I see it as useful for teaching me how to think about musical forms more precisely but the math factors are intimidating.
What makes it exactly intimidating ..what kind of math is this ?..i become curious now ..i download the latest version
Algorithmic Composition could not be easier. Generate sequences from SCOM's vast libraries. Drag MIDI snippets into your sequencer, tweak your sounds and assemble your masterpiece together. Make music even withoutany programming.
I read the Windows information..and worrying is that this introduction gives no yet clear insight in the structure (syntax) of this musical programming language ..perhaps a tutorial then.
There are any number of ways to externally generate food for Synfire but if we all use Synfire standalone that diversity is restricted. I have no objection to adding generators to Synfire, indeed I would enjoy using them. But I'm starting to hear a Synfire style, a Band-In -A-Box style, an 808 style etc. I dream of having my own style.
There are any number of ways to externally generate food for Synfire but if we all use Synfire standalone that diversity is restricted. I have no objection to adding generators to Synfire, indeed I would enjoy using them. But I'm starting to hear a Synfire style, a Band-In -A-Box style, an 808 style etc. I dream of having my own style.
Yes, that's also my paradigm: Use different tools to keep your style alive. That's the reason, why I always try to use different tools and not just Synfire exclusively. Different tools enforce different workflows and hence produce different results. And use built-in music generators only very sparingly. In this way it can be avoided that the music sounds like the one or the other tool.
The more we work, the more we develop our own style.. It is good to mix up different approaches also. This keeps your sonic pallette wide.. There are more than a few long time artists - where you can't tell if their music is new or 20 years old..
I use Band In a Box. But I also spend a fair amount of time modifying it's results. It gave me the germ of an idea.. A lot of times it creates one brilliant riff, which can get you started on your own journey.. I have a CD/Book of chord progressions. I periodically refer to them to make a song.. I start a song in Logic, and while still in it's beginning stage, I run it through SFP, and rather heavily harmonize a new chord progression.
This newest piece I'm working on.. I used SFP to reharmonize the chords,, because of the melody, it changed chords a lot on beat 2 and 4, rather than at the beginning of a bar.. I went back in and started manually selecting more 2nd and 4th beats to change the chords. The result if very interesting. It's not immediately noticeable, but the changing of chords in a different postition really add a layer of interest.
Here are a few of things ive tried to feed SFP and often using multiple instances with each other.
1. Sugar Bytes Thesys
2. Xfer Cthulhu
3. Converting Mp3s to midi with ableton live or melodyne and using Mashtactic to filter out different instruments in the spectrum. this yields various but sometimes pleasant results.
4. playing guitar and converting to midi.
5. Rapid composer generated midi.
I havnt tried Band in a Box. Can anyone offer any more ideas on how to feed the beast?
Can anyone offer any more ideas on how to feed the beast?
The notation software Pizzicato Pro comes with composition assistance tools, some of which occasionally can be quite useful to produce or transform phrases. One of them is called "musical vectors". With this feature, you can select a part of the score and convert it into a musical vector. Then you have access to several parameters to tweak this vector in its shape and rhytmical structure. Pizzicato has also chord progression functions, but in this field it can not compete with Synfire, of course. But the main weak point of Pizzicato is its user interface that looks so outdated that it hurts in the eyes.
For Audio-to-MIDI-conversion, the software capella wave kit (capella.de) is much better than Melodyne. Unfortunately there is currently only a german version available of this software. But it can do amazing things. It has much more parameters to tweak the conversion process than Melodyne. It can perform a harmonic analysis of the audio file to make the conversion more robust. It can distinguish between melody, accompaniment and bass and it generates separat voices for them. In cases, where the accompaniment patterns can not be recognized reliably, the software simply generates its own accompaniment patterns based on the harmonic information it has. Then you have also access to several parameters to tweak this generated accompaniment pattern. Really too bad that there is not an english version available of this software.
I use also yamaha styles( professional arranged ) for phrases
- nodal
google : midi phrase generator When googled this i saw for Atari St : midi programs, it reminds me on earlier days when i had this fantastic atari st computer. A lot of musicians used this atari for composing and there is a Atari ST emulator for windows( in the past investigating this ) to get the Atari st programs running on Windows ( i did also , but i am not sure of this anymore ..too long ago to excactly remember this) --> i try aggain, why not ..only the emulator must be working on win7 64 bit
Dig in this Atari St stuff and look if it usable in Windos or Mac ? Probably it is all outdated the algorhytmical programs for Atari, but maybe there is massive collection as i remember me.
It has probably to do with the "German Gründlichkeit" and high level of education.
Besides that they like Gemütlichkeit and they love music i think ( think on the Lederhosen ) I have been many times in Germany a relief compared with Holland for spaceness and more nature
Also i do speak/understand the german language not extensively, but enough ..learned when i studied on a technical college mechanical engineering a very long time ago
The programming language is LISP. You actuall write your compositions in words and phrases in that language SCOM 7.2 is a beast. It's probably easier to learn than it looks at first sight yet I still am intimidated by it. That wont stop me from eventually mastering it. I have very limited time to learn the intricacies of a computer programmer language with my heavy travel schedule. Off to Italy and Germany today!
What is up with Germans and Music soft? All the great music soft is made there.
Wahnsinn, of course.
The typical German engineer's question is "Could it be done?". The typical American engineer's question is "Could it be sold?" Germans tend to invest tremendous time and effort into unpredictable ventures ;-)
I often think what I would do, if I won the lottery jackpot now. It became clear to me that, after buying a new home, travelling around a bit and trying a few things I always wanted to try, I would hire a few people, return to my Mac and continue working on Synfire. There's so much to discover. So much music to make, share and experiment with. I just love it.
I used to work for Dr. T's Music Software in the 80's.. They had a sequencer usin sequenctial circuits MIDI out board that fit into the back of Commodore 64.. They Dr. T moved over to Atari's.. I'm not sure if I have any of the Atari disks for Dr. T.. Will take some searching around.. don't know if it's worth the effort.
He wrote a progam called something Algorhythmic Generator.. If you fooled around with it enough, it would occassionally come up with interesting stuff.. There used to be Atari emulator for Macs, probably only PowerPC's. I doubt they would have updated.
On occassion I have run two different applications and/or two computers, tied together via rewire.. and use Logic to record the output of the 1st application for more manipulation.
There was also mention of a Logic many years ago, creating environments which would map any note to a selected modal scale.. You had to select 2 bars, then select the proper environment to run it through.. This was done way back in 2004, not sure if it still is on net, or if it will even work. Logic 9, could only load files back to Logic 7. These environments were in something like Logic 4 or 5.
This way you could basically play anything, and mold it into shape. I do that with Synfire Pro now. Sometimes just play a melody, wrong notes, out of scale, etc.. Then I 'analyze' it to fit in.. Play with "step" command to make more interesting phrasing..
I had no idea this thread would get so much attention.. Yes there are a number of us.
Again, Band-in-a-box, comes up with sometimes decent melodies. Takes time and tweaking, but once in a while, it creates something really exquisite.. They also have great tech service. Someone always answers the phone and they are very knowledgeable about their product..
For Audio-to-MIDI-conversion, the software capella wave kit (capella.de) is much better than Melodyne. Unfortunately there is currently only a german version available of this software.
:toobad: just installed demo but ! its not fair! :-?
I'm very sorry. Unfortunatly the software is also not as self-explanatory as Melodyne. It has a very detailed help system, but if you can't use it, you're lost.
Yes. It did not work for me using the piano recordings I've tested it with. It may work better with other musical styles. Haven't had the time to test that.
Yes. It did not work for me using the piano recordings I've tested it with. It may work better with other musical styles. Haven't had the time to test that.
That's what I thought. I also have done only a quick test and was not really convinced. But if you want to convert a Rachmaninoff piano concerto, you'll get problems with any software. In any case the score you get will be cluttered to some degree and will need some further editing.
For cleaning cluttered scores there is an app called ScoreCleaner ( scorecleaner.com ). Another pretty cool Artificial-Intelligence-tool (however it's not from Germany, It's from Sweden ;) ). It can be useful even if you are not interested in notating your music. You can totally free play something on your keyboard, i.e. without click-track and without having to worry about the tempo. ScoreCleaner analyzises that and tries to generate optimized, reasonable-looking Sheet Music from it. It can automatically detect different voices, tempo changes, and so on. It even tries to figure out the time and key signatures.
I use ScoreCleaner mainly as a sort of intelligent quantization and voice recogition tool. If I have a cluttered MIDI file that I want to import into Synfire, I first put it through ScoreCleaner. The figure recognition is then much easier for Synfire and the results are better.
Is it not easier to use for this a program what can extract midi out of the score ?
That's what I thought. I also have done only a quick test and was not really convinced. But if you want to convert a Rachmaninoff piano concerto, you'll get problems with any software. In any case the score you get will be cluttered to some degree and will need some further editing.
Is it not easier to use for this a program what can extract midi out of the score ?
Yes, sure. At pieces, of which you have the Sheet Music, you can do that too. But that's also laborious. Fortunately, you can find MIDI files of many classical pieces on the net.
This thread is simply fantastic, many big brains around ! im still far from using synfire efficiently but still learning ...
it seems this generator was not mentioned and I will try it when possible with synfire : karma software within korg synth .
not sure if it could considered as generator although...
share is love, love is share, there is no reason to hide tips and tricks as anyway it will always sound different depending users even same tools are used !
Kunst Der Fuge has a huge assortment of classical midis. I paid a small amount for the complete classical midi zip download. This contains thousands of files of both Major as well as lesser known composers. I am steadily feeding Synfire elements of these composers .
As an example I have libraries for Elgar, Delius, Prokofiev, Sibelius, Beethoven etc.
There were some great sites for movie music midis as well. I have a huge John Williams collection including most of the music for all of the Star Wars movies! Try mixing ELP's Keith Emerson, with Scriabin, Beethoven , John Williams, and Elgar. Amazing!!!
I was fascinated with the Karma Software.. I had it in a Triton many years ago, and then again in Korg M3. I even bought the software version for Motif XSrack..
But i found this twice as obscure and able to understand as Synfire Pro.. Steven Kay can make it jump hoops.. But he's been dedicated to this for many years.
Ultimately, I didn't have the patience to learn/understand it. Even though he was regurlarly posting how to videos.
I think I would classify as a super steriod arpeggiator, true it had neat little riffs one could put togethr.. Please tell us of your encounters, and upload something you did with it.. I still have the M3, and the Karma editor.. Maybe I'll take a look at it.
This thread has a life of it's own.. You know one can always jam and make up a melody in their DAW, cut, paste, copy, transpose. Or import the mangled melody in SFP and have it 'tame it'.
I've tried that a few times.. ok...
Then there's the old 'put the sequencer it loop, auto record and mute new tracks. After enough loops you start finding where certain riffs belong, Then flush it out. Hey our brain can be the ultimate melody generator.. Sometimes when I can't seem to find a good melody.. I start singing one.. Then I figure out the notes, and I'm off.
As an aside. Check out this youtube video about Cuttlefish
Compared to their bodies that have a massive brain.. They can instantly change shape and color to blend in with surroundings. The texture of their skin will actually form ridges, peaks, ripples, bumps. And they can display any color. They can even 'strobe' like a Vegas niteclub sign. Which scientists are not sure if it stuns, its prey, or they become hypnotized.. When the cuttle fish 'strobe' their prey invariably freezes in it's tracks and is then eaten.
They give an explanation of how the camouflage works. Truly ingenious. Scientists suspect, this is one animal (of the molusk family) that perhaps has the most brain processing power of any animal..
Hey our brain can be the ultimate melody generator.. Sometimes when I can't seem to find a good melody.. I start singing one.. Then I figure out the notes, and I'm off.
That reminds me: ScoreCleaner, that I mentioned above, has also an iPhone app, called ScoreCleaner Notes. You can sing or hum a melody into it and the app converts it to the notes. Then the notes can be uploaded to the ScoreCleaner Cloud. From there you can download it to the desktop version of the software, edit it and export it as a MIDI file.
That reminds me: ScoreCleaner, that I mentioned above, has also an iPhone app, called ScoreCleaner Notes. You can sing or hum a melody into it and the app converts it to the notes. Then the notes can be uploaded to the ScoreCleaner Cloud. From there you can download it to the desktop version of the software, edit it and export it as a MIDI file.
That's very interesting as I'm often humming songs into my iPhone then trying to play it back on the keyboard!
I had a look on the App Store and it's only 0.69 GBP but it says 'sign up for the Cloud account to synchronise with the Desktop version'. I notice the Desktop version is 99.00 GBP (!) so do you really need that or can you just get the tunes from the in-app version somehow?
Also, it's got a couple of bad reviews but I wondered how accurate you find it just for the humming bit? I'm not bothered about the notation side, I just want to get my humming converted to MIDI and I assume this would do just that?
The accuracy of the detection depends on your quality as a singer, of course ;)
The detected scores are shown at the display of the phone, but if you want to export the Midi, you would need the desktop version. Of couse the App is meant as an appetizer to buy the desktop version.
The connection to the ScoreCleaner cloud is needed, because the calculations of the software are done online, not directly at the phone.
I am steadily feeding Synfire elements of these composers
Hi Richard,
I'm interested in how you do this. A while ago I started to download MIDI files and I was importing them using the batch import option, and automatically putting the phrases into pools.
However there was a few problems with this approach:
1. The automatic phrases were often duplicated and therefore somewhat meaningless
2. It took forever to do the pattern recognition of a large batch (e.g. more than 24 hours)
3. The resulting libraries were huge and could not be loaded by Synfire (too much memory used, but I think this may only be a problem in Windows, not on MAC)
So what methods do you use?
Do you import using batch import?
Automatic figure recognition (or bypass and do manually later)?
Painstakingly go through each file and drag interesting phrases to the library or use automatic phrases?
Sat, 2013-11-02 - 12:11 Permalink
Hi Richard
What makes it exactly intimidating ..what kind of math is this ?..i become curious now ..i download the latest version
I read the Windows information..and worrying is that this introduction gives no yet clear insight in the structure (syntax) of this musical programming language ..perhaps a tutorial then.
Sat, 2013-11-02 - 12:28 Permalink
Please, please tell us! :admire: I'm always interested in new secret weapons. I promise, I won't attack you with these weapons. ;)
Sat, 2013-11-02 - 12:46 Permalink
There are any number of ways to externally generate food for Synfire but if we all use Synfire standalone that diversity is restricted. I have no objection to adding generators to Synfire, indeed I would enjoy using them. But I'm starting to hear a Synfire style, a Band-In -A-Box style, an 808 style etc. I dream of having my own style.
Sat, 2013-11-02 - 13:17 Permalink
Yes, that's also my paradigm: Use different tools to keep your style alive. That's the reason, why I always try to use different tools and not just Synfire exclusively. Different tools enforce different workflows and hence produce different results. And use built-in music generators only very sparingly. In this way it can be avoided that the music sounds like the one or the other tool.
Sat, 2013-11-02 - 19:33 Permalink
The more we work, the more we develop our own style.. It is good to mix up different approaches also. This keeps your sonic pallette wide.. There are more than a few long time artists - where you can't tell if their music is new or 20 years old..
I use Band In a Box. But I also spend a fair amount of time modifying it's results. It gave me the germ of an idea.. A lot of times it creates one brilliant riff, which can get you started on your own journey.. I have a CD/Book of chord progressions. I periodically refer to them to make a song.. I start a song in Logic, and while still in it's beginning stage, I run it through SFP, and rather heavily harmonize a new chord progression.
This newest piece I'm working on.. I used SFP to reharmonize the chords,, because of the melody, it changed chords a lot on beat 2 and 4, rather than at the beginning of a bar.. I went back in and started manually selecting more 2nd and 4th beats to change the chords. The result if very interesting. It's not immediately noticeable, but the changing of chords in a different postition really add a layer of interest.
Sun, 2013-11-03 - 01:34 Permalink
Here are a few of things ive tried to feed SFP and often using multiple instances with each other.
1. Sugar Bytes Thesys
2. Xfer Cthulhu
3. Converting Mp3s to midi with ableton live or melodyne and using Mashtactic to filter out different instruments in the spectrum. this yields various but sometimes pleasant results.
4. playing guitar and converting to midi.
5. Rapid composer generated midi.
I havnt tried Band in a Box. Can anyone offer any more ideas on how to feed the beast?
Sun, 2013-11-03 - 14:29 Permalink
The notation software Pizzicato Pro comes with composition assistance tools, some of which occasionally can be quite useful to produce or transform phrases. One of them is called "musical vectors". With this feature, you can select a part of the score and convert it into a musical vector. Then you have access to several parameters to tweak this vector in its shape and rhytmical structure. Pizzicato has also chord progression functions, but in this field it can not compete with Synfire, of course. But the main weak point of Pizzicato is its user interface that looks so outdated that it hurts in the eyes.
For Audio-to-MIDI-conversion, the software capella wave kit (capella.de) is much better than Melodyne. Unfortunately there is currently only a german version available of this software. But it can do amazing things. It has much more parameters to tweak the conversion process than Melodyne. It can perform a harmonic analysis of the audio file to make the conversion more robust. It can distinguish between melody, accompaniment and bass and it generates separat voices for them. In cases, where the accompaniment patterns can not be recognized reliably, the software simply generates its own accompaniment patterns based on the harmonic information it has. Then you have also access to several parameters to tweak this generated accompaniment pattern. Really too bad that there is not an english version available of this software.
Sun, 2013-11-03 - 14:49 Permalink
I must try out this one Catanya, but Synfire must record its midi out ?
http://www.7aliens.com/catanya-arpeggiator?gclid=CNyI4vKdyLoCFcGd3godP20AzA
I use also yamaha styles( professional arranged ) for phrases
- nodal
google : midi phrase generator
When googled this i saw for Atari St : midi programs, it reminds me on earlier days when i had this fantastic atari st computer.
A lot of musicians used this atari for composing and there is a Atari ST emulator for windows( in the past investigating this ) to get the Atari st programs running on Windows ( i did also , but i am not sure of this anymore ..too long ago to excactly remember this) --> i try aggain, why not ..only the emulator must be working on win7 64 bit
Tunesmith ( atari ST )
http://tamw.atari-users.net/tunsmith.htm
Dig in this Atari St stuff and look if it usable in Windos or Mac ?
Probably it is all outdated the algorhytmical programs for Atari, but maybe there is massive collection as i remember me.
Yes..http://tamw.atari-users.net/timidi.htm
Composing process
http://tamw.atari-users.net/mp3tim.htm
For the emulator steem i try to get this working on win 7 ?
http://ataristeven.t15.org/Steem.htm
Steem SSE 3.5.3
i am trying installing this steem sse 3.5.3 on windows 7 64 bit ...
:idea: i remembered also algomusic : http://www.algomusic.net/index.html
Well hopefully you can pick out something here that you can use in your music
I tested out it seems to outdated for the current screen..perhaps if you do have a old atari st computer ?
Sun, 2013-11-03 - 16:36 Permalink
Thanks Juergen. Looks like now is a good time to learn German. What is up with Germans and Music soft? All the great music soft is made there.
Sun, 2013-11-03 - 17:28 Permalink
Ask André ;)
Sun, 2013-11-03 - 19:08 Permalink
It has probably to do with the "German Gründlichkeit" and high level of education.
Besides that they like Gemütlichkeit and they love music i think ( think on the Lederhosen )
I have been many times in Germany a relief compared with Holland for spaceness and more nature
Also i do speak/understand the german language not extensively, but enough ..learned when i studied on a technical college mechanical engineering a very long time ago
Sun, 2013-11-03 - 19:09 Permalink
The programming language is LISP. You actuall write your compositions in words and phrases in that language SCOM 7.2 is a beast. It's probably easier to learn than it looks at first sight yet I still am intimidated by it. That wont stop me from eventually mastering it. I have very limited time to learn the intricacies of a computer programmer language with my heavy travel schedule. Off to Italy and Germany today!
Sun, 2013-11-03 - 19:11 Permalink
Pizzicato 3.6 is great, espescially the vectors . It is not produced in germany however. That program comes out of Belgium
Sun, 2013-11-03 - 21:36 Permalink
Wahnsinn, of course.
The typical German engineer's question is "Could it be done?". The typical American engineer's question is "Could it be sold?" Germans tend to invest tremendous time and effort into unpredictable ventures ;-)
I often think what I would do, if I won the lottery jackpot now. It became clear to me that, after buying a new home, travelling around a bit and trying a few things I always wanted to try, I would hire a few people, return to my Mac and continue working on Synfire. There's so much to discover. So much music to make, share and experiment with. I just love it.
Sun, 2013-11-03 - 22:27 Permalink
I used to work for Dr. T's Music Software in the 80's.. They had a sequencer usin sequenctial circuits MIDI out board that fit into the back of Commodore 64.. They Dr. T moved over to Atari's.. I'm not sure if I have any of the Atari disks for Dr. T.. Will take some searching around.. don't know if it's worth the effort.
He wrote a progam called something Algorhythmic Generator.. If you fooled around with it enough, it would occassionally come up with interesting stuff.. There used to be Atari emulator for Macs, probably only PowerPC's. I doubt they would have updated.
On occassion I have run two different applications and/or two computers, tied together via rewire.. and use Logic to record the output of the 1st application for more manipulation.
There was also mention of a Logic many years ago, creating environments which would map any note to a selected modal scale.. You had to select 2 bars, then select the proper environment to run it through.. This was done way back in 2004, not sure if it still is on net, or if it will even work. Logic 9, could only load files back to Logic 7. These environments were in something like Logic 4 or 5.
This way you could basically play anything, and mold it into shape. I do that with Synfire Pro now. Sometimes just play a melody, wrong notes, out of scale, etc.. Then I 'analyze' it to fit in.. Play with "step" command to make more interesting phrasing..
I had no idea this thread would get so much attention.. Yes there are a number of us.
Again, Band-in-a-box, comes up with sometimes decent melodies. Takes time and tweaking, but once in a while, it creates something really exquisite.. They also have great tech service. Someone always answers the phone and they are very knowledgeable about their product..
Sun, 2013-11-03 - 23:14 Permalink
That's the spirit. :thumbsup:
Mon, 2013-11-04 - 01:50 Permalink
:toobad:
just installed demo but ! its not fair!
:-?
Mon, 2013-11-04 - 10:54 Permalink
I'm very sorry. Unfortunatly the software is also not as self-explanatory as Melodyne. It has a very detailed help system, but if you can't use it, you're lost.
BTW: Has anybody tried Neuratron's Audioscore? http://www.neuratron.com/audioscore.htm
Mon, 2013-11-04 - 11:46 Permalink
Yes. It did not work for me using the piano recordings I've tested it with. It may work better with other musical styles. Haven't had the time to test that.
Mon, 2013-11-04 - 14:40 Permalink
That's what I thought. I also have done only a quick test and was not really convinced. But if you want to convert a Rachmaninoff piano concerto, you'll get problems with any software. In any case the score you get will be cluttered to some degree and will need some further editing.
For cleaning cluttered scores there is an app called ScoreCleaner ( scorecleaner.com ). Another pretty cool Artificial-Intelligence-tool (however it's not from Germany, It's from Sweden ;) ). It can be useful even if you are not interested in notating your music. You can totally free play something on your keyboard, i.e. without click-track and without having to worry about the tempo. ScoreCleaner analyzises that and tries to generate optimized, reasonable-looking Sheet Music from it. It can automatically detect different voices, tempo changes, and so on. It even tries to figure out the time and key signatures.
I use ScoreCleaner mainly as a sort of intelligent quantization and voice recogition tool. If I have a cluttered MIDI file that I want to import into Synfire, I first put it through ScoreCleaner. The figure recognition is then much easier for Synfire and the results are better.
Mon, 2013-11-04 - 16:57 Permalink
Is it not easier to use for this a program what can extract midi out of the score ?
Mon, 2013-11-04 - 17:22 Permalink
Yes, sure. At pieces, of which you have the Sheet Music, you can do that too. But that's also laborious. Fortunately, you can find MIDI files of many classical pieces on the net.
Mon, 2013-11-04 - 19:38 Permalink
This thread is simply fantastic, many big brains around ! im still far from using synfire efficiently but still learning ...
it seems this generator was not mentioned and I will try it when possible with synfire : karma software within korg synth .
not sure if it could considered as generator although...
share is love, love is share, there is no reason to hide tips and tricks as anyway it will always sound different depending users even same tools are used !
Tue, 2013-11-05 - 03:49 Permalink
Kunst Der Fuge has a huge assortment of classical midis. I paid a small amount for the complete classical midi zip download. This contains thousands of files of both Major as well as lesser known composers. I am steadily feeding Synfire elements of these composers .
As an example I have libraries for Elgar, Delius, Prokofiev, Sibelius, Beethoven etc.
There were some great sites for movie music midis as well. I have a huge John Williams collection including most of the music for all of the Star Wars movies! Try mixing ELP's Keith Emerson, with Scriabin, Beethoven , John Williams, and Elgar. Amazing!!!
Thanks eternally Andre for creating Synfire!
Tue, 2013-11-05 - 09:06 Permalink
I was fascinated with the Karma Software.. I had it in a Triton many years ago, and then again in Korg M3. I even bought the software version for Motif XSrack..
But i found this twice as obscure and able to understand as Synfire Pro.. Steven Kay can make it jump hoops.. But he's been dedicated to this for many years.
Ultimately, I didn't have the patience to learn/understand it. Even though he was regurlarly posting how to videos.
I think I would classify as a super steriod arpeggiator, true it had neat little riffs one could put togethr.. Please tell us of your encounters, and upload something you did with it.. I still have the M3, and the Karma editor.. Maybe I'll take a look at it.
This thread has a life of it's own.. You know one can always jam and make up a melody in their DAW, cut, paste, copy, transpose. Or import the mangled melody in SFP and have it 'tame it'.
I've tried that a few times.. ok...
Then there's the old 'put the sequencer it loop, auto record and mute new tracks. After enough loops you start finding where certain riffs belong, Then flush it out. Hey our brain can be the ultimate melody generator.. Sometimes when I can't seem to find a good melody.. I start singing one.. Then I figure out the notes, and I'm off.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As an aside. Check out this youtube video about Cuttlefish
Compared to their bodies that have a massive brain.. They can instantly change shape and color to blend in with surroundings. The texture of their skin will actually form ridges, peaks, ripples, bumps. And they can display any color. They can even 'strobe' like a Vegas niteclub sign. Which scientists are not sure if it stuns, its prey, or they become hypnotized.. When the cuttle fish 'strobe' their prey invariably freezes in it's tracks and is then eaten.
They give an explanation of how the camouflage works. Truly ingenious. Scientists suspect, this is one animal (of the molusk family) that perhaps has the most brain processing power of any animal..
Tue, 2013-11-05 - 11:13 Permalink
That reminds me: ScoreCleaner, that I mentioned above, has also an iPhone app, called ScoreCleaner Notes. You can sing or hum a melody into it and the app converts it to the notes. Then the notes can be uploaded to the ScoreCleaner Cloud. From there you can download it to the desktop version of the software, edit it and export it as a MIDI file.
Tue, 2013-11-05 - 19:45 Permalink
That's very interesting as I'm often humming songs into my iPhone then trying to play it back on the keyboard!
I had a look on the App Store and it's only 0.69 GBP but it says 'sign up for the Cloud account to synchronise with the Desktop version'. I notice the Desktop version is 99.00 GBP (!) so do you really need that or can you just get the tunes from the in-app version somehow?
Also, it's got a couple of bad reviews but I wondered how accurate you find it just for the humming bit? I'm not bothered about the notation side, I just want to get my humming converted to MIDI and I assume this would do just that?
Tue, 2013-11-05 - 20:48 Permalink
The accuracy of the detection depends on your quality as a singer, of course ;)
The detected scores are shown at the display of the phone, but if you want to export the Midi, you would need the desktop version. Of couse the App is meant as an appetizer to buy the desktop version.
The connection to the ScoreCleaner cloud is needed, because the calculations of the software are done online, not directly at the phone.
Tue, 2013-11-05 - 21:18 Permalink
Here's some more ... a little outdated ... on the vocal to midi idea.
(http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=4760855)
NI's 'Mouth' appears to be exactly intended for this.
Wed, 2013-11-06 - 01:04 Permalink
Hi Richard,
I'm interested in how you do this. A while ago I started to download MIDI files and I was importing them using the batch import option, and automatically putting the phrases into pools.
However there was a few problems with this approach:
1. The automatic phrases were often duplicated and therefore somewhat meaningless
2. It took forever to do the pattern recognition of a large batch (e.g. more than 24 hours)
3. The resulting libraries were huge and could not be loaded by Synfire (too much memory used, but I think this may only be a problem in Windows, not on MAC)
So what methods do you use?
Do you import using batch import?
Automatic figure recognition (or bypass and do manually later)?
Painstakingly go through each file and drag interesting phrases to the library or use automatic phrases?
Any other things I haven't thought of?