mp3 >>> sheet music (software)

[-=AnatomiC=-]

What is the best way to create sheet music out of an audio file?
I supose, first I need to convert mp3 to MIDI, and than convert MIDI to sheet music with other programs, like Guitar Pro.
I have lots of Guitar Pro tabs, for almost every song. But I just don't understand: how do they make such good MIDI's. I tried to convert audio to MIDI, but it never works as good as I want. What software should I use, to convert audio to sheet music?

Btw - does anyone knows a good website with progressive metal sheet music?

[Grey Loki]

OK.

No.

Just....No.

There is NO POSSIBLE WAY to convert anything but the SIMPLEST (i.e monophonic sine wave) audio files into MIDI. Even then it's hit and miss - computer's just don't hear stuff the way we do. You'd be better off trying to tab it by ear - granted, it'd take longer, but you'd be happy with the tabs, and it will improve your musical ear, which is always useful when playing in a band.

People make such good MIDIs because they get a decent sequencer (I use eMagic's Logic 5.5), and sequence in each part. Seperately. Then they post it to the internet, normally for free.

You won't find much prog sheet music online (to the best of my knowledge). My method is to:

1) Find a song I like

2) Find a MIDI for that song

3) Download said MIDI, and import it into my sequencer (Logic 5.5)

4) Cut everything out but the keyboard parts

5) Save it as a new MIDI

6) Open said MIDI in Finale 2000 and tidy it up

This has always given me great dots for anything I couldn't tab by ear.

Hope this helps.

[EloHiR ElEnDIl]

yeah there are programs that convert audio files to midi but I think they only change the extension for other player to play it (cellphones or something) but I tried it and the midi file in noteworthy it was all bad so it doesn''t work

[jeebustrain]

yeah there are programs that convert audio files to midi but I think they only change the extension for other player to play it (cellphones or something) but I tried it and the midi file in noteworthy it was all bad so it doesn''t work


yes, there are some, but any of those that actually read the pitches and notes from the audio file and convert it to midi are very spotty at best. It's a gimmick, mostly. Monophonic melodies (usually not very complex lines) are about the limit these days. Plus, if you throw anything non-pitched (i.e. drums) on top of it, it renders those programs absolutely useless.

As Greg said, the only way to do it is to do it by ear. The reason some of them sound so good is because people sit and work their ass off for weeks getting the notes right.

[-=AnatomiC=-]

Ok. But I just can't believe they do everything by ear.
I knew a database (now It's closed :mad: ), 50 000 midi/tabs, almost all of them, are just made perfectly! I can't believe it's made by ear!
A song Gethsamane (NightWish), is just perfect, there is no way anyone can tab such a song by ear so perfectly.
Ofcourse, there is another solution, you can buy sheetmusic, and made MIDI file out of it. But this isn't what I want.

[Grey Loki]

Yes, they do everything by ear - it's not hard. I transcribed Jump by Van Halen (everything bar the guitar solo) after playing keyboards seriously for less than six months.

[T3E]

Ok. But I just can't believe they do everything by ear.

Believe it, it's true.

It's one of those wacky things that happens when people actually put time in to learn and work at their craft, rather than looking for free software to do things for them.

there is no way anyone can tab such a song by ear so perfectly

I don't meant to sound callous, but just because you can't do it, doesn't mean that someone else can't. Work work work work, and you will get better. In the short-term meantime, hopefully someone else will have already done a MIDI or a score of whatever song you're looking for.

[-=AnatomiC=-]

I don't mean I can't, or no one can, I mean no one should. To tab a piece perfectly it would take hours/days/weeks of hard work. You might just go to store and buy all tabs you need instead (album for 25$)
I tabbed some pieces myself, ezy stuff (Mad About You - Hooverphonic), and it was pretty good, almost perfect. But it was very short and not complicated

[Enigma™]

I tabbed out Over the Edge which isn't exactly simple, and it's not exactly readily available either. (You try and find a version of it in a store ANYWHERE)

I've searched everywhere for a midi, a tab, etc.. but no-one had one available. I decided SOMEONE needed to do something so I sat down, and did it. I tabbed it out, I wrote it down, figured it out. I watched vids, I listened to different versions, etc...

I still don't have it all right, but it's pretty close I'd say, and now others have it as well.

Maybe some day JR will release the correct version, and then I'll have to learn it all over again, but until then it seems I'll be one of the ones that have it and that's something I enjoy sharing with others.

[-=AnatomiC=-]

Yeah, you can just write your own music, if you are so good at tabbing :biggrin:

More "populair" bands, like NightWish, always put their music in books, and what are you know... what a coincidence, you will always find their tabs/midi's on internet.
On the other hand, Jordan Rudess, doesn't sell his sheetmusic, and you know what: you will never find his tabs on internet.

So, my conclusion: almost (atleast 95%) all perfect tabs are just copied from books.

[normthesamurai]

In that case just buy the sheet music. Look the fact of the matter is that you can't get software to do transcribing for you. Plus much of the tabs, fake books and transcriptions you find in stores are written by third parties (not the musicians) are written by ear. Just work on you ear training for a bit and then you will see that it is possible and people do it all the time.

[Grey Loki]

normthesamurai is completely right. Granted, you can get tablature books for popular bands, but their accuracy isn't always guaranteed (the old DT tab book springs to mind).

As for your comment about how at least 95% of tabs are copied from books, I think that's total crap.

Tab books for anything but the most popular bands (and by popular I mean bands that young guitarists want to copy) are fairly rare, you know. When you think of the amazing number of MIDI files on the internet, and then compare that to the amount of 'official' tab books there are, there's a massive disparity. This is because 'at least 95% of perfect tabs' are actually made by ear.

Honestly - go try it. It's not hard to tab ANYTHING. I'm not what you'd call a 'mega keyboardist' - in fact, i'm only just able to read grade three music, but I've quite easily tabbed stuff like Van Halen's Jump, The Final Countdown, Sweet Child o' Mine, the first few bars of The Moonlight Sonata (before I found the sheet music for it online :P), The main section of Pachelbel's Canon in D.

I could go on - tabbing by ear takes time to train, but once you've got it, it's one of the most valuable skills in your arsenal.

[-=AnatomiC=-]

Well, maybe you're right :rolleyes:

[Grey Loki]

Hey, don't forget - I could be wrong, too.

But I don't think I am :P

[T3E]

I don't mean I can't, or no one can, I mean no one should. To tab a piece perfectly it would take hours/days/weeks of hard work. You might just go to store and buy all tabs you need instead (album for 25$)


With all due respect, where do you think those tabs come from? They don't materialise out of thin air.

[normthesamurai]

Thats true and plus What about people like Jimi hendrix who I'm pretty sure couldn't read music. If it weren't for people who could trinscribe music by ear how would you get his tabs? If your good at transcribing music by ear then for songs such as... well some Jazz I listen to (anyone got a good jazz lead sheet/midi site) it would probably be faster then finding the transcription on the net or at stores.

[-=AnatomiC=-]

With all due respect, where do you think those tabs come from? They don't materialise out of thin air.

Euh, well, I don't know... the bands put them into sheetmusic maybe?
I admit, you guys are right about lots of stuff, but sheetmusic from the official band site! It just can't be written by the thrid party. You are so wrong about that...

[normthesamurai]

Euh, well, I don't know... the bands put them into sheetmusic maybe?
I admit, you guys are right about lots of stuff, but sheetmusic from the official band site! It just can't be written by the thrid party. You are so wrong about that...


Really What bands do this? The DT site has midis but they are made by other people and you can buy the transcription books but then again, other people and sheet music by fans. The only Official site I've seen that does this is the JROC (awesome stuff in there by the way!)

[-=AnatomiC=-]

NightWish sell their sheet music too...

I didn't say everybody does that, but when I see sheets on the official site, I can be pretty sure that they were made by the band.

[Grey Loki]

Why couldn't we just let this thread die? It's not a particularly important subject.

OK. Yes - some bands DO tab their own songs and produce a tab book. HOWEVER, most bands don't, for one reason or another. When this is the case, you may still see tab books advertised on their site, which have been made by a third party (there are, I believe, several transcription companies out there), and then submitted to the band.

The only tab book I have ever bought was the DT Keyboard Anthology - every other song i've had to play in a band, i've either transcribed by ear, or taken a MIDI off the internet for free, which was transcribed by someone else.

[-=AnatomiC=-]

Why couldn't we just let this thread die? It's not a particularly important subject.

Well, than don't write replies :tongue: Topics know when they must die: when no one replies to it. Besides, I think this is an important topic, but nvm that.

You should try Guitar Pro - you can find lots (almost every populair) of tabs, most of them a very very good. No tabs of JD though :mad: , but lots of tabs of Dream Theater.
Maybe I'll try to tab some music, when I have more free time - because now I don't have any.

[Grey Loki]

Eew, Guitar Pro. I have a copy of that - I sometimes convert .gp4 files to MIDI sequences and load them into Logic.

[T3E]

Euh, well, I don't know... the bands put them into sheetmusic maybe?
I admit, you guys are right about lots of stuff, but sheetmusic from the official band site! It just can't be written by the thrid party. You are so wrong about that...

No, we're right about this one too :tongue: :biggrin:

You use DT as an example, but a very very cursory look around takes you here (http://www.progressivetranscriptions.com/), to the official guitar transcription of Octavarium - transcribed by Jordan Baker and Ryan Maziarz. Last I checked they weren't members of DT.

Bah, Loki's right, this is a stupid conversation... :smile: