Music File Formats
The music on this site is presented in three formats, PDF, MXL and MIDI.
PDF is a familiar format that can be read on almost every computer and mobile device and readily printed out.
Music XML (represented on this site by compressed MXL files) is a music exchange format that can be read by most up-to-date music scoring programs (Sibelius, Finale, Dorico, MuseScore etc) and most Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) programs. MXL files enable anyone who downloads the files to edit them as they wish (though if you rearrange one of my pieces please acknowledge me as the originator of the file you have used). Be aware that Music XML does not yet always transfer layout entirely successfully between programs and sometimes the music appears in the wrong octave.
MIDI is a digital format that encodes the musical notes and can therefore also be used to open music in notation programs and DAWs.
There are numerous programs that will play MIDI files and several tat will play Music XML files.
Some of the files on the John Wilson page are in the (now abandoned) Scorch format. I hope in due course to revise these.
PDF is a familiar format that can be read on almost every computer and mobile device and readily printed out.
Music XML (represented on this site by compressed MXL files) is a music exchange format that can be read by most up-to-date music scoring programs (Sibelius, Finale, Dorico, MuseScore etc) and most Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) programs. MXL files enable anyone who downloads the files to edit them as they wish (though if you rearrange one of my pieces please acknowledge me as the originator of the file you have used). Be aware that Music XML does not yet always transfer layout entirely successfully between programs and sometimes the music appears in the wrong octave.
MIDI is a digital format that encodes the musical notes and can therefore also be used to open music in notation programs and DAWs.
There are numerous programs that will play MIDI files and several tat will play Music XML files.
Some of the files on the John Wilson page are in the (now abandoned) Scorch format. I hope in due course to revise these.
