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1. MTO welcomes new staff
A few new staff members have been added to the MTO team at UCSB: Cindy Nicholson, Nicholas
Blanchard, both graduate students in music theory, and William Loewe, a graduate student in
composition. Nicholson joins Ralph Steffen in copyediting, and Blanchard does HTML formatting.
Loewe is our new Music Example Designer. He created the musical examples for this issue using
Finale. Thanks to all three for their help in preparing volume 2.1!
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2. New hardware added
A few weeks ago we added a two-gigabyte external disk to boethius, the SMT networking
host.. The ever expanding volume of files for MTO, including the anticipated audio files, will
require more storage space. Further, additional administrative, application, and
server software was pushing the limits of the originally configured space for such items. The new disk
(Seagate SCSI) will give us the flexibility to try out new things without the worry of exceeding
the limits in any area of boethius's file system.
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3. Dissertation Index
One of the jobs assigned to our new HTML formatter, Nicholas Blanchard, was to convert the plain-text version of the
MTO Dissertation Index into an HTML document. That job has been completed, and there is
now a link on our home page for the Index. The URL is http://societymusictheory.org/mto/docs/diss-index.html. Each entry in the Index ends with a link to the file containing the original dissertation listing. Since those files are in plain-text format, it was not possible to create a link pointing directly at the selected dissertation data. Once readers have followed a link from the new Index, they can either
use their browser's "Find" command to locate the disertation listing, or can simply scroll through
the listings, which are ordered alphabetically. Eventually, we hope to convert all the files to HTML format,
and will then revise the Index links to point directly at the proper locations.
While on the topic of HTML-formatted indices, I should point out that we offer
an up-to-date hypertext index of all essays, reviews, and commentaries published in the journal, and another of all HTML-formatted items published so far. Links for both indices are on our home page.
Please report typographical errors and incorrect hypertext links to Robert Judd, MTO Manager.
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4. MTO sounds off!
One of the reasons for equipping boethius with a new disk was to accomodate sound files. In this issue we offer sound files for John
Rothgeb's commentary on an article by Eytan Agmon. The files are in MIDI format (Musical Instrument Digital Interface). They are small because they consist of coded instructions that
drive a MIDI instrument, not of actual recorded sounds, as in .au and other formats, which are huge in
size by comparison. The HTML version of Rothgeb's commentary has links to the MIDI files alongside
the links to the musical examples. Subscribers who have MIDI-enabled computers will be able to
play the music by clicking on the links. Those who lack the soft and hardware should read Robert Judd's message below.
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5. MIDI files available
With MTO 2.1 we've decided to include a few MIDI files by way of "trial
run"; they are part of John Rothgeb's essay, and consist of data to
enable playback of the examples through a MIDI device. Readers can hear,
as well as see, the examples in a format much less cumbersome than
regular sound files (.au or .wav formats). That is, to listen to a
ten-second example using .au format one must download an enormous file
(over 100kb); the equivalent data in MIDI form is only about 2kb.
As for sound quality: it's a compromise, but not as much as one might
initially suppose. The sound is entirely dependent on the quality of the
instrument with the MIDI connection. If you have a Steinway grand with
MIDI installed, the playback will be quite satisfactory. If your MIDI
keyboard is less substantial, the sound won't be quite so
attractive! But, for example, Yamaha Clavinovas produce a quite
respectable sound, and may be found in a number of computer/music labs.
In any case, the point isn't to produce commercial-recording-quality
sound, but serviceable sound in an efficient manner.
Those who use sequencing or notation software and a keyboard or other
MIDI instrument will have no difficulty hearing the files; simply
configure your web browser to open the sequencer or notation program
when it reads .mid files, then select "playback" from within the
application to hear the file. Even if you only have a "multimedia"
setup that plays CDs, you may still be able to hear the files if your
sound card includes a synthesizer. For this possibility, consult your
documentation, as individual setups vary. If you have neither, to hear
the sounds you need to get a MIDI instrument, a "soundblaster" or
similar sound card (PC), or MIDI interface (Mac), and a program that
can read MIDI files (all sequencing programs do so, as do most
notation programs, e.g. Finale). The total outlay could amount to $500
(unless you opt for the Steinway!).
The sound files are obviously an ancillary part of Rothgeb's essay,
and readers may not want to trouble themselves over it. However, the
prospects for MIDI files and MTO remain intriguing, and the
editors would be grateful for feedback on the
matter. What do you think?
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Lee A. Rothfarb, General Editor
Robert Judd, MTO Manager
Music Theory Online
University of California, Santa Barbara
mto-editor@societymusictheory.org
mto-manager@societymusictheory.org
Editor's Message