Help on How to Burn CD of Playalong in a Different Key

jgbass · #1 07-20-2008, 09:23 PM

I suppose this is basic stuff for a lot of you, but I was just curious what would be the easiest way to take an Abersold playalong track and change it to another key plus being able to burn a CD of the track. The finished product has to have the bass out of it and needs to be in CD format.

I want to do a jazz tune for an audition but cannot find any playalongs in the key I want to do the tune in.

Kam · #2 07-21-2008, 08:52 PM

If you have a Mac (or comparable software) you can record a decent play-along track using Garageband. You can either record piano in real time with a midi-keyboard or it does have a crude click-to-enter system as well. Once you have the chords played you can transpose them without the pitches getting wonky because they just replace the samples as opposed to altering the original pitch. As far as changing the tuning on a pre-recorded track, you could try Transcribe (www.seventhstring.com) but the farther away the key you're going to is, the weirder it starts to sound..

**Jeremy Allen** · #3 07-22-2008, 07:15 AM

"Transcribe" does a great job of transposing on the fly and sounds good within a small range from the original. Is there a way to save the file as a .wav or .aiff after you've transposed it? I'm not sure.

You can also rip the cd, open the track in Audacity, transpose it to wherever you want, save it as a .wav, and then burn it just as you would any other audio file. But like Kam says, it will sound weird.

(I think that link I gave for Audacity only has the OS X downloads, but it's available for PC as well.)

**Chris Fitzgerald** · #4 07-22-2008, 08:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeremy Allen

"Transcribe" does a great job of transposing on the fly and sounds good within a small range from the original. Is there a way to save the file as a .wav or .aiff after you've transposed it? I'm not sure.

Yes, at least on a Mac. Under the "tools" menu, select the audio soundbite you want to save with the settings (transposition or speed alteration) that are active, then select "record to file". I do this all the time when doing difficult transcriptions; a CD with the solo excerpts at 100%, 80%, and 60% is a very useful thing, especially given how cumbersome it is to rewind and cue on software (IMO of course). Plus, you get a free coaster when the transcription's done.

jgbass · #5 07-22-2008, 10:07 AM

Thanks for all the good info! I did not mention that I have Windows Vista, so the Mac stuff is out of the question.

Good news is that I have located an online mp3 download of the tune in the key I want. The problem is that the recording is too fast for how I want to play the tune. I can take this tune and download it to Windows Media or my music folder, but now, what I want to do is slow it down. So, do not now have to worry about it sounding bad in another key.

Is that something I can do on Transcribe? I have a program installed called Transcriber but have yet to use it.

Or, do I need a slow down program? Is there one that is better than the other. If so, I need a program that allows me to burn to disc. Any info much appreciated.

**Chris Fitzgerald** · #6 07-22-2008, 10:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jgbass

Thanks for all the good info! I did not mention that I have Windows Vista, so the Mac stuff is out of the question.

Good news is that I have located an online mp3 download of the tune in the key I want. The problem is that the recording is too fast for how I want to play the tune. I can take this tune and download it to Windows Media or my music folder, but now, what I want to do is slow it down. So, do not now have to worry about it sounding bad in another key.

Is that something I can do on Transcribe?

Absolutely - it's what it's designed for.

I can't remember it "Transcribe!" is Mac only or not. However, many of my students at the U have had luck with a program called the Amazing Slow Downer, which is definitely cross platform.

LowDown Hal · #7 07-22-2008, 10:32 AM

Riffster http://www.novadsp.com/riffster.htm is an alternative to the Amazing Slow Downer.

btw > I have no affiliation with either, in fact I'm trying to decide which of the two I want to license.

jgbass · #8 07-23-2008, 10:45 AM

Thanks for the info. I will check out both of these slow down programs, as well as the one I have, and see which one is most user friendly and would most easily get this material on a disc.

**Jeremy Allen** · #9 07-23-2008, 11:07 AM

Looks like Transcribe! is good for Windows, too.

http://www.seventhstring.com/xscribe...d_windows.html

It's right up there with being the best money I've spent on educational/audio software.

hdiddy · #10 07-23-2008, 01:28 PM

If you use Winamp, there is a plug in that will allow to transpose without losing anything, just like Amazing Slowdowner.

moles · #11 07-23-2008, 01:56 PM

+1 for Transcribe. It works with windows. You can alter speed without changing pitch. You can change the pitch without affecting the speed. You can set up section points, beat markers, loops, dump it to a .wav file etc etc..
I just started using it last week - I have all kinds of programs that will, combined, do most of the same things, (Wavelab, Winamp, Logic) but so far its been MUCH simpler with Transcribe.

**Damon Rondeau** · #12 07-23-2008, 10:23 PM

Windows Media Player has had playback speed adjustment for quite a while now. On MP 11 it's: View, Enhancements, Play speed settings. Works fine.

jgbass · #13 07-27-2008, 10:29 AM

I downloaded Transcribe. Looks good. I also looked at the instructions for Window Media Player re: slowing down. I think these both are good options, and I think this will even get me going on finally starting to transcribe again. Should not be a problem slowing it down and its already in the right key.

Now, I am wondering how I am going to get the slowed-down version on a disc. I do not have to do any key changes, just slow it down. I did not find instructions on this.

I could record the slowed down version on my MP3 recorder, but it seems like Windows Media does not import files from an MP3 recorder or player.

Any better suggestions?

**Damon Rondeau** · #14 07-27-2008, 11:25 AM

Hmmm... it's not obvious how to do that in Media Player, is it?

If you click over to the "Burn" tab, I believe the right-click menu options change to match the new context (as opposed to the "Now Playing", "Library", etc. contexts.) There you'll find something like a "save to burn list" option. Whether the burn reflects your slowed-down playback choice, I don't know. You'd think it would...

This is where I like iTunes -- just right-click on a playlist and the burn-CD option is right there.

**Chris Fitzgerald** · #15 07-27-2008, 11:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jgbass

I downloaded Transcribe. Looks good. I also looked at the instructions for Window Media Player re: slowing down. I think these both are good options, and I think this will even get me going on finally starting to transcribe again. Should not be a problem slowing it down and its already in the right key.

Now, I am wondering how I am going to get the slowed-down version on a disc. I do not have to do any key changes, just slow it down. I did not find instructions on this.

I could record the slowed down version on my MP3 recorder, but it seems like Windows Media does not import files from an MP3 recorder or player.

Any better suggestions?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris Fitzgerald

Yes, at least on a Mac. Under the "tools" menu, select the audio soundbite you want to save with the settings (transposition or speed alteration) that are active, then select "record to file". I do this all the time when doing difficult transcriptions; a CD with the solo excerpts at 100%, 80%, and 60% is a very useful thing, especially given how cumbersome it is to rewind and cue on software (IMO of course). Plus, you get a free coaster when the transcription's done.

i don't know if the windows version is the same, but above is how it works on a Mac for Transcribe!

jgbass · #16 07-27-2008, 01:12 PM

Thanks, Chris.

I did a search on Windows Media Player, and I do not see this function. I even played a tune at slower speed and burned a disc, but it burned at the normal speed. At least I found out how easy it is to change the speed of the recording on whether to the set slow, normal, fast, or anything in-between. I know someone who uses Mac. Maybe I can ask them to do this.

**Damon Rondeau** · #17 07-27-2008, 04:03 PM

Too bad about Windows MP -- if it can't do it that way, I bet it can't do it at all...

Jake deVilliers · #18 07-27-2008, 05:37 PM

Janet, there's a pair of programs called Slow Blast and Slow Gold that work very well.

You can download trial versions here: http://www.slowgold.com/sgdownloadform.asp

You just play your song into the software and adjust it to suit. You can change key or tempo.

jgbass · #19 07-29-2008, 09:27 AM

Slow Gold looks really good, however nothing in their product specs answers the question of whether I can burn the slowed down and transported tune to disc. I emailed them and hope to get a response.

Brent Nussey · #20 07-29-2008, 09:40 AM

Download Audacity, free for all platforms. Open the file you want to change. Chose Edit>Select>All, then choose Effect>Change Pitch. Follow the instructions to change the key. They're clear and easy, you just enter the key it's in and the key you want to go to. Once it's changed, select File>export as WAV. Then burn it in whatever program you use to burn audio CDs. Problem solved.

Brent