From brief sound clips to full-length songs, you can enjoy a range of Austin music. Whether you want nationally-known or locally-grown bands and performers, the Internet offers up a music fest that's free for the taking. You can start your exploration here if you're already familiar with downloading and playing music.

If you're new to downloading and listening to music on your computer, here's a quick primer.

Formats
Just as word processing files or graphics files come in different flavors, sound files have a variety of formats which have their pros and cons.

Digital audio files for the computer are made by using a microphone to capture speech or music — much like a tape recorder. File formats include: .wav (Wave) for the PC; .aif, .aiff for the Mac; .au for Unix. Digital audio files are normally very large compared to the amount of music they contain. It can take several minutes to download a sound clip that is only a few seconds long.

MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) for the computer is used only for instrumental music (not vocals). MIDI files are smaller than digital audio files making them better-suited for transmission over the Internet. To listen to MIDI files you must have a MIDI-capable sound card and the quality of sound depends on how good your sound card is.

MP3 (MPEG1 Layer 3 - Motion Pictures Experts Group) MPEG audio files are compressed and can easily be a tiny fraction of the size of uncompressed formats such as WAV or AIF. MP3 is the latest MPEG audio format. It is currently the hottest format for transferring music files over the Internet.

Playing Audio Files
Once you locate and download sound files, how do you listen to them? Chances are your computer already has the necessary programs to play most audio files, including MP3. There are also free and shareware programs available for playing, recording, and editing different types of files.

"Even if you have never installed a special player, you can probably play MP3 files on your computer right now. The Media Player that comes with newer versions of Windows, or QuickTime 4 for Macintosh, work just fine."
— Steve Allen, About MP3/MIDI Music

If you do need or want to try other programs, these About GuideSites have many different players to try:

• MP3/MIDI Music — MP3 Software: Players, Recorders, & More
• Multimedia Sound — Audio Software
• Shareware/Freeware — MP3 Players and Downloads
• Shareware/Freeware — Music Resources of all Kinds
• Portable Entertainment — Portable MP3 (& other digital music format) players

Getting the Music
You've got your player but now you need something to play. There are hundreds of places to download MP3 and other sound files. But why not start in your own backyard? Many local performers have audio files on their Web sites that aren't available elsewhere on the Web. Additionally, explore other About sites for pointers to the best music on the Internet.

• Austin Musicians — MP3 and other audio from local bands
  Just a tiny sampling of the variety of Austin sounds available: Original Christmas songs from Austin Rudy, performances of the Austin Symphonic Band, sounds of ska from The Impossibles, a little rock 'n roll with Punchy, and the cowboy tunes of Don Walser.
• Multimedia Sound — MIDI Files/Software
• MP3/MIDI Music — How to Find MP3 Files
• MP3/MIDI Music — All New MP3 & MIDI Sites
• About Music/Performing Arts Channel — MP3 Guide Picks, features, and music by genre

I hope you enjoy sampling the sounds from the "Live Music Capital of the World." If you know of other local bands with MP3s on their Web site, let me know.