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User Name Thread Name Subject Posted
Nick Tech: Song decoding app - chords, tempo, etc.. (24) RE: Tech: Song decoding app - chords, tempo, etc.. 17 Dec 19


I have downloaded the demo version and given it a try. I thought I'd give it a toughish test. But it's the sort of thing that - if it worked - I would find useful. My ears are good enough to work out basic chord progressions without software help.

It's ok in the same way that Riff Station or others are that 'work out the chords' but it lacks nuance and isn't much help apart from fairly straightforward chord progressions. Once you get alternative bass notes (eg G/F, G/D etc) it doesn't get it right. And it won't spot extended chords very well - even maj7 or sus2 or sus4 or a minor 7th with a flat 5.

I imported a copy of a song we practiced yesterday that I happen to know exactly how I play it as I worked out my guitar part from scratch.

I'm capoed up two so G chords

So the intro I play is
x 10 9 7 0 x (G)
x 7 5 7 0 x (Em7)
5 x 5 5 5 5 (Am7)
x 5 4 5 0 0 (D13 no fifth or eleventh)

It returns G, omits the Em7, and then Am (misses the 7), D (misses the 13th)

Main I play (names are probably wrong)
3x443x Gmaj7
0xx455 Esus4
x3x032 Csus2add#11
320033 G
x3x332 C7b5sus2
G
2x220x F#m7 (no fifth) add 11
x21202 B7

It returns
G Em C G
C G
F#m Bm (probably my playing!)

So it would give someone a hint of the structure but none of what - to me - gives it its warmth and harmony.

The next bit I play is
xx2000 Em
1x003x G/F
32320x G9 (no fifth)
x32000 Cmaj7
12123x F7b5(add13)
12120x F7b5

And it chucks out Em Bb D G Bdim Fdim Em Bb C G etc

By all means download the demo and try the file for yourself I tried which is on dropbox. Knowing exactly what I play makes it a reasonable test I think. So I won't be buying as I have better tools available already.

I tried it with us singing teach Your Children which is a bog standard 4 chord song. Mostly it deals with it ok. What it doesn't deal with is if you play a bass run as it tries to interpret it as a chord.

So rather than G - C - G - D
It comes up with G - C - Bdim - G - D
and second time round G - C - Dm - G - D

Which is fine if you know what it's doing. If you don't and played it as a song believing it to be 'right' and without knowing what was going on you would be (I think) confused. If you know what is going on you don't need the software to work out how to play Teach Your Children!

Very clever though and it has some nice clever features like the ability to remove bits of the music etc and a piano roll etc But there are other things that do it better.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/e89g8t6go8agrn5/O%20Moon%20River.mp3?dl=0


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