What is a good way to convert my Nightingale files to a listenable format?
The first thing to do is to export your score to a MIDI file, which is simply done via a command in the File menu. MIDI files can be played by a variety of players, including Apple’s free QuickTime Player and iTunes. If you want to preserve the instrument settings, you may need a more powerful player. The Pro version of Quicktime will let you insert General MIDI instruments onto the various MIDI tracks. (Procedure: use the ‘get movie properties’ command, then select ‘music track’ and ‘instruments’ in the option boxes.) QuickTime 6 will work in OS 9, and 6.5 will function through OS X Panther. The Pro key for these versions costs $29. QuickTime 7 seems to have LOST the ability to edit the music track, and is not currently recommended. QuickTime 7 works on Panther and Tiger (and presumably future OS upgrades) only. The Pro key for this also costs $29. For OS 9 and earlier, in addition to QuickTime, the shareware program MIDIGraphy is worth a look. It is available at http://www.tucows.com
