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| Recordings to celebrate the world of the oboe | |||
It is not essential to get the sound clips working to get value from this site, but it's much better if you can hear before you buy.
The site has sound clips and free track downloads in MP3 format, the web standard for quality music. Real Audio, the other common format, just can't reproduce oboe sound accurately enough.
Although MP3 is widespread, getting it to work on any one system is not an exact science, and can take time. This page can't solve problems, but can offer a few suggestions based on my current experience. If you've got any thoughts to contribute do email me, Jeremy Polmear, at mail@oboeclassics.com.
The sound clips are recorded at 32Kbps, last about a minute, and are mostly about 200K in size. If you have a fast connection they will play almost immediately, but a dial-up 56K modem will make you wait about a minute unless you can 'stream' them (see later).
PLAYING THE SOUND - WINDOWS
I recommend using the Windows Media Player supplied with Windows. If you click on the sound clip it should come up automatically, though if you have other players on your system they jostle to be the default. To specify the default yourself, click Settings, Control Panel, Folder Options, find the MP3 entry and specify the player you want.
If you have Windows Vista, you may find your system won't play MP3 files, only save them. To fix this, click Settings, Control Panel, Classic View, Default Programs, and double -click Associate a file type or protocol with a program. Find MP3 (it's a long list), and Windows Media Player is probably already specified. But select it again, and you should find it works automatically from then on.
If you install iPod software on your PC, iTunes unfortunately replaces Windows Media Player with a rather primitive version of Quicktime player, which hogs the screen and won't stream the clips (see the next paragraph for a definition of streaming).
Apple makes it as hard as possible to re-associate Windows Media Player with MP3 files, but it is possible: run the Windows Media Player, click tools, options, file types. In the list you will see MP3 files, probably already checked. Here's the trick (as with Vista above): uncheck it, check it again, and click 'Apply'. You should be now released from Quicktime. (Don't thank me, just buy a CD!)
If you are surfing with Mozilla Firefox, you need to disable the Quicktime plug-in, which is also possible. Click tools, options, manage add-ons, plug-ins; find Quicktime in the list and disable it. Firefox won't let you then click 'OK', but just delete the dialogue box and go round again to check it's been done. Next time you play a clip, Firefox will ask you what player you want, and you choose your favourite.
If you don't have an iPod installed, Windows Media Player will stream the clips, which means that after a few seconds it will start to play the music, hoping (usually correctly) that by the time it gets to the end it will have been downloaded. If it miscalculates, you will get a nasty gap in the music or interview while the modem catches up. You can play the clip again, but when you delete the player the clip will go too. To save the clip for future plays, click on it with the right mouse button, then click (left mouse button) on 'Save Target as', and it will suggest a folder to save it in. Choose a suitable one (e.g. 'My Music'), and you can play it at any time by double-clicking on it.
The latest version of Windows Media Player can be downloaded free. A click here will take you to the relevant page on Microsoft's web site.
PLAYING THE SOUND - MACINTOSH
My experience of Macs is minimal, but here is something: Mackintosh mice have only one button, so ignore the instructions on the site to use the right mouse button - control-click is the way to store the music. iTunes looks good and works well, but it won't stream the files so you have to wait until they have downloaded completely. The files are then put in your library, and you can decide whether to keep them or not.
There is also a version of Quicktime that sometimes comes with Macs which does stream the sound.
OTHER SYSTEMS AND PLAYERS
There are many other programs that play MP3 files, and come in Windows, Mac or Linux versions. A good one is MusicMatch Jukebox. It has a Library facility for cataloging sound clips and deleting them when you've finished with them. It can also create MP3 files (I originally used it for the sound clips, but have now changed to the Sound Forge program, which gives better results at low bit rates). MusicMatch can be downloaded free from www.musicmatch-jukebox.org.
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