American Music

[Dundonnell]

I downloaded the Goeb collection a few minutes ago.

One of the files-the Concertino II for Orchestra-has an issue. While the other files have an icon with a musical symbol in them the Concertino has no such musical symbol, ie the icon is empty. Yes..there is content in the file but I know from past experience that Windows Media Player will only play such a file if I over-ride a warning that there is an unknown extension attached to the file.

[shamokin88]

You must forgive me but I do not understand what you tell me about the Goeb Concertino II. I just downloaded it - this is the first time I have downloaded one of my own files - and it plays through without any problems.

It showed - but I am not sure how to describe "it" - an image of a page with the upper right-hand corner turned down and a pair of notes occupying the lower left, the image reminding me of the old Columbia logo.

Do I need to do something?

[Dundonnell]

Hello again and thanks for your very swift response

No, I don't think that you need to do anything   From discussions with others who have been able to download your files perfectly well I have concluded that the problem is at my end NOT yours

It may be that my Windows Media Player is not yet recognising your m4a files because of a lack of association. I should, hopefully, be able to get round that problem.

Thanks again for your concern

[Dundonnell]

My mistake

It was the Roger Goeb Concerto for Orchestra file which was the problem(not the Concertino II)

The reason for this was that the ".m4a" extension title after the name of the piece had somehow or other gone missing and, as a result, my Windows Media Player
would not recognise it as any kind of file at all but instead as a stream

[shamokin88]

I just had a look at Goeb's "Iowa" Concerto; all seems well with the tag on the icon for the download. I downloaded a bit of it to make sure. Again, should I do anything?

[Dundonnell]

I downloaded the same file on a different pc at a friend's house last night and his machine also had difficulties with the file. It identified it as a text file which it clearly is not. The file had no little musical symbol inside it.

If the " .4ma" extension is not immediately after the name of the piece on the file there lies the problem. It may be that Mediafire is losing that extension addition.

I should make it perfectly clear that this applied to only five files out of scores, probably hundreds, which you have so kindly made available to members here.

The 'problem' can be sorted out at our end so do not concern yourself further with the issue

Your wonderful uploads are vastly more important than any temporary glitch which may affect only one other member.

[jerfilm]

Well this may not be helpful to anyone else, but I have been with AOL forever and it seems like every new version comes with more problems than the last.

I have had problems with AOL downloading files, intermittantly, not just from mediafire but other sources from time to time.  For me the fix that seems to always work is to close down AOL and use FireFox which retrieves tham every time without a hitch.  So it might be your browser.......

Jerry

[Amphissa]

Jerry, it's time to graduate to a real Internet provider. AOL is the slum of the Internet.

[Lionel Harrsion]

Jerry, it's time to graduate to a real Internet provider. AOL is the slum of the Internet.

That's good advice -- I dumped AOL two years ago and I've never regretted it!

[JollyRoger]

Jennifer Higdon
Sorry, I'm afraid I just don't share the hype about the music, which seems lacking in inspiration and meandering....there are others who deserve more notoriety..Libby Larson for one.

[BFerrell]

Higdon, agreed. I tried and tried but to no avail.

[JimL]

Jerry, it's time to graduate to a real Internet provider. AOL is the slum of the Internet.

That's good advice -- I dumped AOL two years ago and I've never regretted it!

Jerry, if you've got Firefox, what do you need AOL for? 

[JimL]

http://www.nch.com.au/switch/index.html

The free version of Switch Sound File Converter works well for changing m4a to mp3, and I think maybe wav, too, however it being free it is limited and you would have to buy it for the more unusual file formats. Once you have downloaded a file, click on "show in folder", and in the folder when you right click the file it to highlight it, it will give you the option to "Convert with Switch sound File Converter", clicking on that places the file in Switch sound, where again you highlight it with a right click and hit the convert button, very easy, then the mp3 or whatever file shows up in "recently changed".
I was also able to do the Goeb Concerto "Iowa" by clicking and dragging it into Switch Sound File Converter.

Whenever I get a wav. file, I drag it into my iTunes and it converts it automatically.

[Dundonnell]

Thanks to Shamokin for the Robert Ward symphonies

I have Nos. 1, 3, 4 and 6 on cd-in different performances obviously-but No.2 is new to me.

Incidentally, Nos. 1, 3 and 4 arrived as MPEG-4 Audio Files and No.2 as an mp3. My Windows Media Player has no difficulty opening and playing MPEG-4 Audio. I therefore don't see any real need to convert the files to mp3. Am I missing something

The difficulty I was experiencing was if-and this ONLY happened with five files-the files were downloaded without any extension and I failed to add an extension. In those cases WMP did not know or understand what it was opening, baulked at the prospect but did finally open and play the files.

Anyway.......the Ward files are all perfectly fine

[shamokin88]

I think there is less here than meets the eye. I'm still discovering technical things as I go along.

Ward 2 came to me as an MP3 file and, evidently, what comes in as an MP3 goes out as an MP3. I'm not certain that that is always the case - this is just a single example now that I pay it attention.

The other three Wards I put into my computer from discs burned on my stand-alone recorder. I don't know what they were to start with but my computer turned them out as M4As - there was no choice on my part.

I have Ward 5 in good sound and would be happy to put it up - why not? - but it is one of those big, billowy "city on the hill" bicentennial commemorations with an emoting speaker.

Best to all.