Editing MIDI (section)

=====Game music=====
Early PC games were distributed on floppy disks, and the small size of MIDI files made them a viable means of providing soundtracks. Games of the [[DOS]] and early Windows eras typically required compatibility with either [[Ad Lib, Inc.|Ad Lib]] or [[Sound Blaster]] audio cards. These cards used [[FM synthesis]], which generates sound through [[modulation]] of [[sine wave]]s. [[John Chowning]], the technique's pioneer, theorized that the technology would be capable of accurate recreation of any sound if [[Additive synthesis|enough sine waves were used]], but budget computer audio cards performed FM synthesis with only two sine waves. Combined with the cards' 8-bit audio, this resulted in a sound described as "artificial"<ref>David Nicholson. "[http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-946733.html HARDWARE]."{{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130502120852/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-946733.html |date=2 May 2013 }} The Washington Post. 1993.</ref> and "primitive".<ref name="Levy">Levy, David S. "[http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-14803399.html Aztech's WavePower daughtercard improves FM reception. (Aztech Labs Inc.'s wavetable synthesis add-on card for Sound Blaster 16 or Sound Galaxy Pro 16 sound cards) (Hardware Review) (Evaluation).] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130502121538/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-14803399.html |date=2 May 2013 }}" Computer Shopper. SX2 Media Labs LLC. 1994.</ref>

Wavetable [[daughterboard]]s that were later available provided audio samples that could be used in place of the FM sound. These were expensive, but often used the sounds from respected MIDI instruments such as the [[E-mu Proteus]].<ref name="Levy" /> The computer industry moved in the mid-1990s toward wavetable-based soundcards with 16-bit playback but standardized on a 2&nbsp;MB of wavetable storage, a space too small in which to fit good-quality samples of 128 General MIDI instruments plus drum kits. To make the most of the limited space, some manufacturers stored 12-bit samples and expanded those to 16 bits on playback.<ref>Labriola, Don. "[http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-16232686.html MIDI masters: wavetable synthesis brings sonic realism to inexpensive sound cards. (review of eight Musical Instrument Digital Interface sound cards) (includes related articles about testing methodology, pitfalls of wavetable technology, future wavetable developments) (Hardware Review) (Evaluation).]"{{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130502104559/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-16232686.html |date=2 May 2013 }} Computer Shopper. SX2 Media Labs LLC. 1994.</ref>