Yep, it's still true: put the human brain into the process.  Then provide
pencil and paper, and remove the computer!  Artis Wodehouse couldn't wait
for the computer method to be realized, so she finished her Audio-to-MIDI
transcriptions manually, "by ear."

Robbie Rhodes

 [ Editor's note:
 [
 [ As I stated months ago, I don't transcribe music from audio.
 [ However, a tool that I've thought would be useful is an editing tool
 [ which combined a .WAV editor and a .MID editor into a single program.
 [ The program would have a split-view window with a "Piano Roll View" in
 [ the top half and a "Waveform Envelope View" in the bottom half.  Both
 [ halves would be displayed simultaneously and would be scrolled with a
 [ single scrollbar.  Time values would be the same in both halves of the
 [ window.  You could select a region of .WAV _OR_ a region of .MID to
 [ play, or you could select BOTH.  The latter would allow you to A-B
 [ compare via stereo playback.  A toolbar might provide analysis tools
 [ to be applied to the waveform portion, such as Forier analysis, etc.
 [ A skilled musician might be able to use a tool such as this (with both
 [ a computer keyboard and a MIDI keyboard at the workstation) to quickly
 [ edit (and accurately time synchronize) audio with MIDI.
 [
 [ An inverse variation of this might make it possible for someone with
 [ a MIDI score to arrange or embellish a "layered analog performance".
 [ Movie sound tracks are put together with tools like this (originally
 [ with sprocketed film and sprocketed audio clips at a machine called
 [ a Movieola.  Fast processors and large disk drives make this kind
 [ of editing technology within the reach of the hobbiest.
 [
 [ Jody