An Alternative to Embedding MIDI Files

This page presents some easy-to-use HTML code for people who like the idea of background music using a MIDI file, but don't like all the hassles of embedded MIDI files. There are also some small MIDI files which you may use on your web page.

Listen to Music While You Browse
47-Second Dorian Melody Loop (436 bytes)
Click to let your MIDI plugin play music in another window.
To download, shift and right-click with Windows or option-click with Macintosh

Instead of an unsolicted embedded MIDI file, use the above HTML code and give your visitors a choice. List the source of this page, copy the code, then edit it to suit your needs.

The MIDI file is purposely simple to keep the filesize small so it will load quickly.

loops.zip 6K
To save time, you can download this page and the 7 MIDI files in a zip pack.

The Advantages Over Doing an Embedded MIDI File

Your web page will load faster, since an embedded MIDI file doesn't have to load and the music of the MIDI file doesn't need to be processed.
The music won't stop when a visitor clicks to the next page. The visitor can choose when to stop the music.
The visitor who doesn't want to listen to music while visiting your page, doesn't have to.
The visitor who doesn't want to take the time to download a MIDI file, doesn't have to.
The visitor who is already pushing the limits of computer memory use, doesn't risk 'out of memory' errors, by loading in an unsolicited MIDI file.
You don't keep away (potential) repeat visitors who are irritated by an embedded MIDI file.
You can get a similar result with javascipt, but this doesn't require javascript (which everyone can't use and which adds to the size of your web page).

MIDI Files For Web Pages

MIDI Files Under 2 Kilobytes

I wrote all of these for the purpose of using them on web pages. The challange was to keep the filesize small (to promote fast downloading) while maintaining interest. The tempos are slow because some MIDI plugins don't loop smoothly at fast tempos.

If you can write your own MIDI files, then listen to these to inspire you to write your own small compositions.

If you don't write MIDI files, then download one and use it on your web page with the suggested HTML code above or using EMBED and BGSOUND. You do not need to pay anything. The only requiremnet is that you must include the following HTML code at the bottom of your page. Any other use is prohibited.

The music is Copyright (C) 1997 by <a href="http://www.aitech.ac.jp/~ckelly/">Charles I. Kelly</a> and used by permission.

ck-loop1.mid (135 bytes): Drone & Slow Arpeggio
ck-loop2.mid (1,116 bytes): Dorian Mode Melody with Drums. (Tempo 100)
ck-loop3.mid (436 bytes): Same as ck-loop2.mid without drums. (Tempo 80 - 47 Seconds)
ck-loop4.mid (239 bytes): Rock Bass Line & Drums - 2-measure Loop (Tempo 70); This may not loop properly on every computer.
ck-loop5.mid (191 bytes): A 12-Tone Row Based Around a C7 Chord (Tempo 35)
ck-loop6.mid (53 bytes): Only One Note. Can you get any smaller?
ck-loop7.mid (247 bytes): Slow suspence-building music, maybe a little too wierd for most people.

Notes

The loading time is not all that you should consider, you should also consider how long it takes to process the music. For example, Crescendo 2.0 on a Mac 660 takes 7 seconds to process all the above loops without drums, but the ones with drums take 14 seconds to process.
Type 0 MIDI files seem to be smaller than Type 1 MIDI files, so save your MIDI files as Type 0 before uploading.

To find MIDI files, visit Standard MIDI Files on the Net
The Internet's Most Complete List of Sites With MIDI Files.