'Messiah' Practice MP3 Files

Here's why...

• Most practice web sites provide their material only in MIDI format. This has several disadvantages...
• • Most portable audio devices don't support MIDI, so in order to listen to MIDI, you generally have to be tethered to your computer.
  • The players on those devices that do support MIDI use digital "instruments" that sound like something produced by a toy keyboard. So the sound of the MIDI practice pieces is, to put it bluntly, lousy.
• Those web sites that provide MP3 files (which can be downloaded to your portable audio device, such as an iPod) have generally just taken their poor-quality MIDI files and converted them to poor-quality MP3 files.
• Some web sites provide their practice pieces only with digitized piano accompaniment. Since we do our performances with a full orchestra, I felt it more useful to provide set of files that has full orchestral accompaniment.
• Other practice sites conform to other versions of the Messiah (e.g. Watkins Shaw). We use the Schirmer version in our sing-alongs, and so want practice pieces to conform to that version.
• We have no control (volume, tempo, wrong notes, etc.) over the material on other websites.
• Even if we did find an MP3 practice site that met our criteria, we have no control over its future availability. It could 'go away' at any time.

I felt that I could improve on what's already "out there", so on this web site you will find what I believe are practice files that are higher quality than what you'll find elsewhere on the internet. "Real" orchestral instruments have been used for both the orchestra accompaniment as well as the SATB voice parts (click here for more details on these "real" instruments). I have gone through each and every chorus, for every voice part, and done my utmost to ensure that every note agrees with the Schirmer score. I have also adjusted the tempos so that they come close to the tempos that we use in practices and performances. Hopefully you will find these files useful in your preparation for our annual performances.

As for the non-Chorus pieces, I wasn't as fussy with those in terms of ensuring exact adherance to the Schirmer edition. You will hear a few differences, mainly in that some of the MP3's have "improvisations" in places and are thus similar to how a soloist might "jazz" them up during a performance.

The easiest way to listen is to simply click a file of interest to listen to it on your computer or portable device (smart phone, iPad, etc). When listening on your computer headphones are recommended, since the built-in speaker in most home computers is about the size of a half-dollar coin and is designed more for producing a 'beep' sound than for reproducing high-fidelity audio.

If you download the files to your computer your options increase, as you can then...

• Listen to them over and over on your computer without the delay inherent in downloading them each time you want to listen.
• Copy the MP3 files to your MP3 player and take them with you on walks, in the car, etc.
• Copy the MP3 files to a memory stick (aka 'Jump Drive' or 'Thumb Drive') and play them in any device that supports playback from a memory stick (many newer car radios now support this).
• Burn the MP3 files onto a CD and listen to them on a variety of devices that support MP3 CDs. This includes almost all car radios that have a CD player. Additionally, practically all newer DVD players now support playing MP3 CDs, so you could even listen to them through your TV speakers by playing them in the DVD player connected to your TV. Portable 'laptop' DVD players usually support playing MP3 CD's, so you could listen that way with a set of headphones.

Most browsers will download a file to your computer if you right-click on the file and then pick the appropriate option from the context menu. The exact wording of the menu item varies from browser to browser:

• Firefox -- "Save link as..."
• Internet Explorer -- "Save target as..."
• Google Chrome -- "Save link as..."
• Macintosh -- no idea (volunteers...?)

After you right-click a file and then click the 'Save...' menu item, a window will appear where you pick the place on your computer where the file is to be saved (remember where you put it!).

...__AllEqual.mp3

All voices parts (SATB) play at the same volume

...__part.mp3

SATB voice 'part' is louder than the others.