MUSIC PRESENTATION
Music for an Internet Musical script to be heard on the
computer, essentially, need only have the individual notes of melodies that
fit precisely with words of the lyrics, if readers are to match up or try
singing the words.
If actual singing is heard, when the voice begins, the reader
knows also when to begin following the lyrics.
You may wish to write your music in full symphonic style, or use a
small number of instruments or simply one instrument; somehow, however,
if the music is not sung, you must make it obvious as to which musical notes
are to accompany which words of the lyrics of your songs, i.e. which are
the notes the singer would sing.
1. What kind of computer music file should
you use?
2. What web page computer program should you
use?
3. Essential - Before starting the web page
4. Method of inserting the songs onto the
web page.
TYPE OF COMPUTER
MUSIC TO USE:
This author does not have knowledge of all the types of computer music
playing programs, but here will share what was found:
FIRST: Decide what type of music file you want on your web site.
WAV files were used with the website composer program under Microsoft
Windows 95 for this website. Midi files were not, and Media Player files,
though usable, had too large a music control panel, on the creating computer,
to be desirable, and be able to position appropriately on a page, for lyrics
to be seen and not covered or need to be moved too far away from it.
WAV files with 16-bit stereo sound and MIDI files (Musical Instrument
Digital Interface) with synthesizers offer a similar fine tuned more delicate
quality of sound; however, WAV files use far more bytes than do MIDI files.
EXAMPLE: 13.5 seconds of "DANNY BOY" on the Colm Wilkinson
Home page takes 291 Kilobytes in a WAV file, yet
48.1 seconds of "SHEPHERD BOY" on "SONGS of the NEUTRAL
GROUND" Internet Musical website takes only 646 Bytes, less than 1
Kilobyte.
Remember: 1 Kilobyte = 1000 Bytes
So, to put as many songs as would be needed to consider a story turned
into a musical, using WAV files could be prohibitive, when you may have
an average Internet Server Provider contract that allows only 5 Megabytes
per web page.
1 MegaByte = 1,000,000 Bytes
For "SONGS of the NEUTRAL GROUND,"
using only songs with 7 to 22.5 seconds in length for simply PART ONE, and
estimating the Kilobytes required to write all four PART's of the story,
the bytes totaled about 19.6 Megabytes using WAV files; so a site allowing
even a sizable 20 Megabytes, would not be able to accommodate songs for
the other three PARTS of the Musical.
THEREFORE, it was necessary to seek out a way to use MIDI music files,
files in which the songs were saved on my computer, after being written
in the MusicTime Deluxe music composition computer Program that was used.
Because the web page maker used was not set up to import MIDI files,
and also the pages of text for PART ONE (completed at that point) would
not drag-and-drop to a web page maker that allowed MIDI files, my
problem was how to make MIDI files acceptable to the Windows program and
my web page program.
Experimenting with several MIDI conversion computer programs caused
a near catastrophe in one case, when , after converting several MIDI tunes
as a trial effort, all of my music files were sucked into the conversion
program, leaving NOTHING behind, making all of them inaccessible on my music
composer program to edit or improve.
Too many frustrating failures to write perfectly correct HTML as instructed
by the second conversion program, to make the music controls work as desired
on the web page, caused trial of a third.
The third system tried was successful, thusly, ending up with the Yamaha
MID PLUG-XG (and I am not an agent nor paid for any commercial effort).
Because the MIDPLUG program was set up to be compatable only with Netscape
Communicator 4 at the time of first entering MIDI files for "Songs
of the Neutral Ground," computers that open under Microsoft
Internet Explorer may or may not hear any music upon opening of the HOMEPAGE
(or index page), or see any music control buttons on text pages. Several
friends with Microsoft Internet Explorer can get the music and music control
panels and concluded that it depends on the capability of the receiving
computer, what music componenets are installed.
Without the "soft synthesizer," the MID PLUG-XG program downloads
quickly and does not require as many bytes of space on a home computer;
but the "soft synthesizer" gives a more refined and pleasurable
sound to the music. It can be downloaded at:
http://www.yamaha-xg.com
To hear music in the quality created, computers with synthesizers need
only download the Yamaha MIDPLUG-XG without the synthesizer, but computers
with no synthesizer may want to download the Yamaha MIDPLUG-XG with synthesizer.
Recent up-to-date audio programs may see different control panels than the
Yamaha MIDPLUG operating music buttons, but can control start and stop and
get the musical sounds in the quality created.
Additional HTML wording was required for each song converted to control
the Yamaha MIDPLUG-XG play icon, allowing the reader to start and stop music
on the web page where the lyrics for that song could be read at the same
time. This was necessary for the other program that was tried unsuccessfully,
and likely the reason it would not work was unclear directions for the HTML.
You also should be aware that you can write META tags in HTML near
the top of your index page, to put a description of the site in a precise
place, within your website, that search engines can use to write a description
when listing it.
As all computer users know, you do have to follow the exact instructions
for writing HTML for most anything; and, songs did work, when the HTML was
exact.
If you put an extra space or letter between anything, music would
start playing when the page was opened, that contained the incorrectly written
HTML, and sometimes not stop even when you pushed a button to play the song
you wanted to hear, and not even after exiting the program completely. This
happened not only on my site, but another site when surfing the Internet.
The whole computer had to be shut down on one occasion to stop it.
If a misspelling was corrected and saved, using a completely different
letter of the alphabet, it would stay corrected,
BUT ---Do not think, that because you go to the HTML of the page and
DELETE an extra item, that it will stay corrected. During one correction
effort, the error kept slipping back as it had been, until moving the song
control panel on the viewing page to different location, either above or
below the words in italics. Apparently the electronic magnetism or
something on that one spot would not allow a correction to hold.
So, be careful writing the HTML as instructed the first time, and
recheck every letter, = , ", and space , before saving the page.
AU files may be another way to go. They are the most commonly used
sound file format for cross-platform applications, but how it works with
MIDI files is another question.
.aiff, .aif and ,aifc are used on Macintosh.
*****************************
THE CHOSEN WEB
PAGE MAKER
SECOND -
You will certainly want to have your own website creator program,
so that you can work on it the many hours needed to write and rewrite the
parts of a complete musical at your home - without hogging internet time
on search engine initiated web sites, which only allow you a short time
to edit your site on line.
Because, "SONGS of the NEUTRAL GROUND"
was started in 1997, taking over two years to complete, the website construction
program did not automatically use PDF (Portable Document Format) for its
web pages, so the format of this site loses its control when opened under
different search engines, and all the music and music control buttons.
Technology has advanced so rapidly in two years that likely all website
construction programs have PDF automatically set into them, but it would
be safe to check the printed information.
Check the web page computer program you are considering using, on
which to write your Internet Musical, to make sure it has the ability to
import the type of music file you decide to use for your web page, before
spending a lot of time, writing the story content on a web page program
which may not allow you to transfer the contents of body text to another
type web page maker. You do not want to learn, too late, that your chosen
web page program does not have the ability to import your preferred type
of music.
Check web site programs online for ones that indicate ability to import
the kind of music file you have chosen. Some may offer a trial period, allowing
you time to experiment importing music files.
BEFORE STARTING
THE PAGE
Call your Internet Service Provider (ISP), before
you begin to write the story content, and ask (1) the size in megabytes
the server allows for a personal web site, (2) for the precise pathway directions
and HTML name your website will have for setting up the name of the site
and pages. It will save a lot of link changing.
The ID for the site will be the name you choose
for it, and the ISP will include that name in the web site address.
Often an ISP has as its remote directory:
public_html
and your initial opening page, the Home page
or local directory:
index
So they may tell you to set up folders under
C:/ drive for:
1 - website maker name (because this controls
the text writing)
2 - within that folder, another folder for ---
"public_html"
3 - within the "public_html" folder:
--------- a FILE for the opening page called
--- "index"
--------- files for other text content pages
to link to "index" page
--------- a folder for your music, another for
images, and another --------- (if applicable) for a plug-in program to operate
your music,
4 - All images and songs on the text pages must be linked to the images
and songs in folders that are along side the "index" page.
TO PLACE MUSIC
on your WEB SITE:
a) Your computer hard drive should have a 16-bit sound card, and hopefully
a synthesizer, to interpret the sounds of music.
b) Following instructions described by your web page maker is the
obvious method of placing music on your web page, but through WHAT PROCEDURES
took some time to learn for placement of songs for "Songs
of the Neutral Ground" site.
c) For this site, after saving file FOLDERS, along side the index
page, to hold songs for each story PART, the procedure used was to:
--[1] Save desired music for the site in a MIDI file of the music
composition program (in which the music was written) in C:/ drive
--[2] Go to FIND from the START button (in Windows 95)
--[3] On FIND's search area, type in the music file name desired such
as "MID" for MIDI files in this case
--[4] Scroll down to song names followed by only the songmaker program
name
--[5] Highlight (using left mouse button) the name of the song to
be placed on a particular line of a web page
--[6] Go to C:/ drive under MY COMPUTER, find and then click on the
name of the WEB PAGE maker program wherever it was filed, to bring its folder
onto the desktop, keeping the FIND list available on the desktop
--[7] Continue opening the series of folders (all put under the web
site maker program folder), as described to be set up by the Internet Server
Provider for putting the web site on the Internet, until the web site music
folders were in view.
--[8] With RIGHT mouse button click onto the highlighted song name
in the FIND display, holding down the right button and dragging the song
name to the desired music folder, to a position near or above the music
folder that caused the folder to highlight itself, then dropping it there.
--[9] Then the pop up menu choice was to MOVE or COPY the song at
that location, click on COPY, (if MOVE had been clicked, the song would
be gone from the FIND section). This web site has a different folder for
each PART, as each contains 20 to 30 songs.
--[10] Double click the music folder to open it and reveal names of
songs stored there, click on the song name just dropped to see if it played
as expected.
--[11] Open up the web page, on the web page maker program, where
that particular song will be used, scroll down to the position desired to
place the music button control panel for that song, and set a blinking line
(cursor) for placing the name of the song, like when placing an anchor for
a link.
--[12] Use web page program directions for placing the song in a particular
location; this one was to chose FILE> PLACE; clicking on PLACE brought
a pop up display with PLACE OBJECT choice.
--[13] Find the song name in the desired Music file folder, stored
along side the index page of the website, by using the top line within the
PLACE OBJECT display to move between folders; when music folder was opened
to list of its song names, highlight the desired song name with left mouse
button, so that it also appears on the line for the object to be placed,
--[14] Click on the word "Place" ("embed " may
be used by other web maker programs) An icon or placed object appeared on
the chosen spot where the curser was left blinking on the web page. When
in PREVIEW MODE, it may look as it will on the internet, if there is no
controversy with acceptance between the type of music file and the web page
maker. Because MIDI files were not compatible with this web page maker,
only a drawing with a plug-in appeared in even the PREVIEW MODE.
--[15] Choose EDIT>HTML Source, and click on the latter. The HTML
code for that page appeared.
--[16] Scroll down through the text until reaching a line or two of
all blue letters containing the name of the song just placed,
--[17] Follow very carefully the directions, exactly, for writing
the additional HTML required by the converter program, in order for the
song to play as desired, set the chosen size of the play button icon, and
to make the song compatible to the web page.
After writing the additional HTML correctly for a song and saving
it,
--[18] bring up that particular web page starting with C:/ drive under
MY COMPUTER, then the web page maker folder and on through the file folders
in the path prescribed by the Internet Server. On the opened web page, the
Yamaha MIDPLUG-XG music control icon could then be seen and operated with
start and stop buttons as they appear on the Internet, and the music heard.
But, if your web site maker program is compatible with the music type
chosen, you may view the site in operating conditions under its PREVIEW
MODE, as it is seen and operated on the Internet.
You must have installed on your computer, whatever Plug-ins or programs
that are required by the web site maker program to transmit sound, and placed
in the location required to function properly. In the case of using Yamaha
MIDPLUG-XG, it was required to be filed in the Plug-ins folder under the
advanced programs of Netscape Communicator 4 or higher or more recently
Microsoft Internet Explorer.
ESSENTIAL, seemed to be placing the Yamaha MIDPLUG-XG plug-in, not
only into the Plug-ins folder under the Netscape folder, but also under
the "public_html" folder of the web site, so that it accompanied
the web site to the Internet for the music to operate under its control
on the Internet.
Back to top of page
STORY SETUP
or FORMAT
THIRD:
This writer's suggestions are:
(a) A Musical should have a story with good moral values, the usual
build-up of a plot, or more than one, a climax, and also an anti-climax
is preferred to be included.
(b) An Internet Musical should contain whole, part, and/or musical dialogue
sections of songs with perhaps no less than 15 seconds of play each, which
can be heard by pressing a button to start and stop, and which assist telling
the story. Several characters' lyrical dialogues may be grouped in one song,
such as in "STRANGELY NEW" - "NOT SO" in "SONGS
of the NEUTRAL GROUND," because, it
was found that the shorter the MIDI music time, the more likely it was not
to work correctly for the reader to start the music play button.
(c) The Musical should refrain from obscenity, sexual innuendos and
profanity, not exceeding the measure of the stage musical, "LES MISERABLES,"
as a guide, plus the requirements of Internet Search Engines used.
(d) It can be set up like movie and play writing scripts with all characters'
NAMES in capital letters, and when accompanied with spoken dialogue, the
NAME placed at the left margin, followed by a colon, as: NAME: dialogue.
To set up NAMES followed by lyrics of a song or musical dialogue, the
NAMES were centered in most cases, unless to put more musical dialogue within
the viewing monitor of the computer, for which reason NAMES and lyrics were
crammed together.
(e) SPOKEN dialogue worked best by starting at the left margin, and
having no quotation marks around it, to differentiate from song lyrics.
(f) Dialogue or LYRICS (words of a song) to be SUNG all need quotation
marks around them and centered on the page, so readers know the length of
a musical section, though there may not be complete music. If you are hopeful
that someone may see and hear your music and want to record it, you may
choose to keep part of it unavailable to hear on your Internet Musical.
(g) Lyrics to match melodies heard, for readers to sing, worked best
in ITALICS. Lyrics with no music were
centered, but NOT in italics, to differentiate
between those to be sung and those with no music to accompany them.
(h) Descriptions of actions, places, history, and situations were surrounded
by parenthesis to distinguish from dialogue, and start at the left of the
page, as is done in movie scripts, in case you hope someone may want your
Musical for a movie or television.
(j) Only musical notes of the melodies to be sung were used on this
web site, because the opinion of others was that chords used for this purpose
in MIDI music were distracting, especially on repeated openings of the index
page, where music starts automatically.
COPYWRITING
FOURTH:
The person writing the INTERNET MUSICAL, especially the music, must
be aware that the story, songs and/or music could be copied or used elsewhere;
for this reason it is best to obtain copyrights at the equivalent of the
Library of Congress for U.S.A. citizens on all your original work, but you
are putting it on the Internet at your own risk.
Children's stories would be fun to make into musicals, like Disney has
with "CINDERELLA," "PINOCCHIO" and Prokofieff's symphonic
"PETER AND THE WOLF." There must be many teachers of young children
who have thought how certain children's stories would make delightful
musicals, -
But - check the front of the book, of any story you might like to use,
with a librarian if need be, to be certain there is no copyright, or you
must request permission from the owner of the copyright to use the story.
You may have written or wish to write your own story, plus the music
to help tell the story, in which cases you would want to copyright the complete
musical as a whole.
If using a story old enough to be in the public domain, such as Cooper's
"THE SPY," published in 1821, on which "SONGS
of the NEUTRAL GROUND" is based, or as Victor Hugo's novel,
"LES MISERABLES," published sometime between 1841 and 1870, on
which the musical of the same name is based, you cannot copyright the story
as such, only the changes or additions you have made and the presentation
used in transforming it into a Musical.
Any easier suggestions are welcome, and can be added to this site with
web name of contributor if desired.
Have a great time creating, the Internet is your audience. If you finish
an Internet Musical and want to list it on a web page, that could be called:
INTERNET MUSICAL LISTING
Contact site owner, Norma Valborg, at:
songsong@extremezone.com
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