Beat detection to MIDI

[EveningSky]

Hello MOTUnation,
Is it possible to use Beat detection to create a MIDI file of the syncopation of an audio file, and then use that syncopation in the form of a MIDI file to create a MIDI percussion accompaniment file?
I am working with DP7.
Thank you,
ES

[FMiguelez]

Huh?

What do you mean by "syncopation of an audio file"???

Please clarify what you want to do.

[EveningSky]

Detect beats in my song with a beat detection algorithm, and create a MIDI file using the beat detection data so that I can apply a MIDI drum module and add percussion.

[FMiguelez]

Oh. I see. I couldn't see what "syncopation" had to do with this.

Well, you can certainly use Beat Detection for what you want. It might or not work depending on the music that would be analyzed by DP. The more rhythmic it is, the more accurate everything will be.

Personally, I'd rather use Record Beats (coarse) and then Adjust Beats (fine) if necessary, particularly if the tempo is not steady throughout the song.

There's an encyclopedic thread about Beat Detection, where our own Magic Dave from MOTU talks about this at length and with great detail. It's quite old, but I'm sure you can find it using the Search feature. It might even be in the DP Tips Sheet thread (it's a sticky somewhere up there).
There's also the manual...

[Shooshie]

The post by Magic Dave is in the Tips Sheet, here.

Shooshie

[stubbsonic]

If your project is already "resolved" to the click, and what you want to do is extract various rhythms from an audio track-- i.e., as MIDI notes-- you could use various filters to isolate the frequencies (i.e. Kick?)-- and possibly use a gate-- then use the TRIGGER audio plug in to generate notes that you record to another track.

I've not used it in a while, and can't remember how to send the notes to a specific channel, or assign as an input. I could look in the manual, but I'd hate to ruin it for you.

[EveningSky]

Thank you to all for your responses.

Stubsonnic, you appear to describe what I want to do. I would so much like to exploit the Beat Detection Analysis to trigger drum samples, but alas, DP does not appear to offer that ability (at least in current form).

Is there a 3rd party SW package which would do that, such as some of the MIDI drum packages on the market?

It is a shame IMO, because on my curent "OPUS" beat detection appears to very nicely identify many well placed "beats".

Frustration!!!

Yours,
ES

[stubbsonic]

For the sake of clarity, instead of thinking of "beats" as "drum hits," think of them as marks on a time ruler. Beat detection is looking at attack transients and sticking little specialized markers there.

If you want to take a rhythmic audio track and exploit it to create MIDI tracks, than the process I described will work for complex audio (like a drum track, or a rhythm gtr, or full mix). Essentially, you can use a filter or EQ to narrow down the frequency (for a particular part, or pass), then run that filtered audio signal into the Trigger plug in. You can repeat that process for different frequency bands.

There may be some other ways within DP.

If the audio is melodic and monophonic, you can use DP's pitch engine to create a MIDI track. If it is harmonic (polyphonic) but a single instrument (like piano or some guitar) you can pony up for a version of Melodyne that includes DNA (direct-note access-- polyphonic pitch detection). That can create MIDI as well.

[FMiguelez]

I personally think it's quite simple. It's just a matter of picking the right tool for the job.

If it's something with clear rhythmic shapes, with clear attacks, Beat Detection can work.
But if it's melodic, sustained, or polyphonic stuff with no clear rhythms, then Record Beats works best (pianos, guitars, etc), especially if all one wants is to create an artifact-free tempo track.

My two cents.