Software Question

[phil.mcglassup]

Hi All,

I have done quite a few searches for tech answers but as a non-tech kinda guy need some help.

Basically, for our covers band, when working out bass lines and backing vocals I tend to use YouTube where I can stop and start etc and it is free and very easy to use. A problem has now arisen where our female singer needs to raise a particular song by one tone to suit her voice. Many replies to this sort of question mention Audacity etc but I would like to know:

Is it possible to use this sort of software in conjunction with YouTube. if so, how?


Alternatively, my son has an ipod so could the track be downloaded to it then transferred to the adjusting software on my PC and then burnt to disc so that I can play it in the car in the new key?

Which free software is the easiest to use? (and free?)

Any info appreciated but please keep it simple as I am not familiar with how it all works regarding MP3, waveforms etc. I did have a quick go with Amazing Slow Downer and found it a doddle to use but only does a third of the track!!

Regards.

[Happy Jack]

[quote name='phil.mcglassup' post='973561' date='Oct 1 2010, 09:01 AM']I did have a quick go with Amazing Slow Downer and found it a doddle to use but only does a third of the track!![/quote]

Bwhahahaha!

That's the free evaluation copy, Phil.

If you want full functionality, you actually have to BUY the product.

Life's like that.

[Bloodaxe]

Can't help with Audacity, as I don't use it, but I doubt that its pitch shifter is overtly complex.

If you're a Firefox user, it's possible to save videos from Youtube with the free "Download Helper" plugin, but the legality of doing that is somewhat dubious. You can also play the video online & record the sound part of it using something like Audacity (same legality issues though).

iTunes is a good source, but in order to do anything with an iTunes file you really need to convert it into something useful, like a *.wav or an MP3. Assuming you use Windows, Format Factory is superb for this kind of thing, totally free & available here: [url="http://www.formatoz.com/"]http://www.formatoz.com/[/url]

Once you've got the file into an accessible format, run it through Audacity & then save it as either an MP3 or just as a WAV, then burn it to CD or stick it on an MP3 player.

A WAV is an uncompressed sound file, unlike an MP3 which supports varying degrees of compression, & they tend to be quite large (tens of MB), but they're usually a lot quicker to load in sound editors as the program doesn't have to decompress it. They're quicker to burn to conventional CDs for the same reason.

If you've got the full version of Nero installed, have a look at Nero SoundTrax, according to the [url="http://ftp6.nero.com/user_guides/nero9/soundtrax/NeroSoundTrax_Eng.pdf"]manual for version 9[/url] it can do the speed up trick too.

Pete.

[TimR]

Goldwave is a free package that will slow down audio and a whole host of other things too.

download helper doesn't rip the audio from the video AFAIK.

PM me if you want to know a cheap MP3 site.

Edited October 1, 2010 by TimR

[Happy Jack]

[quote name='Bloodaxe' post='973606' date='Oct 1 2010, 09:37 AM']... run it through Audacity & then save it as either an MP3 or just as a WAV, then burn it to CD or stick it on an MP3 player.[/quote]

This is why I gave up using Audacity - I couldn't get it to save files in mp3 format. Something about it being a proprietary format which was not currently supported.

[JTUK]

Bass and vocal..?

This key shift is all about musical development, IMV.

Far better to learn the thing in the original key with all the positions etc..and then transpose the shape, not thinking about notes, a tone up the board. That will be a far more useful exercise than software. This is a musical solution to a problem that will crop up again, IMV.

Deal with it musically.

or write the chart out with the chords and then transpose..again, a much better musical idea rather than learning something pidgeon fashion and being stumped when it isn't entirely as first thought.

This will help the hearing and the understanding of notes in a chord etc etc ..

[geoffbyrne]

You can download Audacity & the codec package that allows you to *export* as MPEG. The pitch shifter & the tempo changer are easy to use.

To convert Youtube to MP3 download FreeStudio.

[url="http://audacity.sourceforge.net/"]http://audacity.sourceforge.net/[/url]

[url="http://audacity.sourceforge.net/help/faq?s=install&item=lame-mp3"]http://audacity.sourceforge.net/help/faq?s...p;item=lame-mp3[/url]

[url="http://www.dvdvideosoft.com/"]http://www.dvdvideosoft.com/[/url]

G.

[chrisba]

On most ( but not all ) PC's you can record what's coming out of the speakers. If you have a Soundblaster card, there is an audio input channel called "What-u-hear", just record this while YouTube is playing, even better record it using Audacity ( don't forget the free MP3 plug-in mentioned above if you want to save it as MP3 ). Other sound cards have one called "Stereo Mix" or something similar.

I'm told that you can plug speakers out into line-in, and record that, never tried it myself though.

[Happy Jack]

[quote name='JTUK' post='973615' date='Oct 1 2010, 09:45 AM']Bass and vocal..?

This key shift is all about musical development, IMV.

Far better to learn the thing in the original key with all the positions etc..and then transpose the shape, not thinking about notes, a tone up the board. That will be a far more useful exercise than software. This is a musical solution to a problem that will crop up again, IMV.

Deal with it musically.

or write the chart out with the chords and then transpose..again, a much better musical idea rather than learning something pidgeon fashion and being stumped when it isn't entirely as first thought.

This will help the hearing and the understanding of notes in a chord etc etc ..[/quote]

Not sure I'm with you on this.

A band asked me to learn a Gun's N'Roses track in a hurry last week. The original is in Eb but played on a bass tuned down a semi, while this band prefer to play it in D.

I used ASD to play the original track in D, slowed it down a tad until I had the riffs, and played along with it. I didn't feel particularly un-musical.

Similarly, I'm currently learning to sing a song which is pitched a little too high for me, so I want to drop it from D to C. I practise singing it by using ASD to drop the original recording by a tone.

In both cases, what matters is the result. The band mentioned above were happy that I learned the track quickly. I don't think they much cared whether I learned it pidgin-fashion, or at the London School Of Economics. They just wanted to play the song.

[JTUK]

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='974164' date='Oct 1 2010, 03:18 PM']Not sure I'm with you on this.

A band asked me to learn a Gun's N'Roses track in a hurry last week. The original is in Eb but played on a bass tuned down a semi, while this band prefer to play it in D.

I used ASD to play the original track in D, slowed it down a tad until I had the riffs, and played along with it. I didn't feel particularly un-musical.

Similarly, I'm currently learning to sing a song which is pitched a little too high for me, so I want to drop it from D to C. I practise singing it by using ASD to drop the original recording by a tone.

In both cases, what matters is the result. The band mentioned above were happy that I learned the track quickly. I don't think they much cared whether I learned it pidgin-fashion, or at the London School Of Economics. They just wanted to play the song. [/quote]

Keys shifts are just that.. so it wouldn't bother me. I'd do it on a 5 anyway as that is all I have.
If someone says this is a half step down ...you get all those things on gigs/deps anyway.
Stevie Wonder tunes are classic for this.
If someone says do you know this song..the answer should be, sure, what key? assuming you do indeed know it.....not, only in such and such a key.
That should be largely irrelevant, IMV.

Vocal keys..well, you can only pitch what you can pitch anyway.
From the OP POV, I just think they might need a different approach and beef up their skill-set at the same time.

If you want to use the software approach, then fine, I just think it is missing a trick, tbh.