Helpful Software

Whistle
1

Specifically, I use CoolEdit 2000 for recording from CD and saving as MP3, but one feature they offer is a STRETCH setting which allows a tune or section of tune to be slowed down in speed, but maintaining pitch. Helpful for beginners wanting to play along and learn slowly. Also repeats tunes, etc.

I also use
ABC2Win to convert from ABC notation to sheet music,
ABC Play2 to convert from ABC notation to MIDI file,
WG Player to convert MIDI files to WAV files which can then be played on CoolEdit 2000 (as a WAV; MIDIs cant be played on most audio editors), slowed if needed and saved as MP3.

I wanted to share that with other FNGs. Total outlay for software is appr. $80-100.

If there is any other software that is helpful, I would like to hear about it.

Thanks

Sean Me’Adge

2

Melody Assistant Software Mini review updated:

Midi files can be separated into 2 types. Computer generated and Instrument generated.

Computer generated midi are programed by a piece of software and some type of score. Instrument generated are created by someone playing an instrument (often a key board) through a midi interface.

Melody Assistant translates both. The Computer generated stuff comes out almost perfect with very little, if any, clean up neccessary. The instrument generated stuff come out a little verbose. It translates what is played almost exactly, including little pauses and rests the player may be putting into his performance.

When I converted ‘Gift of a Thistle’ it was from an instrument generated midi. It gave me 5 or 6 melody lines 2 harmony lines and 2 percussion lines. It included a lot of minor rests where the person playing the midi instrument was not exactly on beat. But it did identify 2 bag pipe lines, a flute/whistle line, and 2 string lines.
The midi file I was using passed the melody between all these voices.

Clean up was easy because after I made a change, I could alway replay the score by just pressing the play button. The play button, plays a midi (computer generated version) sound file of the score as it is now written. This feature is also good when trying to transcribe something by ear.

MA also makes it easy to transpose tunes up or down the scale. MA has a number of output options for the score include printing, ABC, EPS, midi and BMP. I can then convert the BMP file to Gif if needed. You can also easily change the voice of any line of the score. They include a wide range of electronic instrument voices, whistle, flute, pan pipe, japanese flute, bag pipe, all most all the standard Irish traditional instruments. They also have a facility that lets you add additional voices based on sound sampling or digitally manipulated midi effects.

Another thing Myriad (makers of MA) is good at is upgrades. I’ve had my software for 9 months and gone through 4 upgrades. Each added or improved something on the product. All the upgrades have been painless, no errors, no blow ups, not even any reboots required.

When I was looking for an inexpensive notation software package I looked at a number of software programs including Noteworthy Composer. At the time Melody Assistant was much better and gave me much more control. It’s intutive and pretty well supported through the website.

I have been suprised how persistant Myriad has been about adding needed features. it was allready more robust than Noteworthy, and Myriad just keeps making it better.

Once I get my scanner fixed I plan to get their OSR (optical score recognition) package that will let me scan standard notation into the Melody assistant. ( OSR is Like an OCR but for music notes instead of test characters.) I can then add harmony lines, custom chord acompanyments, etc. with the result of have group arrangements of some of my favorite tunes.

I keep planning on writting a full blown review of this package to send to Dale to add to the sight. But I keep putting it off and generating these little mini reviews.

And no, I am not a Myriad representative, I just really like their software, I think for 15 bucks, It can’t be beat. It helps you to …


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Enjoy Your Music,

Lee Marsh

[ This Message was edited by: LeeMarsh on 2001-08-09 09:39 ]

3

“Lark in the Morning” sells two versions of the same basic program - I own the software called “Slow Tune” (for Mac) and it was the best purchase I’ve made. It’s sixty dollars and unfortunatly it’s a very tiny program that comes on a 1.4 meg floppy. I was furious when I saw how small it was, but it does exactly what is promised. It speeds up or slows down tunes without changing the pitch or changes pitch without changing speeds. A great thing when you want to play along with D pitched music on your C whistle. It’s been a great way to train my ear and slow down practise pieces. If your computer records sound, you can record your analog music into the computer. You can record from your CD player, as well. It’s not for MIDI, however.
I then take the slowed music from my computer into a recording source, tape it and put the tape into my walkman for practice.
It’s the best teacher you can have . . .without having a teacher.

4

and while I am at it…

The Whistle font freeware to create your own tablature makes life easier!

5

Hey all,

As far as sound file editing, etc…
A low cost alternative could be GoldWave. I have used it a lot just to mess around with some audio clips and such. It will also slow down whatever part of a tune you like, and still maintain pitch. It’s probably not as good of quality as CoolEdit, but it will load and save most any format (including mp3 of course) and like I said… it’s cheap! :slight_smile:

Take care,

John

6

Neither of the programs I list below has the capability of slowing down a tune (or at least not that I am aware of), but they are both cheap basic fully functional digital multitrack recording programs. The free demo versions allow you to save individual track, but not to mix down to a single .wav file.

I have and use the full Cakewalk program, and have used the Syntrillium’s Cool Edit program, but have found that for simple living room recording, the N-track progam does just fine. It’s simple to use, doesn’t require a lot of tweeking and adjusting of this setting and that setting to get it to work.

N-Track studio, free demo, registered version about $39.00:

http://www.fasoft.com/what_is.shtm

PowerTracks Pro Audio 7.0, free demo, regisered version $29.00:

http://www.pgmusic.com/powertracks.htm


Blaine

7

I just wanted to put in my 2 cents about Melody Assistant. While I do agree that it is the most value for $15 that I have gotten in a long time, I still find it frustrating. It is a quirky program that is sometimes a little too automatic. For instance, it will sometimes link high base clef notes with low treble clef notes when that is not what I want. Finding out why it does that and how to make it stop has already taken more hours than I have and it is still doing it. I also have problems with the chord function. When you want to add chord notation, you just push as button; but you cant change those chords. I am often reduced to laboriously adding a dialogue in each measure in which I write the chords (these are quirky too).