Someone thought a previous reply of mine was worth a post of its own, so here we go.
Roni Music has released a new version of the “Slow Speed CD transcriber” a while ago. The new software is called “The Amazing Slow downer”. Its a handy little tool for learning tunes by ear of CDs or mp3 files. Will enable you to slow down the speed of the tune up to 400% without changing the pitch. Just play along and increase the speed gradually as you start to get the hang of it. Will also let you alter the pitch of a tune so it will fit the key of your favourite whistle.
You can download a free demo version from Roni Music
In my opinion this software is a lot better and simpler to use than some of Roni Music’s previous releases, such as the SSCDT and the Musicians CD player. It works fine even on my laptop, just insert a CD, select the part of the tune you want to learn and adjust speed and/or pitch in real time. The new improvements are that the pitch compensation is a lot better and can be done in smaller steps. Most often there are no need for any manual pitch compensation after a stretch. The selection of start and end points for a loop can also be made more exact and best of all the sound quallity of the stretched part is truly amazing.
I ripped the first part of The Ivy Leaf with Mary Bergin as an example (total time to select the loop stretch and save the four parts - less than 3 min).
If you dont want to spend any money the free demo version will do fine. Download a free CD/Wav-2-mp3 decoder to convert your cd tracks to mp3 and use a free mp3 editor to cut out and save the part of the tune you want to learn.
Cheers!
/MarcusR
Sample links fixed I hope,
[ This Message was edited by: MR on 2002-08-01 06:51 ]
[ This Message was edited by: MR on 2002-08-01 12:39 ]
I downloaded the demo and thought it looked pretty easy to use. I already have other applications that can slow down music files so I don’t know if I’ll buy ASD but I recommend it to others looking for a slow down program.
Mike
This is the slowdowner we use after auditioning all we could find. We decided it was worth paying for the full version to support a superior product. (BTW, the only relationship I have with this product/company is that I’m a satisfied customer.) — NancyF
I just downloaded the Demo for this program. Unless anyone posts some comments about a better program out there in the next day or so, Im gonna pay the full ticket for this program.
One feature I’ve figured out that I love is the ability to easily set and adjust start and end points while playing a CD and set it at loop. You can easly adjust the start and end points to focus on the bit of the tune you want to work on, set it at 250% slowdown, and it will continually loop through the spot you are interested in…allowing you to easily and continally workon that spot at a speed you like until you’ve got it down, then you can move on to the next bit.
Good for listening to whistling, great for decoding the great fiddlers…at 250% slowdown Im still scrutinizing Tommy People’s ornamentation…simply amazing! Also, at this slow speed, I have nothing but utmost respect for Matt Molloy…his intonation and control are as good slowed down 200 to 300 percent on a fast tune as if he were playing a slow aire at regular speed, a testament to his mastery of the flute.
Anyway, I have a feeling that for me anyway, using this software will be a major learning tool. What sacrilege, confirmed music reader and ABC notation devotee that I am, I may find myself abandoning abc and just learning from the CDs directly, now that I can slow them down to a speed that my beginner’s ear can hear!
Okay - for an computer illiterate person like me - HELP! I can go to the site and download the ASD, but when I try to open it or run it, I get that “unsupported format” box that wants me to choose something to translate it from; however, I’ve tried every single one of the choices and none of them will work. I’ve got Windows 98, so why am I having problems?
Susan
Susan, does the file you downloaded end in .zip? If so, the message might just mean your computer doesn’t know what to do with a zip file. You might need to get an unzip program, which you can find at http://www.download.com.
I just listened to the uploaded roni sample slowed 100%. The sound quality was far superior to the program I’ve been using, which has this annoying stuttering effect that increases the slower it goes. The program I presently use is transkriber, paid 50.00 for, and must convert files to wav before using. Thanks for the tip!
Lisa
I downloaded it a fortnight ago - it’s amazing! The only thing is that the freebie download will only work on the first two tracks of a CD, so I use a CD-RW disc to record one or two tracks each time. I suppose if you don’t have a CD Writer you have to buy the full version.
Nope, you dont need a CDRW. And if you burn a CD for every new song you will soon save a bundle paying for the full version.
Here is what I do:
Ripp any CD track and convert it to a wav or mp3 file. I use the free version of CD_2_mp3/wav, wav2mp3 download](http://www.mthreedev.com/download.html%22%3Edownload) here. Edit or extend the wav file with cool edit or any other free audio editor (there are some free mp3 rippers/editors that will let you work on the mp3 file right away, havn’t tried them though) so that the section you want to play will load into the ASD. Quite easy and a lot cheaper than burning CD’s.
However, I’m about to pay for the software as I think its well worth the money.
Cheers!
/MarcusR
[ This Message was edited by: MR on 2002-08-02 05:57 ]
MR,
thanks for bringing up the ‘The Amazing Slow Downer’ subject again. I had the old demo installed on my machine for a while, but I was using Winamp with the ‘slow me down’ plug-in’
Does the full you-beaut version have a page for transcribing scores? I mean, as it plays the tune off the CD/MP3 file, does it/can it show the score as well, or do you need to know the score beforehand (or pick it up by ear)?
When you register you will be able to select all tracks and play the complete mp3 file, thats it
Not sure what youre after, never heard of any program that will give the score from a CD track or any other audio file. (if there is I’ll buy it). There are several programs that will give you the score from a midi file and adaptors + software that will display the score on a pc as you play along using a midi keyboard.
If youre into transposing scores for various instrument there is a free software called Lime musical notation or something similar. Suppose to be good. You should be able to find it on the web. This stuff is beyond me.
The Slow Downer is just a great little audiofile manipulator. To transpose a track to a different key just adjust the pitch slider setting. I usually do it by ear in real time by pressing the “/” and “*” buttons on the key pad untill Im satisfied.
If you into musical theory the pitch index shows the percentage of a semi tone i.e. move the slider +1 and you raised the pitch one semi tone (I dont know what a semi tone is though, you might).
