Cranford Publictions
MP3 Information Page
Cranford Publications soundclips are genrally given as MP3s, the standard and best sound quality for streaming audio from the Internet.
To simplify our site, links to sound clips are accessed a-tune-at-a-time, from the page devoted to the source CD or cassette. Other clips are accessed from pages of music notation which can be found by following links from the source recording.
Alternatively you may enjoy browsing by artist or searching for specific tunes using the site search engine.
What are MP3sMP3s on the cranfordpub.com site
Configuring Your Browser to work with a Plug in
How do I save or download MP3s for later playback?
MP3s are the most popular format for listening, transferring and storing audio from the Internet. On-line, MP3s can be streamed or you can download MP3s to your hard drive for later use. These files can then be catalogued and played by both home computers and portable MP3 devices. MP3s can be backed up on any hard drive or floppy disc and can even be burned to a CDR for playback on any CD player. Today, this is the most popular format for the personal playback of MP3s.
The MP3s on our site are mostly short clips taken off of the CDs we sell providing you:
- Free demos from the recordings which Cranford Publications sells mail order as conventional CDs and cassettes.
- Recorded reference for melodies which are supplied in standard musical notation as GIF or ABC files. Most of these seetings are also found in books books which we sell or are currently compiling
- Familiarily with this technology. In the next few years, more and more artists will be selling their music this way.
With the exception of the link that brought you to this page, any time you click the symbol below, assuming your browser is configured with the proper plug-in, a separate window will open and a sound clip will start to load. We find that the Quicktime plug-in is best.
If you go to our recordings section the pages for individual recordings will lead to samples of music notation and /or sound clips. Our sound clips are almost all partial tracks (including a minimum of once through a featured melody). Tune titles, composer and performer information etc. are all included with each clip.
Although MP3 files can be streamed without copying them onto your PC, unless you have broadband Internet access like cable, DSL or better, we recommend downloading and saving before playback. This will reduce the buffering time at slower connection speeds. To further aid the learning process, burn them to a CD or download to a mp3 player so they can be played & looped on a more portable device.
Regardless of connection speed, anyone who wants play a melody repeatedly will find it advantageous to download and save the desired MP3. This guarantees easy future access. Save all the tunes you want o learn in one place, and then listen and learn at your own pace. NOTE - no sound files contained in this web site to be copied and retransmitted unless permission is refceived both from Cranford Publications and from the artist / label/copyright holder.
Most modern Browsers are already set up to play MP3s. You may however need to "fine-tune" your settings, plug-ins installed etc. Because of the number of players, browsers and versions that exist, it's impossible for us to give specific instructions.
With most software you install, set-up happens automatically. Programs such as Internet Explorer and Netscape Communicator are best used with transparent plug-ins such as Quicktime. All can be downloaded for free for both Windows and MacIntosh platforms.
 Download Netscape |
 Down Load Internet Explorer |
Any browser with a properly installed plug in will open our MP3 files exactly the same way as activating a text link on the web. We have programmed the links so that while the MP3 loads into your cache, a new resizable window opens ... so that you can look at the musical notation to the tune while you wait for the sound to begin. If you have more than one audio player on your computer you should assign each one as the default player for specific audio files. Use your Realaudio player to listen to the Realaudio files. Use MP3, Windows Media or QuickTime players to listen to MP3 files. Using your Realaudio player to listen to MP3 files may cause a minor crash in the audio software and you may have to shut down the program.
For both sound quality and functionality we prefer the Quicktime Plug-in. Clips play automatically after they have completely loaded. Alternatively, partial clips can be listened to during the loading process. We've tested this using all connection speeds - from very slow cell modem connection of 9600 baud to broadband - all without problem (other than the length of time to load). For the "audiophiles" Quicktime offers the best sound quality either as a browser plug-in or as a standalone media player.
Download Quicktime Plugin
How do I save or download MP3s for later playback?
You can preview the clip by letting it load to approximately 10% and then manually activating the player. If it's the tune you want, let the entire clip load before saving. Once loaded, it is in your cache it should play flawlessly. If you want to save it just go to the file menu and choose the appropriate Save As option and file it away in an appropriate directory. (this differs depending on Browser, platform etc. -- for Mac Internet Explorer users choose download link to disk). ... for Netscape choose "Save as Source".
For Windows use your computer's find command and type in *.mp3 as the file name, looking in all directories (C: for most computers) (Mac just go to the Finder and issue a seach command for .mp3). This tells the computer to look for any MP3 files on your hard drive. Your browser typically will save by default to a temporary folder. Many programs prefer you save downloads into their default folder, which can make finding tunes a little confusing. You can avoid this situation by creating a new folder that you use to store all of your MP3 downloads. Or, choose to save all downloads to your desktop. Either way, your files won't get buried deep inside your computer where you can't find them.
Some popular software players include
 |
 |
There are also dozens of hardware devices which act as portable stand-alone players. Other multi-purpose devices are proliferating include cell phones with players built in, PDAs with MP3 capability, the I-Pod etc. etc.
