Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with music and sound

Magic Chord-O-Matic Machine!

phrontist — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 13:04:20 -0800

I was playing around with a keyboard at a Guitar Center that had an auto-harmonize feature. Below a certain note pressing a key would play a chord instead of a single tone. What was interesting was that playing chromatically (white and black keys) it played chords that retained a firm sense of key (C major) - if you jumped around randomly or did chromatic runs it didn't sound like there were a bunch of modulations taking place. What formula do you think it used to do this?

I love Jay-Z, but autotune is still alive and well. For now.

anildash — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 00:30:32 -0800

What's a good (and not terribly expensive) portable setup for adding AutoTune to live vocals? This would be in NYC, and the world needs to experience AutoTune karaoke. I don't have ProTools on my laptop, but I'd be open to renting some gear or buying some software if it weren't prohibitively expensive. My ideal setup would be that we could run vox through a laptop rig, and have the karaoke venue just plug in to the laptop's output. Bonus points if it can be done with the basic autotune feature built in to Garage Band, and a Mac-based solution is preferred.

How can I duplicate this synth sound in Reason?

neilkod — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 09:00:08 -0800

What's this synth sound called and how do I make it in Reason? The sound in question begins at :14. For all I know it could be in one of the million Reason synth presets, but which one? If there is a word to describe it, maybe I could google it. Bonus points for helping me create it in Reason.

disclaimer: i have NOTHING to do with this game I just want to make this funky-ass sound

How to make the Sound of Music sluttier?

Sully — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 14:55:40 -0800

Most Halloweens I have a small Rocky Horror Picture Show party at my place. But this year I wanted to screen a different musical. Still, I want people to dress up, and I want the night to carry the same raucous, raunchy tone. How can I "slutify" The Sound of Music?

Hoping to listen to the Singalong Sound of Music with audience participating.

Sully — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 09:12:39 -0800

Can anyone help me find an audio version of the Singalong Sound of Music with the audience participation included in the recording? I am not looking for a short clip (the only things I've managed to find so far) but rather, the entire show. Thanks.

Less Cops?

tmcw — Wed, 20 May 2009 15:40:20 -0800

How do bands in cities practice? I've got the band, I need the space. So, I'm moving to Washington, DC (and so is my drummer, bassist, guitarist, etc) and would love to keep things going and play some shows if things work out. But, although some of the rowhouses I'm looking at have basements, that probably won't cut it as far as noise goes. Do people rent practice spaces? Practice elsewhere? Live elsewhere?

Please help me keep the rock alive!? Thanks

Make my Nokia sing like my Apple...

trinarian — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 10:31:08 -0800

Migrating from an iPod to a cellphone... was the awesome surgically removed though? I recently purchased a new Nokia 3600. There's nothing terribly different between it and other non-Symbian not-quite N-series Nokia phones. As my iPod died at the same time as me buying this phone, I've decided to buy a 16gb micro-SD card and use it as my new music player.

The only problem I've found is the headphone-jack sound quality is terrible with some music. It sounds like somebody has neutered all the bass. It sounds the opposite of what I understand the good effects of audio compression to sound like, with all the awesome and power removed. It's not just when I play it off it's tiny speakers, it's when I use the OEM headphones, or a 2.5-to-3.5mm adapter and run it to a pair of good speakers or headphones. If I play something like Neutral Milk Hotel, it sounds fine. If I play something like Tool, it sounds like a 32kbs RealAudio file played over an analog phone line. Changing the EQ doesn't help. The sound starts to bleed at the "high" volume range.

My speculation is that it's the Nokia media software being set to make things sound good on the built-in speakers, but then not adjusting for what they assume will be low-quality OEM earbuds. I haven't successfully been able to use non-OEM software and I'm very open to recommendations.

So, my question for the hive mind, is this a software problem that can be overcome or a hardware issue? Could it be related to fidelity issues of it being a 2.5mm jack instead of 3.5mm? How do I make it sing like my iPod?

How was Merriweather Post Pavilion made?

invitapriore — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 10:30:32 -0800

Electronic music production. How, for example, were the sounds on Animal Collective's Merriweather Post Pavilion made? This is a pretty short question, but I'm wondering what sorts of programs, instruments, techniques, etc. are used to make sounds like one can hear on that album. Is it possible with a MIDI controller and a program like Natural Instrument's Reaktor to do similar things?

Adobe Audacity vs Logic Express

treepour — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 22:04:40 -0800

Switched to Mac, looking for Adobe Audacity replacement. Should I go for Logic Express? I used Audacity primarily for two things (in order priority):

1) Splicing existing recordings together as seamlessly as possible. Here I used the "Echo Chamber" effects quite extensively. These helped create the sense that the musicians stopped playing and then started playing something else -- the ambient echo of the previous section carried on into the next.

2) Severely warping recorded sounds via a variety of filters/effects, combining them together via the multitrack interface, mixing the multiple tracks down to single tracks then continuing the process.

Can I do these kinds of things with Logic Express? Or would I be better off using Audacity via Windows vmware? Learning a new piece of software isn't a problem, I just want to make sure that the software will enable the kinds of things I want to do. Also, any other similarly-priced Mac recommendations for this sort of thing besides Logic Express would be appreciated.

my Sennheiser HD595 leak sound. is this normal? my coworkers are going nuts.

krautland — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 05:18:52 -0800

my Sennheiser HD595 leak sound. is this normal? my coworkers are going nuts. I purchased these headphones based on this recommendation and the sound is amazing. I love listening to them. my coworkers however hate it when it do.

they leak sound. not a little bit but massively so. I can't wear them without people around me complaining. I'm kind of flabbergasted that anyone would even bother to produce headphones without sealing them off (because if I were alone I'd listen to my music on speakers) and wonder if mine are just a dud. anyone know?

bonus question: recommend a different model that won't drive them nuts and still remains in a similar budget range.

Best Sound Card for my PC?

KevinSkomsvold — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 06:34:01 -0800

What is the best audio card for my "old" PC? I'll be using it for home recording. I quit my band and want to focus on my own music. I have a little (not a lot) money to play with and have settled on getting a Digitech RP350 which has Cubase LE4 bundled with it. Cool so far but my PC eats ass in terms of the sound card. I have a RealTek AC97 PCI card running on a P4 Windows box. What could I get away with that would make my stunning musical masterpieces come to life? I'm looking in the $40 to $50 range but I'm open to any suggestions that might fit my Windows machine.

Is there a Mac app that will let me draw (and listen to) a waveform?

itchi23 — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 16:33:16 -0800

Is there a (hopefully free) Mac app that will let me draw (and listen to) a waveform? I just switched to a Mac 4 months ago, and I remember there being all sorts of little audio tools that did stuff like this, but now I need one that will allow me to simply draw a waveform. Now, ideally I'd like to paste in graphical or vector shapes (photoshop or illustrator) and use those as the waveforms -this is really what I'm looking for - like a line to waveform ability. Would an oscilloscope-type software be more what I'm looking for, and would that allow me to "dial" between the drawn waveforms? Thanks!

St-st-st-st-ut-ut-tut-tut-tut-errrrrrrrrr

phrontist — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 11:10:46 -0800

I'm looking for music that features really good stutter processing of vocal sounds (any really good stuttering of other sounds is welcome too, but I'm especially interested in vocals). Benchmark tracks would be Trentemoller's Moan, Modeselektor's 2000007, Funkstörung's Fat Camp Feva, Ellen Allien's Sehnsucht, and Look at Me by Villeneuve. Bonus question: Someone once told me there was an autechre track where they start with a kick drum and glitch it until it reaches audio rates, then play a melody... what is that called?

Stock sound archive?

xmutex — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 14:00:33 -0800

Stock sound? Is there a place on the internets where one can download freely or purchase sound samples- not CD collections. Like if I want thunder, or trains, or some other cheesy stuff.

What song was used in the .wav, wiglgirl.wav?

GlowWyrm — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 20:49:49 -0800

What song was used for the wav called wigglgirl.wav (or something similar to that)? Several years ago there was a .wav that was very popular on the internet, IRC especially, that sounded a lot like a Shaggy song. However, after listening to a lot of different Shaggy songs, I was never able to find any of his songs with the same music or lyrics. Anyone remember the .wav I'm referring to and do you know what song this was? I have been trying to figure out the name and artist of the song that was used in the .wav for over a decade now. If anyone knows, it'll probably be a mefite.

Help improve my sound!

aladfar — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 14:44:19 -0800

Help improve my sound! After listening to some pristine, rich & dynamic music at a friend's studio, I've decided to improve my own setup. The catch? I don't want to spend thousands and have no interest in audiophile snake oil. Recommendations? Details on my existing gear inside. Note: I should point out that I was listening to uncompressed AIFF audio at the studio. While I've no plans to get rid of my MP3 files, I want to get the most out of my vinyl and lossless digital.

My current setup:
Mac w/iTunes
Small Mackie Mixer (A glorified switcher, sometimes used for podcasting)
Pro-Ject Phono Preamp
Pro-Ject Debut III Turntable
M-Audio Stereophile Monitors

What I heard at the studio:
Mac w/iTunes
Apogee Ensemble D/A Converter
Mackie HR824 Monitors

Is there a nice spot in the middle? Should I ditch the powered monitors and pursue an amplified solution? Recommendations would be much appreciated. I'm open to anything, but would like to keep things at or below (preferably below) $1k. Thanks!

How to setup a mixer at FOH

chitlin — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 11:41:16 -0800

How do you setup an audio mixer when mixing from FOH (front of house)? I have dabbled in many areas of sound production for several years, mostly doing MC/DJ gigs for parties, bars, and weddings. Recently, we've "run sound" for a couple of bands. I'd like to do more of this, and I've realized that to do it right, we need to setup the mixer at the FOH (front of house) to be able to hear the levels and EQ settings for each line, and do all the mixing. I'm sure you've seen setups like this at concerts and such.

My question is, how do you set this up with cables? For example, a typical band that we run sound for will have rhythm guitar, lead vocal, lead guitar, backup vocal, bass guitar, three drum mics, and maybe a keyboard. Do you have to run all the instrument cables to the FOH position? This would mean a 100 ft. XLR cables for each line. In the case of this band, that would be nine XLR cables to run to the mixer, and then a pair of Main Outs back to the amplifiers.

Is this how it's done or is there an easier way?

What IM client makes this sound?

Nelson — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 08:24:22 -0800

What IM client makes this sound? I'm trying to identify a glitch that's in the leak of Portishead's album Third. On track 5, about 2:14 into the track you hear a strange sound. It sounds a lot like an IM client's new message alert, but I'm not positive. I don't think it belongs in the music, it's way out of context. You can hear the whole track here.

(I'm asking for my blog, which I'm politely not self-linking here.)

How can I upgrade my home sound system & radio to a 21st century solution, without breaking the budget?

mark7570 — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 16:27:15 -0800

How can I upgrade my home sound system & radio to a 21st century solution, without breaking the budget? I have CDs and an old boom box that plays CDs & analog radio. What's the best system to upgrade to for the next 5-10 years? The situation is that I have a couple hundred CDs that I could rip, but no easy way (in the living room) to play them, without bringing out a laptop with tinny speakers.

I want something that will sit permanently in the living room, taking the place of the boombox, which can...

- play the mp3s with nice sound quality
- play the local (analog) radio with good reception
- ideally have a good user interface for both of the above
- optionally play actual CDs

Possible solutions -

- The Bose GSX seems to do all of the above, but it's $1,500. Anyone have a thumbs-up or thumbs-down on this?

- I guess I could also piece together an iMac with some nice speakers and just have an iMac do everything - except local analog radio, though I could just play the stations' iTunes streams, I guess. Though this would be about the same cost as the Bose above, it would also give me other functionality (Web browsing etc.).

- Any other solutions I've missed but should consider?

Thanks for any help, Metafilter community!

I want it loud... but my neighbours don't!

ClarissaWAM — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 13:31:55 -0800

Please help me find the best music solution for my new but badly insulated (UK) flat. I like my music loud - but my downstairs neighbour doesn't. I've just bought a top floor flat in a converted Victorian house with a nosy and clearly concerned downstairs neighbour.

I don't too much mind headphones as long as the quality (& convenience) doesn't suffer. I also intend to get the best under-carpet-insulation I can afford.
But what else can I do to maximize my pleasure and minimize her annoyance?

- what is the best option WRT really good headphones? (wireless?)
- considering I do like my music blasting how can I make sure she hears as little of it as possible? (soundwoofer on some sort of support, speakers high up & away from walls... what else?)
- are there any cheap tricks I am missing?

Thanks for any help!

I'm looking for an MP3 player that you can treat like a USB drive. With recording capabilites.

Afroblanco — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 11:15:22 -0800

I'm looking for an MP3 player that you can treat like a USB drive. In other words, I want to load MP3s onto it by just plugging the device into my machine and the copying files over. I do not want to use a specialized program like Itunes, and I want to use a standard USB or Firewire cable to plug the device into my computer. Additionally, I would like the ability to plug a microphone in and use the device record my band practices. This would be an awesome feature, but it isn't necessarily a dealbreaker.

Big sound in a small package

dead_ — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 07:51:39 -0800

Recommend this rap listener a pair of small, great-sounding speakers (that I can afford)! I'm looking for the holy-grail of speakers: small, affordable and with great sound.

I will be running them through a Sony receiver, and my genre tends toward rap and electronic music, so crisp and clear bass without distortion is very important to me.

Can you recommend a pair of speakers that fit these requirements and won't break my bank account? Bonus points if they look sweet.

Internet Sound and Music Recorder!

Wayman Tisdale — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 19:54:30 -0800

Can you explain to a non-computer nerd the best way to record music from the internet? It seems to me that there must be a way of recording the sound from say, a You-tube clip or a music video that I play on the internet, and then it somehow gets converted to a mp3 or something that I can then play on itunes or burn on a CD. I call this device or program "An Internet Sound and Music Recorder." So, where can I get such a device/program? And also which one gives really great sound quality?

Yes, I am sure that this question has been asked previously. But I couldn't understand any of the answers I found, so I am asking you. I know nothing about computers or technology but I do know that I like music.

Music seems to incite strong emotions I don't have otherwise.

Phyltre — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 21:11:32 -0800

Some of my emotions seem tied solely to music. What is going on? My emotions seem to be directly tied to music--emotions that I do not experience under virtually any other circumstances (certainly not with comparable intensity.)

In other words, I do not cry. Whatsoever. And I very rarely feel sad (or mad, but that's irrelevant here). But listening to certain songs...happy, sad, it doesn't seem to matter...trigger a completely involuntary response where I am overwhelmed by a sort of ironic sad pulling sensation, the sort of feeling you might get if you were faced with something transcendentally beautiful and fulfilling, beyond imagination, but had to destroy it with your own hands (doing my best to put this in words). Tears spring to my eyes.

I guess this would be more understandable for me if it were only sad songs, but frequently it's whatever songs I happen to be playing. Usually there are chorus-like harmonics involved: Kyoko Fukada's "Prayer", Yoko Kanno's "Rain" (male version), Imogen Heap's "Hide And Seek." ( The first song that did this to me, quite a bit ago, was "Adiemus", by the artists of the same name.) But again, any number of upbeat songs do the same thing to me, and many of them do not share any similarities (so far as I know.)

And sometimes I even get extremely positive emotions (from different songs). Not your standard pumped-up feeling, but more of a burning overconfident brickwallbreaking intensity--it's what I imagine drugs might feel like.

So, Metafilter, what's going on? Why are these overwhelming emotions tied to sound, even when I hear them for the first time, even when the lyrics are in a completely different language I don't understand, even when the emotions are completely alien to me? This seems to go pretty well beyond just being audiophilic or having suppressed emotions.

Sonically complex, well recorded 2ch music please.

|n$eCur3 — Sat, 18 Aug 2007 17:22:32 -0800

Sonically complex well recorded music in 2 channels to test my new hi-fi stereo system. So far, I've listened to... I spent a too much money on a really good pair of speakers, and most everything I listen to sounds imperfect because the speakers are quite good at exposing recording flaws. Of course I am listening to lossless music, but I need some albums that are complex, dynamic, and pristine. I am finding that most recordings before 1970 do not sound that great, with some exceptions, so I'm thinking the more recent, the better. But feel free to chip in whatever you feel fits the bill. I'm not terribly picky about genre.

So far:
Radiohead, Ok Computer - Pretty complex, but a little bright in places
Radiohead, The Bends - Not as complex as OK computer
Pink Floyd, Dark Side of the Moon - Not really impressed
The Raconteurs, Broken Boy Soldiers - Well recorded, some complexity
Coldplay, A Rush of blood - Surprisingly well recorded, dynamic
Arcade Fire, The Funeral - Not as well recorded as I thought it might be.
Wilco, YHF - Pretty complex and well recorded.
Smashing Pumpkins, Mellon Collie - Complex and well recorded but causes listening fatigue. Very bright.
Led Zeppelin, Houses of the Holy - Pretty good considering its age, but a bit lacking.
Broken Social Scene, Self Titled - Probably the best, most complex and most well recorded album I've heard so far.

What else?