So I’m looking at lots of new tools for my studio.. It’s kinda scary… to spend this kind of money on stuff.. but I feel as though.. if I’m really serious about what I pretend to be serious about.. then what should be most important is realizing a vision I only dimly understand. The question is how to get there.. and so this entry talks a bit about the research I’ve been doing…

Melodyne is it’s name.. the inventor of which gets Steve Job’s like responses when he gives his presentations.. not because he’s a master presenter.. but because of what is software his able to do. Take a look at the video’s here, and see for you’re self the reasons why. 

Why?

There are a number of applications to this sort of technology that I’m interested in

1.  Audio to MIDI conversion: You play an instrument.. and you derive MIDI data from the recording. In the main, I’m interested in this because I could take a section of improvised guitar playing, and say “I want to use this part” and I could then build scores / the production around those notes, around what the guitar playing is doing.
2. I can’t sing… but, as readers know, I’m looking to bring words / vocals to my music. Even if I can’t sing.. I can correct the pitch of my terrible singing.. and perhaps mutate it into.. “he can almost sing.” And then, with enough effects and whatever.. I could perhaps mask the god awfulness of it all!
3. The notion of taking any sorta recording.. and reshaping it in this Melodyne sorta way.. including loop libraries.. is just awesome… and opens up all sorts of new doors.
4. Did I mention I was a microtonalist? The notion of taking music performed in a traditional temperament / tuning system, and retuning it.. or making it microtonal.. shaping it to the context of a microtonal composition.. opens all sorts of new doors.

The biggest issue I’m finding is.. The Melodyne program I’m now looking at (Melodyne Studio, see comparison chart here) is listening at $700… which is what we like to call in the biz “a hunk of change.” This would bring my over budget budget up to… drum roll please… well.. depending on various variables.. hmm.. around $3000.

Time to get on the ball on responding to that recruiter, ha? 

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 25th, 2008 at 8:40 pm and is filed under Microtonalism, Music Production, musical composition. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.