Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with music and software

Christmas amateur DJ time

mooreeasyvibe — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 10:48:33 -0800

Does anyone know of any good software for mixing mp3s and making mixes on a mac or pc? That is free/open source.

Recommendations for DJ samples/songs ala Fatboy Slim?

heatherfl — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 18:30:56 -0800

My husband mixes dance music using Fruity Loops. I want to get him some CDs for Christmas for samples -- particularly stuff that sounds like Fatboy Slim. Help? I can buy loops already sampled or I can buy songs for that he can sample himself, it doesn't matter.

This song is a good overview of what FBS sounds like and what I'm looking for:
Mad Flava

There's a lot of retro sounding piano and brass, some funky bass/guitar, syncopated percussion, a bit of synth/electronica, and non-rap but rhythmically interesting vocals. If you're familiar with Fatboy Slim, you know what I mean!

FYI, I already got him "The Ultimate DJ Sample Box" which has actual Fatboy Slim samples. Just looking for supplemental goodies now.

So what should I get for him, music experts?

Thanks so much!

How many units of Ableton Live sold annually?

SilentSalamander — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 07:36:18 -0800

Marke research: how can I find out how many units of Ableton Live music software have been sold annually? My colleagues and I are trying to create a startup that develops software that allows people to compose and perform music in a new way. We are currently trying to evaluate whether there is a real busienss opportunity, and it is really stumbling us up, because, frankly, none of us has done anything like this before. Our main competitor is very likely Ableton Live, and the best ways we have thought of trying to understand market demand and growth is to directly ask our competitors, and also to ask suppliers about how many units of our competitors' software they have sold. Unfortunately, both have turned out to not be fruitful.

Does anyone have any idea how we might be able to estimate market size and growth for this software package and for the composition/live performance industry as a whole?

Thanks.

Multi-track looper software?

fizzzzzzzzzzzy — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 17:58:36 -0800

I'm looking for some sort of multi-track looper software. Something I could use during a live performance to record and play along to multiple tracks. Ideally, it would be a way for me to play all the parts of a song by myself in a single performance. Example of how it might work: I play a drum part and record it into the computer so that it keeps repeating that drum part along to pre-set time signature and tempo. As it loops back, I lay down guitar, keyboard and bass. When the verse comes in, I stop the guitar and keyboard part from playing with a quick tap of the keyboard. When the chorus starts, I bring them back. And on and on until the end of the song.

Bonus - if effects can be applied to the tracks in the middle of the song.

Does PC software exist that can compare the contents of 2 computer folders that each consist of tens of thousands of individual mp3 files, in order to find discrepancies between the two folders?

kristin — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 19:41:32 -0800

I have two drives, and each folder has some overlapping music, some music that isn't in the other folder, and some corrupted files (due to fire damage), which is why I cannot just merge the two together and let the duplicates of one overwrite the other - I don't want to overwrite a 'good' song with a corrupted, unplayable version. I am looking for software that could map the contents of both folders and show me which files they have in common, which would then identify which they do not, and allow me to create a new, clean, folder of music that has no duplicates and no corrupted files.

Does this software exist? Or, is there a better way to do this? Because the thought of doing this manually is making me a little sick.

Ways to see rhythms

argybarg — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 12:12:55 -0800

I'd like any software or website that helps visualize rhythms. It could be in musical notation, or flashing lights, colored shapes — anything that helps show meter, syncopation, layered rhythms. I'd be showing these on a screen for kids (K-5) in my music class to look at and clap along with to pick up rhythms. Simple is great; far-out and experimental might be interesting as well.

I'm on a Mac, if it matters.

Experiences running iTunes off an Airdisk?

yesno — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 10:30:29 -0800

Experiences running iTunes off an Airdisk--particularly when things go wrong? Hello, I'm wondering if anyone has any thoughts on running iTunes off an Airdisk. I tried moving the entire iTunes library over to the Airdisk and it was painfully slow (because it is almost always better to move entire iTunes folders rather than just the music subfolder).

This doesn't seem to have worked too well, as either Aiport Extreme or my iMac (yes, latest firmware on everything) will periodically drop its connection. If iTunes loses track of its library files for even a second it freaks the hell out. Plus, it makes launching really slow.

So, I've since moved all the support files over to my iMac and have symlinked (through ln -s, not an alias) the music directory, which is on the Airdisk.

So--

What will happen to the symlink if the Airdisk is disconnected? Is it persistent?

What will happen if the Airdisk disconnects while iTunes is running? I imagine I'll get an exclamation point for each song it tries to access. Will I have to rebuild my library in any way? Will "lost" songs be magically refound when the drive comes back? Will iTunes freeze the way it does if its library files go missing?

DEATHMATCH: Tenori-on Vs Monome

Juliet Banana — Fri, 29 May 2009 15:08:56 -0800

Which is a better musical instrument: the Tenori-on or the Monome? So, to a lay person (me!) they look like the same thing; buttons and LEDs. Most people either are in love with one or the other, or think they're absolutely different, apples and oranges.

The Tenori-on is made by Yamaha, sells for $999, and is probably best known as that weird lite-brite thing Little Boots uses. It can generate it's own sounds and the software it pairs with is not configurable by the user.

The Monome devices are made by Monome and vary between $500-$1,400, providing you can snatch one when they become available or find one on ebay, or put it together yourself. It does not produce sound on it's own; it's simply a controller for software. Many user-produced software exists for it, and you can write your own.

I'm asking this for my boyfriend, who does a fair amount of DJing live and bedroom-recording of music that sounds like if glitchy robots could beatbox. He mostly uses Ableton Live, and is learning Max/MSP. If I got any information wrong in this question, it's because I'm not a DJ, just a club kid; feel free to correct me harshly.

Does the Monome make sense if you're not a programmer and Max/MSP looks like some scary moonman software you'd have to be Venetian Snares to understand?

Which is better for playing live?

Which is a better deal for the money?

What's on your personal wishlist? If you bought one, do you regret not buying the other?

Help me find the right software for creating mash-ups and sound collages.

elder18 — Wed, 27 May 2009 10:28:24 -0800

Help me find the right software for creating mash-ups and sound collages. I'm looking for software that will let me create mash-ups and sound collages.

Ideally, I'm looking for something that will let me take specific parts of a song, such as only the bass line, drum line, etc., and separate it for use in another creation. Oh yeah, I'm a PC.

I've been looking at Tracktion, but if anyone has other ideas more suited to what I want, I'd be glad to hear them. Thanks!

Best Mac DJ software?

kdern — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 11:28:35 -0800

Best Mac DJ software? What OSX software do you recommend for a newbie? I'm looking for something that does enough to DJ a dance party, nothing too complicated.

Would like to know about the best free and not-free options.

I've seen these but haven't tried them yet...

Mixx (free)
DJ-1800 ($)
djay ($)
Ultramixer DJ (free and $ versions)

Software to generate notated music from singing?

Flunkie — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 15:41:57 -0800

Can I sing (or hum or whistle) into my computer and have it produce notated music? I would like to sing (or hum or whistle) into my computer and have it produce some form of notated music - sheet music notation, MIDI, or preferably both. I figure there might be some software out there that would let me do this, given the existence of games like Rock Band (which detects the pitch you're singing at).

Assume (as I do) that I am not tone deaf, and that I have a halfway decent singing voice.

Windows, please; freeware is preferred but not required.

Thanks in advance.

Audio files for non-audiophiles

fusinski — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 21:27:21 -0800

What is the simplest way (free or otherwise) to convert M4P and M4A audio files to MP3 en masse?

Music vs. speech detection software?

Mwongozi — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 07:52:55 -0800

Music vs. speech detection software? Say you have a recording of a radio show that includes some speech and some music, but you only want to hear the speech. Is there any software that can automatically detect music, and remove it?

Tell me about sight singing/ear training software.

Anonymous — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 13:24:04 -0800

Tell me about sight singing/ear training software. A friend wants to take up singing in a choir again after a long time away. She's worried about the sight singing part of the audition — she knows how to read music, and used to be quite good at it, but her skills are rusty and her schedule is too unpredictable to take regular lessons. We'd like to get her some software that would help her practice: ideally something that's specifically good for practicing sight singing, but barring that some general-purpose ear training software.

We've found lots of options online, but we don't know what's good. Anyone out there with experience with this sort of program who can tell us what's worth getting and what's worth avoiding?

Anonymized for xmas.

How to perform "I am sitting in a Room" by Alvin Lucier?

lotusmonster — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 12:10:00 -0800

I would like to perform Alvin Lucier's "I am sitting in a room" live in a classroom. Does anyone know of a computer program capable of simultaneously playing, recording, and then rerecording over the previously played material on a loop? Alvin Lucier made his recording by strategically placing the play, record, and erase heads at specific points on his reel to reel, so that the sound recorded was then played and rerecorded and the original recording was erased. I am looking for software to allow me to do this on a laptop - preferably freeware.

Home recording advice for newbie with digital piano and laptop...

wibbler — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 11:08:46 -0800

I have a Roland F-50 digital piano and a laptop. How do I connect them to record songs, do basic mixing and loop chord sequences? I will need a cable from the piano to the laptop (of course!) - but what one?! - and advice on software. Cubase Sequel 2 seems to fit the bill (I'm a newbie) but I've no idea if it's any good or not.

Maybe I need an interface box that could do the sound looping etc instead?

Music gurus needed for advice! Thanks in advance.

Getting started producing electronic music?

wastelands — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 11:54:55 -0800

How does an absolute beginner get started making electronic music? I've listened to electronic music for 13 years. I'm partial to ambient, noise, and anything abstract and experimental. I have always wanted to try my hand at creating music, but something like Reason 4 appears intimidating (not to mention expensive).

Does anyone have a recommendation for messing around and getting started with electronic music... without spending a bunch of money first? I'd like to see if I have a knack for it before I commit to major hardware and software purchases.

I've got an old school Dell computer at home running Windows XP, so compatibility with that platform would be nice.

Thanks!

Can I save, in mp3 form, the songs recommended to me by Pandora, on a Windows PC?

newfers — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 13:33:06 -0800

Is there anything approximating a Windows-based version of the OSX application PandoraJam, allowing me to record tracks suggested by the Pandora website? I purchased an amazing shareware program for my Mac, called PandoraJam... It records and downloads all music recommended by the wonderful music recommendation site Pandora.

I would love to have a similar program on my Windows-based PC, but other than some very clunky solutions, I can't seem to find a piece of shareware/freeware that would do the trick easily, and preferably legally, though that isn't a prerequisite :)

Help? Anyone? Please?

What should I use (besides Audacity) to create a simple music show?

rollbiz — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 19:03:44 -0800

I am looking for the easiest program (Mac OS X, Intel compatible) that will allow me to import MP3s, record from a mic, and sequence it all into a show I can export as an MP3. Here's the deal: I used to put together a very simple weekly downloadable music podcast a few years back, using a no-frills Windows compatible software that I have unfortunately forgotten the name of. I'm sort of the "music guy" amongst my group of friends, so it was a great way for me to put together a barebones show (music and brief commentary) so that my far flung acquaintances could follow what I was listening to.

A few months back, I decided to resurrect this project. A few people recommended I try Audacity, but I have had a bunch of problems with it. They're all solvable, I'm sure, but I don't really want to spend time learning it if there's a simpler solution.

I don't need effects or laser shows or other fancy things. Things that don't cost money are preferential. Thoughts?

ethereal sounding software

MrMisterio — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 15:35:07 -0800

I have a gear question... what kind of software do ethereal electronic semi-improv bands use? I'm thinking, for instance, of tape... i mean, it's the kind of music that when you go see it live there always has one guy hunched over a laptop producing lots of strange textural sounds... any ideas? also what software can one use to alter the sound of an acoustic instrument in real time?

Music analysis software - where is it?

ignignokt — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 10:30:42 -0800

I'm looking for either free software or an API that could take a wav file and parse it. I'm looking for either free software or an API that could take a wav file and parse it. I'd like it to give me information about the pitches, rhythm, or timbre contained in the wav file. I'm basically interested in any form of musical information as output. It doesn't have to be perfect, it just has to give me something.

I'm asking because a friend of mine is teaching a class in which he wants to have students to come up with an automated way of making judgments about music. I don't know how well-versed they are in programming, so the less technical the better, but if a C++ library is the best there is, so be it.

I know it's gotta be out there, but the thing is, I can't figure out what the right thing to type into Google is. Do you happen to know?

Collaborating On Music Live Over The Internet?

sparkletone — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 08:10:29 -0800

I want to collaborate in real time (or not far off) on some music with someone who lives far away from me. I am working on a project with someone in another country. We've traded files back and forth a bit. However, that's proven to be somewhat limiting for a couple reasons. If we can find a way, it would be better to set things up so that he can hear (and possibly even see) what it is I'm doing in something approaching real time.

I know I can route audio from whatever program I'm using in to Skype, but I think the sound quality when doing that would not be worth it. I also have a copy of Nicecast, and can set up a stream that the other person can listen to while we work. I've streamed DJ sets to small groups of friends before, but I kept the stream there relatively low-quality. So, I'm not sure what kind of sound quality I can get from a Shoutcast stream before lag becomes an issue on either end.

Does anyone have any suggestions for doing this sort of thing?

As far as seeing what I'm doing goes: Does anyone know of a good cross-platform way to show the other person what's on my screen? I'm on a Mac, which I know has built-in VNC stuff, but I've never tried to make that work over the Internet, just on my home wifi. Tips on doing that? Recommendations for PC VNC clients?

Music creation help

mphuie — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 15:49:08 -0800

Recommendations for inexpensive software/hardware for making those instrumental/karaoke versions of songs. I'd like to make music, similar to those cheesy karaoke "tribute" albums, which are pretty much instrumental knockoffs. I'm not really looking to compose and I'm not really concerned about instrument/sound quality.

Any recommended software/hardware? This is for fun, so hopefully nothing with a huge learning curve or a high price (<$400).

I have both Mac and PC.

I've played with Garageband, but it seems more for recording. However if anyone recommends it, I will play around with it more.

The software, it makes me sing like a French horn

gmarceau — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 08:50:34 -0800

I recently came across a program to edit the pitch of individual notes in a recording, even if they were recorded as a chord. If the technology is so advanced, it should be possible to identify the notes sung by the voice of a singer, right? Does such software exist? There is a program that can split the individual notes within a recording of a guitar chord so they could be edited individually. The program would let you drag the sound of each string up and down to change its pitch as seamlessly as if you were editing the score. It was remarkable how well it worked, considering that the sounds of the strings of a guitar are overlaid in a standard stereo recording.

I came across it recently, it might have been on mefi, but I forgot its name.

I thought, if such analysis exists, it should be possible to sing some notes then convert the recording into a score and save it as a midi file. If I could do that, then by editing the midi instrument I could transform the sound of my voice into a clarinet or a cello. How cool would that be?

Does such software exist? Is it expensive? And, above all, is it as much fun as I picture it to be?

Help me automagically assemble ~1 hour of new music per day, to listen to on my commute.

primer_dimer — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 03:57:40 -0800

Help me automagically assemble ~1 hour of new music per day, to listen to on my commute. I've recently been cursed with a 30-minute commute to and from work each day, and I want to turn it into a blessing in disguise by using it to listen to some of the wonderful music that's available freely on the world wide web. Ideally what I'd like is some sort of mp3 aggregator that would take a list of sites that I specify, and each day download 1 hour's worth of music onto my mp3 player. Searching for "mp3 aggregator" brings up a few likely sites, but before I dive in and start exploring them I'd be interested to know if you have any suggestions. I'd like to include music from sites like music.mefi (of course!) as well as individual artist pages and sharity sites like those mentioned here.

I'd also be interested in any kind of software that might help me do this. I'm running Linux, and am quite happy to fiddle around with bash/perl/java if it will get me closer to a solution.