Dropbox files
[Last updated: 6 May, 2023]
Preamble
I started transferring the free, out-of-copyright sound files to Dropbox storage over two years ago. I did this because my then webhost’s servers were struggling with the amount of streaming and downloading it was having to do. Moving the files to a separate storage facility passed all that work away from my site to Dropbox, who have much larger resources.
I have now completed this task; all my sound files are now stored on Dropbox. You don’t need a Dropbox account to access the files, even though they sometimes show you buttons to “Sign in”, “Sign up”. Ignore those buttons.
The majority of pages will have a bright blue “Copy to Dropbox” button, but that is aimed at those people who do have a Dropbox account. As I said before, there is no requirement to have Dropbox account, so non-Dropbox account holders should ignore that button as well.
I will not see Comments made via Dropbox; use the HELP>CONTACT ME form on the website if you need assistance.
How to play/stream and/or download the files
Once you are on the main page on my site for the piece you are interested in, below the publisher information there is a single “Click here for the sound files” link. For in-copyright pieces, this link only shows if you have logged in with an active paid-for membership plan, or have a Sub Account with an active Corporate membership plan.
Below that link there may be notes such as “Starting at Letter A”. For multi-movement works there will be a list of the individual movements.
Clicking on the “Click here for the sound files” link takes you to the folder on Dropbox where the files for this piece are stored.
Single movement works
To dowload, there is a “Download” button for you to download the files to your own computer if you wish, but that button will download ALL the voice parts. It is there if you wish to do that. Hovering your mouse over a voice sound file will, in most browser’s, reveal a “Download” button.
Right-Click (Ctrl-Click) to reveal a “Download As…” dropdown menu will not work on Dropbox; use the dedicated button they provide.
Note that the files are NOT in score order; rather they are in alphabetical order of voice. So Sopranos, for example, will no longer see their part at the top of the list. A typical listing will be:
…RR Alto.mp3
…RR Bass.mp3
…RR Piano.mp3
…RR Soprano.mp3
…RR Tenor.mp3
…mp3 This last file is the Full Voice version
For out-of-copyright pieces there are also MIDI, MusicXML and Sibelius files, but note that Dropbox doesn’t provide a means of playing these files; clicking on them will download the file to your computer/device.
To play/stream, click on the voice MP3 file, and you will will be taken to Dropbox’s MP3 player. This has buttons at the top, and a graphical representation of the MP3 file in the centre.
On the black Transport Bar at the bottom, to play (stream) the file, click on the white arrow on the left. There are buttons to go back/forward 10 seconds. On the right, there are buttons to play in Full Screen, to adjust the volume, and to set a different speed. There is an option to choose more than one slower speed.
At the top of the page there is a button to “Download” the file to your computer/device. There’s a button to “Save a copy to Dropbox”, and “Sign in” for those of you who have a Dropbox account. For those who don’t have a Dropbox account, there is no requirement for you to “Sign up” to Dropbox.
Multi-movement works
[NOTE: Dropbox’s ordering of numbers displays a little oddly in some browsers. For those pieces with 10 or movements, those later movements will appear higher up in the list than you are expecting. You may see this:
1 …
10 …
11 …
12 …
2 …
20 …
21 …
3 ..
[End NOTE]
The first page lists all the folders for the individual movements. There is a bright blue “Copy to Dropbox” button for those who have a Dropbox account, but note that this will download ALL the voice parts for ALL the movements.
Click on the movement you are interested in, and it takes you to the folder containing the voice files. Then the process is the same as for “Single movement works” above.
Once you have finished with the voice part for one movement, click on your browser’s Back button until you are back at the page listing all the movements, and choose another movement.
Some Dropbox screens may show a “Join this folder” link; there is no need to click on that because you gain access anyway. (I am slowly removing that button from my pages).
JohnF