Free Sounds and Music Some of the most interesting freebies on the
Web come in the form of various sound files that are cropping up
everywhere these days. These range from MP3 files, (which often
contain full-length songs and have been the focus of much
controversy and legal wrangling) to MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital
Interface) files that you can use to add music to your Web site.
Then, there's the ubiquitous "WAV" files that often feature short
snippets of music, sound effects and clips from Hollywood, TV shows,
etc. There are a lot of things you can do with sound files. You
can add cool sound effects for various "events" on your computer
(such as emptying the recycle bin). Or you can easily embed a MIDI
background sound on your Web page. Or you may simply want to collect
a collection of cinema-related sound files to relive your favorite
silver screen moments.
MIDI Explorer Search
Engine Are you trying to locate a
particular MIDI file quickly? This speedy search engine is the
place to go. MIDI Explorer indexes nearly 2 million MIDI sound
files on over 200,000 pages by file and link name. This
dictionary-style search engine will show you all of the different
versions of a MIDI and can quickly locate rare songs.
MIDI Explorer has added new features
recently. For example, if you have questions about a particular
file, you may enter its exact length and find out what others
have to say about it.
MIDIsite.co.uk A helpful
resource that offers over 200,000 free MIDI files. There is also a
handy search engine here that lets you quickly find what you need.
This site's database is updated daily.
Fresh MIDIs Looking for MIDI
sound files? At this regularly-updated site, you'll find hundreds
of MIDIs, including titles by many popular artists. There's also a
forum here where you can post requests for a specific MIDI.
MIDI
Fortress A good resource for free MIDI
sound files, this site offers MIDIs in many categories, including
anthems, Broadway, Christmas, classical, dance, Irish, jazz,
Motown, movies, oldies, pop hits, TV, video games, and more.
Free
Children's Music This new site offers a
roundup of free MP3s of children's music. Artists here include Joe
Thompson, Jeff Eisenberg, Ronnie Caldwell and more.
MP3Nut.com A fine resource for
music seekers, this searchable site offers a large, categorized
MP3 sound file section, as well as a comprehensive lyrics archive.
MP3s here range from classic tunes to the latest Top 40 hits.
There's even a small, but growing, guitar tabs archive here. A big
plus to this site is that, (unlike most MP3 sites), you don't get
bombarded by annoying popup ads.
GNapster Looking for MP3s? This
new freeware program lets you search for and download MP3s and
other binaries on the Web. Unlike a lot of resources of this kind,
GNapster isn't plagued by annoying popup ads or spyware.
HealingPiano.com This site
offers free MP3s of soothing, original solo piano music. The site
also serves as a resource for people experiencing "tough times due
to illness, loss of loved ones, or any other type of personal
pain."
VoiceOfTheWeb.com This unique
resource offers free professionally recorded voice prompts in MP3
format, suitable for Web sites, Flash animations, multimedia, etc.
The voice prompts, which were recorded by voice artist Chuck
Brown, are available in four "moods."
The
Shadow RealAudio Radio Theater
At this site, you can listen to classic episodes of the old
radio drama, The Shadow. You can also download a complete
30-minute episode for free. This fascinating site, which is
updated weekly, is the creation of James L. King, a
collector of programs from the Golden Age of Radio.
(Works with WebTV).
RipCast
This impressive freeware "streaming audio
ripper" program offers one of the best ways we know
of to build your MP3 collection quickly. RipCast lets you
save streaming broadcasts as MP3 files and helps you
organize your MP3s with an easy-to-use interface. Note: a
broadband Net connection is recommended, but not required.
(For Windows).
Launch.com
Would you like to try your hand at being a Net radio
station DJ? At this site, you can set up your own music
station, for free, as well as listen to thousands of
existing stations. Launch.com also offers hundreds of MP3
downloads, including new tracks by Radiohead, Slipknot,
Bjork and Mariah Carey.
Spinner.com
Here's a cool free music service that offers almost
400,000 full-length songs, separated in 150 channels.
There are two ways to access the music: either through the
"Spinner Plus" application (a 1.8 megabyte
program for Windows) or via the Web, provided you have the
RealAudio free
streaming media browser plugin. Spinner.com offers music
in the following genres "Awesome 80s,"
"British invasion," Chicago blues, jungle,
Latin, and many more.
NetRadio
(Note: this site ceased operations
in Nov. 2001). A good resource for originally
programmed audio content, with over 150 free music
channels channels. This is the place to go if you want to
know what's hot in the world of Net broadcasting. The
selection of content here is quite varied. Categories
include Christian, classical, country, dance, electronica,
children's music, modern rock, new age, pop, vintage rock
and World music.
