Can't make music, but you can sing? Try this!

LPChip · August 30, 2009, 12:53:37

Microsoft released a new program called Songsmith. Basically you select a style, you hit record, you sing along with drums and the program creates a song around it.

Check out a funny video using it:

Queen - We will rock you (salsa mix)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22AWPW5s4EA

And more about the program itself, check this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGHz04wMx58

Saga Musix · August 30, 2009, 12:56:21

Oh god, please not again. This program is half a year old and it's already been bad and annoying half a year ago. It's just ridiculous. Seems like it was "popular" everywhere, just not here. Some "interpretations" are pretty funny, though.

LPChip · August 30, 2009, 13:04:05

I agree, it sucks balls... but I thought it was funny how people use this to make old songs new

And the ad one (parody) is funny too.

Really Weird Person · August 31, 2009, 21:41:27

That definately looks interesting. I guess that is Microsoft's competition for Apple's GarageBand :lol:. It definitely looks much easier to follow than GarageBand (at least to me). There would be one slight problem though. It uses its own format so implementation into other songs would be quite a challenge unless Modplug Tracker was changed DRASTICALLY to read files with a songsmith extension. For me, I think that the sequence limit being increased back up to 65,000 (or possibly higher if Jojo is in the mood, but that is doubtful) would be enough for at least a while. I am not sure about the songsmith file thing though.

Saga Musix · August 31, 2009, 22:02:54

I guess songsmith can only export to WMA, which is a bit.... hard to import.

g · September 01, 2009, 06:20:29

It exports to MIDI.

bvanoudtshoorn · September 01, 2009, 06:39:26

Technically, SongSmith uses a bastardised verison of PG Music's "Band In A Box" software, which is primarily used for roughing out ideas for pop-ish pieces.

(Basically, with BiaB, you put in a chord sequence, using any chord known to man, choose from one of a million or so styles, and it will dynamically generate a "performance" of your lead sheet.)

It's all MIDI. What Songsmith has done is take the backend of BiaB, put in simple pitch recognition, and mapped those pitches to three or four basic chords (I, IV, V, and, if you're lucky, occasionally a ii, iii, or vi).

http://www.pgmusic.com/win.htm

uncloned · September 01, 2009, 14:26:29

it reminds me of Bill Gates playing Guitar Hero in his farewell video....

My 13 year old daughter rejected it as boring, stupid, and "you can't do much" after about 2 hours of playing with it in her bedroom with a couple of her friends.

g · September 01, 2009, 18:00:38

I think I might have to get it since people bash it so hard... I mean, think of how many smiles it has given us. Besides, only crappy artists blame their tools.

uncloned · September 01, 2009, 19:16:48

Go for it. I imagine the demo version is still free. I will be amazed if you come up with something you are proud of. I did want see what would happen if I sang an atonal melody but when it could entertain 13 yros I totally lost interest that is *could not entertain*