Newsgroups: alt.binaries.sounds.music
Keywords: music file formats
From: zappe@gaea.sietec.de (Harald Zappe)
Subject: FAQ: Music File Formats (part 1/6)
Date: 23 Aug 1993 18:26:34 GMT

>State:      first public release (beta)
>Version:    V0.00b
>Date:       22-Aug-1993


Hello, <music>-Fans,

I'm currently writing (or should I say collecting ?) a FAQ-List
about Music Files and everything around them on all HW-platforms
with audio capabilities.

One little problem is that my only two eyes cannot (always) look
around the whole world.
Please protest, when you think, that I have forgotten someone
or something. Hints, comments and corrections are very appre-
ciated. If you have any ideas, additions, or corrections, please
let me know. But please, do _not_ send computer-religious hymns
about which system or which format is the more beautiful!


Disclaimer:

This documentation does not include any warranty of any kind.
I'm sure that you may find grammatical and technical errors
herein. If reported, I'll correct them.
This documentation (although not beeing software) is indented
to be at a same state as freeware: You may use its contents
or parts of it in its unmodified or a corrected or supplemented
state. The co-authors and cited authors had previously released
their material into the state of 'freeware' or 'public domain'.
Otherwise they don't occur here.


Harald Zappe       zappe@gaea.sietec.de        (141.73.4.121)
                   zappe@sony1.sietec.de       (220.255.4.245)
                   zappe@mikro.ee.tu-berlin.de (130.149.136.2)
                   (and others, HZ)

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Acknowledgements and Credits (in alpabetical order [last name]):

Randy K Abel       Rabel1@cup.portal.com
                   Players on the PC (comp.sys.ibm.pc.soundcard)

Mark J Cox         m.j.h.cox@bradford.ac.uk
                   bc732@cleveland.freenet.edu
                   Freeware Modplay 2.19b (PC)

Marc Espie         espie@ens.fr
                   First _complete_ (portable) source code of a
                   MOD-Player for several platforms (tracker*.tar.Z)

Lars Hamre         larsha@Lise.Unit.NO
                   "ZAP"/Amiga Freelancers
                   Protracker (1.1B) Song/Module Format

Jamal Hannah       jamal@gnu.ai.mit.edu
                   MOD Players for the Macintosh

Peter "CRAYON" Hanning, Anders "DOLPHIN" Ramsay
                   Mushroom Studios/Noxious
                   Public Domain Protracker Infos

Dan Hollis         & Jon Pickard
                   dhollis@cypher.com
                   (Whiplash & Marxx Marvelous of TPPI)
                   Decryption of the TFMX 2.0 Song File Format
                   Players on the Atari

Cris H"ulsbeck     creator of TFMX and componist of wonderful
                   TFMX-songs

P.Georgueb, BAREA  Freeware STM-to-MOD converter (PC)

Teijo Kinnunen     Oksantie 19, SF-86300  OULAINEN, FINLAND
                   Public Domain-Docs of OctaMED File Structure

Darren Schebek     dschebek@outb.wimsey.bc.ca
                   public domain FORM TRKR format

Lukas Wunner       lukas@phoenix.tp1.ruhr-uni-bochum.de
                   (134.147.160.39)
                   Players and composers on the Atari

Jim Young          ccjy@bristol.ac.uk (U4ia, APATHY=)
                   (jim.young@bristol.ac.uk doesn't work)
                   ccjy@sun.cse.bris.ac.uk ()
                   componist of wonderful MOD-songs


Acknowledgements wanted:

Norman Lin         norlin@mailhost.ecn.uoknor.edu
                   (PC: Modedit 3.01)

Ed Mackey          elm4@lehigh.edu,  (215) 882-0138
                   611 E. 5th St., Lehigh University
                   Bethlehem, PA, 18015
                   (Amiga: EdPlayer 2.1)

Jan Ole Suhr       jan_ole_suhr@m2tek.fido.de
                   (PC: WOW, WOWII 1.30 (2.0b))

Norbert Unterberg  Norbert_Unterberg@softstream.fido.de
                   (PC: WinMod 1.0)

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Contents

[1.]    Preface
[1.1]     alt.binaries.sounds.music
[1.2]     Coding of the Music Files before posting them
[1.3]     Some History

[2.]    What is a Music File?
[2.1]     Overview
[2.2]     The File Header
[2.3]     The Song
[2.4]     The Samples
[2.5]     Thoughts about Mono/Stereo


Part 2:

[3.]    How to play MOD-Files?
[3.1]     MOD-Players on an Amiga
[3.2]     MOD-Players on an Atari
[3.3]     MOD-Players on a PC
[3.3.1]     plain vanilla DOS
[3.3.2]     MS-Windows
[3.4]     MOD-Players on a Mac
[3.5]     other MOD-Players


Part 3:

[4.]    Where to get Music Files?
[4.1]     MOD-Files on ftp-servers
[4.2]     MOD-Files on BBSs
[4.3]     MOD-Files on CD-ROMs

[5.]    Converting Music Files

[6.]    How to create own MOD-Files?
[6.1]     Samples
[6.2]     Converting samples
[6.3]     MOD-Editors on an Amiga
[6.4]     MOD-Editors on an Atari
[6.5]     MOD-Editors on a PC
[6.5.1]     plain vanilla DOS
[6.5.2]     MS-Windows
[6.6]     other MOD-Editors
[6.7]     Hints on composing


Appendix A

[A.1]     Some wellknown componists
[A.2]     Some MODs


Appendix B

[B.1]     Related News Groups


Part 4:

Appendix C  Internal Structure of Music Files

[C.1]     Music Files with synthetic instruments
[C.1.1]     ROL
[C.1.2]     CMF

[C.2]     Music Files with sampled Instruments
[C.2.0]     Music Files with 4 Channels
[C.2.1]     MOD - Soundtracker
[C.2.2]     MOD - Protracker Song/Module Format
            NST - NoiSeTracker

[C.2.3]     STM - ScreamTracker Module
            STS - ScreamTracker Song
[C.2.4]     MED - (?? Music EDitor)


Part 5:

[C.3.0]     Music Files with more than 4 Channels
[C.3.1]     GTS - V0.9
[C.3.2]     669 -
[C.3.3]     Oktalyser
[C.3.4]     IFF FORM TRKR
[C.3.5]     TFMX 2.0

[C.3.6]     Studio Session Format


Part 6:

[C.4]     Hybrid Music Files
[C.4.1]     OctaMed
[C.4.2]     MIDI

-----------------------------------------------------------------

[1.]    Preface
        -------

Welcome to alt.binaries.sounds.music .


[1.1] alt.binaries.sounds.music
      =========================

   The news group alt.binaries.sounds.music was created to
   separate the music files from the pure sounds in
   alt.binaries.sounds.misc (see also the FAQ of Guido van
   Rossum in a.b.s.d).


   Types of Music Files
   ====================

   Currently there are 3 general 'classes':

   - files with synthetic instruments
     (eg. ROL, CMF)

   - files with sampled instruments
     (eg. MOD, MED, TFMX, ...)

   - files with both, synthetic and sampled instruments
     (eg. OktaMED, MIDI)

   All types of music files are welcome here.


[1.2] Coding of the Music Files before posting them
      =============================================

1. Because some/most of the *nix mailing systems can not handle
   binary 8-bit-bytes but only standard 7-bit-ASCII, it is still
   strictly necessary to use a converter which puts the 8-bit
   values into 7-bit bytes with an offset so that all resulting
   codes are 'printable'.
   The de facto standard here is the combination of

   uuencode/uudecode

   with a file enlargement of 33% (3 bytes in, 4 bytes out).
   The slitely better atob/btoa (25% increase, 4 bytes in,
   5 bytes out is not so popular. (Another utility, 'binhex' seems
   to be Mac-specific.)

   Because some mailing systems cannot handle files with more
   than 100 KBytes others with more than 50 KBytes, the encoded
   files should be splitted, if to large.

   The news reader SW has an option to automaticly concatenate
   and decode the posted encoded splitted files
   (NN :decode, TIN 's',tmpfile,'u'), where 'uu'decode is assumed.
   ___

2. As far as I have seen yet, there are many views about the
   compression of the music files. Some notes:

   * no compression at all
     + no decompression and compatibility problems,
     - more traffic,
     - no transfere checks,
     - file date always set to 'today'

   For the following the compression gain depends very much on
   the input. So it may vary between 20% til 50%.

   * LHA(rc)
     + sources available for some/several systems,
     - some confusion with multiple version trees
       (which one to use: -lh1-, -lh4-, -lh5- ?)
       [last 'official' pgm-version: V2.55b, PC (Yoshi)]
     + 16 bit CRC,
     + saves/restores file creation date

   * ZIP 1.9P1 / UNZIP 5.0P1
     + sources available for several systems,
       compatible with PKware's PKzip/PKunzip 2.04g for PCs.
       compatible --> GZIP 1.2.1, incompatible <-- GZIP
     + 32 bit CRC,
     + saves/restores file creation date

   * GZIP 1.2.3
     + sources available for most systems,
       compatible <-- ZIP, incompatible --> UNZIP
       (compatible with compress)
     + 32 bit CRC,
     + saves/restores file creation date

   # On ftp servers you may find MOD,MED-files in either .lha
     or .zip format.

   # The (newest) sources for all three archivers should be
     available at wuarchive.wustle.edu and garbo.uwasa.fi via
     anonymous ftp. For those without ftp access many sites
     offer a PD-mail-service: Write a 1 line mail with
     'pdget the_wanted_file'
   ___

-----------------------------------------------------------------

[1.3] Some History
      ============

Several months ago, the bussiness men have detected, that there is
not only a keyboard and a screen to communicate with a computer.
And when they had to find a name for the new 'product', they
called it MultiMedia (MM).

Long before MultiMedia was born, the separate disciplines of
computer human interaction already existed. Here we only regard
one view of the various output capabilies of a computer, the
sound output.

Lets start at the very beginning:
Once upon a time there was a man called Adam, and because he
was so alone ... Ok-ok, some years later ...
In 1988 ... on an Amiga ... Karsten Obarski wrote the first
program to use the 4-channel-sound-HW. Because he wanted to save
the songs on the disk he created a format to store the musical
stuff and the (sampled) instruments.

Very soon the maximum of 15 instruments therein was too small
and Per "Mahoney" Tufvesson & Anders "Kaktus" Berkeman extendet
the format from 15 intruments to 31 instruments. (--> "M.K.")
This became the world famous MOD-format, which is still used
today.

..

The idea of the Amiga players was ported to other systems
(Atari, PC, SUN, Mac)

..

Coming up with more powerful CPUs and several high quality sound
and graphic cards, the PC was no longer a 'low budged game com-
puter' but a respectable concurence in the range of MM.
Especially in this PC-World we can currently see a boom of new
MOD-Players.

Although we can regard the upcoming wish for 16-bit-MODS with
more than 4 channels and a sampling rate of 44 kHz instead of
8 kHz, the "old" standard MODs are still not OUT, especially
regarding the potential mixing quality of 15 bits, and looking
at the 'tons' of MODs all around the globe.

But there are not only MOD-files containing music. Across all
the systems you will find a lot of different formats, created
independently.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

[2.]    What is a Music File?
        ---------------------

When we talk about music files here, not only the most populare
MOD files are meant, but the other song formats (with their own
name) are included too.


[] Nomenclature
---------------

I have seen several documents usings the expressions over cross.
So I should explain the meaning of the terms first as they are
used in this document.


channel, voice
  independent (virtual) channel, where sound can be directed to.
  stereo: left and right (HW-) channels only.

instrument, sample
  An instrument is represented by one or more digital samples.
  Mostly there is only one sample per instrument.

pattern
  A pattern describes all functions the player has to do at the
  moment. This includes the empty-function (wait for the next
  pattern).

track
  A track is a collection of a fixed number of patterns. It cannot
  be truncated, also when a part of the track is unused. This can
  happen when a pattern command tells to jump to another pattern,
  and at the end of a song.

song
  A song is the sum of all tracks needed to represent the piece of
  music.

header
  Technical information about the hole module, located at the start
  of the file.


MOD: MODule, "M_usic O_ffered in D_igital" (HZ)

A music file consists of three parts:
  - a header containing a technical description,
  - the song subdivided into several tracks, and
  - a "library" of the used instrument samples.


By playing the samples (instruments) at different pitches
(frequencies) and modified with some effects a soundtrack
lasting many minutes can be produced.



[2.1]     Overview
          --------

Most of the formats do not offer all capabilities needed to store
all the information a componist can think of.
But before you invent a new format you should study the list of
currently published variants (see appendix C). Maybe the one or
the other fits your needs.

Across all variants and dialects of music file formats the general
structure is always the same or similar to the following.

So let's look at the picture:

     .---------------------------------.
     | header  | magic                 |
     |         |-----------------------|
     |         | music title           |   The order may vary.
     |         |-----------------------|
     |         | track infos           |
     |         |-----------------------|
     |         | sample 1 info         |
     |         |-----------------------|
     |         | sample 2 info         |
     |         |-----------------------|
     |         | sample 3 info         |
     |         |-----------------------|
     |         |    .                  |
     |         |    .                  |
     |         |-----------------------|
     |         | sample N info         |
     |---------------------------------|
     | song    | track 0               |
     |         | Ch1 | Ch2 | ... | ChN |   There are also formats
     |         |-----------------------|   with more than 4 channels.
     |         | track 1               |
     |         | Ch1 | Ch2 | ... | ChN |
     |         |-----------------------|
     |         | track 2               |
     |         | Ch1 | Ch2 | ... | ChN |
     |         |-----------------------|
     |         | track 3               |
     |         | Ch1 | Ch2 | ... | ChN |
     |         |-----------------------|
     |         |  .     .     .     .  |
     |         |  .     .     .     .  |
     |         |  .     .     .     .  |
     |         |-----------------------|
     |         | track N               |
     |         | Ch1 | Ch2 | ... | ChN |
     |---------------------------------|
     | samples | sample 1              |   In the most common formats
     |         |                       |   a music-file contains the
     |         |-----------------------|   complete structure, but
     |         | sample 2              |   there are also some vari-
     |         |                       |   ants, which do not include
     |         |-----------------------|   the sample data to save
     |         | sample 3              |   space on the disk.
     |         |                       |
     |         |-----------------------|
     |         |    .                  |
     |         |    .                  |
     |         |    .                  |
     |         |-----------------------|
     |         | sample N              |
     |         |                       |
     `---------------------------------'


The detailed informations can be found in appendix C.


[2.2]     The File Header
          ---------------

The header contains a technical description of the following song.
Because there are many different formats, most of them have a
special signature (a magic, e.g. "M.K.") to distinguish them from
other file formats. But there are also formats without a magic
(MOD15, ROL, GTS,...), and so it's hard to detect them.

Most formats support a title field where the componist can fill in
a name for the song (eg. "Take a Trip from me").

In those formats where the samples are stored within the music
file, you will find a 'directory' of the available samples (very
similar to the directory of a file system). This directory here
contains information about the sample names (componist or composer
choosen), start point and length of the samples and maybe some
other stuff.
In the formats with synthetic instruments the 'directory' may be
replaced by the data itself describing the instruments (eg. CMF).
___

When there will ever be a New <Music> Standard, it should consider
a comment field of variable length, because many MOD-authors use
the ASCII-text fields for copyup/down/lefts, greetings, hints etc.
(look at the 669-format in the appendix: but there are only 108
bytes. Also see below: Samples)
Never trust the file system of *nix, VMS, and others according
to file dates. As far as I'm not interested in a copy or ftp date
but in the creation date of a file I cannot rely on the operating
systems. The New <Music> Standard should describe a field in the
header for the TRUE creation date, so that the files can be back
dated.


[2.3]     The Song
          --------

The song part contains the musical instructions for the instru-
ments (with easy words the sheets of music).
The most differences between the <music> formats can be found in
the so-called "effects". This is the manipulation of the instrument
samples before playing them. The most obvious are "volume" and
"pitch" (note frequency).
..
The "New <Music> Standard" should allow an unlimited number of voices
(channels).
..



[2.4]     The Samples
          -----------

MOD format samples are simply signed, 8 bit raw digital data,
with no header. Note that a sampled sound should be recorded at
a 'C' pitch. If it is recorded at any other pitch, you'll have
to do rate conversions to get it to a 'C', when you create own
songs.
Some MOD-componists have found a tricky way to include their
README inside the MOD-file. They use the last sample (#31) for
ASCII-text and never play this.

Oktalyser samples are 8 bit signed data too, but because of the
"chunk"ed strukture of Oktalyser-Mods they are preceeded by a
SBOD-header (sample body).

There are some formats, where the samples are missing: GTS, STS,
MIDI. This has the advantage that the music files are much smaller.
But if you transfere them to other systems, the target should have
exactly the same sample/instument bank. Otherwise the music can
not be played, or YOU must choose substitutions for the missing
samples/instruments, or the player chooses automaticly the sub-
stitutions which mostly sounds wrong.
>From Midi-gurus you might hear that the possibility of selecting/
changing the instruments afterwards is a wanted feature.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

[2.5]     Thoughts about Mono/Stereo
          --------------------------

When the music files are played, the number of independent
channels (voices) has to be reduced to the supported number
of audio channels. This may be done be the HW or by the SW
in mixing the channels together to mono or stereo.

For MOD-files there are the rules

mono  = (ch1 + ch2 + ch3 + ch4) / 4

left  = (ch1 + ch4) / 2
right = (ch2 + ch3) / 2      (how to sort them in 8-chan-MODs?)

I've seen only 1 (one) player which does NOT assume that stereo
means 2 absolutely different signals with no correlation between
them. This player, the Sparc/SGI-Tracker supports a manner of
more realistic stereo in mixing a special amout of the right
channel into the left and vice versa. It's an empiric value bet-
ween 0% (extreme stereo like the other players) and 100% (mono).
I didn't try this yet (HZ), but it's proposed to take 30%. In
conjunction with head phones you might need to use 70..95%.

l' = [ (left  * (200-p)) + (right * p) ] / 2
r' = [ (right * (200-p)) + (left  * p) ] / 2

or /* p = 100 - q */

l' = [ (left  * (100+q)) + (right * (100-q)) ] / 2
r' = [ (right * (100+q)) + (left  * (100-q)) ] / 2

Future implementations of Mod-Players should allow the user to
experiment with the stereo mixing factor.
(I know that this is a bit more online work for the player, but
CPUs become faster and faster..., or just mix it with analog
resistors.)
The not yet released TFMX-player will have this feature.

-----------------------------------------------------------------
<end of part 1>

--
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<
 zappe@gaea.sietec.de              |  |
                                   |--+-               happy
 Harald Zappe                      |  |/               composing
 work: +49-30-386-28328/29            /
 home: +49-30-ASK-ME                 /___

From: zappe@gaea.sietec.de (Harald Zappe)
Subject: FAQ: Music File Formats (part 2/6)
Date: 23 Aug 1993 18:28:01 GMT

>State:      first public release (beta)
>Version:    V0.00b
>Date:       22-Aug-1993

Harald Zappe       zappe@gaea.sietec.de        (141.73.4.121)
                   zappe@sony1.sietec.de       (220.255.4.245)
                   zappe@mikro.ee.tu-berlin.de (130.149.136.2)
                   (and others, HZ)

-----------------------------------------------------------------

[3.]    How to play Music Files?
        ------------------------

Playing a "complex sound file" as the music files are, is not as
easy as playing "pure sounds" in *nix.

cp file.mod /dev/audio

will produce some strange noise. When you have enough patience
to resist the noise (which is the header and song part), you
can hear each instrument, but only once at one pitch.

To get the real song, you need a special player.


-----------------------------------------------------------------

[3.1]     MOD-Players on an Amiga
          -----------------------

nic.funet.fi:pub/amiga/audio/applications/playback (12/92)

Hints by Randy Abel (rabel1@cup.portal.com)

The following are probably just sampled sound players
(like the WAV and VOC player for the pc)
 21552 Jun 15  1992 AGMSPlaySound-4.0.lha
 10299 Jun 22  1992 DSound-0.91a.lha
 47361 Dec 14 21:43 OmniPlay-1.23.lha
  3521 Nov  2 23:57 PlayFile-1.2.lha
 12306 Aug  5 01:36 SFX-2.4.lha

This one plays Commodore 64 music files (non MOD files)
115749 Jun 15  1992 PlaySID-2.0.lha

This is a background program which allows other programs to output
sound (digitized) during certain events (ie: running a program,
encountering an error, system warning, etc.)
 20930 Sep  7 18:03 Upd-1.20.lha


 55168 Oct 14 12:54 AMOSMEDPlayer.lha
262532 Jul  5 20:24 DeliTracker-1.21-demo.lha
110287 Jun 15  1992 EdPlayer-1.0.lha
124271 Jul 25 07:44 MultiPlayer-1.31.lha
 20632 Jun 15  1992 NoisePlayer-3.5.lha
 14509 Oct  5  1990 Oktaplayer.lha
 21276 Jun 15  1992 UltraPlayer.lha


-----------------------------------------------------------------

[3.2]     MOD-Players on an Atari
          -----------------------

Lukas Wunner lukas@phoenix.tp1.ruhr-uni-bochum.de
(134.147.160.?) writes:
FTP sites I am referring to:
RUS:       University of Stuttgart
           (rusmv1.rus.uni-stuttgart.de / 129.69.1.12)
Paderborn: University of Paderborn
           (athene.uni-paderborn.de / 131.234.2.32)

Some of the Amiga editors and players have been ported to the Atari.
Probably the most popular is the NoiseTracker which can be found
on many ftp sites, among them RUS in /pub/soft/atari/sound/players.
You can also retrieve the sources for the NoiseTracker there and a
NoiseTracker Compiler. This program converts the NST modules to
SEGM files. These can then be played on any Atari with almost no
CPU usage. The NoiseTracker package contains the editor and a re-
play program.

Another very sophisticated tool is Audio Sculpture which you will
find in the same directory. It is very fast and offers lots of
functions.

There's a host of other players, e.g. the Marx Tracker, but I only
described the most important ones above. All of these players run
on color monitors only. If you have a monochrome monitor, you're
a bit out of luck: there are almost no MOD players for the high
resolution. It is possible to run a color emulator and use e.g. the
replay program included in the NST package, but the monochrome mo-
nitor plays sound data at 71 Hz, the color monitor at 50 Hz. Thus,
all MODs will be played at an incorrect speed.

I know of one program that is also on RUS called PLAYER.LZH. This
is the ABK-BBS player. The sound quality is not very good, but it's
better than nothing.

If you have an Atari with DMA chips (STe, TT or Falcon), there's
one program you should get: Paula. Paula enables you to play MODs
in the background while you work in another window. Paula uses the
DMA to make all necessary MOD calculations, the CPU is not used.
The quality of the output is ok.

There's also a tiny program, Petra, which makes it possible to use
Paula on the bog-standard ST that has no DMA chips. Both utilities
can be found on Paderborn's FTP server in /pcsoft/atari/tools/sound.
Here's also a directory with several other MOD players. By the way,
Paula is a GEM application and can thus also be run on a monochrome
monitor.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Wed, 9 Jun 1993 22:24:34 -0500 (CDT)
From: Dan Hollis <dhollis@cypher.com>

Next to the Atari, there is no other computer with as many modplayers
and editors. Since the Amiga and Atari share the same CPU (680x0),
porting modplayers is simply a job of emulating the PAULA-soundchip
in the Amiga, and using the Amiga-sourcecode for their players.

On normal STs, your choice of modplayers will be limited a little
bit. The newer trackerplayers use the 8 bit DMA sound of the STe/TT
which is not available on normal ST. The normal ST has to use the
YM2149, which doesn't have very good digisound-capabilities, and
requires quite a bit of CPU-time to play. The 8 bit DMA sound of
the STe/TT sound anywhere from just as good as the Amiga, to
much better (i.e. 50khz 2x oversampling on the TT using Jukebox or
Paula). The really new modplayers (like FalconPlay) use the new 16
bit DMA sound on the Falcon030, and they sound WONDERFUL!

There are a wealth of different modplayers on the Atari, I am only
able to list a small amount of them, there are too many to list.

FalconPlay - By Griff of Electronic Images. Plays 4 voice ProTracker
             mods in 16 bit stereo at 50khz, with 2x oversampling on
             a Falcon030. That's WITHOUT using the DSP, btw.

MarxxTracker - A really lame ModPlayer written by Marxx Marvelous of
               TPPI (our group). It really is simply a ProTracker
               modplayer written to test our own PAULA emulator.
               If you have this, don't use it. Use PTPlayer
               or BackTrack instead.

ProTracker - Written by Karl Anders 0ygard of Delta Force. A full
             modeditor/player on the ST/STe/TT. Almost like the
             ProTracker on the Amiga, but with some differences:
             a better sample-editor, hidden game, etc. Trying to go
             commercial, a demo-version (without save, etc.) is
             available.

BackTrack - A modplayer as a Desk accessory. Written by Karl Anders
            0ygard, uses his ProTracker replay-rout to play mods
            in the background on STe/TT/Falcon030. Quite nice.

JukeBox - Modplayer by Klaus Pedersen. A simple modplayer which has
          the ability to play mods in the background, and a strange
          ability to "compile" mods so they take 0% processor time
          to play (but take really much memory :^) On a TT it can
          play at 50khz with oversampling.

Mplayer - Another modplayer, this works on ST/STe/TT. Will play mods
          in the background on a normal ST, but they sound really
          crappy then.. better to use BackTrack on i.e. a TT.
          Written by Hoang Viet Chi.

Paula - A paula-emulator and background modplyer by Pascal Fellerich.
        Plays mods in the background on STe/TT, upto 50khz oversampling
        on a TT. This is a quite nice modplayer.

Petra - A sound-driver for Paula, allows you to run Petra on a normal
        ST (but it sounds like crap).

PTPlayer - Written by Petri Kuittinen. Uses the core of Griff's
           paula-emulator and modplayer to play mods on a ST. The
           nice thing is that it uses an 11-bit sound-table, so mods
           sound really nice on a poor ST. (As nice as possible,
           anyways!)

CDPlayer - A modplayer on STe, which uses a GUI which looks like a
           CD player. I don't know which mod-engine it uses, it
           sounds o.k. but not as nice as BackTrack.

DigiComposer - A really old mod-editor. Works on ST/STe/TT, but is
               quite buggy. Doesn't sound too good either. Better to
               use ProTracker.

NoiseTracker - A really really old mod-editor. Almost straight port
               of the Amiga NoiseTracker, so you know it's crap.
               Sounds pretty bad, too.

Audio Sculpture - I have only seen an early version of this. It's
                  got a really nice userinterface. It allows you
                  to display music playing on a scrolling-music
                  sheet (like a MIDI-editor!) with standard
                  musical notation. Very impressive, with an
                  equally impressive price (it's commercial).

TFMX Replay - Yeahh!! Now we're talking! This is our unreleased
              modplayer. Plays 8 voice TFMX mods on a normal ST.
              Plays on STe too, and a Falcon030 specific version
              is being worked on in a joint effort with Griff.
              Wait for its release!

             >>> Now : Where to get all the goodies! <<<

Unfortunately, only a few Atari BBS's in the USA seem to keep up with
this kind of musical-stuff. The better ones are:

Ringworld - 303-699-0402 (Lotsa Atari modplayers, and megademos too. Also
carries plenty of Amiga stuff, including mods.)

Resaturant At The End Of The Universe - 713-531-6011 (Carries all the
players listed in this document, and any new ones that may have been
released. Carries the latest Falcon programs too.)

If you have access to the Internet, and have FTP then you are in luck!

All these programs are available at two main sites:

Atari.Archive.Umich.Edu /atari/
Atari archive is "the" main ftp site for Atari stuff for the whole world. You
can be sure anything new will probably be released here. Plenty of modplayers.
Check Amiga.Archive.Umich.edu for plenty of mods! :)


Ftp.Uni-kl.De /pub/atari/
The main ftp site for Europe. Carries most modplayers, and is "the"
ftp site for all the latest megademos (and a few mods too).

If you have any questions about Atari trackers, please contact me by
electronic-mail at: dhollis@zero.cypher.com or dhollis@bitsink.gbdata.com

Happy modplaying!

-Dan (Whiplash of TPPI)
     "Goemon" on IRC

-----------------------------------------------------------------

[3.3]     MOD-Players on a PC
          -------------------

>From: Rabel1@cup.portal.com (Randy K Abel)
>Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.soundcard
>Subject: IBM MOD Players Compared!
>Date: Fri,  2 Jul 93 20:14:12 PDT
>Organization: The Portal System (TM)

This is a comparison of all of the IBM MOD music file players that I
have come across.   Friday - (07/02/93)

=========================================================================
|               |       |Edit |EMS|Graphical| Shell |Built-in|Zipped|286|
|Program Name   |Version|MODS?|OK?|Playback?|to DOS?|  Menu? |Files?|ok?|
|---------------|-------|-----|---|---------|-------|--------|------|---|
|3D Mod         | 1.00  |  No |Yes|Yes in 3D|   No  |    No  |  No  |Yes|
|---------------|-------|-----|---|---------|-------|--------|------|---|
|666 Play       | 1.50  |  No |Yes|   Yes   |  Yes  |    No  |  No  |Yes|
|---------------|-------|-----|---|---------|-------|--------|------|---|
|B's Pro Tracker| 0.05B2|w/reg|Yes|Ansi Only|  Yes  |   Yes  |  No  |Yes|
|---------------|-------|-----|---|---------|-------|--------|------|---|
|Brain          | 1.20  |  No |Yes|   Yes   |   No  |    No  |  No  |Yes|
|---------------|-------|-----|---|---------|-------|--------|------|---|
|CD-Box         | 3.00A |  No |Yes|Ansi Only|   No  |   Yes  | Yes  |Yes|
|---------------|-------|-----|---|---------|-------|--------|------|---|
|Composer 669   | 1.03  | Yes | No|    No   |   No  |   Yes  |  No  | No|
|---------------|-------|-----|---|---------|-------|--------|------|---|
|Creator        | 1.10  | Yes |Yes|    No   |   No  |   Yes  |  No  |Yes|
|---------------|-------|-----|---|---------|-------|--------|------|---|
|Dark-Tracker   | 2.41  | Yes | No|   Yes   |   No  |   Yes  |  No  |Yes|
|---------------|-------|-----|---|---------|-------|--------|------|---|
|Dark-Trkr Plyr | 2.01  |  No | No|   Yes   |   No  |    No  |  No  |Yes|
|---------------|-------|-----|---|---------|-------|--------|------|---|
|Digi Studio    | 1.50  |w/reg|Yes|   Yes   |   No  |   Yes  |  No  |Yes|
|---------------|-------|-----|---|---------|-------|--------|------|---|
|Digitrak       | 0.01b |  No |Yes|   Yes   |   No  |   Yes  |  No  |Yes|
|---------------|-------|-----|---|---------|-------|--------|------|---|
|Dual-Mod Player| 2.54  |  No |Yes|Ansi Only|  Yes  |    No  |  No  | No|
|---------------|-------|-----|---|---------|-------|--------|------|---|
|Execmod        | 1.0b  |  No |Yes|    No   |  ???  |    No  |  No  |Yes|
|---------------|-------|-----|---|---------|-------|--------|------|---|
|FastTracker    | 1.01  | Yes |Yes|    No   |   No  |   Yes  |  No  |???|
|---------------|-------|-----|---|---------|-------|--------|------|---|
|Galliasoft Mod | 1.35  | Yes |Yes|   Yes   |  Yes  |   Yes  |  No  |Yes|
|---------------|-------|-----|---|---------|-------|--------|------|---|
|GTS            | 0.91  | Yes |Yes|   Yes   |   No  |   Yes  |  No  |Yes|
|---------------|-------|-----|---|---------|-------|--------|------|---|
|Gus Mod        | 2.11  |  No |Yes|   Yes   |  Yes  |   Yes  |  No  |Yes|
|---------------|-------|-----|---|---------|-------|--------|------|---|
|Gus Play       | 1.50  |  No |???|   Yes   |  Yes  |    No  |  No  |???|
|---------------|-------|-----|---|---------|-------|--------|------|---|
|Holoplay       | 0.00  |  No |Yes|Ansi Only|   No  |    No  |  No  |Yes|
|---------------|-------|-----|---|---------|-------|--------|------|---|
|Intellitracker | 2.00  |  No |Yes| Somewhat|   No  |    No  |  No  |Yes|
|---------------|-------|-----|---|---------|-------|--------|------|---|
|JAMP           | 1.50  |  No | No|Ansi Only|   No  |   Yes  |  No  |Yes|
|---------------|-------|-----|---|---------|-------|--------|------|---|
|JM Player      | 1.00  |  No | No|   Yes   |   No  |   Yes  |  No  |Yes|
|---------------|-------|-----|---|---------|-------|--------|------|---|
|JM Pro Tracker | 5.00  |  No |Yes|    No   |  Yes  |    No  |  No  |Yes|
|---------------|-------|-----|---|---------|-------|--------|------|---|
|KingMod        | 1.11  | Yes |Yes|    No   |   No  |   Yes  |  No  |Yes|
|---------------|-------|-----|---|---------|-------|--------|------|---|
|MFed           | 1.52  | Yes |Yes|   Yes   |   No  |   Yes  | Yes  |Yes|
|---------------|-------|-----|---|---------|-------|--------|------|---|
|Mod2           |1.baby |  No |Yes|    No   |   No  |    No  |  No  |Yes|
|---------------|-------|-----|---|---------|-------|--------|------|---|
|Modac          |1.9305 |  No | No|   Yes   |   No  |   Yes  |  No  |Yes|
|---------------|-------|-----|---|---------|-------|--------|------|---|
|Modus          | 0.10  |  No |Yes|   Yes   |  Yes  |   Yes  |  No  |Yes|
|---------------|-------|-----|---|---------|-------|--------|------|---|
|Mod Edit       | 3.01  | Yes |Yes|    No   |  Yes  |   Yes  |  No  |Yes|
|---------------|-------|-----|---|---------|-------|--------|------|---|
|Mod Player     | 2.19b |  No |Yes|   Yes   |  Yes  |   Yes  | Yes  |Yes|
|---------------|-------|-----|---|---------|-------|--------|------|---|
|Mod's Grave    | 1.53  |  No |Yes|    No   |   No  |    No  |  No  | No|
|---------------|-------|-----|---|---------|-------|--------|------|---|
|M.O.T. Modplay | 1.01  |  No |Yes|    No   |   No  |    No  |  No  |Yes|
|---------------|-------|-----|---|---------|-------|--------|------|---|
|MultiPlayer    | 1.00  |  No |Yes|    No   |   No  |   Yes  | Lzh  |Yes|
|---------------|-------|-----|---|---------|-------|--------|------|---|
|OCTA           | 2.00  |w/reg| No|Ansi Only|   No  |   Yes  |  No  |???|
|---------------|-------|-----|---|---------|-------|--------|------|---|
|Play Mod       | 1.00  |  No | No|    No   |  Yes  |    No  |  No  |Yes|
|---------------|-------|-----|---|---------|-------|--------|------|---|
|Power Player   | 1.30  |  No | No|    No   | Forced|    No  |  No  | No|
|---------------|-------|-----|---|---------|-------|--------|------|---|
|Pro Mod        | 1.10  |  No | No|   Yes   |  Yes  |    No  |  No  |Yes|
|---------------|-------|-----|---|---------|-------|--------|------|---|
|Prot. Mod Plyr | 2.22  |  No |Yes|   Yes   |  Yes  |    No  |  No  | No|
|---------------|-------|-----|---|---------|-------|--------|------|---|
|SB Studio      | 1.10  |w/reg|Yes|   Yes   |   No  |   Yes  |  No  |Yes|
|---------------|-------|-----|---|---------|-------|--------|------|---|
|Scream Tracker | 2.25  | Yes |Yes|   Yes   |  Yes  |   Yes  |  No  |Yes|
|---------------|-------|-----|---|---------|-------|--------|------|---|
|SLMP           | 1.9b  |  No |Yes|    No   |  Yes  |   Yes  |  No  | No|
|---------------|-------|-----|---|---------|-------|--------|------|---|
|Soundtraker    | 2.0+  |  No | No|    No   |   No  |    No  |  No  |Yes|
|---------------|-------|-----|---|---------|-------|--------|------|---|
|Sound System   | 1.10  |  No | No|   Yes   |   No  |   Yes  |  No  |Yes|
|---------------|-------|-----|---|---------|-------|--------|------|---|
|Super Pro Play | 1.31  |  No |Yes|   Yes   |   No  |   Yes  |  No  |Yes|
|---------------|-------|-----|---|---------|-------|--------|------|---|
|Tetra Composer | 1.00  |w/reg|Yes|   Yes   |   No  |   Yes  |  No  |Yes|
|---------------|-------|-----|---|---------|-------|--------|------|---|
|TextBar Mod    | 1.00  |  No |Yes|   Yes   |   No  |    No  |  No  |Yes|
|---------------|-------|-----|---|---------|-------|--------|------|---|
|Trakblaster    | 2.00  |  No | No|   Yes   |   No  |    No  |  No  |Yes|
|---------------|-------|-----|---|---------|-------|--------|------|---|
|TuPlay         | 1.00  |  No | No|   Yes   |   No  |   Yes  |  No  | No|
|---------------|-------|-----|---|---------|-------|--------|------|---|
|Ultra Tracker  | 1.10  | Yes |Yes|    No   |   No  |    No  |  No  |Yes|
|---------------|-------|-----|---|---------|-------|--------|------|---|
|VangeliSTracker| 1.2b  |  No |Yes|   Yes   |  Yes  |    No  |  No  |Yes|
|---------------|-------|-----|---|---------|-------|--------|------|---|
|Vectorballs MP | 2.20  |  No |Yes|   Yes   |   No  |    No  |  No  |Yes|
|---------------|-------|-----|---|---------|-------|--------|------|---|
|Visual Player  | 2.00  |  No |Yes|   Yes   |  Yes  |   Yes  |  No  |Yes|
|---------------|-------|-----|---|---------|-------|--------|------|---|
|Whacker Tracker| 1.01u | Yes |Yes|   Yes   |   No  |   Yes  |  No  |Yes|
|---------------|-------|-----|---|---------|-------|--------|------|---|
|Win Mod Pro    | 0.003 |  No |Yes|    No   |  Yes  |   Yes  | Yes  |Yes|
|---------------|-------|-----|---|---------|-------|--------|------|---|
|Wow            | 2.01  |  No |Yes|   Yes   |   No  |   Yes  |  No  |Yes|
|---------------|-------|-----|---|---------|-------|--------|------|---|
|Wow II         | 1.31  |  No |Yes|   Yes   |   No  |    No  |  No  |Yes|
=========================================================================
 
=========================================================================
New Stuff: Two Weeks of June 19, 1993 to July 2, 1993      

  * New player called 3D Mod (version 1.00)
    This one displays volume bars in 3D as well as the Module name and
    graphic boxes but you'll need red/green glasses to view it properly.
    (available on ftp.uwp.edu in /pub/incoming/modplayers dir)
  
  * New player called 666 (version 1.50)
    A VGA only program with some graphical playback.  Looks like a CD
    Player. 
    (available on ftp.uwp.edu in /pub/incoming/modplayers dir)
  
  * New Player called Multi-Player (version 1.00)
    This one plays all the formats including mod, stm, nst, 669, wow,
    8cm, 6cm, s3m, s2m, and okt.
    (available on ftp.uwp.edu in /pub/incoming/modplayers dir)
    
  * New player called Modus (version 0.10)
    For the Gravis Ultra Sound Only!  This is a Windows 3.0+ based MOD
    music file player with graphical volume bars.
    (available on ftp.uwp.edu in /pub/incoming/modplayers dir)
  
  * New player call TextBar Mod (version 1.00)
    A VGA only simple mod player that displays 4 red graphic volume bars
    on your current text screen without effecting what is on the screen.
    (available on ftp.uwp.edu in /pub/incoming/modplayers dir)
  
  * New player called Ultra Tracker (version 1.10)
    A nice looking Gravis Ultra Sound Only MOD music player/editor with
    up to 32 channels of music!  Shareware. 
    (available on ftp.uwp.edu in /pub/incoming/modplayers dir)

    
  * New version of Dual Mod Player (version 2.52 to version 2.54)
    + WSS support
    - Bug fixes
    + VDS support
    + DMP now works with Windows Sound System and compatibles
      (like Compaq BusinessAudio)
    + Support for Virtual DMA Services has been added, which means
      that DMP should now run better under OS/2 and Windows.
    * DMP is now *cardware*. 
    (available on ftp.uwp.edu in /pub/incoming/modplayers dir)
  
  * New version of CD-Box (version 2.20 to version 3.00)
    New looks and new features.  This program can now handle archived
    music files.  It has internal support for many music formats plus
    external support for others.  Supports mod, mid, cmf, rol, voc,
    and more sound files.
    (available on ftp.uwp.edu in /pub/incoming/modplayers dir)
      
  * New version of Win Mod Pro (version .002 to version .003)
    A new version to this WINDOWS only MOD music file player.
    Now has support for archived files, better file selection,
    and more!
    (available on ftp.uwp.edu in /pub/incoming/modplayers dir)
      
  * New version of Mods Grave (version 1.03 to version 1.53)
    This is a mod player for Dos, Windows and OS/2.  It freezes up
    sometimes on my machine (in DOS mode).
    (available on ftp.uwp.edu in /pub/incoming/modplayers dir)
      
=========================================================================   
  CD-Box, ModEdit, ModPlayer, JMPlayer, Power Player & Scream Tracker
  are available on SIMTEL (in sound or music directories).
  Try oak.oakland.edu or other SIMTEL mirror site.
  
  Other players can be found on: 
    oliver.sun.ac.za (pub/msdos/audio directory)
    wuarchive.wustl.edu (pub/MSDOS_UPLOADS/sounds directory)
    picasso.ocis.temple.edu (pub/sound/players)
    ftp.uwp.edu (pub/msdos/modplayers or pub/incoming/modplayers areas)
    archive.epas.utoronto.ca (pub/pc/ultrasound/sound)
=====================================================================
Notes: The EMS OK column is used to let you know if the MOD player
       sounds Correct with an EMS memory manager loaded.  In most
       cases these Players will still work but they will sound
       distorted.

Additional Info:
==============================   Supported Devices   =================
|               |            |=======================|  Additional   |
|Program Name   |Archive File|SB|PRO|DAC|GUS|PAS|SPKR|   Comments    |
|---------------|------------|--|---|---|---|---|----|---------------|
|3D Mod         |3dmod10.??? | X| X | X |   |   |  X |need 3D glasses|
|---------------|------------|--|---|---|---|---|----|---------------|
|666 Play       |666.???     | X| X | X |   |   |  X |requires VGA   |
|---------------|------------|--|---|---|---|---|----|---------------|
|B's Pro Tracker|bpt05.???   | X|   | X |   |   |  X |mod/stm/midi   |
|---------------|------------|--|---|---|---|---|----|---------------|
|Brain          |brain12.??? | X|   | X |   |   |  X |stereo w/2 dacs|
|---------------|------------|--|---|---|---|---|----|---------------|
|CD-Box         |cdbox300.???| X| X | X |   |   |  X |requires VGA   |
|---------------|------------|--|---|---|---|---|----|---------------|
|Composer 669   |compsd13.???| X| X |   |   |   |    |669 files 8chnl|
|---------------|------------|--|---|---|---|---|----|---------------|
|Creator        |creator1.???| X|   |   |   |   |    |German Docs    |
|---------------|------------|--|---|---|---|---|----|---------------|
|Dark-Tracker   |darkplay.???| X|   | X |   |   |  X |No Docs/mod/stm|
|---------------|------------|--|---|---|---|---|----|---------------|
|Dark-Trkr Plyr |darkplay.???| X|   | X |   |   |  X |No Docs/mod/stm|
|---------------|------------|--|---|---|---|---|----|---------------|
|Digi Studio    |ds15demo.???| X|   | X |   |   |  X |mod/nst        |
|---------------|------------|--|---|---|---|---|----|---------------|
|Digitrak       |digitk01.???|  |   |   | X |   |    |GUS only plyr  |
|---------------|------------|--|---|---|---|---|----|---------------|
|Dual-Mod Player|dmp254.???  | X| X | X |   | X |  X |mod/nst/669/s3m|
|---------------|------------|--|---|---|---|---|----|---------------|
|Execmod        |exec10b.??? | X|   |   |   |   |    |Run pgm in bkgd|
|---------------|------------|--|---|---|---|---|----|---------------|
|FastTracker    |ftracker.???| X|   | X |   |   |  X |internal docs  |
|---------------|------------|--|---|---|---|---|----|---------------|
|Galliasoft Mod |med135.???  | X|   | X |   |   |  X |Reqs Mod Play  |
|---------------|------------|--|---|---|---|---|----|---------------|
|GTS            |gtsmain.??? | X|   |   |   |   |    |gts w/converter|
|---------------|------------|--|---|---|---|---|----|---------------|
|Gus Mod        |gmod211.??? |  |   |   | X |   |    |GUS only       |
|---------------|------------|--|---|---|---|---|----|---------------|
|Gus Play       |gusp15.???  |  |   |   | X |   |    |GUS 4-8 chanels|
|---------------|------------|--|---|---|---|---|----|---------------|
|Holoplay       |hp00a.???   | X| X | X |   |   |  X |mod/nst        |
|---------------|------------|--|---|---|---|---|----|---------------|
|Intellitracker |intrack.??? | X|   |   |   |   |    |mod/nst        |
|---------------|------------|--|---|---|---|---|----|---------------|
|JAMP           |jamp.???    | X|   | X |   |   |  X |mod/nst        |
|---------------|------------|--|---|---|---|---|----|---------------|
|JM Player      |jmplay11.???| X|   |   |   |   |    |mod/nst        |
|---------------|------------|--|---|---|---|---|----|---------------|
|JM Pro Tracker |jmprotr.??? | X| X | X | X |   |    |mod/nst/wow etc|
|---------------|------------|--|---|---|---|---|----|---------------|
|KingMod        |king111.??? | X|   |   |   |   |    |std. music note|
|---------------|------------|--|---|---|---|---|----|---------------|
|MFed           |mfed152.??? | X|   | X |   |   |  X |mod/nst        |
|---------------|------------|--|---|---|---|---|----|---------------|
|Mod2           |catlomod.???| X|   | X |   |   |  X |simple mod plyr|
|---------------|------------|--|---|---|---|---|----|---------------|
|Modac          |modac1.???  | X| X | X |   |   |  X |mod/voc/wav    |
|---------------|------------|--|---|---|---|---|----|---------------|
|Modus          |modus.???   |  |   |   | X |   |    |Windows only   |
|---------------|------------|--|---|---|---|---|----|---------------|
|Mod Edit       |moded301.???| X|   | X |   |   |  X |Reg only $15   |
|---------------|------------|--|---|---|---|---|----|---------------|
|Mod Player     |mp219b.???  | X|   | X |   |   |  X |mod/nst        |
|---------------|------------|--|---|---|---|---|----|---------------|
|Mod's Grave    |grave153.???| X| X |   |   |   |    |skips sometimes|
|---------------|------------|--|---|---|---|---|----|---------------|
|M.O.T. Modplay |mp_101.???  | X| X | X |   | X |  X |mod/nst        |
|---------------|------------|--|---|---|---|---|----|---------------|
|MultiPlayer    |multip10.???| X| X | X |   |   |  X |mod/wow/stm/669|
|---------------|------------|--|---|---|---|---|----|---------------|
|OCTA           |octademo.???| X| X |   |   |   |    |mod/nst/oct    |
|---------------|------------|--|---|---|---|---|----|---------------|
|Play Mod       |playmod.??? | X|   |   |   |   |    |mod/nst        |
|---------------|------------|--|---|---|---|---|----|---------------|
|Power Player   |pp13.???    | X|   | X |   |   |    |mod/wow/stm/nst|
|---------------|------------|--|---|---|---|---|----|---------------|
|Pro Mod        |promod.???  | X| X |   |   |   |    |use -m for SBs |
|---------------|------------|--|---|---|---|---|----|---------------|
|Prot. Mod Plyr |pmp222.???  | X| X |   |   | X |    |Big mod/nst/s3m|
|---------------|------------|--|---|---|---|---|----|---------------|
|SB Studio      |sbstudio.???| X| X |   | X |   |    |mod/nst        |
|---------------|------------|--|---|---|---|---|----|---------------|
|Scream Tracker |st225.???   | X|   | X |   |   |  X |mod/stm files  |
|---------------|------------|--|---|---|---|---|----|---------------|
|SLMR           |silly19b.???| X|   | X |   |   |  X |mod/nst        |
|---------------|------------|--|---|---|---|---|----|---------------|
|Soundtraker    |minitrak.???| X|   |   |   |   |    |no docs        |
|---------------|------------|--|---|---|---|---|----|---------------|
|Sound System   |ss11.???    | X|   |   |   |   |    |tends to crash |
|---------------|------------|--|---|---|---|---|----|---------------|
|Super Pro Play |spp-v131.???| X|   |   |   |   |  X |mod/nst        |
|---------------|------------|--|---|---|---|---|----|---------------|
|Tetra Composer |tetra10.??? | X|   |   |   |   |    |mod/nst        |
|---------------|------------|--|---|---|---|---|----|---------------|
|TextBar Mod    |tbmod10.??? | X| X | X |   |   |  X |requires VGA   |
|---------------|------------|--|---|---|---|---|----|---------------|
|Trakblaster    |tblast20.???| X|   |   |   |   |    |keep all files!|
|---------------|------------|--|---|---|---|---|----|---------------|
|TuPlay         |tuplay10.???| X|   | X |   |   |    |mod/nst        |
|---------------|------------|--|---|---|---|---|----|---------------|
|Ultra Tracker  |ultra11.??? |  |   |   | X |   |    |requires VGA   |
|---------------|------------|--|---|---|---|---|----|---------------|
|VangeliSTracker|vtexe12b.???| X| X | X |   |   |  X |wow/stm/669/mod|
|---------------|------------|--|---|---|---|---|----|---------------|
|Vectorballs MP |vm2-22.???  | X| X |   |   |   |  X |Vectorball GFX |
|---------------|------------|--|---|---|---|---|----|---------------|
|Visual Player  |vp20.???    | X| X | X |   |   |  X |Cool Graphics  |
|---------------|------------|--|---|---|---|---|----|---------------|
|Whacker Tracker|wt101u.???  | X| X | X |   |   |  X |mod/nst        |
|---------------|------------|--|---|---|---|---|----|---------------|
|Win Mod Pro    |wmp003.???  | X| X | X | X | X |  X |Windows Only   |
|---------------|------------|--|---|---|---|---|----|---------------|
|Wow            |wow201.???  | X|   | X |   |   |  X |mod/nst        |
|---------------|------------|--|---|---|---|---|----|---------------|
|Wow II         |wowii130.???| X| X |   |   |   |    |mod/nst        |
======================================================================
Notes: Only a few Mod players specifically mention PAS support but
       from what I've heard the PAS is 100% SB compatible so it should
       work with any player that supports Sound Blaster.  

PS: There is a new ADLIB Music file player that plays its own format
    of music files.  The player is called HSC-Tracker (version 1.00).
    While it doesn't play MOD files its own format sounds pretty good.
    It comes with about 50 songs and has a full 9-channel music editor 
    as well as a TSR music player which lets you play music in the 
    background.  It will work with any Adlib compatible card (including 
    SoundBlasters).  The file is called trak-ecr.zip.
    (available on wuarchive.wustl.edu in /pub/msdos_uploads/sounds dir)
====================================================================== 
If you find any errors, omissions or new versions of the above 
players please send me a note.

Thanks to all who sent me suggestions & additional information!
 Randall Abel (rabel1@cup.portal.com)

-----------------------------------------------------------------

[3.3.1]     plain vanilla DOS
            -----------------

* Trackblaster (Volker Zinke)
  ------------

* WOW          (Jan Ole Suhr)
  ---

* WOWII        (Jan Ole Suhr)
  -----

* ModPlay      (Marc J Cox)
  -------

  MODPLAY PRO  (C) Mark J Cox  1990/1991
  Version 2.19b

* VP           Visual Player
  --

  Visual Player
  Version 1.0, Barcelona, October '92
  Player & FFT by H'ector Mart'inez
  Graphics & program by Luis Crespo
  Sound Blaster Pro by David L'opez & Angel Trigo (authors of ProMod)

  Luis Crespo: FidoNet 2:343/108.21
  Angel Trigo: FidoNet 2:343/121.242
  David Lopez: FidoNet 2:343/121.989


* RP           Rainbow Player
  --

   RAINBOW Player V1.4 / ProTraker MODule Player
   (C)1992 Sebastian M.

   The technical Data of RP:
     - 99% ProTracker compatible (Except:InvertLoop & FunkRepeat)
     - 4 Osziloscopes of the respective Channels
     - 4 Modulation Displays
     - Instrument Display Field
     - Stereo !TRUE! 7 Bit per Channel
     - Mono 6 Bit per Channel
     - Play the MODs in induced Order (Tagging)
     - LHA/ZIP/ARJ Packer Support
     More when you see it :-)

   Sebastian Mies
   "Uberaucherstr. 4
   7734 Brigachtal, Germany

   Tel.: ++49-07721/28070
   FidoNet: Sebastian Mies, 2:247/8.4


* DMP          Dual Mod Player
  ---

   Dual Module Player
   Copyright (C) 199x Otto Chrons

   Fidonet:   2:222/352.7
   SBC-net:   14:1510/500.7 (this is not a good way to contact me,
                             use Fidonet if possible)
   InterNet:  c142092@cc.tut.fi (fastest method to contact)

   Newest version is always available at:
    NCS         +358-31-420034      24h v.32bis
    R.A. LAW    +358-37-49007       24h v.32bis

-----------------------------------------------------------------

[3.3.2]     MS-Windows
            ----------

* MTMOD        (Jan Ole Suhr)
  -----
  Not a Windows-Application, but can be used in a DOS-box.


* WinMod       V 1.0    (Norbert Unterberg)
  ------
   Norbert Unterberg  Fido:        2:245/36.4
   Koehlerstr. 12c    Internet:    Norbert_Unterberg@softstream.fido.de
   5802 Wetter 2      CompuServe:  100112,2740
   Germany

* WinMod Pro   V 0.02b2 (James Holderness)
  ----------
   WinMod PRO
   An MS-Windows MOD file player.
   v 0.02b2
   Copyright (c) 1992 DweebSoft
   Written by James Holderness

   Programmed by:  James Holderness
   Copyright:      DweebSoft 1992
   Email address:  jholdern@casper.cs.uct.ac.za (probably not for
                   long after 11/92)
   Fido address:   James Holderness @ 5:7102/112
   Snail mail:     74 Simonstown Rd, Fish Hoek, 7975 R.S.A.
   Bulletin board: If you're in the R.S.A. or like long distance
                   phone calls, try out Connectix BBS (031-2669992).
                   My user id is Dweeb.
   News groups:    I also read comp.sys.ibm.pc.soundcard and
                   comp.sys.amiga.audio from time to time, but don't
                   count on me seeing anything there - especially
                   after 11/92.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

[3.4]     MOD-Players on a Mac
          --------------------

>Subject: Mac Music Info Sheet (Finished!)
MOD Players for the Macintosh
8/1/93 Release, by Jamal Hannah <jamal@gnu.ai.mit.edu>

Yes!  There are Mod players for the Mac!  All of them can be
found on FTP site sumex.stanford.edu in pub/info-mac/sounds/util

Name		Vers	Author		Edits?	Note
-----		----	-------		------	-----
Sound Trecker	1.0	Frank Seide	no      The De Facto Mac Mod player.
AlphaTrecker	2.0	Fred Condo	no	Plays MOD at startup
MOD Voicer	1.1	Kip Walker	no	Utility to rip samples from mod
The Player II	2.5	Antoine Rosset	no	Same playing code as S. Trecker
Mac Tracker	1.00	Thomas Lawrence	no	Slow.  Plays some thing ST wont
Player Pro beta	4.05	Antoine Rosset	yes	Editor!  But not in beta vers.

"Sound Trecker" was origionaly in German but called "Sound Tracker"..
it comes with source code and compiled modules for playing some mods.
It does not play all SoundTracker, NoiseTracker, or ProTracker mods by
any means!  The problems break into 2 categories:

1) Those mods which it plays incorrectly. 
     Some mods that Sound Trecker plays seem to have samples in them
     that the program does not like.. they sound garbled and scratchy.

2) Those mods which it can't even open.  Any mods with the signature
     signature "FLT8" (created by the Amiga "StarTrekker" program)
     will not play.. you have to use Player Pro for them, or mabye
     Mac Tracker.

SoundTrecker's name is of course derived from the Amiga "Sound Tracker"
program.  It isnt a "true" tracker though, because it does not edit
MODs!  (It's an annoying trend to see all these players called "trackers".)

AlphaTrecker 2.5 and The Player II both use Frank Seide's MOD playing
code, so the playing quality is much the same.

"Mac Tracker" and "Player Pro" play many mods that those programs do
not, but some mods that don't work with Mac Tracker or Player Pro work
on Sound Trecker/Player II.  Go figure.
(Player Pro cant correctly play mods like "batmeat.mod", "pkk-20-seconds",
mamushka.mod, and others).

The Player Pro is a beta version, and does not edit/save mod files yet.. 
but it is lot's of fun to use!  It also claims to load up MIDI files,
as well as play with special routines for the Mac Quadra 840av (codename:
Cyclone) and the Centris 660av ("Tempest") DSP chip.

Newest Macs:
The Cyclone, and the smaller Tempest, represent 2 new Mac's with enhanced
sound capabilities (probabaly like the Atari Falcon, with it's DSP.. or
the NeXT).. including 16 bit sounds at 44khz sampling (CD quality).
A DSP also means the potential for "unlimited" sound channels, instead
of just 4.. as well as built-in DMA.  This all makes for some
pretty impressive music capabilities at very minimal impact on
system performance/CPU time.

The Tempest stats: 25MHz 68040, 55MHz DSP 16bit colour, one slot which
can be made into a nubus slot.  Otherwise identical to the Quadra 840AV.
Pretty much the ideal Mac Mac model for MOD playing, and can probably
deliver sound comparable to an Amiga 4000 or Atari Falcon, for around
$2000.

Old Macs:
There is no MOD player for the older Macintoshes right now (any
Mac without an "ASC" Chip.. i.e. Apple Sound Chip.)  This includes the
Mac 128, Mac 512 ("Fat Mac"), Mac Plus, Mac SE, Mac SE 030, or Mac Classic.
There is, however, a commercial product that works on older Macs called
"Studio Session" that produces files more or less just like MODs, but with
6 voices! (The Music for "Falcon" and "Tetris" for the Mac was produced
with this program.)  It's interesting to realize that the Studio Session
format has been around since about 1986 (2 years before the Amiga Sound
Tracker was 1st written by Karsten Obarski).  The problem with the Studio
Session File Format is that the music and instrument data are in seperate
files.

A rough description of the Studio Session File formats can be found in
the appendix.

Send all additions/corrections to: jamal@gnu.ai.mit.edu

-----------------------------------------------------------------

[3.5]     other MOD-Players
          -----------------

* Tracker for SUN-Sparc, SGI, linux
  tracker V3.10, Marc Espie, Paris
  (C-Sources)


-----------------------------------------------------------------
<end of part 2>

--
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<
 zappe@gaea.sietec.de              |  |
                                   |--+-               happy
 Harald Zappe                      |  |/               composing
 work: +49-30-386-28328/29            /
 home: +49-30-ASK-ME                 /___

From: zappe@gaea.sietec.de (Harald Zappe)
Subject: FAQ: Music File Formats (part 3/6)
Date: 23 Aug 1993 18:29:20 GMT

>State:      first public release (beta)
>Version:    V0.00b
>Date:       22-Aug-1993

Harald Zappe       zappe@gaea.sietec.de        (141.73.4.121)
                   zappe@sony1.sietec.de       (220.255.4.245)
                   zappe@mikro.ee.tu-berlin.de (130.149.136.2)
                   (and others, HZ)

-----------------------------------------------------------------

[4.]    Where to get Music Files?
        -------------------------

There are several ways to obtain the songs. One possiblity not
discussed here, is to ask the friends whether they have new songs.
When you have internet access you can look at the following ftp-
servers. With a modem you can try to register at a local BBS.
Or you buy one of the available CDs containing MOD- and other
songs.


[4.1]     MOD-Files on ftp-servers
          ------------------------

>From lukas@trillian (now @phoenix) Thu Jan 21:

There are hundreds of anonymous-ftp sites that carry MODs. In fact,
you will find MODs on almost all sites with Amiga stuff. Here is a
list of some of the best MOD sites. Usually, there are sub-directories
for MED music, Future Composer stuff, 8-voice MODs and the Sound/Pro/
Noisetracker MODs. Sometimes there are also sub-directories for samples.

A. nic.funet.fi    (Scandinavia, 128.214.6.100), /pub/amiga/audio
                   (there are subdirectories for Future Composer, MED,
                    Oktalyzer, C64 SID and "normal" MODs plus three
                    folders with samples)
B. garbo.uwasa.fi  (Scandinavia, 128.214.87.1), /pc/sound
                   (messy directory with MODs, STMs, players and trackers
                    for PCs)
C. Info.brad.ac.uk (UK, 143.53.2.5), /misc/mods
                   (there are sub-directories for all letters of the
                    alphabet plus the "classical" folder for classical MODs)
                    or /incoming/mods for new MODs

D. atari.archive.umich.edu (USA, 141.211.165.41), /atari/Sound/Mods
                   (several huge ZOO archives with MODs)
E. wuarchive.wustl.edu (USA, 128.252.135.4), /systems/amiga/audio/music
                   (there are sub-directories for MED, 8-voice,
                    self-playing and "normal" MODs) and
                    new MODs in /systems/amiga/incoming/mods or
                    /systems/amiga/incoming/audio
F. saffron.inset.com (192.94.75.2), /pub/sound/samples/newmods,
                    /pub/sound/samples/mod, /pub/sound/samples/pro-mods
G. merlin.etsu.edu (USA, 192.43.199.20), /ab20/AMIGA/SOUNDS/MODULES
                   (this is a CDROM mirror of ab20.larc.nasa.gov which
                    seems to have closed ftp services; there are sub-
                    directories for MEDs, self-playing and "normal" MODs)

H. the Aminet archives: Aminet is an association of several machines in
                    different countries. All Aminet machines have a folder
                    with the same directory structure. Uploads to one of
                    the machines are automatically forwarded to all other
                    participants, so you will find the same directories on
                    all participants.
                    The center of Aminet is amiga.physik.unizh.ch. All
                    files can be found on this machine, ftp.luth.se and
                    ftp.etsu.edu, the other mirrors have at least the last
                    100 days'. Here is a list of all Aminet participants:
   Switzerland  amiga.physik.unizh.ch  130.60.80.80    pub/aminet/
   Switzerland  litamiga.epfl.ch       128.178.151.32  pub/aminet/
   Scandinavia  ftp.luth.se            130.240.18.3    pub/aminet/
   Germany      ftp.uni-kl.de          131.246.9.95    pub/aminet/
   Germany      ftp.cs.tu-berlin.de    130.149.17.7    pub/aminet/
   Germany      ftp.th-darmstadt.de    130.83.55.75    pub/aminet/
   USA          ftp.etsu.edu           192.43.199.20   pub/aminet/
   USA          oes.orst.edu           128.193.124.2   pub/aminet/
   You will find MODs in /pub/aminet/mods on all Aminet machines. There are
   sub-directories for 8-voice, SoundFX, MED, NoiseTracker, ProTracker and
   SoundTracker MODs.

Many MOD directories are mirrored on other ftp sites, too. For example,
rusmv1.rus.uni-stuttgart.de (Germany, 129.69.1.12) has many MODs from E.
and H. (see above) in /pub/soft/amiga/sound/mods and the huge ZOO archives
with MODs of D. in /pub/soft/atari/sound/mods.

-------------------------

Some other servers, found in conversations in net news,
but newer tested (HZ):

 a.cs.uiuc.edu                               amiga, GNUmake, GNU
cs.utah.edu                  128.110.4.21    Worm Tour, amiga, forth, utah
csuvax1.csu.murdoch.edu.au   134.115.4.1     amiga, elmdocs, internet
forwiss.uni-passau.de        132.231.20.10   SML of NJ, GraphEd, amiga,
iesd.auc.dk                  130.225.48.4    amiga, mac, msdos, myth
ix1.cc.utexas.edu            128.83.1.21     amiga
 louie.udel.edu              128.175.2.33    MH, amiga
mrcnext.cso.uiuc.edu         128.174.201.12  amiga
mtsg.ubc.ca                  137.82.27.1     msdos, unix, amiga, os2
plains.nodak.edu             134.129.111.64  apple, msdos, mac, amiga,
 procyon.cis.ksu.edu                         mac, amiga, misc
titan.rice.edu               128.42.1.30     sun-spots, amiga, ispell,
ux1.cso.uiuc.edu             128.174.5.59    amiga, fish, amicus, cucug
 vaxb.acs.unt.edu                            msdos, amiga, midi, network
vmtecmex.cem.itesm.mx        132.254.1.4     amiga, msdos, gif

-----------------------------------------------------------------

[4.2]     MOD-Files on BBSs
          -----------------

germany:  Bitblaster Passau

   ... <tb cont> ...

-----------------------------------------------------------------

[4.3]     MOD-Files on CD-ROMs
          --------------------

   "Public Domain Sound CD-ROM 2"
                      more than 800 sound files as far as utili-
                      ties and programs for soundcards
                      Datamedia GmbH/Pronet, Munic, Germany
                      (approx. 70,- DM, 11/92)

   "Ultimate MOD Collection CD-ROM"
                      This isn't a full review or anything, but if
                      you are into MOD files and have access to a
                      CD-ROM drive, get the Ultimate MOD Collection
                      CD-ROM. I just got mine, and it's jam-packed
                      with players for everything from Amigas to
                      Sun SGI's.  It's got MODS and instruments in
                      LZH compressed format (for BBS's) and un-
                      compressed format.
                      Its available from Sunset Productions in Texas.
                      >From: gerry@pizzabox.dialogic.com (Gerry Lachac)

   ... <tb cont> ...

-----------------------------------------------------------------

[5.]    Converting Music Files
        ----------------------

* TOAMIGA (PC) (included with ModPlay 2.19b)

   ToAmiga Music Module Converter  Ver 1.00
   Copyright (c) MCMXCII  greek[P.Georgueb, BAREA]

   Usage: ToAmiga <source.stm> <target.mod>

   Converts a Scream Tracker module to an Amiga SoundTracker/
   NoiseTracker module. Source and/or target may include drive
   and/or path.  No wildcards are allowed.
   You may freely use and distribute this program in its un-
   altered form.
                 *** Was free,  Is free,  Always free ***

* MIDIMOD
* MOD2MIDI

* MOD2VOC
* MOD2AU

-----------------------------------------------------------------

[6.]    How to create own MOD-Files?
        ----------------------------

After listening to the Megabytes (Gigabytes) of more or less
wonderfull, ready-for-use MOD-Songs, you may have the wish to
produce some own pieces of music, because you are the only one
who exactly know your personal, musical taste. But be aware
that composing is an art.

(--> rec.music.compose)

-----------------------------------------------------------------

[6.1]     Samples
          -------

The first what you will need to create a module is a 'discrete
library' of digitized sounds.
The easiest way to get some samples is to save them out of other
MODs...

..

When you are interested in producing own samples, you should
join the news group alt.binaries.sounds.d .

-----------------------------------------------------------------

[6.2]     Converting Samples
          ------------------

As far as the composer/editor doesn't understand the format of
the samples as they were digitized, you will have to convert
them to a format, which can be loaded.

* SOX (SOund eXchange)

  sox4 (sox7 ?)

-----------------------------------------------------------------

[6.3]     MOD-Editors on an Amiga
          -----------------------

* NoiseTracker
  ------------

   NoisetrackerV2.0
   by Per "Mahoney" Tufvesson & Anders "Kaktus" Berkeman

   ...


* Soundtracker
  ------------

   Soundtracker V2.5
   Coded by: Karsten Obarski, Exterminator, TIP,
   Unknown, MnemoTroN.

   ...


* Protracker
  ----------

   Protracker V2.2 Release A - (C) 1992 Mushroom Studios/Noxious
   22/06-1992

   Protracker is a Public Domain program, and may may be copied
   freely and included in any PD library. You may not charge any-
   thing for the program other than the cost of the disk and the
   PD-service.

   ...

   If you want to contact us for any reason (please do) write to:
                            Or to:
     Peter "CRAYON" Hanning       Anders "DOLPHIN" Ramsay
     Vinterstigen 12              Fornhojdsvagen 6 II
     14440 Ronninge               15158 Sodertalje
     Sweden                       Sweden
   You can also contact us at the Equipoise BBS: +46-755-87404

-----------------------------------------------------------------

[6.4]     MOD-Editors on an Atari
          -----------------------

Lukas Wunner lukas@trillian.tp1.ruhr-uni-bochum.de
(134.147.160.21) writes:
FTP sites I am referring to:
RUS:       University of Stuttgart
           (rusmv1.rus.uni-stuttgart.de / 129.69.1.12)
Paderborn: University of Paderborn
           (athene.uni-paderborn.de / 131.234.2.32)

If you have read the section "MOD-Players on an Atari" (see above,
chapter 3.2) you already know of the NoiseTracker and Audio
Sculpture. The NoiseTracker archive contains an editor, a replay
program, a demo, the source code and information on the structure
of MODs.

Audio Sculpture is more polished than the NST: it is very well
presented (maybe written by some demo coders?). However, I have
encountered a couple of minor bugs. E.g., it seems that the pro-
gram doesn't recognize when you have swapped disks. It is also
particularly annoying that the length of the files is always given
in octal notation.

Another MOD editor is the SoundTracker 2.1.

All programs are on RUS (/pub/soft/atari/sound) and on Paderborn
(/pcsoft/atari/tools/sound). There are several other editors that
are not just ported versions from the Amiga.

One is the TCB Tracker. This is a commercial program written by a
former demo coder and distributed by MPH in Norwich/England. Demos
of the program can be found on various FTP sites. As far as I know,
the TCB Tracker's format is incompatible with, say, the NST or the
ProTracker format.

Another independent program is SMS. This is a shareware tool of
German origin. It is similar to the trackers, but it is more a
synthesizer (20 KHz, 4 channels) than a sound tracker. SMS has
been used for several games (Midimaze 2, Oxyd 1+2, Spacola, etc.).

-----------------------------------------------------------------

[6.5]     MOD-Editors on a PC
          -------------------

[6.5.1]     plain vanilla DOS
            -----------------

* MODED        (Norman Lin)
  -----


* DigiStudio   (Covox)
  ----------

      DIGI STUDIO V1.5
     DEMONSTRATION COPY.
    (C)1992 THE SPACEPIGS
        PUBLISHED BY
     COVOX INTERNATIONAL

   Plays on:
   SPEECH THING
   VOICE/SOUND MASTER
   SOUND BLASTER
   INTERNAL SPEAKER
   OTHER

   THIS DEMO VERSION HAS
   MISSING SAVE FUNCTIONS.
   FOR MORE INFORMATION ON
   THE FULL DIGISTUDIO
   PROGRAM CONTACT:

   COVOX INTERNATIONAL
   INTL.TEL:(44)983 864674
   INTL.FAX:(44)983 867488


* Whacker      ()
  -------

..


* Tetra        ()
  -----

..


* GTS          (?-?-?)
  ---

    gts.txt          4071  11-16-92  11:05
    gtsfaq.001       4759  11-16-92  11:05
    gtsfiles.txt    29076  11-16-92  11:05
    gtsinst.bat       603  11-16-92  11:05
    gtsmain.zip    111546  11-16-92  11:05
    gtssong1.zip    22399  11-16-92  11:07
    gtssong2.zip    23137  11-16-92  11:07
    gtssam1.zip    184063  11-16-92  11:05
    gtssam2.zip    212242  11-16-92  11:06
    gtssam3.zip    183165  11-16-92  11:06
    gtssam4.zip    319083  11-16-92  11:06
    gtssam5.zip     55049  11-16-92  11:06
    gtssam6.zip     96742  11-16-92  11:06
    gtssam7.zip    413396  11-16-92   7:45
    gtssam8.zip    249794  11-16-92  11:06
    gtssam9.zip    167170  11-16-92  11:07
    gtssam10.zip   196346  11-16-92  11:05
    gtssam11.zip    71072  11-16-92  11:05

   It seems to be a good program, the first on the PC that uses
   "real musical notation". But according to the comments of those
   who where able to download, it might need some "polish".

-----------------------------------------------------------------

* 669
  ---

   Renaissance '92 presents
   Composer 669 v1.1 (c) 1992, Tran
   The first 8 channel digital composer/player for the PC.

   Composer 669 is Copyright 1992 by the author Tran (a.k.a.
   Tomasz Pytel). You are free to distribute the unregistered
   version of this composer and its documentation in any manner
   you choose.

   Composer 669 is an 8 channel digital music composer/player.
   Thats right, digital. It uses digital samples as instruments
   in music pieces and mixes the output in real time, 8 channels
   into 1 on a mono system, and 8 channels into 2 on a stereo
   system. This results in much higher quality music than FM, and
   since the music is stored as instruments and notes, it takes
   up much less space than a full track digital music piece.
   Things like this have existed before, mostly on Amiga systems,
   and mostly in 4 channel versions. But lately, the technique of
   real time digital mixing has found its way to the PC world.
   This is the first player for the PC that gives you 8 channels
   to work with. The quality of the music you can create with
   this composer is very good to approaching professional level.

   To run this composer you must have the following hardware:
     1) A 386 or better computer.
     2) 2 megz RAM. (1408k extended).
     3) A VGA card.
     4) A Sound Blaster or a Sound Blaster Pro sound card. (On
         an SB you will get mono music, on an SBPro you will get
         stereo).
     5) DOS 3.0 or above.

   When you run this composer, you must not have any memory ma-
   nagers or any other programs that run the system in V86 mode,
   and you must not have DOS loaded high. The best configuration
   would be a clean system, but you can experiment to see what
   TSRs and device drivers you can have in memory.

   Composer 669 was coded entirely by Tran of Renaissance. It
   runs in 32bit protected mode, using a V86 task to access only
   the DOS file routines.

   Composer 669 lets you create and play 8 channel digital mu-
   sics. Each music can have up to 64 instruments using a maxi-
   mum of 1408k memory. The max size of each sample (the words
   instrument and sample will be used interchangably in this
   doc) is 1 meg. Each music can have up to 128 patterns, a
   pattern a small chunk of music and it will be explained in
   more detail later in this doc. Each pattern is made up of 64
   rows, each of which can contain a note to be played on each
   of the 8 channels. Instruments are loaded and saved as pure
   digital files, and you can also load and save .VOC files as
   instruments. The composer runs in VGA 80x50 text mode, and I
   tried to fit as much information as possible onto the screen.
   You will do almost all your editing on this screen. All the
   commands in the composer are usually available in 1 keystroke.
   The mixing and output is done at 12kHz.


   Renaissance is a small group started in December of 1991. We
   are basically a music oriented group, but we do games and
   demos and stuff.

   We would have released this composer as freeware also, but
   we need the money. You know, to buy equipment and stuff, and
   basically for when we do start the company legally... And we
   feel $20 is a fair price... if you dont think so, dont re-
   gister it, its your choice...

   You can reach us on one of our BBSs:

     The Sound Barrier (718)979-6629, sysop Daredevil
       This is our home board and main distribution site...

     The Master Computer (516)437-6749, sysop The Master Com
       a distribution site for our stuff...

     Darkfyre's Layr (212)799-5910, sysop Darkfyre
       a distribution site for our stuff...

   Our members are:
     Tran                -       Coder, some muzik and grafix.
     C.C.Catch           -       Great Muzik, ANSI.
     Mosaic              -       Muzik, some grafix.
     RadioIsotope        -       KILLER GRAFIX & ANSI!!!
     Daredevil           -       Distribution, and other misc...
     Acid Crash          -       Coder.

   Thanx go out to all those who helped out testing this thing...

-----------------------------------------------------------------

[6.5.2]     MS-Windows
            ----------

Sorry, none seen yet. (HZ)

-----------------------------------------------------------------

[6.6]     other MOD-Editors
          -----------------

Sorry, none seen yet. (HZ)

-----------------------------------------------------------------

[6.7]     Hints on composing
          ------------------

When you are a beginner, start with a very easy structure.

2/4, 3/4, 4/4, ... pattern break,
.. protracker: speed=6

historicals: 12-tone-scales
.. choice of instruments
.. personal taste ...

quantity (length of samples) != quality (rhythm, harmony, ...)

(--> rec.music.compose)

When you already have some musical experiances, you will 'only'
need to learn the handling of the selected MOD-Editor.

hex coding, piano roll, musical notation ...

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Appendix A

[A.1]     Some wellknown componists
          -------------------------

There might be several thousand MOD-writers around the globe.

Jim Young        alias U4ia      ccjy@sun.cse.brist.ac.uk (APATHY=)
                                 (all)
Mark Brown       Maruku/MWatts   mjbrown@lonestar.utsa.edu
                                 (techno, ?)
James Kelly      pkk production  james.kelly@factory.com
                                 (new US-style)
.               ebbhead prod.   setlik@canisius.edu
                                 (depeche remixes)
.               Slampfox        ?

..

---
Chris H"ulsbeck  Sound-Hexer     does NOT write MODs, but
                                     7-channel TMFX-files
..


-----------------------------------------------------------------

[A.2]     Some MODs
          ---------

Because you could fill books with lists of MODs, here you will
only find some examples. The files may be named either
"mod.long_title" or "SHRTNAME.MOD", but the filename is never
a garantee, better look inside the mod.


* "nice sounds" (Top 10 wanted?):

Rhythm is a Dancer 11/92 (400K-remake by ginseng of alchemy)
                         (900K by snap...)
Space_Debris             (Captain of Image)
Axelf                    (sev. versions)
Turrikan-II-Remix        ()
Take a Trip from Me      (U4ia)


* Test-Modules for Players:

<<<<<< 1993 >>>>>> 12/92 (U4ia)
                         nearly all possible effects used

Run-Away-Scales          (U4ia)
                         very fast changes of all possible (notes,
                         effects) written to test M.J. Cox' Modplay

TechMaru                 (Maruku of Megawatts)
                         1st note of 1st pattern: speed 6 in chan-
                         nel 2 and speed $7d in channel 4 (last one
                         should be ignored because out of range,
                         otherwise the MOD sounds toooooooo slow.)

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Appendix B

[B.1]     Related News Groups
          -------------------

Note: Midi-specific news groups are not (?yet) known here.

alt.binaries.sounds.d      : Discussion about sounds, sound con-
                             version (sometimes about MODs)

alt.binaries.sounds.misc   : Sounds themselfs (sometimes MODs)

alt.binaries.sounds.music  : all types off music files
(*):                         see notes below

comp.music                 : General discussion about music

comp.sys.amiga.audio       : Discussion about amiga sounds, music,
                             players, editors, ...

comp.sys.ibm.pc.soundcard  : Discussion about PC-Soundcards,
                             sound conversion
                             (sometimes about MOD-Players)

rec.music.compose          : Discussion about composition


(*):
In Jun-93 there was a discussion in a.b.s.d about creating a new
news group (e.g. alt.binaries.sounds.<?>), which shall contain the
music-files described in this document.

21-Jun-93: According to the last news in a.b.s.d this group shall
           be called 'alt.binaries.sounds.music'
04-Jul-93: alt.binaries.sounds.music is born

Aug-93: a.b.s.mu cannot be accessed by everyone because it has still
           to be 'newgrouped' by several sysops.
           Nevertheless we can already find music files therein.

-----------------------------------------------------------------
<end of part 3>

--
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<
 zappe@gaea.sietec.de              |  |
                                   |--+-               happy
 Harald Zappe                      |  |/               composing
 work: +49-30-386-28328/29            /
 home: +49-30-ASK-ME                 /___

From: zappe@gaea.sietec.de (Harald Zappe)
Subject: FAQ: Music File Formats (part 4/6)
Date: 23 Aug 1993 18:30:28 GMT

>State:      first public release (beta)
>Version:    V0.00b
>Date:       22-Aug-1993

Harald Zappe       zappe@gaea.sietec.de        (141.73.4.121)
                   zappe@sony1.sietec.de       (220.255.4.245)
                   zappe@mikro.ee.tu-berlin.de (130.149.136.2)
                   (and others, HZ)

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Appendix C  Internal Structure of Music Files
            ---------------------------------

A lot of people around the world often are asking for the struc-
ture of the the various Music Files. As mentioned in the main
section of this documentation, there are several different for-
mats and 'dialects'. I have tried to collect the structures in
the following chapters.

The sample file formats (.snd, .au, .voc, ,.wav, SEGM, etc.) are
not shown here, because you can get them from the FAQ of
alt.binaries.sounds.d (Guido van Rossum: FAQ: Audio File Formats).


[C.1]     Music Files with synthetic Instruments
          --------------------------------------

[C.1.1]     ROL
            ---

>Newsgroups: comp.music
>From: plaiho@vipunen.hut.fi (Pertti V P Laiho)
>Subject: Re: ___ ROL format ___
>Organization: Helsinki University of Technology
>Date: Sun, 3 Jan 1993 12:18:18 GMT

In article <721@vercors.frec.bull.fr> frank@mapd.frec.bull.fr () writes:
>Does anyone have the details of .ROL files used by AdLib and compatible
>cards on PC? I need it for my Turbo C ROL editor...
>Thanx.

OK. Here it is...


>~From: holmes@mrx.webo.dg.com (Chris Holmes)
>~Subject: Adlib .ROL file format
>~Date: Wed, 26 Aug 92 12:04:43 GMT

I requested this a while back and got a couple of requests for a summary,
so here goes:

Files containing note information (i.e. songs) are suffixed with ".ROL".
("File version" and "editing scale" are non-musical information used by
Visual Composer (TM).)

Structure of .ROL files:
__________________________________________________________________

fld #   size   type     description
        (bytes)

1       2       int     file version, major
2       2       int     file version, minor
3       40      char    unused
4       2       int     ticks per beat
5       2       int     beats per measure
6       2       int     editing scale (Y axis)
7       2       int     editing scale (X axis)
8       1       char    unused
9       1       char    0 = percussive mode
                        1 = melodic mode
10      90      char    unused
11      38      char    filler
12      15      char    filler
13      4       float   basic tempo

Field 14 indicates the number of times to repeat fields 15 and 16:

14      2       int     number of tempo events
15      2       int     time of events, in ticks
16      4       float   tempo multiplier (0.01 - 10.0)

The remaining fields (17 to 34) are to be repeated for each of 11 voices:

17      15      char    filler
18      2       int     time (in ticks) of last note +1

Repeat the next two fields (19 and 20) while the summation of field 20 is
less than the value of field 18:

19      2       int     note number: 0 => silence
                        from 12 to 107 => normal note (you must
                        subtract 60 to obtain the correct value
                        for the sound driver)
20      2       int     note duration, in ticks
21      15      char    filler

Field 22 indicates the number of times to repeat fields 23 to 26:

22      2       int     number of instrument events
23      2       int     time of events, in ticks
24      9       char    instrument name
25      1       char    filler
26      2       int     unused
27      15      char    filler

Field 28 indicates the number of times to repeat fields 29 and 30:

28      2       int     number of volume events
29      2       int     time of events, in ticks
30      4       float   volume multiplier (0.0 - 1.0)
31      15      char    filler

Field 32 indicates the number of times to repeat fields 33 and 34:

32      2       int     number of pitch events
33      2       int     time of events, in ticks
34      4       float   pitch variation (0.0 - 2.0, nominal is 1.0)

Notes
_____

Fields #1 and #2 should be set to 0 and 4 respectively. Field #10 should
be filled with zeros.

PS:
a 4 byte 'float' in the 80x86 family look like follows:

Sign   biased
-bit  exponent  significant
 31    30..23     22..0
               ^
                `- here an implicite "1." is assumed
               exponent bias = 127 (0x7F)

eg. 0.5 = 1* 2^(-1) ==> sign=0, exp=127-1, signif=(1.)0000000

10987654 32109876 54321098 76543210
33222222 22221111 11111100 00000000
0         0000000 00000000 00000000
 0111111 0
-----------------------------------------------------------------


[C.1.2]     CMF
            ---

(all values in hex, big-endian)

Header Block

Offset

00   char[4]   "CTMF"  File ID
04   char      File Version (minor)
05   char      File Version (major)
06   int       Offset of Instrument Block
08   int       Offset of Music Block

From: zappe@gaea.sietec.de (Harald Zappe)
Subject: FAQ: Music File Formats (part 5/6)
Date: 23 Aug 1993 18:36:16 GMT

>State:      first public release (beta)
>Version:    V0.00b
>Date:       22-Aug-1993

Harald Zappe       zappe@gaea.sietec.de        (141.73.4.121)
                   zappe@sony1.sietec.de       (220.255.4.245)
                   zappe@mikro.ee.tu-berlin.de (130.149.136.2)
                   (and others, HZ)

-----------------------------------------------------------------

[C.3.0]     Music Files with more than 4 Channels
            -------------------------------------


[C.3.1]     GTS - V0.9
            ----------
                                                   Last modified in Nov.1992

    Copyright belongs to the author from when it is made.
     Name) Kim Young Jae
     Tel ) (02) 887-9304
     Addr) 151-061  Kwan-Ak Gu,Bong-Cheon 11 Dong 1641-5, 18/1
                                                Seoul,Korea

     Bitnet)   87272039@KRSNUCC1

                     ----- File Format -----

offset 0                   : number of sample
offset 1   - offset aaa    : sample name(each has 12 byte DOS filename)
offset aaa - offset aaa+16 : length of traks(1-8) in words

next comes music data,
 each data has word(2 byte) value.

X X X X X X X X    X X X X X X X X
|_____| |_____|    |_| |_________|

 length   type    temp    note

type 0   musical note
     1   sample
     2   key
     3   tempo
     4   measure
     5   repeat
     6   tie
     7   ending
   8 - 15  reserved for later use.



Simple outline routine to read

        fi = fopen(fn,"rb");
        num_sample = fgetc(fi);
        for(c = 0 ; c < num_sample ; c++)
           fread(sample_table[c],1,12,fi);
        fread(length_trak,2,8,fi);
        for(c = 0 ; c < 8 ; c++)
        {
           musicdata[c]=farmalloc(length_trak[c]*2);
           fread(music_data[c],2,length_trak[c],fi);
        }
        fclose(fi);

                     ----- Sample Files -----

*   Sample files larger than 64k is truncated.

    GTS treats samples as unsigned 8-bit raw file of 8000hz.
    But .VOC(unpacked format) file which has sampling rate in itself
       can be used by GTS.

    Other files(.au , .iff) must converted to
      VOC or 8000hz 8-bit raw file by removing header.

**  But Raw file can have special header.
      RATExx     xx is sampling rate of word(2 byte) in 80x86 reverse mode
      LOOPxxyy   xx is begin of loop
                 yy is end of loop

      Sample file can have either of the 2 informations,
        or both of them,
      But the order is RATE first.

      ex) RATExxLOOPyyzz$$$$$$^^^^^^^^

          --> 14 byte is header and real sound data begins from '$'

-----------------------------------------------------------------

[C.3.2]     669 -
            ---

669 file format:

offset      |length&type    |description
------------+---------------+------------------------------------
0           |1 word         |marker, value=0x6669
2           |108 bytes      |song message
0x6e        |1 byte         |NOS = number of samples saved (0-64)
0x6f        |1 byte         |NOP = number of patterns saved (0-128)
0x70        |1 byte         |loop order number
0x71        |0x80 bytes     |order list
0xf1        |0x80 bytes     |tempo list for patterns
0x171       |0x80 bytes     |break location list for patterns
0x1f1       |NOS*size struct|sample data
            | samp          |
---------------------------'
|struct samp {
|  13 bytes ASCIIZ filename of instrument
|  1 dword length of instrument
|  1 dword offset of beginning of loop
|  1 dword offset of end of loop
|} smp[NOS]
`----------------------------------------------------------------
0x1f1+      |NOP*0x600      |patterns
(NOS*0x19)  |               |
---------------------------'
|this is repeated 8 times for every row and the array of 8 of
| these is repeated 64 times for each pattern.
|
| bits:
|   BYTE[0]:             BYTE[1]:            BYTE[2]:
|  aaaaaaaa             bbbbbbbb            cccccccc
|  \____/\_________________/\__/            \__/\__/
|   |     |                  |               |   |
|   |     |                  4 bit volume    |   command value
|   |     |                                  |
|   |     aabbbb = 6 bit instrument number   command:
|   |                                         0 = a
|   note value = (12*oct)+note                1 = b
|                                             2 = c
|  special values for byte 0:                 3 = d
|    0xfe = no note, only volume change       4 = e
|    0xff = no note or volume change          5 = f
|
|                                           special value for byte 2:
|                                             0xff = no command
|
`----------------------------------------------------------------
0x1f1+      |rest of file   |samples
(NOS*0x19)+ |               |
(NOP*0x600) |               |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The command values are:

a - Portamento up - This command will cause the frequency of the
     note to increase over time, the command value indicates how
     fast the pitch will increase. (For those of you who know
     what this means, the port is linear, not logarithmic).

b - Portamento down - Same as 'a' but in the other direction.

c - Port to note - This is the only command that requires there
     to be a note on the same line. This commands sets the note
     to portamento at the speed defined by the command value to-
     wards the note on the line. The instrument value of the note
     is ignored, but the volume is set to the volume in the note
     on this line. When the note reaches the destination note,
     the portamento is stopped and it continues playing at the
     destination note frequency.

d - Frequency adjust - This command adjusts the frequency of the
     note currently playing a little bit. This is useful for when
     you have 2 notes playing at the same pitch using the same
     instrument, use this command to adjust the frequency of one
     of the notes to make it sound a little more harmonic.

e - Frequency vibrato - This command sets the frequency of the
     note that is playing to vibrate. The command value specifies
     how much to vibrato the note by.

Note: A command value of 0 on any of the previous commands cancels
      the effect of any previous command and sets the note to play
      normally.

f - Set tempo - Usually you will set the tempo for the patterns
     through their basic tempo. But there are times when you may
     want to change the tempo within a pattern. Use this command
     to do it. The tempo will remain at this tempo untill another
     set tempo command or until another pattern is reached in the
     order list (even the same pattern that is playing now).

-----------------------------------------------------------------

-----------------------------------------------------------------

[C.3.3]     Oktalyser
            ---------
(All numbers below are given in hexadecimal)

MSB first

offset  bytes
000000    12t  magic                 "OKTASONGCMOD"

00000C     4   nr of channels        (8)
000010     8   ? chan-flags

000018     4   Sample-directory      "SAMP"
00001C     4     Sample-dir-len      (00000480)
                 (Nr_of_samples = Sample-dir-len / 32)

000020    20t    Sample-Name                   )
000034     4       ? Sample-len               (  up to 36x
000038     4       ? Sample-start              > (or more?)
00003C     2       ?                 (0040)   (
00003E     2       ?                 (0001)    )
..

0004A0     4     Sample-Pee..?       "SPEE"
0004A4     4       spee-len          (2)
0004A8     2       spee-value        (3)

0004AA     4     Sample-Length       "SLEN"
0004B2     4       slen-len          (2)
0004B6     2       slen-value        (15t)

0004B8     4     Pattern-Length      "PLEN"
0004BC     4       plen-len          (2)
0004BE     2       plen-value        (15t)

0004C0     4   Pattern               "PATT"
0004C4     4     nr_of_patterns      (128t ?)

0004C8     4     Pattern1            "PBOD"    )
0004CC     4       pbod-len          (0702    (
                                      or 0602) > up to 64x
0004CE     2                         (64t)    (
0004D0    ...      Pattern1-Data               )
..

0.....     4   Sample1               "SBOD"
0.....     4     sbod-len
0.....    ...    sbod-data           8 bit signed data


.. to be continued (HZ)

-----------------------------------------------------------------

[C.3.4]     IFF FORM TRKR
            -------------

>From: rog@outb.wimsey.bc.ca (Roger Earl)
>Subject: IFF TRKR info part-2
>Date: 20 May 93 00:52:41 PDT

Recently some rather brilliant posts by Darren Schebek have popped up on
my BBS and the material was just so good and informative that I felt it
needed to be shared with the rest of the world.  I have Darren's permission,
so I am cross-posting some of his messages here and elsewhere.

I'll try to forward any responses to Darren, or you can send Internet
E-Mail to him at dschebek@wiz.wimsey.bc.ca.

..

>From: dschebek@outb.wimsey.bc.ca (Darren Schebek)
>Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.audio
>Subject: IFF FORM TRKR - a brief explanation...
>Distribution: world
>Message-ID: <dschebek.0el0@outb.wimsey.bc.ca>
>Date: 21 May 93 01:45:56 PDT
>Organization: Wizard Online

Hi.  I'm the one whose been working on the IFF FORM TRKR document.  Since
I'll be losing my usenet access for an underterminate period of time, I'd
thought the last thing I could do here is explain myself. :)
..

I have been working on this IFF FORM TRKR for almost a year now.  I have sent
the original draft proposal to Commodore, and they have included it in their
latest IFF_FORMS document as a proposal.  The current technical specification
is in excess of 180K, and is about 70% complete as of this time.

I have also written player code that supports the format fully.  This code is
about 90% written, and still requires debugging and honing.  All of the code
has been written completely from scratch in assembly language (I even
recalculated all lookup tables).  I will also be writing load & save routines
to go with the player code.  All of this code is meant to accompany the IFF
FORM TRKR document, and it will be public domain.

The player code is very organized, and very well commented. It is also
optimized to a point that sustains readability and comprehension.  I'm sorry,
but I'm just a little tired of seeing player code accompanying some new
release of a tracker editor that has the excuse "This code is not optimized
in any way" at the top.  Such player code is very badly written and
completely convoluted.  Code that is not optimized is one thing, but code in
this state is inexcusable.

The player code will support n-octave 8SVX instruments, and will (hopefully,
it all looks good on paper) support playing instruments from fast memory as
well as chip memory.

I have redesigned the structure of a note event.  It is still a longword, but
now supports 127 note range, up to 63 commands, up to 63 instruments, and
contains a 13-bit operand field.  This has allowed me to enhance many
commands.

I will list the commands that FORM TRKR supports here.  Upward compatibilty
with older tracker file formats is maintained.  An existing tracker file that
is converted to FORM TRKR can always be converted back to that format.  Here
are the commands (be aware that this list is unofficial and may change):

Arpeggio ( [basenote] [,secondnote] [,thirdnote] [,rate] [,direction] )
Arpeggio II (same as Arpeggio, but restarts the sample.
Pitch Slide ( [,signedamount], mode) mode=0 once only, 1=every tick
Tone Portamento ( destnote [,rate] )
Tone Portemento II (destnote, progessionmode [,time] )
                    progressionmode: 0=exponential pitch, 1=linear pitch
Tone Portamento + Volume Slide (destnote [,rate] [,signedvolamount] )
Vibrato ( [frequency] [,amplitude] [,wavetype] )
                    wavetype: 1 = sine wave
                              2 = ramp up
                              3 = ramp down
                              4 = triangle
                              5 = square wave
                              6 = noise wave (pseudo-random)
Vibrato+Vol. Slide ( [freq] [,wavetype] [signedvolamount] )
Volume Slide ( [signedamount] )
Volume Portamento ( destvolume [,time] )
Tremolo ( [freq] [,amp] [,wavetype] ) wavetype same as vibrato.
Set Channel Volume ( volume )
Set Parameters I ( [glissando] [,filter] [,tremoloamp] [,vibratoamp] )
Restart Note ( [initialdelay] [,restartrate] )
Cut-off Note ( [cutoffdelay] )
Set Fine Tune ( finetuneval )
Sample Offset ( offset )
Pause Voice ( time )
Pause Music ( time )
Set Marker ( markerID )
Repeat From Marker ( markerID, numiterations )
Set Ticks Per Minute ( numticks )  Replaces meaningless "BPM"
Set Ticks Per Note ( numticks )    Replaces SET SPEED command
Set Time Signature ( numerator, denominator )
Set Beats Per Minute ( numbeats )  This is REAL beats per minute.
Set Notes Per Beat ( numnotes )    Used with Set Beats Per Minute.
Signal Task(s) ( signalcode )

Those, very very briefly are the commands supported so far.  I have included
commands for defining a beat as well as a time signature so that it may be
possible to render FORM TRKR music in sheet music format using standard music
notation.

FORM TRKR supports n-voice (aka channel) songs.  It can be used for songs
with any number of voices, from 1 to ??.

I would like to state my ambitions here.  After completing the technical
specification and player code, I intend to write a conversion program for
Protracker/Noisetracker and Soundtracker v2.6.  Following that, I intend to
develop (with a colleague of mine) a FORM TRKR datatype, as well as a fully
window-oriented music editor.

..

Any comments on this format are welcome.  I am losing my usenet access, so
please direct comments to Roger (he cross-posted the nine messages).  he will
make sure I get them.  Thank you for reading this.

I would lastly like to add that one of the cross-posted messages talks about
the problems inherent with portamento the way it's traditionally handled by
most (if not all) tracker players.  It offers an example of the time taken to
complete portamento operations in different octaves using the same notes.
Yes, the example given has an incorrect result, but you get the general idea.
:)

- Darren Schebek

___
passages not relating the format dropped [...] (HZ).

-----------------------------------------------------------------

[C.3.5]     TFMX 2.0
            --------

>From dhollis@cypher.com Mon Jun  7
>Date: Mon, 7 Jun 1993 10:19:02 -0500 (CDT)
>From: Dan Hollis <dhollis@cypher.com>


THE TFMX PROFESSIONAL 2.0 SONG FILE FORMAT
------------------------------------------

1. Header
---------

The first thing in a TFMX mod is the magic number.  "TFMX-SONG ".  (Note
the trailing space!)  After that there is a word which seems to have no
real meaning, and you can just leave it 0.  The next bit is a long which
also has no meaning to the player and can be 0 as well.

Following this is 240 bytes which also mean nothing to the player.
H"ulsbeck uses these to hold the time and date in ASCII format on 40
character lines.  Put what you wish here, or put nothing.  It matters
naught to the player.

After this 256 bytes of information there is a table of 96 words.  The
first 32 of these are song start positions.  The next 32 are song end
positions.  The last 32 are tempo numbers.  If the tempo number is greater
than 15, it is used as a beats-per-minute figure, with a beat taking 24
jiffies.  If not, then it is used as a divide-by value into a frequency of
50Hz.  (0=50Hz, 1=25Hz, 2=16.7 Hz...)

At offset $1D0 there is a table of three longs which are offsets into the
file.  They point to (in this order) the position data, the pattern data
pointers, and the instrument data pointers.  Nothing else of significance
lies within these first 512 bytes.


2. The Position Data
--------------------

The position data contains all the sequencing information as far as which
patterns get started when.  It is an array of 8 word records, one for each
track.  The high byte of each word contains the position number, or $80
if the last position is to be held, or $FF if the channel is to be disabled,
or $FE if a voice is to be stopped.  In this last case the low byte holds the
voice to stop (0-3), but normally the low byte is a two's-complement number
by which the entire track is to be transposed.

When any track finishes (with a $F0) it causes the line pointer to
increment, and new pattern data is loaded all around.  If some pattern
finishes before all the rest, and no pattern data is loaded into the other
tracks, then they will continue on until they hit a $F0, at which time they
will increment the line pointer.  This trick can be used to change a rhythm
fill in the middle of a track without disrupting the other tracks.

When the first word of a line is $EFFE, no track data is loaded.  At that
point, the entire line is used as a command.  The word after $EFFE is used
to select a command, and any remaining words are used as parameters to the
command.

EFFE0000	Stop the player.

EFFE0001	Play a section starting at position and ending here times
		times.  If times is 0000 then section will repeat forever.
		line+4=position, line+6=times

EFFE0002	Set the tempo.
		line+4=divisor, line+6=CIA bpm (-1 if no change)

EFFE0003,	Start a master volume slide.
EFFE0004	line+4=divisor, line+6=target


3. Pattern Data
---------------

The longword at $1D4 is an offset to the pattern pointers.  The pattern
pointers are a series of longword offsets into the file.  At each of these
offsets begins a pattern.  There is a maximum of 128 patterns per song
file.

Each pattern typically controls one hardware channel, but this is not by
any means a requirement.

Patterns are a series of longwords.  Each longword may be a note or a
command.  If the longword is a note, it will usually begin between $80-$BF.
If the longword is a command it will begin with $F0 or greater.

Following is a list of the $F0 commands.

(In all listings below, v stands for the voice number 0-F, and all x'es are
don't-cares.)

F0 xx xx xx	END end pattern
Ends this pattern and causes the line pointer to advance.

F1 aa bb bb	RPT repeat block
Executes the block of commands starting at bbbb and ending just before
this command aa times.  If aa is 00, block repeats indefinitely.

F2 aa bb bb	JMP pattern jump
Jumps into pattern aa, at point bbbb.

F3 aa xx xx	ZZZ rest
Waits aa+1 jiffies.

F4 xx xx xx	CUT disable track
Stops the playing of this track.  Unrecoverable until a new pattern pointer
is loaded.  Will not execute any upcoming $F0.

F5 xx xv xx	REL start release
Sets a flag in the appropriate voice.  If the instrument program is waiting
for a release, this will cause it to continue.  Otherwise, it has no effect
at all.

F6 aa xv bb	VIB vibrato
See voices command 0C.

F7 aa bv cc	VSL vol slide
Every b+1, slide aa towards cc.

F8 aa bb bb	JSR call
Save current pattern PC, then proceed exactly as in F2.

F9 xx xx xx	RTS return
Restore the saved pattern PC and continue execution.

FA aa xx bb	FMV fade master volume
Every aa, slide the master volume by 1 towards bb.

FB bb xa cc	JPO jump other track
Jump track a to bb with transpose of cc and continue.  If the track that
this command is on is lower in number than the track being jumped, then
the command will take effect at the next entry into the playrout; in any
other case, it will be effective immediately.

FC aa xv bb	POR portamento
Every aa, multiplies the current period by (256+bb)/256.

FD aa bb bb	CUE cue
Loads bbbb into cue location aa&3.

FE xx xx xx	disable trk
See F4.

FF xx xx xx	null
Do nothing.  Pattern pointer is advanced to the next command.


A note is of the form aa bb cv dd.  aa is the note number, from 00 to EF.
bb is the instrument to use to play the note.  c is the relative volume
($F relative = $2D absolute.  See command 0D in the instruments.)  ee+1
is the time to wait until the next command is executed.

Only the lowest 6 bits are significant in note selection.

If aa is less than $80, TFMX will immediately fetch another command, and
ee will be used as a finetune value (+/- 50%).  Also, if aa is greater than
$BF, TFMX will portamento from the last note to the one in this command as
per the FC command.


4. Instrument Data
------------------

The instrument data is much like the pattern data, i.e. it is a series of
longwords pointed to by a table of offsets.  However, owing that it has
a different purpose and different requirements, a few things are slightly
different.  Following is a list of the voice commands.

(All commands with * can stop the execution of the voice program for one or
more jiffies.)


00 aa xx xx	STP stop efx and dma *
Stops all effects and kills voice.  If aa is nonzero, voice is stopped
immediately and the next command is executed.  If aa is zero, the voice
is stopped at the end of the playroutine and the voice sequencer stops
for a jiffy.

01 xx xx xx	STT start voice
Turns on the DMA channel.

02 aa aa aa	ADR address long
Adds aaaaaa to the beginning of the sample file and loads it into the
Paula.

03 xx aa aa	LGT set length
Loads aaaa into the Paula's length register (one count in aaaa=two bytes)

04 xx aa aa	ZZZ wait *
Waits aaaa jiffies.

05 aa bb bb	RPT repeat section
Plays the section from bbbb to here aa times, then continues.

06 aa bb bb	JMP jump
Jump into instrument aa, starting at point bbbb.

07 xx xx xx	END end instrument *
Stops this instrument.  Not recoverable.

08 aa bb bb	SFT set freq by this note *
Loads the current note, transposed by aa and by the track transpose if
necessary, into the period register.  bbbb is a finetune value (0000=100%,
0080=150%, FF80=50%).  This command ends instrument processing for this
jiffy.

09 aa bb bb	SFD set freq direct *
Loads note aa, transposed if necessary, into the period register.  bbbb is
a finetune value.  This command ends instrument processing for this jiffy.

0A xx xx xx	CLR clear all effects
Stops all frequency/pointer vibrato, portamento, and volume slide effects.

0B aa bb bb	POR portamento
Every aa, multiply the period by (256+bb)/256.  If the portamento is not
currently running, load the period value in from the current period.

0C aa xx bb	VIB vibrato
Every jiffy slide by bb.  The vibrato waveform starts on the rising zero-
crossing of a triangle wave.  2*aa is the period of this waveform.

0D xx xx aa	SFV set fine volume
Adds aa to the coarse volume (set in the note play command) * 3 and loads
it into the volume register.

0E aa xx xx	SVO set volume
Moves aa into the volume register.

0F aa bb cc	VSL vol slide
Every bb, slide aa towards cc.

10 aa bb bb	RPR repeat x times or until release
Acts just like command 05, except if the release signal is received, in
which case the loop will be broken.

11 aa bb bb	PTS pointer vibrato
Each jiffy, for aa jiffies, adds bbbb to the sample pointer.  After aa
jiffies, the direction is reversed and the cycle begins again, and again,
and again, unless aa is 00, in which case bbbb is added to the sample
pointer once, at the time of this command, and no other action is taken.

12 xx aa aa	RLL relative loop lgth
Adds aaaa to the looplength and stores it in the register.

13 aa xx xx	SDM stop dma
Stops DMA without stopping effects.  See 00 above for more.

14 xx xx aa	ZZR wait x cycles or until release
Wait aa cycles or until release signal is received.  If aa is 0, then
the wait is indefinite.

15 aa bb bb	JSR call instrument
Saves instrument PC and jumps to a location.  See 06 above.

16 xx xx xx	RTS return from call
Recalls instrument PC and continues execution.

17 xx aa aa	PER absolute period *
Loads aaaa into the period register.  This command ends sound processing
for this jiffy.

18 aa aa aa	SLS set loop start
Adds aaaaaa to the sample start and subtracts aaaaaa from the sample length.

19 xx xx xx	NUL load null sample
Loads the null sample into the appropriate registers.

1A xx aa aa	RSM repeat sample
Plays the sample aaaa times, then continues with the next instruction.

1B		\
1C		/_ repeat section (see 05)
1D		\
1E		/

1F aa bb bb	SFL set freq by last note *
Loads the last note, transposed by aa and by the track transpose if
necessary, into the period register.  bbbb is a finetune value (0000=100%,
0080=150%, FF80=50%).  This command ends sound processing for this jiffy.

20 aa bb bb	CUE cueing
Loads bbbb into cueing register (aa&3).

21 xx xx xx	RTG retrig
Restarts the current note immediately.

22 through 2A are used in the TFMX player found in Turrican II.  I have no
clue WHAT these do, but as they were only used in one T2 song (song 9, which
isn't even played during the game), I didn't press too hard.


5. The Stock TFMX Player
------------------------

tfmx_base
	bra	tfmx_initplyr
	bra	tfmx_player
	bra	tfmx_initplyr
	bra	tfmx_startsong

	bra	tfmx_donote
	bra	tfmx_initmodl
	bra	tfmx_initplyr
	bra	tfmx_installplyr

	bra	tfmx_stopnote
	bra	tfmx_startsong
	bra	tfmx_makefade
	bra	tfmx_cuedataadr

	bra	tfmx_initplyr
	bra	tfmx_initplyr
	bra	tfmx_initplyr
	bra	tfmx_initplyr

	bra	tfmx_holdsong
	bra	tfmx_initplyr
	bra	tfmx_initplyr
	bra	tfmx_initplyr

	bra	tfmx_initplyr
	bra	tfmx_setupframerate
	bra	tfmx_initplyr
	bra	tfmx_initplyr

	bra	tfmx_initplyr

TFMX includes a limited cueing facility in which the player can set bytes
up for use by an external program.  Calling tfmx_base+$2C will give you the
base address of the cueing area.  Following is a list of all bytes used by
the player in this area:

$offset	size	function
00	w	nonzero = master volume fade is in progress
15	b	A line has been fetched.  Master program must set to 0 when
		any processing has been finished.
1E	w	Cue word 0.
20	w	Cue word 1.
22	w	Cue word 2.
24	w	Cue word 3.


6. Credit Where Credit Is Due
-----------------------------

TFMX is a product of Chris H"ulsbeck for use exclusively in games for which
he wrote music, and is probably a registered trademark under the Berne
copyright convention too.  But I've not seen anything about this, so...


Thanks go out to Chris H"ulsbeck for creating a song format that isn't based
on a drum machine.

Thanks to STratoHACKster for letting me use his Amiga and ReSource to hack
TFMX.

Thanks to Whiplash for net access... a-HEM!  Password, please?



Cheers.

-/\/\ /\/\

-----------------------------------------------------------------

[C.3.6]     Studio Session Format
            ---------------------

>From: jamal@bronze.lcs.mit.edu (Jamal Hannah)
>Subject: Mac Music Info Sheet (Finished!)


THE STUDIO SESSION SONG FILE FORMAT (Editor version 1.0)
--------------------------------------------------------
Format created by: Steve Capps <capps@applelink.apple.com>, Mark Zimmer,
Tom Hedges, Ed Bogas, Nick Borelli, Ty Roberts, and Neil Cormia
of Bogas Software in 1986.

This hacked description by: Jamal Hannah <jamal@gnu.ai.mit.edu>

There are 12 fields and 6 tracks to this format.. on old Macs, since you
use complex waveforms for these sounds, you'll probabaly have to
simulate the multiple sound channels by combining them on the fly
with some fancy math.  I think there is actualy a Mac Toolbox call
to do this in the origional "Sound Driver" chapter of Inside Macintosh.

File Signatures (Macintosh Only)
Type:		'XSNG' (sometimes 'DSNG')
Creator:	'XPRT'

Offset	Field		Length
0	Tempo		2	range: 10-450
2	unused		2	should be nul ($0000)
4	TimeSignature	2	decimal ranges of each byte: 1-32,1-32
6	Pascal string names of Instrument Files begin here, each followed
by 2 nul bytes. ($00 $00)
??	unused		1	(should be $00.. if there are no instruments,
				this will come right after TimeSignature)
??	unused		64
??	Data for track 1, terminated by $B0
??	Data for track 2, terminated by $B0
??	Track 3  "
??	Track 4  "
??	Track 5  "
??	Track 6  "

Instruments are numbered from 01 onward, starting with the first one listed.
They are the exact name of the Studio Session Instrument file, which should
be on the same volume or directory.

Track data consists of the following commands, which represent notes
and other components on a musical staff:

COMMANDS (with field names):

ending          $C0 xx (endingNumber)
timeSignature	$BD xx xx (timeSigTop,timeSigBottom)
barLine		$BA
newInstrument	$B9 xxxx (instrumentNumber)
dashedBarLine	$B5
keySignature	$B4 xx (keyMode)
tempoChange	$B3 xxxx (tempoSpeed)
repeatBarEnd	$B2
repeatBarStart	$B1 xxxx (numRepeats)
coda		$B0
musicalNote	xx xx xx  (pitch, unit#, slurStatus)

NOTE UNITS:
(a "musicalNote" is really either a rest, or a note. Normaly a unit is
a rest, but if it has anything in the pitch field (mentioned above)
then it is a note.  A rest always has $00 in the pitch and slurStatus
fields.

unit32		$03	1/32nd rest or note
unit32_3	$02	1/32nd rest or note triplet
unit32_2	none
unit32_1	none
unit16		$06	1/16th rest or note
unit16_3	$04	1/16th rest or note triplet
unit16_2	none
unit16_1	$09	1/16th rest or note, dotted
unit8		$0C	1/8th rest or note
unit8_3		$08	1/8th rest or note triplet
unit8_2		$15	1/8th rest or note, double-dotted
unit8_1		$12	1/8th rest or note, dotted
unit4		$18	1/4th rest or note
unit4_3		$10	1/4th rest or note triplet
unit4_2		$2A	1/4th rest or note, double-dotted
unit4_1		$24	1/4th rest or note, dotted
unit2		$30	1/2 rest or note
unit2_3		$20	1/2 rest or note triplet
unit2_2		$54	1/2 rest or note, double-dotted
unit2_1		$48	1/2 rest or note, dotted
unit1		$60	Whole rest or note
unit1_3		$40	Whole rest or note, triplet
unit1_2		$A8	Whole rest or note, double-dotted
unit1_1		$90	Whole rest or note, dotted

(A triplet is a rest/note with a little 3 over it, with playing length
multiplied by 2/3 (shortened).  A double-dotted unit's length is multiplied
by 1 3/4, and a single dotted unit length is multiplied by 1 1/2... if
I am wrong, a good book on musical notation can clear this up!)

PITCH:
Pitch values range from "C0" (lower C, at the bottom of the scale) up to
"C6" (upper C, at the top of the scale).. and are represented by the
numbers $01-$2B (1-43).  If this value has $40 added to it, then it is
"flat".  If it is "sharp", it has $80 added.

SLUR STATUS:
The slur is that little curvy line that links two notes together and "slurs"
them together at playtime.  Here are the byte values:

$00	No slur on this note
$01	Slur start/line curving from this note toward one on the right
$02	Slur end/line coming from a note to the left
$03	Slur joint (two slur lines coming from both left and right)

BAR LINE:
This byte represents the vertical bar line that marks the end of a measure.
I'm not sure what a dashed bar line is for!

ENDING:
An "ending" command is followed by the number that the ending is repeated,
ranging from 1-10 ($01-$0A)

REPEAT BAR:
The Command byte is followed by a word-length number representing the number
of times to repeat the following notes.  The repeated section is terminated
by the next instance of a "repeatBarEnd" command.

TIME SIGNATURE:
The "timeSignature" command is followed by bytes representing the top and
bottom of the time signature, respectivly.

KEY SIGNATURE:
The key signature command is followed by codes representing the following
modes of the notes that follow:

Value	Key		Number to add to pitch-bytes of notes following
$00	C Major		$00
$01	G Major		$00
$02	D Major		$80
$03	A Major		$80
$04	E Major		$80
$05	B Major		$80
$06	F Sharp Major	$80
$07	C Sharp		$80
$08	F		$00
$09	B flat		$00
$0A	E flat		$00
$0B	A flat		$00
$0C	D flat		$00
$0D	G flat		$40
			(note: dont add this value if the note already has
			a sharp or a flat)

TEMPO CHANGE:
A tempo change command byte is followed by a word-length value representing
the new tempo speed, ranging (in decimal) from 10-450.

CODA
A coda is a byte representing the end of a track and the file itself should
end with one.  If a track is empty, the coda byte holds it's place.


Send all additions/corrections to: jamal@gnu.ai.mit.edu

-----------------------------------------------------------------
<end of part 5>

--
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<
 zappe@gaea.sietec.de              |  |
                                   |--+-               happy
 Harald Zappe                      |  |/               composing
 work: +49-30-386-28328/29            /
 home: +49-30-ASK-ME                 /___


From: zappe@gaea.sietec.de (Harald Zappe)
Subject: FAQ: Music File Formats (part 6/6)
Date: 23 Aug 1993 18:37:44 GMT

>State:      first public release (beta)
>Version:    V0.00b
>Date:       22-Aug-1993

Harald Zappe       zappe@gaea.sietec.de        (141.73.4.121)
                   zappe@sony1.sietec.de       (220.255.4.245)
                   zappe@mikro.ee.tu-berlin.de (130.149.136.2)
                   (and others, HZ)

-----------------------------------------------------------------

[C.4]     Hybrid Music Files
          ------------------

These types of music files contain both, synthetic and sampled
instruments.

[C.4.1]     OctaMed
            -------

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
        MED/OctaMED MMD0 and MMD1 file formats
        written by Teijo Kinnunen (25.4.1992)
        Revision 1
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Background
----------
A  couple of years ago, when programming MED V2.1, I needed a file format for
MED  modules.   The  only  "module"  format  in  MED V2.0 was the Sng+samples
format.  Although it produced compact files, it was very difficult and tricky
to  read  in.  Therefore, I designed a new file format, that would be easy to
use  in  module  player programs etc.  This file format was named 'MMD0' (Med
MoDule  0).   The  limitations in MMD0 block format forced me to create a new
file format for OctaMED Professional, this format is 'MMD1'.  It's mostly the
same  as  MMD0, except the block structure is different.  At the time of this
writing  (when  OctaMED  Pro is not even released yet), MMD0's are absolutely
more common than MMD1's.

Design concepts
---------------
One  of  the  main  goals  was  to  make MMD's (MED modules) as extensible as
possible.   This  would  have  been  easy to implement with IFF-style chunks.
However, this method is obviously not the best for play-routine use.

Therefore, MMD's are implemented in quite an extraordinary way.  They consist
of  structures  (similar  to  C  structs),  and  pointers.  In a module file,
pointers  are defined as offsets from the beginning of the module.  This way,
a  particular  structure  can be read just by Seek()'ing using the pointer as
the  offset from the beginning of the file.  When a module has been read into
memory,  it has to be relocated before it can be used (the relocation is done
simply by adding the address of the module to the pointers).

As  with  the  Amiga  OS,  a  MMD  file  does not contain absolute addresses.
There's  a  module  header  structure  at  the  beginning  of the file.  This
structure contains pointers to different parts of the module.  And you *MUST*
use  these pointers.  You may NOT expect that the song structure is at offset
$00000034,  for  example.   Although it usually is, this may change in future
releases.   In  addition,  it's  possible that a structure even doesn't exist
(the  structure  pointer is NULL).  Therefore, you *MUST* check the structure
pointer  before  accessing  the  structure.   Finally, when writing MMD's you
*MUST*  set  undefined/reserved  fields  to  zeros.  More finally, you *MUST*
align  all  structures  to  even  boundaries!  (I forgot the alignment in MED
V3.00 save routine, resulting Guruing modules under some conditions :-(

The module header
-----------------
This  structure must exist at the beginning of each MED module file.  Each of
the structure members are described below.

In  multi-modules,  there  are header structs for each song.  (The subsequent
header  pointers  can  be found from expdata structure.  Multi-modules should
have  the  same  smplarr  pointer  in  every  header.) Older MEDs which don't
recognize  multi-modules  consider a multi-module as an ordinary module (only
the first song is loaded).

The numbers enclosed in /* */ at the beginning of each line are (decimal)
offsets of each member (for assembly programmers).

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
struct MMD0 {
/* 0 */     ULONG   id;
/* 4 */     ULONG   modlen;
/* 8 */     struct MMD0song *song;
/* 12 */    ULONG   reserved0;
/* 16 */    struct MMD0Block **blockarr;
/* 20 */    ULONG   reserved1;
/* 24 */    struct InstrHdr **smplarr;
/* 28 */    ULONG   reserved2;
/* 32 */    struct MMD0exp *expdata;
/* 36 */    ULONG   reserved3;
/* 40 */    UWORD   pstate;  /* some data for the player routine */
/* 42 */    UWORD   pblock;
/* 44 */    UWORD   pline;
/* 46 */    UWORD   pseqnum;
/* 48 */    WORD    actplayline;
/* 50 */    UBYTE   counter;
/* 51 */    UBYTE   extra_songs; /* number of songs - 1 */
}; /* length = 52 bytes */

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
id
--
This longword is used to identify the MMD and its version.  Currently defined
MMD  types are MMD0 (0x4D4D4430) and MMD1 (0x4D4D4431).  MMD2 and upwards are
reserved for future versions.

In  multi-modules,  the  following  modules usually contain id MCNT, or MCN1.
The first module always has MMD0 or MMD1 as an id.

modlen
------
This longword contains the length of the entire module.

song
----
Pointer to a MMD0song structure. This structure MUST ALWAYS EXIST!

blockarr
--------
Pointer to a table of block pointers. For example:
    blockarr:  $00003000
            block 0 ptr block 1 ptr block 2 ptr
offset  $00003000:  $00002000,  $00002400,  $00002800 ....

offset  $00002000: block 0 data...
offset  $00002400: block 1 data...
..
The size of the table is MMD0song.numblocks longwords.

smplarr
-------
Pointer to a table of instrument pointers. The size of the table is
MMD0song.songlen longwords. This pointer is zero in OctaMED Pro MMD1 songs.
In this case, OctaMED Pro loads the instruments from disk(s).

expdata
-------
Pointer to an expansion structure.  The expansion structure contains a lot of
extra  information.   The  exp.   structure does not exist in all MMD's.  (Be
sure to check the pointer before using it.)

pstate, pblock, pline, pseqnum, actplayline, counter
----------------------------------------------------
These  are  variables for the play routine.  You can read these fields to get
the  current  song  position  (not all versions of the play routine use these
fields,  however).   When writing a MMD, you should leave all fields to zero,
except the 'actplayline', which ought to be -1 ($FFFF).

extra_songs
-----------
This  field  contains  the  number  of  songs  in  the  current  module.  For
non-multi-modules,  this  is 0.  If there are two songs, extra_songs contains
1, and so on.

reserved0,1,2,3
---------------
Not currently defined. Set to zero.


The song structure (MMD0song)
-----------------------------
This  structure contains the basic information about the song.  It must exist
on every module file.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
struct MMD0song {
    struct MMD0sample sample[63];   /* 63 * 8 bytes = 504 bytes */
    UWORD   numblocks;      /* offs: 504 */
    UWORD   songlen;        /* offs: 506 */
    UBYTE   playseq[256];       /* offs: 508 */
    UWORD   deftempo;       /* offs: 764 */
    BYTE    playtransp;     /* offs: 766 */
    UBYTE   flags;          /* offs: 767 */
    UBYTE   flags2;         /* offs: 768 */
    UBYTE   tempo2;         /* offs: 769 */
    UBYTE   trkvol[16];     /* offs: 770 */
    UBYTE   mastervol;      /* offs: 786 */
    UBYTE   numsamples;     /* offs: 787 */
}; /* length = 788 bytes */

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
sample
------
Contains some basic info about each sample. The structure looks like this:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    struct MMD0sample {
        UWORD rep,replen;   /* offs: 0(s), 2(s) */
        UBYTE midich;       /* offs: 4(s) */
        UBYTE midipreset;   /* offs: 5(s) */
        UBYTE svol;     /* offs: 6(s) */
        BYTE strans;        /* offs: 7(s) */
    };

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    rep     repeat start offset, shifted right one bit (as in
            Protracker).
    replen      repeat length, shifted right one bit.
    midich      MIDI channel for current instrument, 0 if not MIDI.
    midipreset  MIDI preset number for current instrument, 0 if no
            preset.
    svol        default volume for current instrument (0 - 64).
    strans      instrument transpose value.

More information is defined in expdata structure.

numblocks
---------
Number  of  blocks  in current song.  This field also indicates the length of
the blockarr table in longwords.

songlen
-------
Song length (number of sequence numbers in the play sequence list).

playseq
-------
This is the play sequence list.

deftempo
--------
Default  song  tempo (the leftmost tempo slider in MED/OctaMED).  If BPM mode
is on, this value indicates BPM.

playtransp
----------
The global play transpose value for current song.

flags
-----
Contains many single-bit flags:
    FLAG_FILTERON   0x1 the hardware audio filter is on
    FLAG_JUMPINGON  0x2 mouse pointer jumping on (not in OctaMED Pro)
    FLAG_JUMP8TH    0x4 jump every 8th line (not in OctaMED Pro)
    FLAG_INSTRSATT  0x8     sng+samples indicator (not useful in MMD's)
    FLAG_VOLHEX 0x10    volumes are HEX
    FLAG_STSLIDE    0x20    use ST/NT/PT compatible sliding
    FLAG_8CHANNEL   0x40    this is OctaMED 5-8 channel song

    (bit 0x80 is not defined, and must be set to zero)

flags2
------
More flags, currently only BPM stuff:
    FLAG2_BMASK 0x1F (bits 0-4)     BPM beat length (in lines)
                        0 = 1 line, $1F = 32 lines.
                    (The rightmost slider in OctaMED Pro
                     BPM mode.)
    FLAG2_BPM   0x20    BPM mode on

    (bits 0x40 and 0x80 are not defined, and must be set to zero)

tempo2
------
This is the "secondary tempo" (the rightmost MED/OctaMED tempo slider),
indicating the number of timing pulses per line.

trkvol[16]
----------
The relative track volumes (1 - 64) for each track.

mastervol
---------
The relative master volume (1 - 64).

numsamples
----------
Number  of instruments (samples/synthsounds) in current song.  Also indicates
the size of the smplarr table in longwords.


The block format
----------------
As  described above, MMD0 header structure contains a pointer (blockarr) to a
table of block pointers.  These block pointers point to the actual block data
structures.  The format of these data structures differ in MMD0 and MMD1 file
formats.

MMD0 block format
-----------------
At the beginning of each block, there's a small header:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    struct MMD0Block {
        UBYTE numtracks,lines;
    };

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    numtracks   number of tracks (4, 8, 12 or 16) on this block
    lines       number of lines on this block; 0 = 1 line,
            255 = 256 lines

Following  this  header,  there is the actual note data, consisting of 3-byte
structures  containing  a  note  and  its  command.   The  data  is  arranged
sequentially a line at a time, i.e. in the following order:
    line 0 track 0
    line 0 track 1
    line 0 track 2
    line 0 track 3
    line 1 track 0
    line 1 track 1
    ...
The 3-byte structure looks like this (each letter corresponds to one bit):

    xynnnnnn iiiicccc dddddddd

    n = note number (0 - $3F). 0 = ---, 1 = C-1, 2 = C#1...
    i = the low 4 bits of the instrument number
    x = the 5th bit (#4) of the instrument number
    y = the 6th bit (#5) of the instrument number
    c = command number (0 - $F)
    d = databyte ($00 - $FF)

MMD1 block format
-----------------
MMD1  block format can contain a lot more information than MMD0's.  The block
header looks like this:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    struct MMD1Block {
        UWORD numtracks;
        UWORD lines;
        struct BlockInfo *info;
    };

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    numtracks   Number of tracks in this block (4, 8, 12, or 16).
    lines       Number of lines in this block (0 = 1 line etc.).
            OctaMED Pro can handle upto 3200 lines/block, so
            this is obviously the practical upper limit.
    info        Pointer to structure containing extra information.
            (Can be NULL, if no BlockInfo struct exists).

    The BlockInfo structure is:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    struct BlockInfo {
        ULONG   *hlmask;
        UBYTE   *blockname;
        ULONG   blocknamelen;
        ULONG   reserved[6];
    };

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    hlmask      Pointer to an array of longwords, containing info
            about line highlighting (TAB key on MED). The number
            of longwords depend on the number of lines on the
            block. (E.g: 1 line -> 1 longword, 32 lines -> 1 lw,
            33 lines -> 2 lws, 256 lines -> 4 lws)
            The bits in the longwords are arranged in reversed
            order (e.g. bit #0 = line 0, bit #31 = line 31).

    blockname   Pointer to the name of the block. Must be null-
            terminated.

    blocknamelen    Length of the block name, including the terminating
            zero. OctaMED Pro currently has the maximum length of
            41 chars (+ zero). However, this may change in the
            future. Don't read blocknames longer than you are
            able to handle!

    reserved[6] These are reserved for future extensions. Must be set
            to zero.

    The note structures, which are 4 bytes long in MMD1 modules, are
    arranged exactly as in MMD0 modules.

        xnnnnnnn xxiiiiii cccccccc dddddddd

    n = note number (0 - $7F, 0 = ---, 1 = C-1...)
    i = instrument number (0 - $3F)
    c = command ($00 - $FF)
    d = databyte ($00 - $FF)
    x = undefined, reserved for future expansion. MUST BE SET TO ZERO,
        AND MASKED OUT WHEN READING THE NOTE OR INSTRUMENT NUMBER.


The instrument format
---------------------
The  MMD0  header  structure  contains  a  pointer  (smplarr)  to  a table of
instrument  pointers.   These  pointers  point  to the actual instrument data
structures.   If an instrument pointer is zero, there's no instrument in that
slot.

Every  instrument  has a six-byte header structure, which is the same for all
instrument types (sample/synth/hybrid).

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    struct InstrHdr {
        ULONG   length;
        WORD    type;
        /* Followed by actual data */
    };

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    length      indicates the length of the instrument (the six byte
            header data length is not included)
    type        instrument type - currently the following types are
            defined:

        HYBRID      -2
        SYNTHETIC   -1
        SAMPLE      0   (an ordinary 1-octave sample)
        IFF5OCT     1   (5 octaves)
        IFF3OCT     2   (3 octaves)
        (The following ones are recognized by OctaMED Pro only)
        IFF2OCT     3   (2 octaves)
        IFF4OCT     4   (4 octaves)
        IFF6OCT     5   (6 octaves)
        IFF7OCT     6   (7 octaves)

The sample-type instruments (>= 0) contain the actual sample data straight
after the header structure.

Synthetic instruments
---------------------
Synthsounds  have  a  special  structure  of  their  own.   They also contain
waveforms and pointers to them.  Therefore, relocation is required.  However,
there's  an  important  difference:  pointers are expressed as an offset from
the  beginning  of  the  synthsound,  NOT  the  beginning of the module.  The
'reloc.a' routine provided with MED/OctaMED automatically handles this.

The synthsound structure is as follows (note that this structure contains the
header structure):

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    struct SynthInstr {
        ULONG   length;     /* length of this struct */
        WORD    type;       /* -1 or -2 (offs: 4) */
        UBYTE   defaultdecay;
        UBYTE   reserved[3];
        UWORD   rep;
        UWORD   replen;
        UWORD   voltbllen;  /* offs: 14 */
        UWORD   wftbllen;   /* offs: 16 */
        UBYTE   volspeed;   /* offs: 18 */
        UBYTE   wfspeed;    /* offs: 19 */
        UWORD   wforms;     /* offs: 20 */
        UBYTE   voltbl[128];    /* offs: 22 */
        UBYTE   wftbl[128]; /* offs: 150 */
        struct  SynthWF *wf[64]; /* offs: 278 */
    };

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    defaultdecay    = the default decay of the current synthsound. This
              is NOT used in modules. It's significant only when
              saving a single synthsound.

    reserved[3] = set to zero.

    rep, replen = repeat/rep. length for hybrid sounds. Used only
              when saving a single hybrid sound.

    voltbllen   = the length of the volume sequence table.

    wftbllen    = the length of the waveform sequence table.

    volspeed    = the initial volume table execution speed.

    wfspeed     = the initial waveform table execution speed.

    wforms      = the number of waveforms in the current synthsound.

    voltbl      = the actual volume sequence table. Values $00-$7F
              are volumes or command arguments. Values >= $80 are
              commands. The following commands are currently
              defined:
                $FF END     $F4 EN1
                $FE JMP     $F3 CHU
                $FB HLT     $F2 CHD
                $FA JWS     $F1 WAI
                $F6 EST     $F0 SPD
                $F5 EN2

    wftbl       = the actual waveform sequence table. Values $00-$7F
              are waveform numbers  or command arguments. Values
              >= $80 are commands. The following commands are
              currently defined:
                $FF END     $F6 RES
                $FE JMP     $F5 VBS
                $FD ARE     $F4 VBD
                $FC ARP     $F3 CHU
                $FB HLT     $F2 CHD
                $FA JVS     $F1 WAI
                $F7 VWF     $F0 SPD

    wf      = pointers to waveforms. (Once again: relative to the
              beginning of the synthsound!) A waveform structure
              is as follows:

                struct SynthWF {
                    UWORD length;   /* length in words */
                    BYTE  wfdata[xx]; /* the waveform */
                };

                (where xx = length in bytes)

              In hybrid sounds, however, wf[0] is different.

Hybrid instruments
------------------
Hybrid  sounds  use  the same structure as synthsounds, except that the first
waveform  (wf[0])  pointer  points to a sample.  (The sample header structure
exists, as usual.)


MMD0exp - the key to future expansions
--------------------------------------
For  possible  future  expansions,  I  designed  a structure for carrying the
miscellaneous things that were added to MED/OctaMED now and then.  (MED V3.00
was the first version, which wrote this structure.) Most of its fields are in
use  now,  but it's possible to even expand this structure (things will get a
bit more tricky, though).

In multi-modules, you should extract all data from the expansion structure of
the  first  song.   The  only  exceptions  are  currently  the  'nextmod' and
'songname' fields, which are song-specific.

Also,  there  has  been  need  for  extending the MMD0sample structure.  Both
InstrExt  and  MMDInstrInfo  provide extra information about the instruments.
These  are  defined as structure arrays (exp_smp and iinfo point to the first
structure).  The extension structures don't have a constant size, instead you
have  to  read s_ext_entrsz or i_ext_entrsz to get the structure sizes.  When
reading,  you  have to check the entrsz fields to see which structure members
do exist.

The  difference  between  InstrExt and MMDInstrInfo is that InstrExt contains
information the play-routine is interested in (e.g.  finetune).  MMDInstrInfo
contains  "secondary"  information,  which is of no use to the player routine
(e.g.  instrument name).

The expansion structure follows:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    struct MMD0exp {
        struct MMD0 *nextmod;
        struct InstrExt *exp_smp;
        UWORD  s_ext_entries;
        UWORD  s_ext_entrsz;
        UBYTE  *annotxt;
        ULONG  annolen;
        struct MMDInstrInfo *iinfo;
        UWORD  i_ext_entries;
        UWORD  i_ext_entrsz;
        ULONG  jumpmask;
        UWORD  *rgbtable;
        UBYTE  channelsplit[4];
        struct NotationInfo *n_info;
        UBYTE  *songname;
        ULONG  songnamelen;
        struct MMDDumpData *dumps;
        ULONG  reserved2[7];
    };

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    nextmod     = pointer to the next module (or zero). (Only used in
              multi-modules!)

    exp_smp     = pointer to InstrExt. Currently the first four bytes
              of InstrExt have been defined:

                struct InstrExt {
                    UBYTE hold;
                    UBYTE decay;
                    UBYTE suppress_midi_off;
                    BYTE  finetune;
                };

                hold, decay = hold/decay values of the
                          instrument

                suppress_midi_off = 0 (FALSE) or not (TRUE)

                finetune    = instrument finetune (-8-+7)

    s_ext_entries   = the size of InstrExt structure array (i.e. the
              number of InstrExt structures).

    s_ext_entrsz    = the size of each InstrExt structure (in bytes).

    annotxt     = pointer to the annotation text (null-terminated).

    annolen     = length of 'annotxt', including the terminating \0.

    iinfo       = pointer to MMDInstrInfo. Currently the first forty
              bytes have been defined:

                struct MMDInstrInfo {
                    UBYTE   name[40];
                };

                name = null-terminated instrument name

    i_ext_entries   = the size of the MMDInstrInfo struct array (i.e. the
              number of MMDInstrInfo structures).

    i_ext_entrsz    = the size of each MMDInstrInfo struct in bytes.

    jumpmask    = a mask controlling which instruments cause the
              mouse pointer to jump. E.g. bit #1 = instr. #1.
              This field has become obsolete in OctaMED Pro.

    rgbtable    = pointer to eight UWORDs (screen colors) to be
              passed to LoadRGB4() routine.

    channelsplit    = this longword is divided to four boolean bytes,
              controlling channel splitting in OctaMED 5 - 8 chnl
              modes. (A non-zero byte means that the channel is
              NOT splitted.) Currently only the following
              combinations should be used:

              0x00000000 (8 channels (or normal 4 channel mode))
              0x000000FF (7 channels)
              0x0000FFFF (6 channels)
              0x00FFFFFF (5 channels)

    n_info      = pointer to NotationInfo structure (used only in
              OctaMED V2.0 and later). It contains some info for
              the notation editor.

                struct NotationInfo {
                    UBYTE n_of_sharps;
                    UBYTE flags;
                    WORD  trksel[5];
                    UBYTE trkshow[16];
                    UBYTE trkghost[16];
                    BYTE  notetr[63];
                    UBYTE pad;
                };

              n_of_sharps   = number of sharps or flats (0 - 6)
              flags     = misc. bits, these are defined:
                        NFLG_FLAT   1
                    (= use flats instead of sharps)
                        NFLG_3_4    2
                    (= display 12 lines instead of 16)

              trksel    = the number of the selected track,
                      for each display preset
                        (-1 = no track selected)

              trkshow   = tracks shown (five bits used in
                      each byte, bit #0 = preset 1, etc.)

              trkghost  = tracks ghosted (as in 'trkshow')

              notetr    = note transpose value for each
                      instrument (-24 - +24). If bit 6 is
                      negated, the instrument is hidden.

              pad       = possibly holding info about struct
                      expansions in the future. Don't
                      touch!

    songname    = song name of the current song (0-terminated).
              Each song of a multi-module can have a different
              name.

    songnamelen = song name length (including the terminating zero).

    dumps       = MIDI dump data (created using OctaMED Pro MIDI
              message editor). The 'dumps' field points to the
              following struct:

                struct MMDDumpData {
                    UWORD   numdumps;
                    UWORD   reserved[3];
                };

              Immediately after this struct, there are 'numdumps'
              pointers to the following struct:

                struct MMDDump {
                    ULONG   length;
                    UBYTE   *data;
                    UWORD   ext_len;
                    /* if ext_len >= 20: */
                    UBYTE   name[20];
                };

              length    = length of the MIDI message dump.

              data      = pointer to the actual MIDI dump
                      data.

              ext_len   = MMDDump struct extension length.
                      For flexible future expansion.

              (if ext_len >= 20, the following fields exist)

              name      = name of the dump.

    reserved2   = future expansion fields, that MUST be zero now.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Finally, here is a collection of the most important rules you should obey
when handling MMD's:

    * ALWAYS USE POINTERS, NOT ABSOLUTE OFFSETS.

    * CHECK THAT A POINTER IS NONZERO BEFORE ACCESSING ANYTHING IT
      POINTS TO.

    * WHEN WRITING, SET UNDEFINED/RESERVED BITS AND BYTES TO ZERO.
      WHEN READING, MASK OUT UNDEFINED BITS, AND DON'T USE UNDEFINED
      FIELDS.

    * WHEN WRITING, ALWAYS ALIGN EVERYTHING TO EVEN BOUNDARIES.

    * WHEN WRITING, ALWAYS WRITE THE SONG STRUCTURE.

    * REMEMBER TO HANDLE ERROR SITUATIONS CORRECTLY (IN ALL PROGRAMS,
      NOT ONLY WHEN HANDLING MMDs ;^)

If  you  don't  understand  some  part  of this file completely, try saving a
module using MED, and then examine the file with a file editor.  This way you
can learn easily about the file format of MED/OctaMED.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

I  hope this document will help programmers who wish to be able to handle
modules  in  their  programs.   NOTE! This text file is PUBLIC DOMAIN. All
distribution of this file,via the pd is strongly encouraged.  Thank you!

    Teijo Kinnunen
    Oksantie 19
    SF-86300  OULAINEN
    FINLAND

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

-----------------------------------------------------------------

[C.4.2]     MIDI
            ----

>From: johnj@echo.philips.nl (John Janssen)
>Newsgroups: alt.sb.programmer,comp.os.ms-windows.programmer.misc
>Subject: Re: wanted MIDI File Standard
>Keywords: MIDI, File Format
>Date: 25 Sep 92 12:42:04 GMT
>Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation, E.C.H.O. development department

As the question for the MIDIFILE specs has been done quite often lately,
I am posting something I got from the net as well. It includes it all,
although it might be tough reading.

John
=----------------------------------8<--------------------------------
[This document is Dave Oppenheim's current version of the MIDI file
specification, as sent to those who have participated in its
development.  The consensus seems to be to submit this to the MIDI
Manufacturers' Association as version 1.0.  I apologize for any loss of
clarity that might have occurred in the conversion from a Microsoft Word
document to this pure text file.  I have removed some of the discussion
about recent changes to the specification in order to keep the file size
reasonable.--Doug Wyatt]

Standard MIDI Files 0.06        March 1, 1988


0  Introduction

This describes a proposed standard MIDI file format.  MIDI files contain
one or more MIDI streams, with time information for each event.  Song,
sequence, and track structures, tempo and time signature information,
are all supported.  Track names and other descriptive information may be
stored with the MIDI data.  This format supports multiple tracks and
multiple sequences so that if the user of a program which supports
multiple tracks intends to move a file to another one, this format can
allow that to happen.

This spec defines the 8-bit binary data stream used in the file.  The
data can be stored in a binary file, nibbleized, 7-bit-ized for
efficient MIDI transmission, converted to Hex ASCII, or translated
symbolically to a printable text file.  This spec addresses what's in
the 8-bit stream.


1  Sequences, Tracks, Chunks:  File Block Structure

Sequence files are made up of chunks.  Each chunk has a 4-character type
and a 32-bit length, which is the number of bytes in the chunk.  On the
Macintosh, data is passed either in the data fork of a file, or on the
Clipboard.  (The file type on the Macintosh for a file in this format
will be "Midi".)  On any other computer, the data is simply the contents
of the file.  This structure allows future chunk types to be designed
which may easily be ignored if encountered by a program written before
the chunk type is introduced.   Your programs should expect alien chunks
and treat them as if they weren't there.

This proposal defines two types of chunks:  a header chunk and a track
chunk.  A header chunk provides a minimal amount of information
pertaining to the entire MIDI file.  A track chunk contains a sequential
stream of MIDI data which may contain information for up to 16 MIDI
channels.  The concepts of multiple tracks, multiple MIDI outputs,
patterns, sequences, and songs may all be implemented using several
track chunks.

A MIDI file always starts with a header chunk, and is followed by one or
more track chunks.

MThd  <length of header data>
<header data>
MTrk  <length of track data>
<track data>
MTrk  <length of track data>
<track data>
 ...

Track Data Format (MTrk chunk type)

The MTrk chunk type is where actual song data is stored.  It is simply a
stream of MIDI events (and non-MIDI events), preceded by delta-time
values.

Some numbers in MTrk chunks are represented in a form called a variable-
length quantity. These numbers are represented 7 bits per byte, most
significant bits first.  All bytes except the last have bit 7 set, and
the last byte has bit 7 clear.  If the number is between 0 and 127,  it
is thus represented exactly as one byte.

Here are some examples of numbers represented as variable-length
quantities:

        Number (hex)    Representation (hex)
        00000000        00
        00000040        40
        0000007F        7F
        00000080        81 00
        00002000        C0 00
        00003FFF        FF 7F
        00004000        81 80 00
        00100000        C0 80 00
        001FFFFF        FF FF 7F
        00200000        81 80 80 00
        08000000        C0 80 80 00
        0FFFFFFF        FF FF FF 7F
        

The largest number which is allowed is 0FFFFFFF so that the variable-
length representation must fit in 32 bits in a routine to write
variable-length numbers.  Theoretically, larger numbers are possible,
but 2 x 108 96ths of a beat at a fast tempo of 500 beats per minute is
four days, long enough for any delta-time!

Here is the syntax of an MTrk chunk:

<track data> = <MTrk event>+

<MTrk event> = <delta-time> <event>

<delta-time> is stored as a variable-length quantity.  It represents the
amount of time before the following event.  If the first event in a
track occurs at the very beginning of a track, or if two events occur
simultaneously, a delta-time of zero is used.  Delta-times are always
present.  (Not storing delta-times of 0 requires at least two bytes for
any other value, and most delta-times aren't zero.)  Delta-time is in
some fraction of a beat (or a second, for recording a track with SMPTE
times), as specified in the header chunk.

<event> = <MIDI event> | <sysex event> | <meta-event>

<MIDI event> is any MIDI channel message.  Running status is used:
status bytes may be omitted after the first byte.  The first event in a
file must specify status.  Delta-time is not  considered an event
itself:  it is an integral part of the specification.  Notice that
running status occurs across delta-times.

<meta-event> specifies non-MIDI information useful to this format or to
sequencers, with this syntax:

        FF <type> <length> <bytes>

All meta-events begin with FF, then have an event type byte (which is
always less than 128), and then have the length of the data stored as a
variable-length quantity, and then the data itself.  If there is no
data, the length is 0.  As with sysex events, running status is not
allowed.  As with chunks, future meta-events may be designed which may
not be known to existing programs, so programs must properly ignore
meta-events which they do not recognize, and indeed, should expect to
see them.  New for 0.06:  programs must never ignore the length of a
meta-event which they do recognize, and they shouldn't be surprised if
it's bigger than they expected.  If so, they must ignore everything past
what they know about.  However, they must not add anything of their own
to the end of a meta-event.

<sysex event> is used to specify a MIDI system exclusive message, or as
an "escape" to specify any arbitrary bytes to be transmitted.
Unfortunately, some synthesizer manufacturers specify that their system
exclusive messages are to be transmitted as little packets.  Each packet
is only part of an entire syntactical system exclusive message, but the
times they are transmitted at are important.  Examples of this are the
bytes sent in a CZ patch dump, or the FB-01's "system exclusive mode" in
which microtonal data can be transmitted.  To be able to handle
situations like these, two forms of  <sysex event> are provided:

        F0 <length> <bytes to be transmitted after F0>
        F7 <length> <all bytes to be transmitted>

In both cases, <length> is stored as a variable-length quantity.  It is
equal to the number of bytes following it, not including itself or the
message type (F0 or F7), but all the bytes which follow, including any
F7 at the end which is intended to be transmitted.  The first form, with
the F0 code, is used for syntactically complete system exclusive
messages, or the first packet an a series Q that is, messages in which
the F0 should be transmitted.  The second form is used for the remainder
of the packets within a syntactic sysex message, which do not begin with
F0.  Of course, the F7 is not considered part of the system exclusive
message.  Of course, just as in MIDI, running status is not allowed, in
this case because the length is stored as a variable-length quantity
which may or may not start with bit 7 set.

(New to 0.06)  A syntactic system exclusive message must always end with
an F7, even if the real-life device didn't send one, so that you know
when you've reached the end of an entire sysex message without looking
ahead to the next event in the MIDI file.  This principle is repeated
and illustrated in the paragraphs below.

The vast majority of system exclusive messages will just use the F0
format.  For instance, the transmitted message F0 43 12 00 07 F7 would
be stored in a MIDI file as F0 05 43 12 00 07 F7.  As mentioned above,
it is required to include the F7 at the end so that the reader of the
MIDI file knows that it has read the entire message.

For special situations when a single system exclusive message is split
up, with parts of it being transmitted at different times, such as in a
Casio CZ patch transfer, or the FB-01's "system exclusive mode", the F7
form of sysex event is used for each packet except the first.  None of
the packets would end with an F7 except the last one, which must end
with an F7.  There also must not be any transmittable MIDI events in-
between the packets of a multi-packet system exclusive message.  Here is
an example:  suppose the bytes F0 43 12 00 were to be sent, followed by
a 200-tick delay, followed by the bytes  43 12 00 43 12 00, followed by
a 100-tick delay, followed by the bytes  43 12 00 F7, this would be in
the MIDI File:

        F0 03 43 12 00
        81 48                                   200-tick delta-time
        F7 06 43 12 00 43 12 00
        64                                      100-tick delta-time
        F7 04 43 12 00 F7

The F7 event may also be used as an "escape" to transmit any bytes
whatsoever, including real-time bytes, song pointer, or MIDI Time Code,
which are not permitted normally in this specification.  No effort
should be made to interpret the bytes used in this way.  Since a system
exclusive message is not being transmitted, it is not necessary or
appropriate to end the F7 event with an F7 in this case.


2    Header Chunk

The header chunk at the beginning of the file specifies some basic
information about the data in the file.  The data section contains three
16-bit words, stored high byte first (of course).  Here's the syntax of
the complete chunk:

        <chunk type> <length> <format> <ntrks> <division>

As described above, <chunk type> is the four ASCII characters 'MThd';
<length> is a 32-bit representation of the number 6 (high byte first).
The first word, format, specifies the overall organization of the file.
Only three values of format are specified:

        0       the file contains a single multi-channel track
        1       the file contains one or more simultaneous tracks (or MIDI
outputs) of a sequence
        2       the file contains one or more sequentially independent
single-track patterns

The next word, ntrks, is the number of track chunks in the file.  The
third word, division,  is the division of a quarter-note represented by
the delta-times in the file.  (If division is negative, it represents
the division of a second represented by the delta-times in the file, so
that the track can represent events occurring in actual time instead of
metrical time.  It is represented in the following way:  the upper byte
is one of the four values -24, -25, -29, or -30, corresponding to the
four standard SMPTE and MIDI time code formats, and represents the
number of frames per second.  The second byte (stored positive) is the
resolution within a frame:  typical values may be 4 (MIDI time code
resolution), 8, 10, 80 (bit resolution), or 100.  This system allows
exact specification of time-code-based tracks, but also allows
millisecond-based tracks by specifying 25 frames/sec and a resolution of
40 units per frame.)

Format 0, that is, one multi-channel track, is the most interchangeable
representation of data.  One application of MIDI files is a simple
single-track player in a program which needs to make synthesizers make
sounds, but which is primarily concerned with something else such as
mixers or sound effect boxes.  It is very desirable to be able to
produce such a format, even if your program is track-based, in order to
work with these simple programs.  On the other hand, perhaps someone
will write a format conversion from format 1 to format 0 which might be
so easy to use in some setting that it would save you the trouble of
putting it into your program.

Programs which support several simultaneous tracks should be able to
save and read data in format 1, a vertically one-dimensional form, that
is, as a collection of tracks.  Programs which support several
independent patterns should be able to save and read data in format 2, a
horizontally one-dimensional form.  Providing these minimum capabilities
will ensure maximum interchangeability.

MIDI files can express tempo and time signature, and they have been
chosen to do so for transferring tempo maps from one device to another.
For a format 0 file, the tempo will be scattered through the track and
the tempo map reader should ignore the intervening events; for a format
1 file, the tempo map must (starting in 0.04) be stored as the first
track.  It is polite to a tempo map reader to offer your user the
ability to make a format 0 file with just the tempo, unless you can use
format 1.

All MIDI files should specify tempo and time signature.  If they don't,
the time signature is assumed to be 4/4, and the tempo 120 beats per
minute.  In format 0, these meta-events should occur at least at the
beginning of the single multi-channel track.  In format 1, these meta-
events should be contained in the first track.  In format 2, each of the
temporally independent patterns should contain at least initial time
signature and tempo information.

We may decide to define other format IDs to support other structures.  A
program reading an unfamiliar format ID should return an error to the
user rather than trying to read further.

3    Meta-Events

A few meta-events are defined herein.  It is not required for every
program to support every meta-event.  Meta-events initially defined
include:

FF 00 02 ssss   Sequence Number
This optional event, which must occur at the beginning of a track,
before any nonzero delta-times, and before any transmittable MIDI
events, specifies the number of a sequence.  The number in this track
corresponds to the sequence number in the new Cue message discussed at
the summer 1987 MMA meeting.  In a format 2 MIDI file, it is used to
identify each "pattern" so that a "song" sequence using the Cue message
to refer to the patterns.  If the ID numbers are omitted, the sequences'
locations in order in the file are used as defaults.  In a format 0 or 1
MIDI file, which only contain one sequence, this number should be
contained in the first (or only) track.  If transfer of several
multitrack sequences is required, this must be done as a group of format
1 files, each with a different sequence number.

FF 01 len text  Text Event
Any amount of text describing anything.  It is a good idea to put a text
event right at the beginning of a track, with the name of the track, a
description of its intended orchestration, and any other information
which the user wants to put there.  Text events may also occur at other
times in a track, to be used as lyrics, or descriptions of cue points.
The text in this event should be printable ASCII characters for maximum
interchange.  However, other character codes using the high-order bit
may be used for interchange of files between different programs on the
same computer which supports an extended character set.  Programs on a
computer which does not support non-ASCII characters should ignore those
characters.

(New for 0.06 ).  Meta event types 01 through 0F are reserved for
various types of text events, each of which meets the specification of
text events(above) but is used for a different purpose:

FF 02 len text  Copyright Notice
Contains a copyright notice as printable ASCII text.  The notice should
contain the characters (C), the year of the copyright, and the owner of
the copyright.  If several pieces of music are in the same MIDI file,
all of the copyright notices should be placed together in this event so
that it will be at the beginning of the file.  This event should be the
first event in the first track chunk, at time 0.


FF 03 len text  Sequence/Track Name
If in a format 0 track, or the first track in a format 1 file, the name
of the sequence.  Otherwise, the name of the track.

FF 04 len text  Instrument Name
A description of the type of instrumentation to be used in that track.
May be used with the MIDI Prefix meta-event to specify which MIDI
channel the description applies to, or the channel may be specified as
text in the event itself.

FF 05 len text  Lyric
A lyric to be sung.  Generally, each syllable will be a separate lyric
event which begins at the event's time.

FF 06 len text  Marker
Normally in a format 0 track, or the first track in a format 1 file.
The name of that point in the sequence, such as a rehearsal letter or
section name ("First Verse", etc.).


FF 07 len text  Cue Point
A description of something happening on a film or video screen or stage
at that point in the musical score ("Car crashes into house", "curtain
opens", "she slaps his face", etc.)

FF 2F 00        End of Track
This event is not optional.  It is included so that an exact ending
point may be specified for the track, so that it has an exact length,
which is necessary for tracks which are looped or concatenated.

FF 51 03 tttttt         Set Tempo, in microseconds per MIDI quarter-note
This event indicates a tempo change.  Another way of putting
"microseconds per quarter-note" is "24ths of a microsecond per MIDI
clock".  Representing tempos as time per beat instead of beat per time
allows absolutely exact long-term synchronization with a time-based sync
protocol such as SMPTE time code or MIDI time code.  This amount of
accuracy provided by this tempo resolution allows a four-minute piece at
120 beats per minute to be accurate within 500 usec at the end of the
piece.  Ideally, these events should only occur where MIDI clocks would
be located Q this convention is intended to guarantee, or at least
increase the likelihood, of compatibility with other synchronization
devices so that a time signature/tempo map stored in this format may
easily be transferred to another device.

FF 54 05 hr mn se fr ff SMPTE Offset  (New in 0.06 - SMPTE Format
specification)
This event, if present, designates the SMPTE time at which the track
chunk is supposed to start.  It should be present at the beginning of
the track, that is, before any nonzero delta-times, and before any
transmittable MIDI events.  The hour must be encoded with the SMPTE
format, just as it is in MIDI Time Code.  In a format 1 file, the SMPTE
Offset must be stored with the tempo map, and has no meaning in any of
the other tracks.  The ff field contains fractional frames, in 100ths of
a frame, even in SMPTE-based tracks which specify a different frame
subdivision for delta-times.

FF 58 04 nn dd cc bb    Time Signature
The time signature is expressed as four numbers.  nn and dd represent
the numerator and denominator of the time signature as it would be
notated.  The denominator is a negative power of two:  2 represents a
quarter-note, 3 represents an eighth-note, etc.  The cc parameter
expresses the number of MIDI clocks in a metronome click.  The bb
parameter expresses the number of notated 32nd-notes in a MIDI quarter-
note (24 MIDI Clocks).  This was added because there are already
multiple programs which allow the user to specify that what MIDI thinks
of as a quarter-note (24 clocks) is to be notated as, or related to in
terms of, something else.

Therefore, the complete event for 6/8 time, where the metronome clicks
every three eighth-notes, but there are 24 clocks per quarter-note, 72
to the bar, would be (in hex):

        FF 58 04 06 03 24 08

That is, 6/8 time (8 is 2 to the 3rd power, so this is 06 03), 32 MIDI
clocks per dotted-quarter (24 hex!), and eight notated 32nd-notes per
MIDI quarter note.

FF 59 02 sf mi  Key Signature
        sf = -7:  7 flats
        sf = -1:  1 flat
        sf = 0:  key of C
        sf = 1:  1 sharp
        sf = 7: 7 sharps

        mi = 0:  major key
        mi = 1:  minor key

FF 7F len data  Sequencer-Specific Meta-Event

        Special requirements for particular sequencers may use this
event type:  the first byte or bytes of data is a manufacturer ID.
However, as this is an interchange format, growth of the spec proper is
preferred to use of this event type.  This type of event may be used by
a sequencer which elects to use this as its only file format;
sequencers with their established feature-specific formats should
probably stick to the standard features when using this format.

4   Program Fragments and Example MIDI Files

Here are some of the routines to read and write variable-length numbers
in MIDI Files.  These routines are in C, and use getc and putc, which
read and write single 8-bit characters from/to the files infile and
outfile.

WriteVarLen (value)
register long value;
{
        register long buffer;

        buffer = value & 0x7f;
        while ((value >>= 7) > 0)
        {
                buffer <<= 8;
                buffer |= 0x80;
                buffer += (value & 0x7f);
        }

        while (TRUE)
        {
                putc(buffer,outfile);
                if (buffer & 0x80)
                        buffer >>= 8;
                else
                        break;
        }
}
        
doubleword ReadVarLen ()
{
        register doubleword value;
        register byte c;
        
        if ((value = getc(infile)) & 0x80)
        {
                value &= 0x7f;
                do
                {
                        value = (value << 7) + ((c = getc(infile)) & 0x7f);
                } while (c & 0x80);
        }
        return (value);
}

As an example, MIDI Files for the following excerpt are shown below.
First, a format 0 file is shown, with all information intermingled;
then, a format 1 file is shown with all data separated into four tracks:
one for tempo and time signature, and three for the notes.  A resolution
of 96 "ticks" per quarter note is used.  A time signature of 4/4 and a
tempo of 120, though implied, are explicitly stated.



The contents of the MIDI stream represented by this example are broken
down here:

Delta Time(decimal)  Event Code (hex)   Other Bytes (decimal)   Comment
        0       FF 58   04 04 02 24 08          4 bytes: 4/4 time, 24 MIDI clocks/click,
                                                8 32nd notes/24 MIDI clocks
        0       FF 51   03 500000               3 bytes: 500,000 5sec per quarter-note
        0       C0      5                       Ch. 1 Program Change 5
        0       C0      5                       Ch. 1 Program Change 5
        0       C1      46                      Ch. 2 Program Change 46
        0       C2      70                      Ch. 3 Program Change 70
        0       92      48  96                  Ch. 3 Note On C2, forte
        0       92      60  96                  Ch. 3 Note On C3, forte
        96      91      67  64                  Ch. 2 Note On G3, mezzo-forte
        96      90      76  32                  Ch. 1 Note On E4, piano
        192     82      48  64                  Ch. 3 Note Off C2, standard
        0       82      60  64                  Ch. 3 Note Off C3, standard
        0       81      67  64                  Ch. 2 Note Off G3, standard
        0       80      76  64                  Ch. 1 Note Off E4, standard
        0       FF 2F   00              Track End

The entire format 0 MIDI file contents in hex follow.  First, the header
chunk:

        4D 54 68 64                     MThd
        00 00 00 06                     chunk length
        00 00                           format 0
        00 01                           one track
        00 60                           96 per quarter-note

Then, the track chunk.  Its header, followed by the events (notice that
running status is used in places):

        4D 54 72 6B                     MTrk
        00 00 00 3B                     chunk length (59)

    Delta-time  Event                           Comments
        00      FF 58 04 04 02 18 08            time signature
        00      FF 51 03 07 A1 20               tempo
        00      C0 05                           Ch. 1 Program Change 05
        00      C1 2E                           Ch. 2 Program Change 2E
        00      C2 46
        00      92 30 60                        Ch. 3 Note On
        00      3C 60                           running status
        60      91 43 40
        60      90 4C 20
        81 40   82 30 40                        two-byte delta-time
        00      3C 40                           running status
        00      81 43 40
        00      80 4C 40
        00      FF 2F 00                end of track

A format 1 representation of the file is slightly different.  Its header
chunk:

        4D 54 68 64                     MThd
        00 00 00 06                     chunk length
        00 01                           format 1
        00 04                           four tracks
        00 60                           96 per quarter-note

First, the track chunk for the time signature/tempo track.  Its header,
followed by the events:

        4D 54 72 6B                     MTrk
        00 00 00 14                     chunk length (20)

        Delta-time      Event                   Comments
        00      FF 58 04 04 02 18 08            time signature
        00      FF 51 03 07 A1 20               tempo
        83 00   FF 2F 00                end of track

Then, the track chunk for the first music track.  The MIDI convention
for note on/off running status is used in this example:

        4D 54 72 6B                     MTrk
        00 00 00 10                     chunk length (16)

        Delta-time      Event                   Comments
        00      C0 05
        81 40   90 4C 20
        81 40   4C 00                           Running status: note on, vel = 0
        00      FF 2F 00                end of track

Then, the track chunk for the second music track:

        4D 54 72 6B                     MTrk
        00 00 00 0F                     chunk length (15)

        Delta-time      Event   Comments
        00      C1 2E
        60      91 43 40
        82 20   43 00                           running status
        00      FF 2F 00                end of track

Then, the track chunk for the third music track:

        4D 54 72 6B                     MTrk
        00 00 00 15             chunk length (21)

        Delta-time      Event           Comments
        00      C2 46
        00      92 30 60
        00      3C 60                           running status
        83 00   30 00                           two-byte delta-time, running status
        00      3C 00                           running status
        00      FF 2F 00                end of track

5   MIDI Transmission of MIDI Files

Since it is inconvenient to exchange disks between different computers,
and since many computers which will use this format will have a MIDI
interface anyway, MIDI seems like a perfect way to send these files from
one computer to another.  And, while we're going through all the trouble
to make a way of sending MIDI Files, it would be nice if they could send
any files (like sampled sound files, text files, etc.)

Goals
The transmission protocol for MIDI files should be reasonably efficient,
should support fast transmission for computers which are capable of it,
and slower transmission for less powerful ones.  It should not be
impossible to convert a MIDI File to or from an arbitrary internal
representation on the fly as it is transmitted, but, as long as it is
not too difficult, it is very desirable to use a generic method so that
any file type could be accommodated.

To make the protocol efficient, the MIDI transmission of these files
will take groups of seven 8-bit bytes and transmit them as eight 7-bit
MIDI data bytes.  This is certainly in the spirit of the rest of this
format (keep it small, because it's not that hard to do).  To
accommodate a wide range of transmission speeds, files will be
transmitted in packets with acknowledge -- this allows data to be stored
to disk as it is received.  If the sender does not receive a response
>from a reader in a certain amount of time, it can assume an open-loop
situation, and then just continue.

The last edition of MIDI Files contained a specialized protocol for
sending just MIDI Files.  To meet a deadline, unfortunately I don't have
time right now to propose a new generalized protocol.  This will be done
within the next couple of months.  I would welcome any proposals anyone
else has, and would direct your attention to the proposal from Ralph
Muha of Kurzweil, available in a recent MMA bulletin, and also directly
>from him.

--
John Janssen         Email: johnj@echo.tds.philips.nl  <-- will stop soon(?)
The Netherlands      or:    John.Janssen@atehv.bso.nl  <-- starts Nov. 92
Work: +31 40 756425
Home: +31 77 513177  Atari Mega STE, PC 386 SX, MIDI, C

-----------------------------------------------------------------
<end of part 6>
<end of document>

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