DirectMusic
Encyclopedia
DirectMusic is a deprecated component of the Microsoft DirectX
API that allows music and sound effects to be composed and played and provides flexible interactive control over the way they are played. Architecturally, DirectMusic is a high-level set of objects, built on top of DirectSound
, that allow you to play sound and music without needing to get quite as low-level as DirectSound. DirectSound
allows for the capture and playback of digital sound samples, whereas DirectMusic works with message-based musical data. Music can be synthesized either in hardware, in the Microsoft GS Wavetable SW Synth, or in a custom synthesizer.
control called Interactive Music Architecture (IMA). It was introduced as part of the 6.1 version of the DirectX
library in February 1999 and is included in all Microsoft Windows
operating systems starting with Windows 98 Second Edition. DirectMusic has since been deprecated, and is not available to 64-bit applications in Windows Vista
. In Windows 7, native 64-bit support is available for the core DirectMusic API related to timestamped MIDI but not for the performance component.
, Downloadable Sounds (DLS), DirectX Media Objects (DMOs), advanced 3D positioning effects and several other features. DirectMusic provides composition and playback of dynamic musical soundtracks based on stored compositional material. Rather than a static playback, the music is generated on the fly, and is played with variations, and can respond to flexible program events. Using DirectMusic, it is possible to:
On Microsoft
Windows Vista
, DirectMusic uses only software synthesis. Also, the DirectMusic kernel mode synthesizer that supplies the DirectMusic components with a high-resolution timer has been removed.
DirectX
Microsoft DirectX is a collection of application programming interfaces for handling tasks related to multimedia, especially game programming and video, on Microsoft platforms. Originally, the names of these APIs all began with Direct, such as Direct3D, DirectDraw, DirectMusic, DirectPlay,...
API that allows music and sound effects to be composed and played and provides flexible interactive control over the way they are played. Architecturally, DirectMusic is a high-level set of objects, built on top of DirectSound
DirectSound
DirectSound is a software component of the Microsoft DirectX library for the Windows operating system. DirectSound provides a low-latency interface to the sound card driver and can handle the mixing and recording of multiple audio streams....
, that allow you to play sound and music without needing to get quite as low-level as DirectSound. DirectSound
DirectSound
DirectSound is a software component of the Microsoft DirectX library for the Windows operating system. DirectSound provides a low-latency interface to the sound card driver and can handle the mixing and recording of multiple audio streams....
allows for the capture and playback of digital sound samples, whereas DirectMusic works with message-based musical data. Music can be synthesized either in hardware, in the Microsoft GS Wavetable SW Synth, or in a custom synthesizer.
History
DirectMusic was first released by Microsoft in 1996 as an ActiveXActiveX
ActiveX is a framework for defining reusable software components in a programming language-independent way. Software applications can then be composed from one or more of these components in order to provide their functionality....
control called Interactive Music Architecture (IMA). It was introduced as part of the 6.1 version of the DirectX
DirectX
Microsoft DirectX is a collection of application programming interfaces for handling tasks related to multimedia, especially game programming and video, on Microsoft platforms. Originally, the names of these APIs all began with Direct, such as Direct3D, DirectDraw, DirectMusic, DirectPlay,...
library in February 1999 and is included in all Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
operating systems starting with Windows 98 Second Edition. DirectMusic has since been deprecated, and is not available to 64-bit applications in Windows Vista
Windows Vista
Windows Vista is an operating system released in several variations developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablet PCs, and media center PCs...
. In Windows 7, native 64-bit support is available for the core DirectMusic API related to timestamped MIDI but not for the performance component.
Details
DirectMusic provides a complete system for implementing dynamic soundtracks that take advantage of hardware accelerationHardware acceleration
In computing, Hardware acceleration is the use of computer hardware to perform some function faster than is possible in software running on the general-purpose CPU...
, Downloadable Sounds (DLS), DirectX Media Objects (DMOs), advanced 3D positioning effects and several other features. DirectMusic provides composition and playback of dynamic musical soundtracks based on stored compositional material. Rather than a static playback, the music is generated on the fly, and is played with variations, and can respond to flexible program events. Using DirectMusic, it is possible to:
- Load and play sounds from files or resources in MIDI, WAVWAVWaveform Audio File Format , is a Microsoft and IBM audio file format standard for storing an audio bitstream on PCs...
, or DirectMusic Producer run-time format. The small file size of DirectMusic soundtracks makes it very well suited for Web applications. - Schedule the timing of musical events with high precision. DirectMusic allows timestamping of MIDI input data at the moment of arrival to a system wide reference clock. Music or sound effects composed for DirectMusic can be very flexible and can change dynamically over time or in response to a user event. DirectMusic addresses the problems of Windows' legacy MidiOut API, which has shaky timing and limited real-time control.
- Play from multiple sources simultaneously, each with separate timing and instrument sets.
- Send tempoTempoIn musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...
changes, patch changes, and other MIDI events programmatically. - Use Downloadable Sounds (DLS), an open standard by the MIDI Manufacturers AssociationMIDI Manufacturers AssociationThe MIDI Manufacturers Association is an organization where companies work together to create the standards that assure compatibility among MIDI products. The MMA is a U.S. organization established in 1985 by the original developers of the MIDI 1.0 Specification in 1983. Since 1985 the MMA has...
, allowing developers to output wave table sounds on audio hardware not equipped with wavetable synthesisWavetable synthesisWavetable synthesis is used in certain digital music synthesizers to implement a restricted form of real-time additive synthesis. The technique was first developed by Wolfgang Palm of PPG in the late 1970s and published in 1979, and has since been used as the primary synthesis method in...
. The downloadable sounds can be extended to include new or customized instruments. - On computers with sound card which lack wavetable synthesisWavetable synthesisWavetable synthesis is used in certain digital music synthesizers to implement a restricted form of real-time additive synthesis. The technique was first developed by Wolfgang Palm of PPG in the late 1970s and published in 1979, and has since been used as the primary synthesis method in...
, DirectSound's Software Synthesizer ensures that message-based music such as MIDI files and DirectMusic segments sound identical on all hardware configurations rather than playing differently on different computers with different sound cards. An application can also play an unlimited variety of instruments and even produce unique sounds for individual notes and velocities. - Locate sounds in a 3D environment.
- Easily apply pitchPitch (music)Pitch is an auditory perceptual property that allows the ordering of sounds on a frequency-related scale.Pitches are compared as "higher" and "lower" in the sense associated with musical melodies,...
changes, reverberationReverberationReverberation is the persistence of sound in a particular space after the original sound is removed. A reverberation, or reverb, is created when a sound is produced in an enclosed space causing a large number of echoes to build up and then slowly decay as the sound is absorbed by the walls and air...
, and other effects. - Use more than 16 MIDI channels. DirectMusic makes it possible for any number of voices to be played simultaneously, up to the limits of the synthesizer.
- Play segments on different audio paths, so that effects or spatialization can be applied individually to each sound.
- Capture MIDI data, or stream it from one port to another.
- DirectMusic Producer can be used to create sound files that take full advantage of DirectMusic's interactive features.
On Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
Windows Vista
Windows Vista
Windows Vista is an operating system released in several variations developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablet PCs, and media center PCs...
, DirectMusic uses only software synthesis. Also, the DirectMusic kernel mode synthesizer that supplies the DirectMusic components with a high-resolution timer has been removed.