Adding Music to your Site - WAV, Midi, Flash, MP3?

[abacomedia]

Adding Music to your Web Site - the good, the bad and the ugly

Many webmasters like the idea of adding background music to their we
sites but most shy away from doing it worrying about slow loading page
and large file sizes. There are many different ways to add backgroun
music to your site and some of them don't require large files t
achieve professional results. Let's examine all the different ways t
add background music to your site and rate them to find the bes
solution for you.

1) MIDI Files
MIDI files are very small because they actually use your sound card'
built-in instruments to create the sounds. The problem is that mos
sound cards don't have any decent sounds to start with, plus no tw
sound cards sound alike and therefore the results are ver
unpredictable. MIDI files usually sound like they're coming from one o
those cheap Casio keyboards. Using MIDI for background music is ver
likely to make your site seem amateurish. Want to know how to do i
anyway? Just add the <embed src=xyz.mid autostart=true> line to you
site. (Replace xyz with the name of the MIDI file you want to use!) Th
Autostart command will play the file automatically when the page i
loaded.
PROS; Very small file size, easy to implement
CONS: Unpredictable results, amateurish sounds

2) WAV Files
Using the WAV file format allows you to add professional soundin
recordings to your site but the problem is that even if you use a lo
quality setting like 11k/8bit, the file sizes are still very large an
it will take a long time for your music to load. And slow loading page
are the worst thing that can happen to a site. Implementing a WAV fil
on a web page is easy. Just add the line <embed src=xyz.wa
autostart=true> to your page's HTML code. There's an additional comman
to loop the WAV file but WAV files do not loop cleanly with the embe
command.
PROS: Many Quality Levels, Easy to implement
CONS: Large File Sizes, WAV Files do not loop

3) MP3 Files
MP3 files are highly compressed and don't take that long to load bu
the problem is that MP3s need to bring up an external player progra
and which in some cases takes your visitors away from your sit
altogether. Also, MP3 files don't loop cleanly.
PROS: Smaller File Sizes, Good Quality Possible
CONS: Needs external player software, not loopable

4) Flash
If you own a program that can create Flash files, you will have lots o
flexibility in adding sound to your site. Flash lets you import WAV a
well as MP3 Files and then creates quite small files from these sound
that will load automatically on your site. You can set the qualit
level and therefore decide how large you want the Flash file to be
Flash also allows you to loop short pieces of sound to creat
'continuous' background music files that can be quite small. But pleas
note that only imported WAV files can be looped in Flash, MP3 file
will not loop cleanly.
PROS: Great Flexibility, Small File Sizes, expecially when loopin
sounds
CONS: You need to buy expensive Flash software to create Flash Files

5) Pre-Made Flash Loops
The newest thing on the market are pre-built Flash Music Loops. Thes
files are professionally recorded, loop almost indefinitely and most o
these Flash Music Loops are only about 20k in size so they load almos
instantly. Flash Music Loops are available a
http://www.flashmusictracks.com and currently there are three differen
loop packages available in all kinds of music styles from classical t
techno. Using these pre-built Flash files is easy. Simply upload th
"xyz.swf" Flash file to your server and add a few lines from th
corresponding "xyz.html" file to your web page and presto...instan
professional sounding background music.
PROS: Extremely small file size, professional quality music
CONS: None

As you can see there are many different ways to add background music t
your web pages and you don't have to worry about slow loading pages i
you choose the right file format.

Article by Alan Steward, a professional recording engineer and produce
who worked with many Grammy award winning groups and musicians.
(c)2004 Alan Steward - http://www.musicleads.net
You may freely redistribute or use this article on your website or in
your newsletter as long as the article is unaltered and unedited.

 

[Sharon]

"abacomedia" wrote in message

Many webmasters like the idea of adding background music to their web

sites

I find it extremely annoying when I visit a website and have music blaring
at me. I am a jazz freak. I keep my speakers up, because I like my music.
I don't like someone else's music! I think it is arrogant for the webmaster
to believe that others 'want' this music playing. I don't. To me it is
just as annoying as pop-up ads.

 

[Leslie]

"abacomedia" wrote in message

I find it extremely annoying when I visit a website and have music blaring
at me. I am a jazz freak. I keep my speakers up, because I like my music.
I don't like someone else's music! I think it is arrogant for the webmaster
to believe that others 'want' this music playing. I don't. To me it is
just as annoying as pop-up ads.

More annoying than pop-up ads. At least those can be closed. Most
pages with embedded music don't have visible controls or they're
buried at the bottom of an extremely long page. The only escape then
is the BACK button.

Leslie
"I refuse to have a battle of wits with an unarmed person."

 

[Whitecrest]

Adding Music to your Web Site - the good, the bad and the ugly

(and the spam...)

1) MIDI Files
Just add the <embed src=xyz.mid autostart=true> line to your
site.

2) WAV Files

Too big for anything other than a little "ping" sound. Completely
useless on a web site.

3) MP3 Files
MP3 files are highly compressed and don't take that long to load but
the problem is that MP3s need to bring up an external player program
and which in some cases takes your visitors away from your site
altogether.

Eh? Sounds like someone hasn't a clue about mp3s....

4) Flash

Interesting if the READER uses flash, then it had CONS, but look below,
that Flash has not CONS. I think this is smelling like spam....

5) Pre-Made Flash Loops
PROS: Extremely small file size, professional quality music
CONS: None

Ahhh, now it is clearer.... is this entire post just spam for this site?

 

[Karl Groves]

Adding Music to your Web Site - the good, the bad and the ugly

Many webmasters like the idea of adding background music to their web
sites but most shy away from doing it worrying about slow loading pages
and large file sizes.

To put it bluntly, your business is with the visitor's browser, not with
their speakers. Playing music on your site is a great way to alienate people
and keep them from coming back.

Consider these scenerios:
1.. Visitor "A" is goofing off at work. Congratulations, you just got him
in trouble with his boss when he landed on your site and had a song
automatically play as soon as the page loaded.
2.. Visitor "B" is listening to his own CD. Congratulations, you just made
him angry because he now has two songs playing simultaneously, neither of
which sound good anymore because they're both running together.
3.. Visitor "C" simply doesn't share your taste in music. He decides to
click away because he doesn't want to be subjected to a song he doesn't
like.
In any of the above cases, NOBODY is going to take the time to reach over
and turn down their speakers or fumble with his task bar just to avoid your
music. They're just going to click away and go to a site whose webmaster
understands not to intrude upon them like that.

I'll bet ANYONE my month's paycheck that we can take a sample of any 100
sites with autoloading music vs. 100 sites without and the "sessions" and
"repeat visits" of the no-music sites will be a higher ratio compared to
overall hits. If you're a band or otherwise in the business of music and
you'd like to share samples of your work, by all means, do so. However,
music should be provided ONLY by giving the visitor a choice to listen to
the song before the actual music begins. Please note: Giving them a choice
to turn the music OFF is not the correct option.

Mortal Sins Of Web Design - http://www.weballey.net/sins.html

What I Hate About The Web - http://www.j-walk.com/ss/about/petpeeves.htm

Dan's Web Tips: Sounds - http://webtips.dan.info/sounds.html

Why Playing Music On Your Web Site Is A Bad Idea -
http://www.wowwebdesigns.com/power_guides/music_off.php

Ways To IrritateYour Visitors And Drive Them Away -
http://www.domainnamestuffetc.com/process_101_p3.htm

What We Hate On The Web - http://www.lowendmac.com/musings/02/0528.html (
41.9% of survey respondents will avoid sites that automatically play
music. )



-Karl

 

[Barefoot Kid]

"abacomedia" wrote in message
I am a jazz freak. I keep my speakers up, because I like my music.

yes indeed u r a freak

 

[Barefoot Kid]

Adding Music to your Web Site - the good, the bad and the ugly
blah...blah..blah...

unlike some i dont mind background playing on some kinds of sites if the
music is appropriate and adds some ambience or atmosphere to the experience,
for example a site to promote a spooky film or something like that

 

[Weyoun the Dancing Borg]

<snip stuff about adding sound files to a website as background sounds>

NO!

EVIL!

BAD!

Ok, I live in a shared house. Sometimes I'll be listening to a movie or
something and have my sound turned on high. The movie finishes at 10pm
but I don't "mute" my speakers. At midnight I click on a link and am
blasted with loud music that Id idn't ask for, accompanied by banging on
my wall about 10 seconds later. Sometimes I spill my beer or coffee on
my desk when I am suddenly jump from shock or panic in an attempt to
turn it off.

I can tell you now that 100% of sites that do this to me get their
browser window closed and are never visted again.

 

[Rose]

Well I do have a music file on my main page that plays while the page is
loading. The other music files that are on my page play only when they are
clicked on.

It's just a short piano piece that I added for fun.



Rose
http://members.aol.com/Roseb44170/home.html
"How did I ever get talked into this?"

 

[rf]

Well I do have a music file on my main page that plays while the page is
loading.

No you don't. Your entire HTML file must be downloaded (and yes, it is
downloaded in its entirity with one TCP/IP transaction) before the browser
can determine that you have any music to play.

What you probably mean is the music plays while all the other stuff, like
images etc, are downloaded and if you can play a piano piece while that is
happening then your "page" is too big

It's just a short piano piece that I added for fun.

How much fun would it be for me if I were in a library concentrating on my
studies and the bloke over at the PC stumblied onto your site and started
playing piano music? Not.

Cheers
Richard.

 

[Mark Parnell]

How much fun would it be for me if I were in a library concentrating on my
studies and the bloke over at the PC stumblied onto your site and started
playing piano music? Not.

While I agree that music should not play unless requested[1], surely a
computer in a library shouldn't have speakers in the first place?

What if I'm already playing music of my own? What if I am on dialup
(which I am at home), and don't want to download a music file that I
don't want to hear in the first place? I may not even have speakers!

 

[Neal]

Well I do have a music file on my main page that plays while the page is
loading. The other music files that are on my page play only when they
are
clicked on.

It's just a short piano piece that I added for fun.

But please don't - it makes you appear pushy. Not a great way to sell you.

Even if it was you playing piano, and it was phenomenal - don't.

 

[Hywel Jenkins]

Well I do have a music file on my main page that plays while the page is
loading.

So people have to *wait* for your music to load before they *wait* for
the rest of the content? Smart.