Is There A Musical Version Of Photoshop?

[Da Blob]

Or to rephrase, is there a program that does the same for audio, that photoshop does for visual?

I used to play the cornet and sometimes I get really intrigued when hearing a tune, thinking "wow! that tune would sound great if performed by a brass band" Is there some way to digitally alter music, so that the genre of performances of a certain piece can be 'displayed" across a spectrum?

As an example, I would really like to hear this piece performed by a Scottish Brass Band, it sounds great in my imagination, but I seriously doubt I could ever convince a single Scot, much less an entire band, to perform it... lol

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1CSU8N88-I&list=PLC6691BE258BDDE6B&index=13

 

[joal0503]

LIKE photoshop...yes there are music editors...but if you want legitimate professional software its going to cost you. and with high performance audio editing, equipment is going to run you up a nice tab as well.

are you looking for a program that would be like...i dunno...lol...."auto tuned scottish brass"? that actually might be kinda trendy...


anyways to my knowledge...yes i know something is out there...but at the moment i cant think of anything specifically for your needs.

 

[redbaron]

Cool Edit Pro and CuBase are ones I can personally vouch for.

CuBase is outstanding when you know what you're doing, Cool Edit Pro is more beginner friendly.

 

[Affinity]

http://youtu.be/j5BSmNZKRe0

I was just watching this last night. In the new release of ableton live 9 there's a feature that allows you to turn audio into midi data at which point you can manipulate how you choose. As you can see the algorithm is far from perfect but its a start.

 

[Meer]

Yes, you can get a computer to analyze music and spit out all the notes. Then you can use the notes to play whatever sounds you want. It's tedious and horrible and nothing like photoshop.

But you do have curves.

Also, my avatar is a picture of sound.

 

[Jennywocky]

i used to use Cakewalk and/or Sonar to do music input and sequencing, but I haven't recorded stuff for a number of years... not sure what's available now. I probably paid about $250 for Sonar for the first full copy, then just upgrade pricing?

I've been kind of surprised that all the basic level Photoshop functionality is available free online (http://pixlr.com/editor/)... not sure if there are any "free" music software as well. I also had a high end music soundcard at the time, with a number of jacks, to run input into the card.

 

[walfin]

If you can get MIDI files, musescore is great (and free).

 

[just george]

If you want a good answer to this question, I would ask on a DJ/producer forum (I DJed for a few years, and everybody wants to be a producer these days) because the real differentiator when it comes to music programs is what features suit you best for what you're trying to do, and how much you're willing to work.

For example, well known famous artists like deamau5 use a simple, free program called fruityloops to make commercial music. Other people want to ability to produce and DJ and sample at the same time, and so like Ableton.

Some people use very old, developed, and established programs - not because they're better, but because there are more people in the professional world that use them.

Generally though you'll find that most DJs will use different programs for different things, depending on commitment, and what they want to do.

Either way, prepare yourself for serious frustration. They're not the most user friendly interfaces in the world. At least with photoshop, it's easy to understand because we all understand pictures at a glance. Music on the other hand can have serious structure, and so when you make a little change, you sometimes have to change all of it, plus it takes time to listen to. Personally it makes me want to pull my hair out.

 

[Da Blob]

So is the answer,"yes, maybe"?

That is to say, someone who knew what they were dong could take the sepia tune and turn it into something that sounds like an anthem played by a brass band/marching band/military band?

How would such an expert be found?

Perhaps there is someone already offering a similar service?


EDIT: Thanks for all of the replies and it is rather interesting how many INTPians have knowledge of such things...

 

[just george]

So is the answer,"yes, maybe"?

to be precise, more like "yes, depends".

It's very late where I am, and I have a busy day shortly. If you're still stuck in a day or two, i'll shoot a message to someone who will answer the question (a DJ and classical cellist who hangs out with a lot of producer mutual friends)

 

[Da Blob]

to be precise, more like "yes, depends".

It's very late where I am, and I have a busy day shortly. If you're still stuck in a day or two, i'll shoot a message to someone who will answer the question (a DJ and classical cellist who hangs out with a lot of producer mutual friends)

Thanks much!


In a parallel universe, I may be a composer/producer myself, but in this one my musical career was struck short by my breaking my jaw playing football severing a nerve to my lower lip in the process - One can't play a horn with a paralyzed lip.

Anyway, I keep hearing versions of tunes that don't exist...

Like this one, but featuring Native American vocals, percussion and instruments instead of the Moog

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPIdb1kRGhU

 

[just george]

Thanks much!
Anyway, I keep hearing versions of tunes that don't exist...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPIdb1kRGhU

dont worry about it, just be sure to remind me (I forget).

by the way...you havn't been watching Cloud Atlas by any chance, have you? I've always heard stuff that doesn't exist in my dreams, and could never write it down. Frustrating!

 

[Da Blob]

dont worry about it, just be sure to remind me (I forget).

by the way...you havn't been watching Cloud Atlas by any chance, have you? I've always heard stuff that doesn't exist in my dreams, and could never write it down. Frustrating!

Cloud Atlas? never heard of it til now. i will check it out.

I have a portion of my brain that always seems to be broadcasting music, some melodies I recognize, others seem familiar - but once in a while something beautiful occurs that I know I've never heard before.

I can read music, but I never learned to write it, so at least I am spared the frustration you speak of... I wasn't given the opportunity to study Music Theory until college and by then it was too late.

 

[Affinity]

For example, well known famous artists like deamau5 use a simple, free program called fruityloops to make commercial music. Other people want to ability to produce and DJ and sample at the same time, and so like Ableton.

It's known as FL Studio nowadays and it's not free nor has it ever been.

 

[Affinity]

So is the answer,"yes, maybe"?

That is to say, someone who knew what they were dong could take the sepia tune and turn it into something that sounds like an anthem played by a brass band/marching band/military band?

How would such an expert be found?

Perhaps there is someone already offering a similar service?


EDIT: Thanks for all of the replies and it is rather interesting how many INTPians have knowledge of such things...

At the end of the day, music is a series of notes and notations. Even if you couldn't convert immediately what you had in mind, if you take the notes and play it yourself, or pay a session player to play it, or use brass samples in your digital audio workstation of choice, it can be done. Sure, you may need to improv or change things around but that's the beauty of music (and art), it may sound good in one form but it can also be interpreted many other ways, you can see this in the electronic dance music world where a song can have several different remixes or takes on it.

 

[just george]

It's known as FL Studio nowadays and it's not free nor has it ever been.

You're right, I got my wires crossed - but it was very cheap, yes? (I remember a long lost conversation with one of my trainees that reminds me of asking him why he used a pirated version of cheap software)

Apologies, my error. It's been a while

 

[Affinity]

You're right, I got my wires crossed - but it was very cheap, yes? (I remember a long lost conversation with one of my trainees that reminds me of asking him why he used a pirated version of cheap software)

Apologies, my error. It's been a while

It's quite affordable relatively to other DAWs. Throw in the fact that you get free upgrades for life and it's not a bad deal at all.

 

[joal0503]

i remember there was a trial version of fruity loops back in the day...granted limited access and limited features...

but that was in the 'everyones gonna be a famous rap star' days...

 

[Meer]

I can read music, but I never learned to write it, so at least I am spared the frustration you speak of... I wasn't given the opportunity to study Music Theory until college and by then it was too late.

It's never too late!

You really should give writing music a try. It's sad to me that most people will never know the joy of writing music.

 

[Late2theParty]

kinda sorta... http://youtu.be/VzUxOojmoiY


Not exactly what I think you had in mind, but Izotope's Iris lets you take sound samples and edit the spectral graph of it like a photoshop editor. I think I've seen at least one other one of these where you could upload pictures to it to create new sounds.

 

[Rocco]

Blob, I happen to have access to a load of sample libraries, and compose as a hobby when I can muster the energy & inspiration. What sort of instrumentation are you talking about for that Sepia piece?

EDIT: A friend of mine has a series of tutorial videos for the DAW called Reaper. It's fully-featured, and basically free ($60).

Buy it here
Tutorials here

Professional samplers and sample libraries are not cheap, but free solutions can be found (and stolen, if you're into that) online.

 

[The Gopher]

Blob, I happen to have access to a load of sample libraries, and compose as a hobby when I can muster the energy & inspiration. What sort of instrumentation are you talking about for that Sepia piece?

He's banned so he would fine it hard to answer. ^^

 

[Rocco]

Ah. Didn't notice that, but would've thought it was just a clever custom title even if I had.

Well, poo. The links still work, anyhoo =/