Help needed: Sequencing with an original recording...

[fire69water]

Guys,

I'm trying to sequence songs like what a graphic artist would do when he traces over an original to get a copy.

So using Cakewalk, I load the original recording into an audio track, remove the initial silence and bring the beginning of the song to the beginning of the track. Now I am stumped as to how I am going to synchronise my midi tracks to the audio. I tried adjusting the tempo and was able to get the first few bars somewhat synchronised but as the piece progresses, the timing goes off.

Anybody can give me any tips to achieve this synchronisation? Or is what I am attempting all in vain?

 

[Cheez]

The answer to your question lies on using MIDI time code (MTC). You'll need a SMPTE generator that comes in some midi interface. You'll have to record the SMPTE time code on another track other than your audio track. This will let you synchronize audio and midi (and video).

I know it in theory, but I've never done it before in real life since I never had to do it. Others please chip in here.

If you don't have a SMPTE generator, the easiest way is to re-do your sequencing over your audio without using any metronome clicks.

 

[Indigo_blues]

hi there, i've done exactly what u are trying to do a few years back when i did up a minus one track for a friend's wedding. I basically re-sequenced the whole song minusing the vocals cause there wasn't a commercially available minus-one track.

It is possible to have dead on synchronization of the drums and tempo.. but it probably is a little tedious cause real life drummers don't play exactly on the beat hence u have to adjust EVERY drum hit to synchronise.

The initial step is to sequence the beats in midi. Once done, its easiest to bounce the midi track to an audio track, and then do the synchronisation from there. You basically have to zoom in to the millisecond in the time line and VISUALLY line up the beats by cutting and pasting your bounced drum track. You will end up with a sliced up audio track which is exactly synchronised to the original audio. Then all you have to do is combine back all the little pieces into one audio track again.. and thats it! Easy to say, but takes a long time to do haha..

I find its easier to synchronise using audio track to audio track rather than midi track to audio track cause it seemed to me the resolution of the midi track is not so fine. Also, with an audio track, you visually see the beats, hence it makes it very easy to line up the beats.

 

[soft]

hi fire69water

if you 'rip' the audio from a CD, i assumed the timing would be consistent. as opposed to recording from a tape player which might give inconsistent playback especially those old old tape.

there is a function in Cakewalk where you tap to the beat of your reference track and the metronome will give you the tempo.

if the song is a straight tempo piece without any ritardano (held back) and you still experience tempo lag half way into the song, dont worry, just sequence the whole song and let it be.

but if the song has certain parts where the tempo slows down, like after a chorus, you will need to use the tempo map to slow down the tempo accordingly.

 

[Indigo_blues]

yup cakewalk has a page where u can change the tempo of the song freely.. u can adjust it every bar if u want... but i find working with actual audio files much easier. Maybe its just me.

You could speed up or slow down the midi tempo via the tempo function to match your audio track and work from there.

There's more than one way to solve your problem.

 

[Cheez]

If the audio is a live recording, it is unlikely for the timing to be consistent. In real life, people don't play with a metronome. Midi timing however is consistent.

 

[fire69water]

Mmm...

Seems like if I go into the Loop Construction View and I press Enable Stretching and then play, the audio track does line up with the midi tracks measure for measure. But there is some instances of skipping but it is so subtle...

Anyway, thanks for all your replies.