Music recording software just took another giant leap, now able to do what was thought to be impossible. Direct Note Access individually manipulates groups of musical notes (chords), giving recording engineers the ability to completely and undetectably create pitch-perfect performances, even from groups of tone-deaf musicians playing together. Created by German programmer and erstwhile guitar maker Peter Neubäcker, his company, Celemony, will offer the software as a plug-in for its Melodyne voice and instrument tuning software.
Until now, this trick was only possible with single notes — an exaggerated example can be heard in Cher’s 1998 hit, “Believe,” which used the competing Auto-Tune system. For more than a decade, that software has been the recording industry’s dirty little secret, fixing any out-of-tune notes crooned by an individual singer or played on any single-note instrument. But this breakthrough takes that magic manipulation many steps further, allowing engineers to create entirely new music from existing recordings.
With this astonishing software, engineers can dig deep into a mix. For example, they could change each individual note of a guitar chord, or fix one wrong note played by a musician in a symphony orchestra. It’s like Photoshop for music. Available this fall, let’s hope Direct Note Access is ready in time to fix up next season's American Idol performances, especially the auditions. Randy Jackson might like the resulting absence of "pitchiness," but then maybe some humanity of performance will be lost, too. Hit Continue for a remarkable demo:
Celemony, via Technology Review and Daily Swarm
editor@dvice.com
By murray at 7:32 PM ON 04/16/08
That Cher song severed the thread by which the last remaining modicum of respect I had for pop music was, at the time, hanging.
By anon at 12:05 PM ON 04/17/08
please. that auto tune on cher's voice was obviously used as an effect rather than pitch correction. they overused it to get a desired effect. when autotune is used to tune a voice, you'd never know.
By Bill at 6:03 PM ON 04/17/08
What "Anon" said. The Cher thing is misleading. There is very little professional music made anymore that doesn't involve occasional corrections of note time and pitch.
By James Yu at 6:47 PM ON 04/17/08
Why does he say that accessing the notes within a chord has been deemed theoretically impossible? This has been possible for a long time through spectral analysis.
The theory for this has been around for a long long time, it's the actual engineering of it and tuning to get it to sound right that's new.
By unDEAD at 7:27 PM ON 04/17/08
Hahahaha... as if programs like fruity loops and pro tools didn't do enough damage!
By Optyx at 7:31 PM ON 04/17/08
Actually the Cher song did not use Auto Tune actually it was a talkbox. There was an article about that song in Mix Magazine some time ago. So the article's writer is wrong as it is concerning the facts behind that song's production is inaccurate.
By spierepf at 7:44 PM ON 04/17/08
How can this not be bad for the music industry? I mean, if any no-talent singer-wannabe can become a star, oh, wait...
By Paxalot at 7:45 PM ON 04/17/08
I'm totally impressed. Now I can hack a symphony. The naysayer's don't understand that this is a great new tool for composition as well as a trick for fixing performance mistakes. Maybe in the 16th century some people thought musical notation was 'cheating'. This software looks awesome.
By domokun at 7:51 PM ON 04/17/08
Great.
More Celebriteens can get their own music careers and totally ruin the music business for people who actually have talent.
Horray for Paris Hilton Hits Vol II.
By bob at 8:11 PM ON 04/17/08
Why does he pronounce MIDI "meaty"?
By yardidar at 8:30 PM ON 04/17/08
This is a common misconception. The Cher effect was done with some kind of vocoder.
By kali at 8:42 PM ON 04/17/08
anyone who REALLY understands pitch and intonation knows that 'in tune' is arbitrary, cultural, expressive, and subject to the 'rules' of styles, eras, etc etc. - try to 'correct' the pitch of anything by Ali Akbar Khan, John Coltrane, music of the European Renaissance/Baroque....
Get a clue. It will always be about producing MOVING performances in real time with whatever tools are available. Hacks will always hack with their hacking devices and numbskulls will always listen to the results.
I am gonna write a wiki on HAK music : human assisted komposition.
By mikey at 8:46 PM ON 04/17/08
KALI: no you're not.
By drue at 8:51 PM ON 04/17/08
Look, if you have talent, tools like this are just helpers. To say that products like this and auto tune ruin the music industry is just plain stupid. Paris Hilton has a music career because she is famous and has money not simply because she could fake it with audio tools. C'mon don't be one of those pathetic people that blames tools like this for you or your band not being successful. If you're talented, you'll do fine.
By dan at 8:55 PM ON 04/17/08
the interview in mix magazine saying the cher effect was done with a vocoder was later revealed to be deliberately misleading - the engineers told some fibs to try and keep the trick to themselves (hunt down the article online, it's been since corrected/disclaimed). it's 100% autotune.
By Cymrubeats at 9:04 PM ON 04/17/08
The people who criticise tools like this, obviously don't have the first idea about what music production entails.
OK, it'll mean in the pop world that image can take even more of a forward position, over 'talent', but it has always been that way, for the past few decades at least, and it's the consumers who are at fault, no one else. Anyway, garbage in, garbage out, as has already been said...the people who are already creative, will take a tool like this and blow your f*cking mind apart, and i am so looking forward to it!
By kali at 9:08 PM ON 04/17/08
http://www.reallybored.net/m_pictures/305.jpg
By Smartie at 9:12 PM ON 04/17/08
Great...I'm teaching my dog to sing right now!
By Steve at 9:22 PM ON 04/17/08
think not of the new popstars that will result from such technology, but of the possibilities everyone has now to create music that otherwise could not, and what new sounds could come to be. I think this program is amazing.
By PeterDudek at 9:56 PM ON 04/17/08
This will make LIVE music performance (quality performance) that more important and interesting.
Here's a future conversation:
"Wow! He played that PERFECT with no mistakes! How'd he do that Mom?"
"I don't know son. Maybe he just kept playing it over and over until he could do it perfect every time!"
Wow. Wierd!"
By Threeleggeddog at 12:30 AM ON 04/18/08
This will help us for those rare times we fart out of tune.
By johnvid at 2:04 AM ON 04/18/08
Can't wait for Polyphonic Melodyne
By Freebooter Fox at 2:13 AM ON 04/18/08
Kali is apparently not a musician. Being in tune is not a myth. It's changing the resonance of your instrument so that it can match a given frequency. Lern 2 physics.
By lolcats at 2:47 AM ON 04/18/08
WOW living in the past much? Melodyne has been available and in use for many years. Just released? Are you nuts? Noob...
By You Are Mostly All Fools at 6:22 AM ON 04/18/08
Freebooter is apparently not a well educated musician. Do the physics and you'll see that an octave and the notes within it don't add up! That's why there was that whole fuss about the equal temperament scale way back when.
The Cher song is Auto-Tune. No more discussion on that one.
This has got to be crock. Tuning individual strings of a guitar? If the low E is played and the E on the fourth string played, the lower E's first harmonic overtone will be an octave above or, assuming they're in tune, identical to the fundamental of the E being played on the fourth string. How would a programme manipulate one frequency without altering the other when they're in such close proximity? How would it not rip apart the timbre of everything it's applied to? I'm skeptical.
By jf at 8:25 AM ON 04/18/08
it would be very interesting to hear remixed versions of older tunes using this software. the mashup and sampling possibilities would be endless
By The Engineer at 9:45 AM ON 04/18/08
As he says in the video, theoretically it shouldn't be possible. The frequencies of overtones should overlap indistinguishably.
Except there is a way that I thought of some years back but never got around to trying. I think that's probably how they do it: each instrument has a particular envelope at a given pitch. The overtone's envelope at any given pitch is also unique but related.
I'm betting that they use this fact to separate the notes yet align the separate notes with their source instruments.
I'm also really not surprised that a German came up with this rather than an American. The US is a stagnant, stinking abyss for music these days.
By K.J. at 10:30 AM ON 04/18/08
@YouAreMostlyAllFools
It would absolutely ruin, well maybe not ruin, but alter the timbre of everything it is applied to--just like the current generation of Auto-Tune Melodyne do.
The thing is, in most popular music, there are already so many effects changing and manipulating the timbre that it's at best imperceivable, or at worst forgettable.
By The Engineer at 10:46 AM ON 04/18/08
Yes, yes. It will ruin everything just like Photoshop and Illustrator ruined visual arts, and just like Desktop publishing ruined writing and publishing. We've heard this one before. It's a garbage argument.
All you have to do is stop listening to Pop music or anything else that you judge personally to be worthless music. It's a choice; not choosing and/or acting is a choice too.
I don't listen to any US broadcast music - ever, because there is *absolutely nothing* coming out of the commercial music industry here good enough to justify wasting *my* valuable time.
Most of what I listen to is from outside the US because *that's were the innovation and creativity is supported and flourishing. This type of technology is actually part of the 2nd prong to stage a guerrilla attack and slay on the moribund US corporate music industry and dead music culture by replacing it with something worth listening to. Clearly the current economic system can't produce that musical product so amateurs are the only resource available to stage the movement. The first prong is to stop listening to and buying their products.
Stop and think about how this would make it so much easier for *anyone* to learn music and music theory. To create music that speaks what's in their head.
But maybe *that's* the real problem - the unwashed masses intruding into the realm of the high priesthood.
By mjstone323 at 11:42 AM ON 04/18/08
When I read this, I thought of a recorded piece I participated in a looooong time ago in college - long story short, based on the title of the partly improvisational Afro-Latin musical epic I was supplying vocals for, I spontaneously blurted something out that was so geeky and embarrassing that my colleagues reaction (kind but obviously aghast and mystified) will haunt me forever... I suppose if they can correct multiple pitches, they might be able to erase my giddy eruption from what was otherwise a pretty good recording. *grimace*
By GZiemann at 12:19 PM ON 04/18/08
"There is very little professional music made anymore that doesn't involve occasional corrections of note time and pitch."
That's a pretty sad state of affairs. You'd think that a professional could do it right at least once in a row.
By kd at 12:32 PM ON 04/18/08
BOOOOOOOOOOO. learn to play/sing in tune, dipsh*ts.
By business at 3:19 PM ON 04/18/08
No need for talent anymore, just a pretty face will do.
By Stafuss at 3:32 PM ON 04/18/08
As The Engineer said, the argument that this will ruin music is garbage. These tools have been around for years. It is sad, though, that so much of American pop music is manufactured these days. Luckily, the internet provides us the opportunity to seek out music from any part of the world. We are no longer forced to listen to Melodyne'd music if we don't want to. Simply realize that this technology exists, and if it helps you create, then wonderful. If you despise it, don't use it. But it's out there, and I think it's cool, whether or not I'll use it myself.
By management at 3:33 PM ON 04/18/08
Real artists using this, I'd feel cheated. My little 12 year old sister having a perfect pitch with this technology in a video game like Rockband, remarkable.
By eleven11 at 7:30 PM ON 04/18/08
To ANON @ 1205:
Usually it's tough, however, a trained ear can still pick out an autotuned song quite easily.
By youaretrippin at 10:10 PM ON 04/18/08
Everyone in the entertainment and practically every other field should expect that things will evolve and fundamental change will continue. Things are barely at the elbow of the hockey stick of progression in most areas. There is no longer any cushion after years of dedication to your area of expertise. Remember once pandora's box is open there is no closing it. Nothing is sacred to technology.
By Anonymous at 10:24 AM ON 04/19/08
...Couldn't this be abused if it was used to alter a person's voice?
By KMA at 1:50 PM ON 04/19/08
Call me old fashioned but the Beatles, Elvis and all the other greats never needed anything like this because they all "REHEARSED" until it was right!
Even the not so perfect notes in those old recordings mean something (nobody's perfect)and the recordings did not suffer from being a little "out". Good grief! Nothing is perfect, so why polish the Paris "turd"?
By youaretrippin at 10:33 PM ON 04/19/08
I agree that the 'little out' elements are important elements of those song styles, but the studio producers have been 'fixing' most things for years.
Live performances seem to be the last real place you can hear any musician inspired 'personality' in songs. I'd expect that AI systems in composition tools will be soon simulating the 'little outs' of all kinds of artist styles (maybe they are doing that now), and with a tool like that and some basic raw material, you could make anyone play anything. Add that to the Hannah Montana model of some new dancing/singing/axe wielding Honda robot and it could crank out all of the Hendrix classics in a concert/birthday party near you.
Music is a fundamental part of the human experience it seems. I don' think that will change for future generations, but it's unclear where the soul of the music will come from down the road (if indeed there is much soul now).
However, music will still need to be heard when the power goes out or crap gets unplugged.
By Archdaemo at 9:10 AM ON 04/20/08
As an engineer and musician (musician and engineer??) with over 15 years experience in some of the most renowned studios in the world, can tell you it's a great tool that will be VERY handy, but a great album / song STILL requires a great performance. You can't plug in a great performance.
By Anonymous at 12:37 PM ON 04/24/08
Yes. This Melodyne plugin is impressive on one hand. On the other hand... I have to ask myself... WHAT? (Or for some of you, WTF?)
a) Have we come to the point where we can't get a guitarist to tune his guitar and PLAY the right notes in the 1st place? Now I have to digitally RE-TUNE his guitar?
b) Most music is repeatitive. So, WHAT? I can't just use my DAW to edit and copy/paste a repair
over a chord or section of music to correct a bad chord? OR just do a punch-in there?
HELLO ENGINEER???!!!!
ARE YOU PAYING ATTENTION???...
Can't you possibly DO YOUR JOB and get a punch-in FIX of that chord they obviously MISSED in the chorus?????
c) Chances are, the orchestra that has an OBVIOUS BAD NOTE in the cello, or flute was full
of musicians that weren't so HOT in the 1st place... and it's questionable that a performance
in this type genre or venue deserves a recording session! Although HERE, I would have to say it's the most USEFUL or perhaps valuable application of the product. That is... if you're bothering to record classically trained performers WHO CAN'T PLAY THE RIGHT NOTES. I mean after all... the PROFESSIONAL ORCHESTRAL MUSICIAN'S JOB OF BEING A HIGHLY TRAINED APPLIANCE OPERATOR IS REALLY HIS STOCK IN TRADE. IF THEY NEED FIXED, THEN WE'VE LOST THE LAST VESTAGES OF ARTISTIC INTEGRITY. Kind of tragic wouldn't you say? It's like losing the Sea Otters to instinction.
d) When we get to the point that we need to RETUNE guitars, pianos & orchestra's... then we've got to the point where musicians SUCK SO BAD that the music they're recording probably isn't WORTH LISTENING TO, MUCH LESS RECORDING, in the 1st place!!! Isn't it bad enough that we have vocalists who can't sing? Do you LIKE robotic vocals? And WHY then, are these people stars? Oh... forgot... they won a contest. VOMIT!!!!!!
Rather that robotic tuners... I favor PUCHING IN a fix, or copy/pasting, OR simply doing an alternate or 2nd, 3rd or 4th take and then edit and assemble ONE good performance. That way, it's REAL and it sounds REAL. Duh!
In the future, once music has been pirated to the point it's all downloaded P2P FREE... I doubt there's going to be much money PAID for musicians. It makes little sense to spend 1 to 4 hours TUNING them with the Melodyne plugin or other software. Since they're already in the studio, and we're paying them $2.00/hr., just have them PLAY IT AGAIN!
This Melodyne plugin reminds me of the 60's TV show, "Rowan and Martins LAUGH IN", when Arte Johnson said: "Very interesting... but stupid!"
Gary Boggess
Boggess Music & Sound
www.boggessmusicandsound.com
813.909.2191
By Jason Brian Merrill at 11:42 PM ON 04/25/08
they have been doing "autotuning" for a very long time in music recording -- either with synthesisers (pitch bend wheel anyone?) or by physically retarding tape...
nothing new to see here, just a new way to do it.
great technology --
By Revolution at 5:34 AM ON 04/26/08
All you noisy negativists can continue to bark on. Instead of barking, Celemony has changed the world and you have to live in it. Either you improve stuff or you're just blabbering biomass who will fade to obscurity. Sorry, but that's how the universe works. Life is a do-it-yourself gig. 95% of you need to be told what to do and think anyway, so no wonder about the comments.
By Robin at 5:28 AM ON 04/27/08
Cool !
By GoodShepherd at 11:58 PM ON 04/29/08
Huge potential for washing surveillance recordings.
By louis at 6:07 PM ON 04/30/08
I wonder how this software reacts to sounds recorded in any kind of reverb environment, where chords persist into the next chord. The examples in the video are pretty dry. As a composition tool this thing will be awesome.. as a recording tool, it will be abused like every other recording tool has been abused. But it will also be awesome.
As for the "purists," some people aren't happy unless it was recorded in one room with a single RCA ribbon mic to a wax cylinder in 1923. Even then though I doubt they're really happy.