here by nice PianoDisk people) about how to do so ...
Inability to get it working (plus reticence to depend on iTunes in
general for this "mission-critical app" as I have used it for 5
years with my multiple generations of iPods and found it scary at
times in terms of trashing our iPods) ... means I am walking from
this path

SO HOW DOES ONE MANAGE THOUSANDS OF MIDI FILES?

I have practically all the Yamaha collections, plus everything PG
Music published (great stuff, all but 4 titles out of print, jazz,
Latin Jazz, New Orleans, Blues, Gospel, Classical Pianists series
(16+ floppies alone), etc.) plus TUNES 1000 and Passport Software of
Santa Cruz with several thousand Pro MIDI tunes ...

I am looking for jukebox capability … to manage thousands of MIDI
files, search them by title, genre, composer, etc. and group them
into playlists or other collections ...

I have talked to Yamaha tech support as I considered upgrading DC6A
MK III to same MK IV configuration but found the price differential
not worth it (yet) ... that and I found its 80GB (41GB user usable)
HD inadequate even with the USB add-on drive (USB1 only) and fact
that that it creates WAV files and not MP3 when ripping your
personal audio CDs ... I had considered using MK IV PC tablet as
high tech user interface to manage *all* our thousands of audio CDs
and MIDI files but it is a "no go"

I have searched modestly for shareware or pro software and can't
seem to find a modest file manager as described above (jukebox
capability ... to manage thousands of MIDI files, search them by
title, genre, composer, etc. and group them into playlists or other
collections)

DOES ANYONE KNOW OF SUCH A PROGRAM?

Thanks!

--Aaron in San Francisco

Re: Looking for MIDI file manager

2006-10-30 by david962548

Hi

Ops, I tell I lie. It was MidiCat that I used and not MidiManager. 
Again it only worked for so many files before you had to pay for it.

I have a collection of Pianosoft disks which are in the Eseq format 
so I use Yamplayer, which plays both Eseq and Midi.

Midi Magic

--- In disklavier@yahoogroups.com, "david962548" <magic_midi@...> 
wrote:
>
> Hi
> 
> I used to use MidiManager but a quick search of the net suggests 
> that it is no longer in use.  
> 
> If I want to play the piano from the PC I use Yamplayer this will 
> play both midi and Eseq .fil files. It also has a playlist 
function.
Show quoted textHide quoted text
> 
> Midi Magic
> 
> > 
> > I have searched modestly for shareware or pro software and can't 
> > seem to find a modest file manager as described above (jukebox 
> > capability ... to manage thousands of MIDI files, search them by 
> > title, genre, composer, etc. and group them into playlists or 
> other 
> > collections)
> > 
> > DOES ANYONE KNOW OF SUCH A PROGRAM?
> > 
> > Thanks!
> > 
> > --Aaron in San Francisco
> >
>

Re: [disklavier] Re: Looking for MIDI file manager

2006-10-30 by Spencer_Lists

Greetings david962548,

Richard and I worked together on the database method of playing MIDI
files. I wrote a program that extracts whatever text information can
be found in the files and makes an Excel spreadsheet containing all
the text information and a hyperlink to their location on the
computer. Richard (more patience with Microsoft documentation) figured
out how to convert the Excel sheet into an Access database. As Richard
stated, the limitation is that neither of us has been able to figure
out either an Access method or a programming method to play more than
one file at a time. It is possible that I might be able to get some
help developing this capability so that I can write a playlist player.
It will be a big job so I would like to determine if there is any
interest in such a program. I do want to write it for Richard and
myself but the amount of effort required is more than can be justified
for a program to be used by two people.


-- 
Best regards,
Spencer_Lists Chase        mailto:lists@...
67550 Bell Springs Rd.
Garberville,  CA 95542    Postal service only.
Laytonville, CA 95454    UPS only.
Spencer@...
http://www.spencerserolls.com
http://www.spencerserolls.com/MidiValve.htm
(707) 984-8356

RE: [disklavier] Re: Looking for MIDI file manager

2006-10-30 by Aaron Zornes

Thanks for the tip.

 

I found MidiCat yesterday before I received your suggestion and had been
playing with it for a while.

 

The limit is 1,000 files as freeware and I have found it fairly powerful for
searching etc.

 

I haven't found a way to get it to: (1) create and manage playlists, and (2)
display KAR or other lyrics other than its tiny preview screen.  I have
fired off an email to their support if we are not missing it somehow but it
does not appear to have these features.

 

THANKS.

 

--Aaron

 

  _____  

From: disklavier@yahoogroups.com [mailto:disklavier@yahoogroups.com] On
Behalf Of david962548
Sent: Monday, October 30, 2006 8:42 AM
To: disklavier@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [disklavier] Re: Looking for MIDI file manager

 

Hi

Ops, I tell I lie. It was MidiCat that I used and not MidiManager. 
Again it only worked for so many files before you had to pay for it.

I have a collection of Pianosoft disks which are in the Eseq format 
so I use Yamplayer, which plays both Eseq and Midi.

Midi Magic

--- In disklavier@yahoogro <mailto:disklavier%40yahoogroups.com> ups.com,
"david962548" <magic_midi@...> 
wrote:
>
> Hi
> 
> I used to use MidiManager but a quick search of the net suggests 
> that it is no longer in use. 
> 
> If I want to play the piano from the PC I use Yamplayer this will 
> play both midi and Eseq .fil files. It also has a playlist 
function.
Show quoted textHide quoted text
> 
> Midi Magic
> 
> > 
> > I have searched modestly for shareware or pro software and can't 
> > seem to find a modest file manager as described above (jukebox 
> > capability ... to manage thousands of MIDI files, search them by 
> > title, genre, composer, etc. and group them into playlists or 
> other 
> > collections)
> > 
> > DOES ANYONE KNOW OF SUCH A PROGRAM?
> > 
> > Thanks!
> > 
> > --Aaron in San Francisco
> >
>

Re: [disklavier] Re: Looking for MIDI file manager

2006-10-30 by Richard Kerr

I purchased the product, and found it tantalizing, but not quite what I wanted. The search feature is powerful, but the limitation on fields and the difficulty of getting titles into the correct fields when importing is a major problem. A lot depends on where the information (composer, performer, etc.) is located in the MIDI file, and that varies all over the place, so you never know where it will end up in Midicat. It has been so long since I used the program I cannot recall if it provides a sequential playlist feature, but I don't think it does, because the program is actually Microsoft Access with a GUI designed by the programmer.
I have contacted the programmer several times and urged modification of the program to meet our needs, all to no avail. He always agrees that the features we want would be an improvement, but that is as far as his commitment goes. That is what drove me to learn how to create a database in MS Acess. At least I have the sorting features and data fields customized to my particular needs. Now if I just had enought smarts to make the lists play automatically, the solution would be perfect. Spencer Chase may tackle that programming task if he feels there is enough demand for what you and I, and Spencer want.
Richard H. Kerr
Show quoted textHide quoted text
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Monday, October 30, 2006 11:16 AM
Subject: RE: [disklavier] Re: Looking for MIDI file manager

Thanks for the tip.

I found MidiCat yesterday before I received your suggestion and had been playing with it for a while.

The limit is 1,000 files as freeware and I have found it fairly powerful for searching etc.

I haven’t found a way to get it to: (1) create and manage playlists, and (2) display KAR or other lyrics other than its tiny preview screen. I have fired off an email to their support if we are not missing it somehow but it does not appear to have these features.

THANKS.

--Aaron

From: disklavier@yahoogroups.com [mailto:disklavier@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of david962548
Sent: Monday, October 30, 2006 8:42 AM
To: disklavier@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [disklavier] Re: Looking for MIDI file manager

Hi

Ops, I tell I lie. It was MidiCat that I used and not MidiManager.
Again it only worked for so many files before you had to pay for it.

I have a collection of Pianosoft disks which are in the Eseq format
so I use Yamplayer, which plays both Eseq and Midi.

Midi Magic

--- In disklavier@yahoogroups.com, "david962548" ...>
wrote:
>
> Hi
>
> I used to use MidiManager but a quick search of the net suggests
> that it is no longer in use.
>
> If I want to play the piano from the PC I use Yamplayer this will
> play both midi and Eseq .fil files. It also has a playlist
function.
>
> Midi Magic
>
> >
>; > I have searched modestly for shareware or pro software and can't
> > seem to find a modest file manager as described above (jukebox
> > capability ... to manage thousands of MIDI files, search them by
> > title, genre, composer, etc. and group them into playlists or
> other
> > collections)
> >
> > DOES ANYONE KNOW OF SUCH A PROGRAM?
> >
> > Thanks!
> >
> > --Aaron in San Francisco
> >
>

RE: [disklavier] Re: Looking for MIDI file manager

2006-11-01 by Aaron Zornes

I can't find YAMPLAYER anywhere through the usual search engines.

 

And "VanBasco's Karaoke Player" seems to be w inner on multiple levels . I'd
appreciate feedback from any others who may have used this program.

 

http://www.vanbasco.com/ 

 

THANKS.

 

-Aaron.

 

 

 

  _____  

From: disklavier@yahoogroups.com [mailto:disklavier@yahoogroups.com] On
Behalf Of david962548
Sent: Monday, October 30, 2006 12:35 AM
To: disklavier@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [disklavier] Re: Looking for MIDI file manager

 

Hi

I used to use MidiManager but a quick search of the net suggests 
that it is no longer in use. 

If I want to play the piano from the PC I use Yamplayer this will 
play both midi and Eseq .fil files. It also has a playlist function.

Midi Magic

> 
> I have searched modestly for shareware or pro software and can't 
> seem to find a modest file manager as described above (jukebox 
> capability ... to manage thousands of MIDI files, search them by 
> title, genre, composer, etc. and group them into playlists or 
other 
Show quoted textHide quoted text
> collections)
> 
> DOES ANYONE KNOW OF SUCH A PROGRAM?
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> --Aaron in San Francisco
>

Re: [disklavier] Re: Looking for MIDI file manager

2006-11-01 by Carol Beigel

Try www.carolrpt.com under software.
Carol
Show quoted textHide quoted text
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Wednesday, November 01, 2006 2:08 AM
Subject: RE: [disklavier] Re: Looking for MIDI file manager

I can’t find YAMPLAYER anywhere through the usual search engines.

And “VanBasco's Karaoke Player” seems to be w inner on multiple levels … I’d appreciate feedback from any others who may have used this program.

http://www.vanbasco.com/

THANKS.

-Aaron.

From: disklavier@yahoogroups.com [mailto:disklavier@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of david962548
Sent: Monday, October 30, 2006 12:35 AM
To: disklavier@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [disklavier] Re: Looking for MIDI file manager

Hi

I used to use MidiManager but a quick search of the net suggests
that it is no longer in use.

If I want to play the piano from the PC I use Yamplayer this will
play both midi and Eseq .fil files. It also has a playlist function.

Midi Magic

>
> I have searched modestly for shareware or pro software and can't
> seem to find a modest file manager as described above (jukebox
> capability ... to manage thousands of MIDI files, search them by
> title, genre, composer, etc. and group them into playlists or
other
> collections)
>
> DOES ANYONE KNOW OF SUCH A PROGRAM?
>
> Thanks!
>
> --Aaron in San Francisco
>

Re: [disklavier] Re: Looking for MIDI file manager

2006-11-01 by Richard Kerr

As a player it's fine. You can produce playlists too, but there is no provision for selecting and sorting by title, composer, performer, etc.
Show quoted textHide quoted text
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Tuesday, October 31, 2006 11:08 PM
Subject: RE: [disklavier] Re: Looking for MIDI file manager

I can’t find YAMPLAYER anywhere through the usual search engines.

And “VanBasco's Karaoke Player” seems to be w inner on multiple levels … I’d appreciate feedback from any others who may have used this program.

http://www.vanbasco.com/

THANKS.

-Aaron.

From: disklavier@yahoogroups.com [mailto:disklavier@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of david962548
Sent: Monday, October 30, 2006 12:35 AM
To: disklavier@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [disklavier] Re: Looking for MIDI file manager

Hi

I used to use MidiManager but a quick search of the net suggests
that it is no longer in use.

If I want to play the piano from the PC I use Yamplayer this will
play both midi and Eseq .fil files. It also has a playlist function.

Midi Magic

>
> I have searched modestly for shareware or pro software and can't
> seem to find a modest file manager as described above (jukebox
> capability ... to manage thousands of MIDI files, search them by
> title, genre, composer, etc. and group them into playlists or
other
> collections)
>
> DOES ANYONE KNOW OF SUCH A PROGRAM?
>
> Thanks!
>
> --Aaron in San Francisco
>

RE: [disklavier] Re: Looking for MIDI file manager

2006-11-01 by Aaron Zornes

Thx, everyone, for your patience in helping me round up these excellent
players.

 

--Aaron in San Francisco (DC6A)

 

  _____  
Show quoted textHide quoted text
From: disklavier@yahoogroups.com [mailto:disklavier@yahoogroups.com] On
Behalf Of ISKI1@...
Sent: Wednesday, November 01, 2006 3:54 AM
To: disklavier@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [disklavier] Re: Looking for MIDI file manager

 

You can find Yamaha Player Here

 

http://www.carolrpt <http://www.carolrpt.com/softwaredwnld.htm>
.com/softwaredwnld.htm

Re: Looking for MIDI file manager

2006-11-02 by david962548

Hi

Yamplayer can be found at 

http://www.carolrpt.com/softwaredwnld.htm


Midi Magic


--- In disklavier@yahoogroups.com, "Aaron Zornes" <azornes@...> 
wrote:
>
> I can't find YAMPLAYER anywhere through the usual search engines.
> 
>  
> 
> And "VanBasco's Karaoke Player" seems to be w inner on multiple 
levels . I'd
> appreciate feedback from any others who may have used this program.
> 
>  
> 
> http://www.vanbasco.com/ 
> 
>  
> 
> THANKS.
> 
>  
> 
> -Aaron.
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>   _____  
> 
> From: disklavier@yahoogroups.com 
[mailto:disklavier@yahoogroups.com] On
> Behalf Of david962548
> Sent: Monday, October 30, 2006 12:35 AM
> To: disklavier@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: [disklavier] Re: Looking for MIDI file manager
> 
>  
> 
> Hi
> 
> I used to use MidiManager but a quick search of the net suggests 
> that it is no longer in use. 
> 
> If I want to play the piano from the PC I use Yamplayer this will 
> play both midi and Eseq .fil files. It also has a playlist 
function.
Show quoted textHide quoted text
> 
> Midi Magic
> 
> > 
> > I have searched modestly for shareware or pro software and can't 
> > seem to find a modest file manager as described above (jukebox 
> > capability ... to manage thousands of MIDI files, search them by 
> > title, genre, composer, etc. and group them into playlists or 
> other 
> > collections)
> > 
> > DOES ANYONE KNOW OF SUCH A PROGRAM?
> > 
> > Thanks!
> > 
> > --Aaron in San Francisco
> >
>

Move to quarantaine

This moves the raw source file on disk only. The archive index is not changed automatically, so you still need to run a manual refresh afterward.