OK, this is more a question out of curiosity, since I don't think there's much I can do to influence the way the Audio Chord Wizard interprets an audio file. But then again, if there is a way I can, I'd like to learn more.
The question arose after I decided to let the Audio Chord Wizard do its thing with some backing tracks I've been working with. The first one I chose did not have a complex harmonic arrangement -- the piece was in a major key, so there were some IV's and V's and a vi here and there. But after I ran it through the chord wizard, there was this blizzard of changes it had spewn out and the interpreted chord progression didn't sound like the new one much at all. So I tried it on a simpler backing track. This one had only two chords, a I and a V chord. But again, the result was a blizzard of changes.
The first backing track was 72 measures long and the second was 56 measures long. Neither of the interpretations showed any repeats anywhere, whereas the original tunes had lots.
So, is the ACW keying off an active bass line, perhaps? Because the bass lines in both BTs, while not complex, they do move around a bit. There are keyboards and guitars in both BTs, but they're pretty much banging out a steady rhythm, so I don't see how they would contribute to the interpretations' complexity.
The most important influence on Audio Chord Wizard, or ACW for short, operation is the bar 1, beat 1 setting. Particularly when an audio file has a lead in prior to bar 1 beat 1 the analysis can be compromised.
Extreme tempo changes, multiple time signatures and modulations can also affect accuracy.
One way to increase accuracy is to break an audio file into small chunks and feed the ACW one chunk at a time.
I agree with Jim. Beat 1 of Bar 1 is highly important. It's also very important to check that the bars of the music align with the bars that were determined by the ACW.
Okay, well this helps explain some things. Yesterday, when I was doing this, I just accepted the default suggestion as to where the audio should begin -- you know that window that pops up telling you which beat it should begin at. Turns out, it was truncating off upwards of a measure and a half of the start of the audio file.
Today, I got to playing around with this window and discovered if I put a "1" where the "-1" was, it came through fine. But then I noticed there was a 2-beat drum fill that was causing the audio track to be two beats off. So I went back to the original backing track and truncated the 2-beat drum fill, then loaded it back into BiaB. Then I ran the ACW. And you know what? The chords it came back with are actually much closer -- still not exactly there, but at least I can edit the BiaB file to get it to where it needs to be without tearing out what few hairs I have left.
At least I was arriving at an accurate tempo for the audio tracks, which was pretty much a PITA, but I saw where it really did matter with the ACW, so I figured it had to be.
But I dunno if I ever would have put together what you guys have just described based on the results I'm seeing. So, this is good to know. And, of course, this means I get to go back and redo the three tunes I attempted to retrieve halfway meaningful chord progressions from.
Yep, got it. Bar 1, beat 1. Which is why I got rid of the two-beat drum intros. These backing tracks, being backing tracks and all, are meant to be relatively easy to follow along for, you know, just general woodshedding work. So there are no fancy variances in tempo or odd key changes. The backing tracks I've translated so far have "only" a maximum of two bars per measure, so I'm ok there.
The only problem I had with one BT was it has a push on beat three, every other bar. I've used the carat, eg, ^Am to add a 1/8 beat push, which works ok. But then I ran into a situation where the MIDI drums were being way too clunky with that push, so I had to find a decent RT drum track, with the hopes it might exaggerate it less. And I was successful there.
The only annoying thing about this is just having to go through 80-some-odd measures and replace the existing chord with a chord with the carat. You know, I thought there was a way to edit a chord without having to replace it, say correct Cm7b5 to a Cm7, for example, without having to retype the chord. But I haven't found anything in the Help files or any combination of keystrokes -- so far -- that lets me do this. As I dimly recall, I was able to do this in earlier versions of BiaB. Am I just imagining this, or have I, in my forgetfulness, not yet uncovered how this is done?
Hey Jim, well for me, it isn't so much filling out the chord sheet as it is preparing the audio file so that it will be interpreted properly -- or at least closely. To get close with the ACW, I had to first establish the correct tempo, and then I had to prepare the audio file so that the audio file's chord progression began at Bar 1, beat 1. Then I had to make sure that the tempo matched in BiaB, and just for good measure, I also set the key to the correct key in BiaB. It was then, and only then, that I imported the file and then ran ACW.
Only after I'd run ACW did I dismiss it (the way I found to do this, which may not be the most elegant, was to click on Audio>Audio Edit Window twice), and then hit F5 to get rid of the red underlines. I also had to click on the little rectangle in the gray "Drop" box to restore the look of BiaB. It was only at this point that I was even prepared to select a style to try out the progression that had been loaded. So for me, the chord sheet is way in the back of the to-do list.
But, I dunno, maybe it's all in the way you look at it. Maybe what I just described was filling out the chord sheet?
Adding to the pointers already given, if you know the key signature and chord progression prior to running the ACW, use the ACW chord analysis custom menu as shown below.
Also, as you become more familiar with the ACW you'll notice it misinterprets certain chords predictablely. On my system, nearly every time I see an Asus, the correct chord is a D. I use the Search and Replace function to change them all at once.
Thanks y'all. I'll give these tips a try as needed.
Noel, I was hoping to find a way to edit chords on a chord-by-chord basis on the chord sheet, if you will, rather than doing a global or limited search and replace. I just finished editing an 80 bar piece, and had to change almost every chord -- majors to major 7ths, minors to minor 7ths, etc. And it went quickly enough, so I guess it wouldn't be much of a time saver anyway, even if there were a way to edit individual chords on the chord sheet.
Today I tried something new, since almost all of the backing tracks I've had the ACW translate only dimly resemble the originals. Instead, I play the audio file and watch the chords the ACW has chosen as the file plays. These backing tracks are not complex, so it has become an easy process for me to correct the chords as I listen to the audio. Doing this provides me with an almost exact copy -- in terms of harmonies, at least. After I've done this, I search through my styles inventory, hoping to find one that comes close to the way the audio is being played. That's been a hit-and-miss process so far.
So anyway, it's become an involved process, but I think it will be ultimately worth it. Reason for all this trouble? Because I like the lead sheets that BiaB puts together. Of course, the sheets won't have any melodies -- unless I use the melodist to throw something together just for the sake of the printout. But they'll have the chords, at least, which is what I was after from the beginning.
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