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Creating an audio file

Subjects covered:

• Export a score to an audio file

Export a score to an audio file [Light] [Beginner] [Professional] [Notation] [Composition Light] [Composition Pro] [Drums and Percussion] [Guitar] [Choir] [Keyboard] [Soloist]

The idea is to create an audio wave file (extension ".wav") that contains exactly what you hear when you play the score in Pizzicato. You can then use that audio file to create a CD that can be played in any music CD player. Indeed, most CD burning software accept wave files to create an audio CD.

Since Pizzicato version 3.4, a quality sound bank (Papelmedia) is included in Pizzicato. It is now possible to create a WAV file using this library (or any virtual instrument from Pizzicato or from any external SoundFont file), without going through the specificities of the sometimes bad quality sound card synthesizers. If you use an external MIDI synthesizer or if you want to use the sounds of your sound card, you will need to record the audio file through the sound card, as explained later in this lesson.

Let us see how to export it with the virtual instruments.

• In the Examples sub-directory of the DataEN directory, open the Ex044.piz file. It is a short piece of music containing 4 measures. We will create an audio file from it.

• In the File menu, select the Export audio file... item. A dialog appears so that you can give a name and a location to the wave file that will be created. By default, the name is set to either the name of the document or the name of the score if the document contains more then one score. Select the directory where you want the file to be created and validate. The following dialog appears:

• The list on the left shows which staves will be exported (YES) or not exported (NO), as well as the STEREO or MONO selection for each instrument. To modify this list, click one line and change the Export in check box and the STEREO/MONO menu. The list is then updated.

• Two options are available to export the score in audio. Create one file with all staves will produce one audio WAV file that includes all selected instruments. Create one file per staff will do just that. This is useful if you want to work your composition in a digital studio software to remix it, add effect or include it in a broader work.

• Since version 3.6, you can also export the metronome by clicking the corresponding check box.

• Click the Export button to create the file(s). In case of multiple files, the number and name of the instrument is appended to the main file name. Please note that you can select a set of measure and staves before calling this dialog and only these measures and staves will be exported.

As explained above, if the score contains staves with MIDI instrument assignement (mapped to the sound card or to an externazl synthesizer), these instruments will not be exported with the original MIDI instrument sound, but these sounds will be replaced automatically by the Papelmedia sound library included in Pizzicato. If you do not want that to happen, click the button Export while playing the score. In that case, the following dialog appears:

• In the upper frame, you may select the quality of the audio file. By default, it is set to the best quality. Note that the size of the file is directly related to the quality. The more quality the higher the file size. You may evaluate the size of the file (in bytes) with the following formula:

• Stereo 16 bits : file size = 4 x (sample rate) x (duration of the file in seconds)
• Stereo 8 bits : file size = 2 x (sample rate) x (duration of the file in seconds)
• Mono 16 bits : file size = 2 x (sample rate) x (duration of the file in seconds)
• Mono 8 bits : file size = 1 x (sample rate) x (duration of the file in seconds)

The way Pizzicato will create the audio file is the following. When Pizzicato plays the score, it uses the sound card synthesizer or a software synthesizer to play the notes. The resulting sound is present at the output of the sound card and that is the sound you hear. This is also the sound that will be recorded in the audio file.

So that Pizzicato has the possibility to access this sound channel on Windows XP or 2000, you should do the following:

• In the Start menu, select Programs, then Accessories, Entertainment, Volume control. The volume control window appears.
• In its Options menu, select Properties.
• In the frame entitled Adjust volume select Recording or Record.
• In the list, see that the line "What you hear" or "Stereo Mix" or something similar is checked and click on OK. This input means exactly that: all sounds that come out of the speaker of the sound card will be recorded.
• See that the Select check box is checked under the slider of the column named "What you hear" in the recording control window and that this slider has enough volume.
• Go back to Pizzicato. This setup should normally not change after you have prepared it, but be aware that other programs may change it. If Pizzicato does not record sound as expected, check it again.

So that Pizzicato has the possibility to access this sound channel on Windows Vista, you should do the following:

• In the Start menu, select Configuration panel, then Audio, Sound. In the window that appears, select the Recording tab.
• With a right-click in the middle of the list of peripherals, select the item Display disabled devices.
• In the list, double-click the item entitled "What you hear" or "Stereo Mix" or something similar.
• In the General tab, check that the Use of device option is set to Use this device (active) or something similar. This input means that all sounds that come out of the speaker of the sound card will be recorded.
• In the Levels tab, see that enough volume is assigned to the slider.
• Close that window and the following.
• Go back to Pizzicato. This setup should normally not change after you have prepared it, but be aware that other programs may change it. If Pizzicato does not record sound as expected, check it again.

On the Macintosh, it is a bit different because the user may not select "What you hear" as the recording input. There are two way to handle that difficulty. The first one is to use the microphone of the Mac. Pizzicato plays the score through QuickTime Instruments and the internal speaker of the Mac and Pizzicato records it with the microphone. The problem with that solution is that the sound quality will be less and that other sounds and noise that happen around your computer will also be recorded. The other solution is better but you need a cable to connect the sound output of the Mac to its sound input. In either case, do the following:

• Go to the System Preferences, in Sound
• In the Input tab, select the input you need: the built-in microphone or external microphone if you want to use that method, or the line input if you have a cable to connect the audio output of the Mac to its line input.
• Set the input volume to an adequate level.
• Go back to Pizzicato.

For both Windows and the Mac, when you click on the Play (test) button of the above dialog, Pizzicato plays the score. You should see the bar graphs showing the sound level in real time. You may increase the volume sliders if the bar graphs have a too low level. This will determine the volume recorded in the audio file. The bar graph should never reach the right part, because that means the sound is saturated at that point and this will produce a sound distortion in the audio file. The Stop button lets you stop the score.

When you are ready, click on the Export button and Pizzicato starts playing the score while recording the sound result in the audio file. Let Pizzicato play it up to the end and you will then have the wave file created. If you click on Stop before the end, the file will only contain the part of the score that have been played up to then.

If you use an external synthesizer, you should be aware that its audio output will not be recorded in the file unless you connect it to an audio input of your sound card with a cable. Most sound cards have a line input where you can connect your synthesizer audio output. This line input should then be selected in the record volume control window as the source of recording.

On Macintosh, when you use QuickTime Instruments to generate the sounds, your computer must be fast enough; otherwise, QuickTime sometimes has a little interruption that spoils the recording of your score. To optimize the recording on Mac, you should:

• Close every other application than Pizzicato
• Keep the volume of the above window exactly to 100 (you may however adjust the volume in the Sound System Preference panel)
• Avoid the scrolling of the score while Pizzicato plays. You may disable the scrolling in the Options menu, Global options..., by unchecking the Scroll score window checkbox.

If you select one or more measures with the selection tool and then choose to export in audio, only these selected measures will be exported in audio.

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