This is a collection of links to internet resources dealing with computer aided music composition and helpful aspects of music making in general. If you have any suggestions which links we should add to this list, . Please regard our disclaimer concerning external links.
Virginia Tech Multimedia Music Dictionary - A very comprehensive music dictionary created by Richard Cole (Virginia Tech Department of Music) and Ed Schwartz (Virginia Tech New Media Center)
The Tonal Centre - The Tonal Centre is an interactive site for music composers and theorists which explains and demonstrates some of the key concepts of tonality; including chords, scales, cadences, and modulation. Most of the musical examples are illustrated with a midi file - just click on the relevant link to hear it.
Jazz Improvisation Primer - Here you can find information on almost every topic relating to jazz improvisation, from jazz history to music theory to practical advice on playing in a group.
JAZZ THEORY & IMPROVISATION - Pete Thomas is a leading UK music producer, saxophone recording musician and composer of film & television music. This site offers great lessons and tutorials.
Advanced Music Theory
Bob Keller's Jazz Page - A huge list of various online Jazz resources, among them a nice selection of music theory links.
IRCAM (French) - Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique, a leading non-profit organization of musical creation, r&d and education in acoustics and music, located in the center of Paris (France), next to the Pompidou Center, of which it is an attached department. It hosts composers, researchers and students from many countries cooperating in contemporary music production, signal processing, acoustics and psychoacoustics, and their interrelations.
Software
Symbolic Composer (Music Programming Language) - Symbolic Composer 5.1 is a massive collection of computer music and research algorithms packed in an efficient music composition language and interactive development environment. Beginners beware: Requires programming skills (LISP).
Impro-Visor - Jazz Improvisation Advisor for the Improviser. Free Software from Harvey Mudd College Computer Science Department. A music notation program designed to help jazz musicians compose and hear solos similar to ones that might be improvised.
Utilities
VSTHost - VST hosting application for Windows (free download).
MIDI YOKE - Virtual MIDI Cable - The programmer of MIDIOX offers a free driver MIDI YOKE for Windows 2000/XP. Use this driver to route MIDI output of HN/MPS to software instruments running in "stand alone" mode or hosted by a VST hosting application.
XML Device Definitions for many Synthesizers (1) - Apple's Audio MIDI Setup (AMS) application is useful for configuring and naming the ports of your MIDI interfaces. Cognitone applications can import those files, saving you hours of tedious typing when you register your MIDI equipment for use with Harmony Navigator or MPS. This page of Digidesign containes some useful explanations on how to manually edit these XML files.
XML Device Definitions for many Synthesizers (2) - Digital Fruitcake Studios aggregated a comprehensive collection of midnam XML files. The files were originally converted for ProTools, but may be used on the Mac and PC as well. Cognitone software is able to import these files.
Bidule - Great hosting environment for Windows and MacOS X. Allows for arbitrary routing and patching of virtual instruments and effects (VSTi/AU). Works fine with HN and MPS in conjunction with MIDI Yoke NT and ASIO4All (on a PC). On a Mac, you won't even need any additional software: It receives MIDI directly.
Tobybear Midihost - A freeware VTS host that can load your plug-ins.
MIDI Patchbay (MacOS X) - If for any reason the IAC driver that comes with MacOS X doesn't work out for you: MIDI Patchbay is the equivalent of MIDI Yoke NT on MacOS X: It allows for the definition of virtual MIDI "patches" that act as loopback drivers. Send MIDI events to other software by connecting them to these "Patches".
Composition Aids
Ralph Patt's Jazz Web Page: The Vanilla Book - The Vanilla Book:The Vanilla Book is a resource for the working jazz musician that contains basic chord changes to over 400 standard tunes.
The Major Third Tuning: A new way to look at tuning the guitar for jazz guitarists.
Tonal Centers: This is a resource of similar chord progressions. Most jazz standards move through different tonal centers (major and minor) before returning to the tonic key. Listening to many songs with the same or similar chord progressions, helps to recognize these tonal shifts. It is linked to the "Vanilla Book".
Music Composition FAQ (by James Fry) - Very insightful Q&A concerning creativity, composing and writer's block as well as a lot of other important topics. If you're looking for inspiration - you should read this.
The Chord Wheel - Well, this one doesn't have a MIDI interface. It even isn't software at all - it's hardware. A nice tool for "browsing" chords in a completely different way, using wheels of printed charts.
Young Composers - Listen to the original MIDI music compositions of young composers.
MIDI Files
Mutopia Project (Sheet Music Downloads + MIDI) - All music in the Mutopia Project is free to download, print out, perform and distribute. Audio previews of the music are available as MIDI (.mid) files; these are computer generated but give a rough idea of what the music sounds like.
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