http://geocities.com/SOBlikeMIDIs/
Send me comments at SOBlikeMIDIs @ yahoo dott comm.

Subpage: Bach's Invention No.1 in All 128 MIDI Instruments

Crab Canon

Bach's Crab Canon in MIDI (See another MIDI version below.)
Same piece in .WAV
The .WAV file played backwards

Crab Canon `score' -- click for a bigger version.

There is a sequencing typo in the MIDI file that you can hear and also see in the `score'. Can you spot it?

This Escher crab drawing was adopted from http://bach.ece.jhu.edu/~tim/pictures/ .

If you think the following MIDI files sound bad . . .

. . . it's because they are optimized for the (slightly outdated) soundcard on my PC.

On my PC, celesta sounds really nice and one of the inventions and the Air on G String sound just like from the "SOB" album. The Minuet from the Orchestral Suite sounds like it's played by a real orchestra.

If on your computer an instrument sounds cheap or too soft, please make a better MIDI file and email it to me. I'll include it here. Thanks.

Shepard tones = endlessly rising/falling scales

f-Shepard-tones_endlessly-rising-scale.mid (flute)
p-Shepard-tones_endlessly-rising-scale.mid (piano)
f5-Shapard-tones_endlessly-falling-scale.mid (flute)
p5-Shapard-tones_endlessly-falling-scale.mid (piano)

Click here for comments.

1-Minuet.mid . . . The original was this MIDI file at later.
1c-musette.mid . . . The original was this MIDI file at this page. See also.
2-bouree.mid (BWV 996) The original was this MIDI file at later.
3-Bach_Suite_no3_BWV995_Gavotte_I.mid The original was this MIDI file at later.
4-gavota_BWV995.mid The original was this MIDI file at later.
5-Bach_Suite_no4_BWV1006a_Gavotte_en_Rondeau.mid The original was this MIDI file at later.
Inv_01.mid Two-part invention Bach's Invention No.1 in All 128 MIDI Instruments
Inv_04.mid Two-part invention
Inv_08.mid Two-part invention
Inv_13.mid Two-part invention
Inv_14.mid Two-part invention . . . The original was this MIDI file at later.
WTC1Fugue_2.mid (in 3 voices) The original was this MIDI file at later.
WzLittleFugue.mid (in 4 voices) The original was this MIDI file at later.
- Even trickier fugues:
- tf-crabcan2.mid Crab Canon (palindromic) The original was this MIDI file at later.
- tf-ba_fg01.mid (in 4 voices) ... from "Art of Fugue" ... The original was this MIDI file at later.
- tf-6part-m_o_09.mid (in 6 voices) 6-Part Ricercar from "Musical Offering" ... The original was this MIDI file at later.
os2flute6menuet-BWV1067.mid ... The original was this MIDI file at later.
z-BWV645.mid (unchanged) The original was at later.
z-bwv808f.mid (unchanged) The original was at later.
z-prel1c_p.mid (unchanged) The original was this MIDI file at this page.
zz-air_on_g.mid (unchanged) The original was at later.

(Note: suggestion about which MIDI player to use. (later))

(Links here about how to buy "Switched-On Bach" by W.Carlos)

Shepard tones = endlessly rising/falling scales

f-Shepard-tones_endlessly-rising-scale.mid (flute)
p-Shepard-tones_endlessly-rising-scale.mid (piano)
f5-Shapard-tones_endlessly-falling-scale.mid (flute)
p5-Shapard-tones_endlessly-falling-scale.mid (piano)

Comments on the MIDI files

If someone can make MIDI files that achieve more authentic musical illusions, I would LOVE to listen to them.
But I don't think much better MIDI files can be made, because of limitations of General MIDI format and our cheap PC hardware -- they are incapable of producing solid sounds that our ears can adequately perceive at both the low (C0-C1) and high (C9-C10) ends of the frequencies.
VanBasco's Karaoke Player (URL here) can give you a great graphical illustration of what is happening when these MIDI sequences are played.

http://geocities.com/SOBlikeMIDIs/
Send me comments at SOBlikeMIDIs @ yahoo dott comm.

SOB(Switched-On Bach)-like MIDIs