How many times have you read in an online forum or a web design
tutorial that embedded midi (Musical Instrumental Digital
Interface) files are "bad"? Probably more times than you care to
remember. For the most part, embedded sound files of any kind
have been categorized as web site "bling-bling", right along
side animated gifs, flashing banners and complex frames layouts.
Essentially, they just contribute to unnecessary glitz and
clutter that does nothing more than distract visitors and
significantly slow page download times.
There is historical justification for this stereotype, as many
beginning webmasters tend to go overboard with the bells and
whistles on their first web design attempts. This is just part
of the learning process and should not be judged too harshly.
With all the bad press that embedded midi files get, some of the
more accomplished web designers tend to avoid using them. This
is unfortunate, because if implemented and managed properly,
midi files can add benefit to some types of web sites, both for
the visitors and the web site owners. In fact, I'm going to go
as far as to say that an appropriately implemented midi file can
actually drive more traffic and even increase sales! Sound
fishy? Maybe so, but just hear me out.
The key to using a midi file effectively is to help create a
desired mood in conjunction with the color scheme, graphics, and
layout of a given web page. Let me give you an example.
Let's pretend that John and Jane have just lost their precious
little Maltese of 12 years to kidney failure. They are surfing
the Web, looking for a perfect pet memorial to celebrate the
life of their dear friend. They have narrowed their search to
your site 'A' and a competitor site 'B'. Site 'B' has a
professional looking site, reasonable prices, adorable pictures
of other pets whose owners have bought from and recommend them,
and detailed descriptions and images of the various memorials.
It almost brings a tear to your eye. Almost.
Now, your site 'A' has comparable professionalism, prices,
emotional design, etc., but in addition, you've included an
embedded midi file that plays a sad little, heart-tugging, piece
of music in the background. Those eyes that were almost ready to
tear up at your competitor's site now start watering full tilt
as the background music helps them remember all the wonderful
times they had with their pup. Who do you think they're going to
buy from? Exactly.
The previous example may be a bit over-dramatized, but the
theory is sound. Sometimes, little psychological nudges in the
right direction can mean the difference between a two-week
vacation in Cancun and a day trip to the local water park.
The real problems with embedded midi files arise when webmasters
do not give their visitors any control over the sounds emanating
from their web pages. Most people become frustrated and annoyed
when they are forced to listen to music that they cannot shut
off at leisure. Using the example above, I imagine that even
John and Jane would be getting pretty annoyed around the 10th
time the background music loops as they are still trying to
decide between the granite and the obsidian plaque.
The IE browser makes it a bit easier in cases like this because
the toolbar stop button is capable of stopping midi play, along
with page download and all other animation, of course. However,
other browsers like Mozilla Firefox that have to rely on a
QuickTime or other third party plug-ins do not have this luxury.
If the site designer does not supply a control console of some
type, the visitors are held prisoner and will likely escape at
the first chance they get.
There is no voodoo involved with displaying a midi console on a
web page. The basic EMBED code is fairly standard. You've
probably seen or used something similar to this in the past:
< EMBED SRC="filename.mid" HIDDEN="false" AUTOSTART="true"
VOLUME="60" height="25" width="200" LOOP="true" >
The trick is getting the darn console to display properly
across all browsers using different plug-ins. The embed
statement shown above, for example, will not display properly in
Firefox or Netscape using the QuickTime plug-in.
I have had decent success implementing midi consoles using
BGSOUND with the following javascript. I make no guarantees, but
I've seen this work in the newer Firefox and Netscape browsers
using the QuickTime plug-in as well as in IE with QuickTime or
Windows Media Player.
Don't be afraid to experiment. If you have an existing web site
or are in the process of building one that you think might
benefit from a bit of midi psychology, then track down an
appropriate file and give it a whirl. You may be pleasantly
surprised.
About the author:
Bob Davis is a professional database consultant, web designer,
graphic artist, and Internet marketer. If you'd like some solid
tips on starting your own legitimate Internet business, then
visit his
http://www.internetbusiness-home.com>Home
Internet Business Guide for Beginners.
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