A-law and u-law are companding schemes used in telephone network to get more dynamics to the 8 bit samples that is available with linear coding. Typically ...
Frequency modulation synthesis (or FM synthesis) is a form of sound synthesis whereby the frequency of a waveform is changed by modulating its frequency with a modulator.
An overview of audio file formats.
CD audio file formats are somewhat different. The main music format is called "red book audio."
DVD-Audio (commonly abbreviated as DVD-A) is a digital format for delivering high-fidelity audio content on a DVD.
General MIDI (also known as GM or GM 1) is a standardized specification for electronic musical instruments that respond to MIDI messages.
Notes recorded on channel 10 always produce percussion sounds when transmitted to a keyboard or synth module which uses the GM standard.
A good tutorial on MIDI.
Wavetable synths can fill your song out with lush modern electronic production.
A Java class that helps read MIDI files.
A neat guide and code to programming MIDI -- parsing MIDI files and using MIDI events.
Prof. Barry Truax is an expert on electronic music. His acoustics handbook can be accessed here. This site includes a good search engine on sound, as well.
