NotePad 2006 as MIDI or MP3?

[stickman]

Hi all,
Is there a way to save a NotePad 2006 composition as a MIDI or MP3 file or is it confined to just .mus files? I am using version 2006.r1

Thank you,
Stickman

[Peter Thomsen]

NotePad can't export neither as MIDI nor mp3.

If you upgrade to SongWriter, you will get MIDI export.

To create an mp3 file from a MIDI file you will need third party software.

Alternatively you could play the .MUS file through a digital audio program.
I haven't tried it, but perhaps the free program Audacity can create an mp3 from a .MUS file playback?

The full version of Finale has both MIDI export and audio file export.

Peter

[euphoniumguy]

Hi all,
Is there a way to save a NotePad 2006 composition as a MIDI or MP3 file or is it confined to just .mus files? I am using version 2006.r1

Thank you,
Stickman

They don't offer this feature in NotePad. It's available in the more advanced versions of their software.

However, you can probably make a recording of your music being played back from NotePad by routing the playback into the Windows Sound Recorder.

You'll need to open your Windows volume controls. Then in the volume controls go to the Options menu and select Properties. Choose the button for recording, then make sure all options are checked (I'm not sure what the correct one will be called on your computer - it varies). Click OK. On my computer I click the Select checkbox for "Stereo Mix" and set the volume up a bit - start with half way.

Next, open the Windows Sound Recorder application. From here you'll click Record and then click Play in NotePad.

Initially Sound Recorder limits you to 60 seconds. But you'll find that you can copy and paste an audio clip after itself through the menu commands in the Sound Recorder app. Do this to add length to the recording. Then go back and record over the whole thing. Finally, use the menu command to cut the extra unwanted stuff off of the end of the clip. Save the file.

If you start doing a lot of this, you might want to investigate PrintMusic. It has a lot more features than NotePad, and creating audio files is simply a matter of saving the file.

[stickman]

Thanks to both of you.

I will check out the enhanced software as I build up the DAW I am constructing and in the meantime I was able to cobble a .wav file together using Sound Recorder as euphoniumguy suggested. The recording property that made it work was selecting "Wave Out Mix".

The signal was distorted in the recorder at first, but when I turned the volume slider down it worked fine for recording 1 minute. After that, I used a 3rd party tool (winLAME) as Peter indicated and made an mp3 file too.

Thanks again for helping!
Stickman