Convert audio files and CD to music notation, find chord names, transcribe music and make multi-track MIDI scores using intelliScore.
IntelliScore is the world's only multi-instrument,
multi-drum audio to notation converter
Now includes Lead Sheet Creator and Score Builder
CLICK HERE TO GET IT NOW
Below are answers to some of the more frequently asked questions about intelliScore. If you have a question that
isn't answered here, feel free to ask us using the form below. You will receive a prompt, courteous response usually within one business day.
Why are there two flavors of intelliScore?
IntelliScore
comes in two editions: Ensemble Edition and Polyphonic Edition.
IntelliScore Ensemble Edition is the only product in the world that can
listen to a musical audio file (CD, WAV, MP3, AAC, AIFF or WMA) comprised of
several different instruments and drums and convert it to a MIDI file
containing the notes and drums played, broken down by instrument.
The MIDI file can then be converted to music notation. The Ensemble
Edition includes tools such as a Score Builder and Lead Sheet Creator. It also
provides all the features of intelliScore Polyphonic.
Read the full Ensemble Edition MP3 to
score FAQ.
If your music contains only one type of
instrument, such as a piano solo, and does not contain percussion,
consider the bargain priced intelliScore Polyphonic to convert audio to notation. The
music can be polyphonic (playing several notes at the same time)
or monophonic (one note at a time).
IntelliScore Polyphonic does not break down the MIDI
file into multiple instrument tracks and does not convert percussion. If you choose the Polyphonic
Edition and decide later you would like to upgrade to the Ensemble
Edition, you will find that the transition will be easy, as the two
editions work similarly.

What's it good for?
IntelliScore works in two modes: live
and prerecorded. In prerecorded mode, intelliScore listens to audio files containing recordings of music and helps
figure out the notes played, as well as their duration and dynamics,
tempo changes, likely chord names and the prominent key, and writes
them to a MIDI file. This can save you much of the time and trouble
required to figure out and write down the notes, so you can spend more
time making music and pursuing other creative endeavors. Once your
audio files are converted into MIDI, you can do
things that can be impossible with audio files, such as changing individual
notes and swapping instruments. You can also play the MIDI file, see and
edit the music notation, and study it. For more information on file
formats, read our MP3 to MIDI Converter
Primer.
In real time mode, intelliScore allows
you to control a MIDI-enabled instrument or your computer's sound card
in near real time while you play an acoustic instrument. In conjunction with LoopBe1
(which can be downloaded free of charge for non-commercial use), you
can record MIDI directly into your favorite sequencer, such as the
included Anvil Studio. Traditionally, this capability would require an expensive, specialized
MIDI pickup hardware for your acoustic instrument. IntelliScore could
save you the expense of hardware MIDI pickups and additionally works
with any instrument.
IntelliScore is particularly useful in
helping you figure out the notes and drums present in prerecorded audio files, especially when you don't know (or
don't remember) how to play it. The music could come from live
performance, a CD, a tape recording, an existing audio file, or another source. When the audio is monophonic,
intelliScore has the additional capability of accurately tracking
expressive changes in volume, pitch and brightness while notes are being held,
faithfully recreating effects such as pitch bend, vibrato, tremolo and portamento.

What does intelliScore not do?
To give you a fair
representation of intelliScore's capabilities, we want to tell you a few
things that it cannot do (yet). First, it is important to understand
that MIDI cannot store as much information as audio. MIDI data can
indicate which notes to play, but not the sound of the notes or all the
possible nuances of expression. MIDI merely tells sound cards and
synthesizers what notes to play, when to play them, and some basic
instructions on how to play them. It is up to the sound card or
synthesizer to create the sounds, which may sound different from the
instruments used to create the original music. MIDI is not capable of
recreating sung words, although it can represent the pitches that were
sung.
IntelliScore
Ensemble recognizes drums and percussion from drum solos, but only when they are
not mixed with pitched instruments.
Finally, intelliScore can convert
audio files to MIDI files, but not the other way around. To convert
MIDI to WAV, we recommend MIDI Converter Studio.
Also see the FAQ on accuracy.

How accurate is it?
IntelliScore employs several different
conversion algorithms based on our own research in
psycho-acoustic physics and are very complex. For example, intelliScore
uses data obtained by analyzing thousands of recordings of musical
instruments to help convert polyphonic music. IntelliScore’s
specialized monophonic algorithm is remarkably accurate on audio
files as well as a live performance that contains only one note at a time, and even detects
slight variations in pitch, volume and brightness. Nevertheless, some
instruments and forms of music convert better than others. Some audio
files may simply refuse to be converted.
Conversion is generally best with audio files that are not too complex and contain
only a few instruments and minimal drums and percussion. Although
intelliScore Ensemble can convert music with pitched instruments and
percussion mixed together, best results are obtained when they are
separate. To find
out if intelliScore will work for you, we recommend you download
our free demo. You can also evaluate some of the unedited results
from our own MP3 to MID sample audio files.
Don't expect intelliScore to convert a
CD to finished music notation, but intelliScore can get you well on your
way. Although after using intelliScore you may need to clean up the
music notation, users say this saves them an average of 35% over having
to figure out and enter the notes into a sequencer without
intelliScore's help. You can use the time you save to pursue more
creative endeavors than picking out notes.

Don't I need a supercomputer to run it?
Although intelliScore performs millions
of calculations to generate a single MIDI file, all you need is a modern
computer to handle the job. The faster the
CPU, the faster the conversion speed. In fact, most computers today are
fast enough to convert in real-time, so that each second of audio takes
less than a second to process. See the system
requirements for a full list of what your computer needs to run
intelliScore.

Do I need to be a rocket scientist to use it?
IntelliScore is designed for use by
musicians with average computer skills, not physicists. All program
settings use familiar musical and MIDI terminology. You don't need to
know how to read music to use intelliScore, although it would be
helpful. Most musicians become comfortable using intelliScore to convert
MP3 to notation in less than an hour, followed by learning the more
advanced settings at a comfortable pace later on. In fact, intelliScore
is so intuitive, many users start using intelliScore without ever using
the help system or reading the manual.
IntelliScore includes a wizard to
guide you through the process of preparing intelliScore to convert your
audio files, CD music or live performance. IntelliScore also includes
context-sensitive detailed descriptions of all settings, troubleshooting
tips, examples of several conversion projects with settings, handy
answers to common questions and several tutorials.
You can also view our video
audio to MIDI tutorials.

How does it work?
It has been said that automated music
conversion is the musical equivalent of speech recognition. For this
analogy to be true, then polyphonic music conversion is like listening
to several conversations going on at once and figuring out all the words
spoken by everyone. Perhaps it is due to this extra complexity that the
technology of automated music conversion has lagged behind speech
recognition.
Conventional wisdom suggests that
Fourier transformation and wavelet theory would be the best approaches
to polyphonic music conversion and wavelength determination for
monophonic conversion. If these methods really worked, however, there
would be many more programs out there that claim to automatically
convert recorded music to music notation.
Due to the inherent limitations of the
above methods, intelliScore uses a combination of new, revolutionary
approaches based upon our continuing research in psycho-acoustic
physics. The core technology is patented. IntelliScore is now in its
seventh generation and combines additional proprietary capabilities.

What else do I need to use intelliScore?
It depends how you intend to use
intelliScore. If you are recording
from a microphone, connect the microphone to the "mic in" jack
on your sound card. If you are recording from a CD, place the CD in your
CD-ROM drive. After converting your recording to a MIDI file, you can
use a sequencer/MIDI editing program to edit and/or convert the MIDI file to music notation or guitar tab and print it out. The full versions of intelliScore include the
award-winning Anvil Studio
program, but you can use any program that imports standard MIDI files. (Printing
from the included Anvil Studio requires purchase of the optional Print
Sheet accessory.)
If you want to use your analog
instrument as a real time MIDI controller, be sure you have a MIDI
interface to connect your computer to your synthesizer or sound
generation module. If you want to use your analog instrument to record directly into
your sequencer, you will need to use intelliScore in conjuction with LoopBe1
(which can be downloaded without charge for non-commercial use).

How do I see the chord names detected by intelliScore?
Not only does intelliScore detect the
notes present in CD files and prerecorded audio; it
also attempts to identify the names of 144 different chords and the
prominent key. Even if your audio file contains only a melody, intelliScore
will suggest complementing chord names.
When you are using intelliScore real time mode, it displays chord names while you play your instrument. If you are converting
prerecorded music, these chord names are written to the MIDI file as
marker events. The included Anvil
Studio displays the chord names directly above the music notation.
Some other sequencers will show the chord names with the notes in music notation or piano roll views. If your sequencer can't do this, it should
still be able to display the list of detected chords in an event list.
Check your sequencer's documentation for instructions.

Does intelliScore run on a Macintosh computer?
We do not currently offer a native Mac
version of intelliScore. However, intelliScore runs properly on a Mac
that is running Windows in conjunction with Boot
Camp, VirtualBox, Parallels
Desktop, or Fusion.

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