The web sites listed below offer automatic searches for MIDI files on the Internet . Although the automatic searches lack discretion that a dedicated musician might exercise in collecting the MIDI files, an automatic search might come up with exactly the MIDI file you are looking for.

If the specialized MIDI file search engines below are not able to help you find the MIDI file you are looking for, then you should try using your favorite general search engine, such as Google or Yahoo. For the search keywords, type "MIDI" followed by the name of the song or artist you are looking for, such as "MIDI Yesterday".

MidiSite - One of the best MIDI search engines that we've seen. Enter the name of the song or composer, check the parameteres, and click the "MIDI search" button. Searche results contain links to the internet pages/files of interest for your search.

FindFiles.net - This is a general search engine that files any kind of file you're looking for, and this page is the specific MIDI files page. It does a great job finding MIDI files. Just type then name of the music or composer, followed by "midi'. For example, to find a MIDI for the Beatles "Yesterday" song, type "yesterday midi".

MIDI Explorer - This site maintains a list of MIDI files that also have been collected automatically. This web site offers searching of MIDI files by song/composition title, but not by composer or artist. You may have to try a couple different ways of spelling the song/composition title before the search succeeds. But it is worth the effort if there is a particular music piece you need. The number of MIDI files in the database seems to be huge; but the site does not mention how many. If the normal search does not work, try the "Other Paths" option near the bottom of the MIDI Explorer page.

Melody Catcher - This search engine allows you to search using title or author to search for a song. Alternatively, you can use the keyboard on the page to enter the first few notes of a song and search for the song (this requires that you have Java installed for your browser).

MelodyHound - Do you know how the song sounds, but don't remember it's name? Sing a melody into your computer's microphone or click in some notes, and MelodyHound searches over 30,000 MIDI files on the Internet to find the songs that best match your tune. Give it try; we have found that it works!

Classical Archives - This website has a wealth of excellent classical MIDI files. You can download up to five MIDI files daily for free, or become a member for $5.99 per month to get up to one hundred free MIDI files per day. This opening MIDI page has a quick list of composers you can select from, or you can enter your search query in the "Search" box at the top of the page.

In the course of various Internet Service Providers changing their user's ability to have their own web pages, there are some search pages and MIDI file hosting websites that have been changed or lost. If you know of the new locations for any of these websites, or know of a good website we should link to here, please let us know at webmaster@notation.com