Barton Polot
is Assistant Professor of Music Education and Music Technology at the University of Michigan

BARTON POLOT

ack in the Internet's Dark Ages (the early 1990s), content was limited to unadorned text. No more. The advent of the World Wide Web has opened the doors for a broad assortment of media to be transmitted to your computer. The opportunities for music teachers and music students are vast. 

The Web can deliver audio files to your desktop. Usually, these take the form of AIFF (Macintosh) or .wav files (DOS) which, once downloaded, trigger a helper application to launch or one of your browser's plug-ins to activate. Either way, a window opens enabling you to listen to the file through your computer's speakers. Since there is a direct correlation between audio fidelity and file size, Web sites often sacrifice quality to reduce download time. Several sites, however, offer CD-quality stereo files to patient users. 

The recording industry has embraced the Web as an unprecedented promotional tool. They now provide listeners with excerpts or entire tracks of recent releases. David Bowie has released a "single," "Telling Lies," exclusively on the Web. 

For schools that maintain their own Web site, it is relatively straightforward to digitize the recording of a recent performance and make it available on the Internet. Since copyright restrictions apply, it is best to post original works or music in the public domain. 

The firm RealAudio is perfecting a different method of transmitting sound. Rather than requiring users to download a file, RealAudio "streams" audio to your computer in real time. Version 3.0 of the plug-in delivers FM-radio fidelity via modem and near-CD quality on T1 lines. Use your computer to listen to classical music on KING-FM Seattle -- live. 

The ability to sync audio files with text and visuals is still on the horizon. In the mean time, Voyager has a plug-in that adopts a different tack. CDLink will play any segment of an off-the-shelf audio CD in your CD-ROM drive. Voyager's Web site has more than a hundred music appreciation files that link to your compact disks. 

The Web can also be used to deliver MIDI files. Once downloaded, a file can be played through a computer's MIDI system or internal sound card. To listen to MIDI music in real time while you browse, download Crescendo from LiveUpdate. Apple Computer's QuickTime technology can stream MIDI files in sync with digitized movies. 

MIDI files are a wonderful means for students to share original music on the Internet. Unlike audio files, MIDI files are compact and do not degrade fidelity. Music scored for General MIDI (GM) instruments will play back accurately on computers all over the globe. 

That a technology so young can already deliver so much media is a source of excitement for all musicians. Students and teachers of music have limitless ways to enjoy, explore and share music on the World Wide Web.