Seiten auf Deutsch anzeigen
- Midi Files
- General Information
- What are GM and SMF?
- HitBit Midi Files
- Using a Vocalist
- Lyrics Display
- Midi Files on Floppy Disk
- Additional Files on Floppy Disk
- LyricRemover
- How to Purchase and Pay
- Payment with ClickandBuy
- Direct Credit Card Purchase
- Your WebShop Account
- WebShop Account Rebates
- How to Order
- Shipping Fees
- Order Confirmation
- Order Cancellation
Midi Files
- General Information
MIDI stands for Musical Instrument Digital Interface - a digital interface for musical instruments (naturally, the interface can also be used for digital instruments, in case you were wondering). The protocol was introduced by leading Japanese and US manufacturers in 1983 and was originally designed to enable the transfer of data from one instrument to another even if the two were made by different manufacturers. Thus, a note played on a synthesizer was simultaneously made audible on another instrument (with a different sound).
As the midi protocol was able to address 16 different channels from the very beginning, the first sequencers were soon introduced. These, in the manner of a multi-track tape recording devices, made it possible to record and play complex arrangements. Even today, these midi sequencers work according the same principle as they did 30 years ago.
- What are GM and SMF?
With the advent of the growing market for midi files, a method to standardize sound allocation and intervention independent of manufacturers was soon required. Thus, in 1991, the General Midi Standard - more commonly known as GM - was defined. The main features are a programming table consisting of 128 sounds as well as the provision that drum and percussion instruments must always be placed on channel 10 using a standardized instrument allocation system. In addition, the GM standard determines several controllers as well as "registered parameter numbers" - RPNs - that allow for sound editing. This ensures that a MIDI file recorded, for instance, on a GM keyboard by Korg can be played on a GM device by Casio, for instance. This is possible without any further processing.
Even before the development of GM, the Standard Midi File Format (SMF) was developed as a common interface in order to combat the overwhelming diversity of formats used by different sequencers. There are three different types of SMF. The most common format is 0 and consists of a track with up to 16 different channels. Format 1 may contain up to 256 tracks with 16 channels each. Generally, however, even Format 1 sequences do not consist of more than 16 channels in total, exclusively distributed to the corresponding number of tracks. Format 2 - a highly untypical format in "real life" - also supports the pattern principle used by Notator/Creator SL (remember that old Atari!) or early C-64 sequencers.
- HitBit Midi Files
Despite all these standards, every manufacturer of midi files still has some unique way of doing things. The channel allocation for common instruments is a case in point. Since simultaneous note events are sent in the order of their channel index, time-critical instruments are allocated to lower channel numbers. For added clarity and more efficient editing, specific functions are always allocated to the same channels.
- Using a Vocalist
Thus, the melody voice is always allocated to channel 1; background voices are placed on channel 4, while "layers" as created by string instruments, e-pianos etc. are placed on channel 5. The two latter allocations simplify the use of a voice processor such as the Digitech Vocalist.
- Lyrics Display
In most of our songs, the lyrics are defined as LyricEvents. This means that lyrics are displayed in time with the music on your keyboard display, f. ex. They are integrated into the midi files line by line. As opposed to "karaoke" use - a form of "singing" that lives off the fact that those singing are, in fact, utterly inexperienced singers, we do believe our clients to be capable developing their own phrasing. Thus, our lyrics are intended to have "songbook" rather than "karaoke" character. The song detail sheet (click on the order number in the catalog list to access) tells you whether this type of lyrics is provided. If so, a "with Lyrics/Karaoke" group will be displayed.
- Midi Files on Floppy Disk
Each GM song is provided on a single floppy disk (or in a ZIP file if downloaded from the Web). The floppy disk or ZIP file contains several versions of the song: One GM/GS version with (order_number.txt) or without (abbreviated_title.mid) melody voice(s) in standard MIDI file format 0 as well as a GM/GS version in format 1 with melody voice(s) (in the "format.1" folder). This version is practical for use with MIDI file players that allow you to route each MIDI channel to a different output. Even the printing of sheet music can be carried out more easily with this function. In order to allow for easier editing of drum and percussion elements, we also provide a format 1 file with only percussion instruments, with one track allocated to every instrument.
The floppy disks with some of the older titles we offer will have a folder "extended" instead of a format 1 folder. This is essentially the same thing, the only difference being that the format 1 versions in this folder are not GM compatible but have retained the arrangements of the originally recorded version. These files may possibly contain musical data that have fallen prey to GM conversion.
- Additional Files on Floppy Disk
Furthermore, songs are delivered with several lyrics and text files. Provided the song is not an instrumental, three versions of the lyrics are included: text only; text with chords placed above text (lead sheet); with position markers at the beginning of each line. The informational text will provide you with information on tempo changes and sounds used. The inevitable "readme.txt" file provides you with legal information on use.
- LyricRemover
The line-by-line implementation of LyricEvents described above may lead to incompatibility in some (very few) older keyboards. In some cases, only a few of the characters are displayed. Should your instrument actually crash because of this problem, try our LyricRemover. This free program removes and extracts text from midi files.
The Catalog System
- Catalog
The WebShop catalog is the true heart of this site. In it, you will find a complete list of all songs offered by HitBit. You can choose to list them by order number, title or artist, either from top to bottom or vice-versa. Simply click on the column header of choice in order to do this. The small triangular arrow will provide information on the sort order. The standard display is top-to-bottom listing by song title.
- Searching
One major advantage of electronic databases over "analog" filing systems, pieces of paper and even printed catalogs are the search systems that can be implemented. On every page - not just the catalog pages - you can enter search keywords in the navigation bar (the purple bar with the HitBit logo at the top of each page). Both artist and title databases are searched. The final result will then be displayed to you.
[Searching by Order Number] Enter the four-digit order number to find the corresponding song.
Or search by styles (favorite category: New Releases). These links are listed under "Search Song by Category" on the right-hand side of every page. You can also choose to display all titles or artists that start with a certain letter.
Whenever there are more than 30 hits for your query, the results will be spread across several pages.
- Demos and Earmarking/Shopping Cart
Order number, title, artist and Euro price is followed by a "Demo" column with small speaker icons. By clicking on the speaker icon, you can download the corresponding demo temporarily and - provided you have a midi-enabled sound system installed - listen to them. All demos are approx. 60 seconds in length.
If you want to test the demos on your own live equipment, you can save them to the required media, e.g. floppy disk. To do so, right-click the demo button (on MacOS: hold mouse button) and select "Save as ..." (or similar option) (browser-dependent) in the popup menu displayed.
If you like what your hear, simply check the title in the "Purchase" column on the right. The corresponding icon is then displayed with a check mark and the title transferred to your shopping cart. You can display the shopping cart along with all of your selections by clicking the shopping cart icon in the navigation bar at the top of the page.
- Song Detail Sheet
By clicking on the order number or the "Information" icon (
) next to it in the list of songs, you can access a detail sheet with additional information on the selected song.
This contains publishing information and the GEMA registration number as well as information on the length, a picture of the cover, all associated style groups and - a special HitBit service - some suggestions based on the selection made by other clients who have purchased this title.
How to Purchase and Pay
- Purchasing and Payment
The WebShop provides you with three options for purchasing the midi files in your shopping cart: Purchase with ClickandBuy, direct credit card purchase, billing to a service account (WebShop account) or mail delivery ordering.
- Payment with ClickandBuy
ClickandBuySafe and simple online payment! For 5 years, our innovative Internet billing system ClickandBuy has been the established market leader in Europe. Just register once and you can simply and securely pay over 3.500 merchants around the world. Please visit www.ClickandBuy.com to view the wide range of offers. Once you have registered with ClickandBuy, you can use your username and password to log on to www.ClickandBuy.com. You will then be able to access your personal and confidential ClickandBuy account details, see the balance of your account and change personal details. ClickandBuy keeps track of the amounts of all your ClickandBuy transactions and charges you once a month, either by debiting your bank account or through your credit card. Further information regarding ClickandBuy you will find atLearn more about ClickandBuy- Direct Credit Card Purchase
The easiest and quickest way to access your midi files is credit card payment. To do so, click on "Direct Credit Card Purchase". Once your credit card details have been entered and verified, the songs will be delivered to you via e-mail. The invoice total for this form of ordering is limited to a maximum of 300 EUR. Your last download may be repeated during the next week by entering your credit card data. The title(s) will not be invoiced again in this case. (In order to repeat your download, Repeat Download under "My WebShop Account" at the lower right side page).
If your principal residence is registered outside the European Union (EU), please print out your confirmation of domicile and send it to HitBit via mail in order to be invoiced exclusive of VAT in the future.
- Your WebShop Account
In some cases, creating your personal service account may be an even easier option. This gives you a pricing advantage but requires a bit of preparation. In order to be able to use this service, you must be registered as a WebShop client and let us know how much you would like to deposit into your account. This "prepaid" system grants you rebates of up to 35% off the regular sales price!
- WebShop Account Rebates
After successful registration, you will receive your personal HitBit
WebCard with your password and a number of transaction numbers (TANs) to use for downloading songs. Depending on the deposit made to your account, every Euro can significantly increase in "virtual" value (see list of prices below). This allows us to provide you with graduated discount pricing as well as acknowledging the many requests we receive for subscription options. You will receive a sufficient number of new TANs with every additional deposit. You can of course close your account at any time. However, we do charge 5 EUR for processing of such requests.
Even if you only purchase a single song, this
will give you a download rebate of 5%. A deposit of 125.- to 249.- EUR will save you 10%, from 250.-EUR, your savings will amount to 15% etc. See the table below for a complete list of graduated prices:
Deposits Virtual Price/Song Amount Savings 14.25 EUR 15.-- EUR 14.25 EUR 1 5% 125.-- EUR 138.89 EUR 13.50 EUR approx. 9 10% 250.-- EUR 294.12 EUR 12.75 EUR approx. 20 15% 500.-- EUR 625.-- EUR 12.-- EUR approx. 42 20% 750.-- EUR 1000.-- EUR 11.25 EUR approx. 67 25% 1000.-- EUR 1428.57 EUR 10.50 EUR approx. 95 30% 1250.-- EUR 1923.08 EUR 9.75 EUR approx. 128 35% When making deposits into your account as required, these will initially go into a backup account. This account will automatically be activated as soon as the current account no longer has sufficient coverage for a download. Thus, you can increase your deposits on this backup account up to the time of activation in order to receive an improved graduated price. As of the time of activation, the graduated pricing will be fixed and can no longer be altered. Your personal password will give you access to both active and backup accounts at any time.
As a registered WebShop client, simply click on "WebShop Account" after making your selection.
Please make sure you carefully read and accept our General Terms and Conditions.
Print your registration here.
- Ordering
We continue to use the services of the German mail service - the Deutsche Post AG - for shipping. By clicking on "Order", the contents of your shopping cart and all further data are securely encrypted and transmitted to us.
- Shipping Fees
After a processing time of one or two days, the mailman should knock on your door to deliver your songs. For this type of shipping, we charge a flat fee of 3 EUR for shipping within Germany. For delivery to other countries, this increases to 6 EUR. For orders of more than 10 songs, the shipping fee will be forfeited. For orders of more than 20 songs, you will also receive a rebate of 10%. When ordering more than 50 songs, the rebate is increased to 20%.
- Order Confirmation
Whenever an order is not directly delivered (i.e. online), you will receive an automatically created order confirmation if you have provided us with a valid e-mail address.
- Cancellation
When orders are shipped by mail, you have the right to return the floppy disks in their original packaging within two weeks without giving a reason. The purchase price will then be credited to your HitBit account.
This offer is not valid for online orders or if the original packaging has been opened.
Technical Support
- Repeating your Download
[ClickandBuy] For repeating downloads you have to authorize yourself at ClickandBuy. Click on Repeat Download in the "My WebShop Account" section at the right side of the page below.
[Credit Card Purchase] For one week, you may repeat your last download by entering your credit card data.
[WebShop] You can repeat the last download invoiced via your WebShop account as often as you like without additional charges for a maximum of 28 days. However, you will need a TAN for every download.
The title(s) will not be invoiced again in this case. (In order to repeat your download click on Repeat Download in the "My WebShop Account" section at the right side of the page below).
- ZIP file: hitbit.zip
In order to keep download times as short as possible, songs are sent to you ZIP files that contain all the files you need. Generally, your browser should automatically open the file selection box where you can select the target folder into which the ZIP file is to be copied. You can subsequently unpack it using WinZip (Windows) or StuffIt Expander (MacOS).
Security
- About SSL Encryption at HitBit
In order to ensure that your personal data is not transmitted via the Internet without encryption (i.e. could be tapped), we use SSL encryption for your orders. (TLS 1.0, RC4 with 128 bit encryption (high); RSA with 1024 bit exchange, issued by Thawte, Inc., Secure Server Certification Authority)
To use this feature, you will need an SSL-enabled browser (most modern browsers support SSL) that first reads our server certificate when creating a secure SSL connection and then verifies it along with the address of our server with the certification authority to confirm authenticity and correctness. This ensures that the data is actually sent to the owner of the website and cannot be re-rerouted to other recipients. Additionally, the certificate contains an encryption key.
As secure SSL connections are significantly slower than unencrypted connections, we have decided to provide encryption only for the order forms in which you enter your personal data.
- Securing your Data: Privacy Statement
Storage and Use of Personal Data
We save and use your personal data (including mail and e-mail addresses) exclusively for order processing and possible returns. Your e-mail address is only used to send you informational e-mail messages relating to your order and, if you wish, the HitBit newsletter.
No Passing-On of Personal Data
We do not pass your personal data (including your mail and e-mail addresses) on to third parties. The only exceptions to this rule are our service partners that require this data for order processing such as the Deutsche Post or our banks (for direct debit and the like). However, in these cases, the data transmitted is limited to the absolute minimum required.
Information, Correction, Locking and Deletion of Personal Data
You have the right to information as well as to correction, locking and deletion of your saved data. Should you have any questions relating to these matter, feel free to contact us: e-mail: office@hitbit.de phone: +49 (0) 721 96710-0 fax: +49 (0) 721 96710-44.
- About HitBit Cookies
Cookies are small packets of information that facilitate the use of our online services. They are saved to your computer's hard disk by your browser. You can of course also make purchases at hitbit.de without using these cookies. However, they allow us to offer you advanced functions such as the automatic entry of your customer data, which you will then not need to enter for every purchase. Our cookies contain your personal data in encrypted form, thus protecting your privacy, and are exclusively transmitted via SSL. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies. You can, however, change the settings of your browser to prevent this.
