Gospel Midi & Chords - YouTube

it's time for a gospel midi upgrade...

I was on YouTube yesterday, and I was looking for a song for assistance, and I was looking for an explanation for the song "Friend of God," by Israel & New Breed. The song originally appeared on the album New Season, but the version on Alive in South Africa is awesome. Live music has an extra something to it that just makes it awesome. For example, Fred Hammond's Pages of Life Chapters 1 & 2 illustrates this best. The first disc was recorded in the studio, but the second disc, with many of the same songs, is so much better.

With all that said, I only found 2 tutorials max for Friend of God, and they were not in the original key of E, like the song is performed on the album. It was difficult to find the tutorials as well, and so I thought, if I could ever master that song, I think someone might want to know how to play it. I have a camera for which I can record myself, I just now have to figure out how to set that up. I have seen the videos and I feel that the camera looking down on the keyboard is the best approach. Gospel midi is good, but oftentimes, the personal touch can make learning easier and sometimes, to actually see the difference in styles can be interesting.

Most importantly, I like the videos that make mention that the music needs to be led by the Spirit of God. With that said, some time soon, expect to see both midi and links to YouTube videos here. Below is the link to download Never Would Have Made It by Pastor Marvin Sapp. That song is a great testimony. Where would we be if it were not for the Lord on our side?

Never Would Have Made It - Marvin Sapp - Thirsty

Gospel Midi & Chords - Super Smash Bros. Brawl

I know this is not about gospel midi, but...


I was recently fortunate to purchase a Nintendo Wii, and with it, I purchased Super Smash Bros. Brawl. It's the third installment of the series that began with the Nintendo 64. At the moment, the game far surpasses its predecessors, but playing online is almost unbearable, as the connections are shaky and characters are not as responsive as they should be. My Brawl friend code is 3694-9834-6986. Feel free to add me and play against me. I'm online a lot, usually after 8 PM.

In other Nintendo news, they will be coming out with something called Wii Ware. Essentially, Nintendo is allowing third-party content to be sold for play on the Wii. Perhaps someone could come out with some kind of software that will allow for learning midi files or at least playing them. Who knows. I would love to get my hands on the development kit though. If anyone knows how to be enrolled, or if individuals can even participate, let me know.

Gospel Midi & Chords - Eve Marie Carson

I know that this site is dedicated to providing gospel midi files, but I felt it not robbery to give honor to Eve Marie Carson, Student Body President for 2007-2008 at UNC-Chapel Hill. As a current UNC-Chapel Hill student and full-time employee, although I did not know her personally, my prayers go out to her family, friends, and UNC as a whole. Full coverage of the story can be found at The Daily Tarheel's website, website of the official news paper of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. As of this post, the cause and suspects are unknown, but what is known is that no one is safe anymore. Maybe you're not a part of UNC-Chapel Hill, and maybe you didn't know her, but incidents are happening all around the country, and it is time to pray for peace in the time of the storm. People may ask "where was God?" and "how could God allow this to happen?", but God never left. Take this tragedy to reflect upon your own life, and thank God for even the very air you breathe.

She will be missed. My heart goes out to her loved ones.

Gospel Midi & Chords - Synthesia

To all gospel midi fans...


In case you hadn't heard of it, there is an open-source game called Synthesia (formerly called Piano Hero) that is a great tool for helping people to learn how to play gospel midi files. If you have a MIDI-compatible keyboard (I use a Casio WK-3000), you can connect it to your computer (using the USB-to-MIDI cable I talked about in an earlier post) and learn songs at your own pace. You can slow songs down, speed them up, play one hand at a time, simply listen to the song, and more. If you do not have a keyboard, there is still a way to play Synthesia using the keyboard, but I didn't find that as fun as actual piano keys.

Now, Synthesia comes with many more options, including a learning pack that is constantly in development. However, that pack is not free, and starts at $14. However, the author will allow all upgrades from that point to be free after buying the learning pack. With this learning pack comes the ability to view and play sheet music for your gospel midi files and more.

Finally, in case you wanted the song shown in the picture, When the Saints Go to Worship, here is the download:

When the Saints Go to Worship - Donald Lawrence - The Best of Donald Lawrence & the Tri-City Singers: Restoring the Years

You can download Synthesia 0.6.3 from its official web page here. Keep practicing!

Gospel Midi & Chords - Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1

New browser for downloading gospel midi files...

If you're adventurous, feel free to take the leap to download the first public beta release of Internet Explorer 8 for downloading your gospel midi files. This iteration of the browser is in beta stages, so it definitely has a few bugs, but it also has a few new features like Web Slices and improved support for web standards. What does all this mean? Sooner or later, people will be creating web sites to host gospel midi files that will be compatible with both Mozilla Firefox and Internet Explorer.

Again, be warned, this is beta software, so it is advised to not be used in any work environments were stability is critical. Happy downloading!

Gospel Midi & Chords - More Gospel Midi Files!

Here is some more gospel MIDI files to start with:

Total Praise - Richard Smallwood - Adoration
God Didn't Give Up - Deitrick Haddon - Crossroads
Calling My Name - Hezekiah Walker - Live in Atlanta
Baptist Benediction (Threefold Amen)

All gospel midi files (thus far) have been performed by me. Feel free to use them as you see fit. Be blessed.

Gospel Midi & Chords - 1st Midi Post

Here are two gospel midi files to start off with:

We Must Praise - J. Moss - The J. Moss Project
Welcome Into This Place

These two worship songs are dear to my heart. Playing the piano is great and downloading gospel midi files is good, but if you cannot identify with the message of the songs you play, then there will always be something lacking from your music. For example, if you were to download a gospel midi file and play it in church, it may meet the requirements for providing music, but the song cannot adapt to when the spirit is high, for example.
Enjoy these songs and be blessed. More on the way.

Gospel Midi & Chords - The Purpose

Giving honor to my LORD and Savior Jesus Christ, this blog will provide gospel midi files to help learning piano players around the world, and to learn something myself. This idea was something I always hoped was possible and found out was possible a few years ago after stumbling onto Vanbasco's Midi Karaoke Player. It is an excellent piece of software that simply does what it was created to do--play midi files and show the notes played for each instrument. This program has truly been a blessing; there have been many times, especially while playing at New Bethel Missionary Baptist Church in which finding and using midi files to learn gospel songs on a deadline.

Mind you, downloading midi files of your favorite gospel songs can be extremely helpful, especially to us beginners, but there is a danger associated with gospel midi files. There was one point that all I was trying to do was download gospel midi files, and I was no longer attempting to trust God for the ability to hear and learn the songs myself. These gospel midi files should be viewed as a guide more than a solution, as reliance on them will not help in developing your own style.

With that said, use these gospel midi files with caution; it is easy to mimic what you may find on this site or on other sites, but know that God has made each and every one of us unique, and if you have the desire, you have the ability to help usher in the Spirit of God through music.

Currently, I record gospel midi files for reference purposes. I haven't quite reached the point where I can duplicate what I hear in my head, so when it's an old song, a reminder doesn't hurt. I currently use Anvil Studio to record my gospel midi files, but there are other programs out there, like Fruity Loops. You will need a USB-to-MIDI cable to create your gospel midi files. The one I currently use is made by Turtle Beach and I have no complaints. I connect it to my Thinkpad Z61t laptop and in no time, record gospel midi files at the end of every rehearsal at home.

Although I am not focused on much more than recording myself playing the piano, know that gospel midi files come with multiple channels which can be used for recording different instruments, like an organ or a drum track. That is beyond the scope of this blog, however.

Occasionally, I will compile a list of the gospel midi files I have created, possibly some lyrics along with it, album art, and any tips that I can think of. If you have any requests, feel free to make them. Note that I stated that I am also a beginner, but I will try my best.

Have fun, let God lead you, and create gospel midi files!

Gospel Midi & Chords - VanBasco's Midi Karaoke Player

Before I post any midi files, I feel that it is important to first explain what a MIDI file is. A MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) file is a file that contains sound data from musical instruments, like a keyboard. MIDI also allows for multiple instruments within the same file (for example, drums, keyboard, sax) and allows you to place them on separate tracks. Imagine the separate instruments playing together as cars traveling along separate lanes on a highway.

VanBasco’s Karaoke Player (http://www.vanbasco.com - freeware!), a program that enables you to view the actual keys on the piano that were pressed to produce the sounds of the separate tracks of a MIDI file (drum tracks are not shown):

An in-depth description of the interface can be found on the author’s website
here. Additionally, the application’s appearance can be changed with the use of skins. One skin in particular, Big Piano, is useful because it enlarges the piano window, making the keys easier to see. You can get it from the skin gallery. I recommend the Big Piano skin. It makes learning songs easier! To quote the author:

To install a new skin, first download the .zip-archive of the file, e.g. skin.zip. Then extract the contents of the downloaded file to the installation folder of vanBasco’s Karaoke Player, e.g. C:\Program Files\vanBasco’s Karaoke Player. (To do this, you will need a file manager that is capable of reading .zip files. If you are using Windows XP, then Windows Explorer already supports this. Otherwise, you can download 7-zip - freeware!)

Then, inside vanBasco’s Karaoke Player, open the setup dialog. (You get to the setup dialog by clicking the note button in the top-left corner in the main program window of vanBasco’s Karaoke Player and choosing "Setup...".) Choose the "Misc" tab. In the box labeled "Skin" select the skin you just installed. Then close the setup dialog by clicking the "OK" button. The last step is to restart vanBasco’s Karaoke Player. Enjoy!

Gospel Midi & Chords - Right Now Praise (John P. Kee)

Welcome to Gospel Midi & Chords. This site provides midi files, chords, and assistance for those looking to play the latest gospel music. If you have questions not covered in Gospel Midi & Chords or would like to request a song, please feel free to email your question to midi@unc.edu.

As part of this introduction, feel free to download this midi file of John P. Kee's latest single, "Right Now Praise."