Contents - Index

Tips for Best Results
  • Conversion is best for audio that is recorded at a good volume and contains only a few instruments and minimal drums and percussion (unless you are using intelliScore's drum recognition feature).  If you are having trouble recording at a good level, refer to the section on recording levels.
  • Best results are obtained from audio CDs, wave files, and AIFF files.  MP3, WMA, and AAC files are compressed and therefore do not contain all of the original audio information.
  • If the original audio contains two or more instruments that a very similar to each other, such as a violin and viola, try specifying only one of the instruments in your ensemble (Ensemble Edition only).  Make sure the pitch range is large enough to cover both instruments.  Also, try excluding instruments that cannot be prominently and frequently heard in the audio.  You can also restrict the pitch ranges of instruments through the Ensemble Editor to reflect the pitch ranges present in the original audio.  (If the original audio contains multiple instruments and you have the Polyphonic Edition of intelliScore, consider upgrading to intelliScore Ensemble Edition.)
  • If you are using the drum recognition feature and the original audio contains two or more percussion instruments that a very similar to each other, such as a acoustic snare and electric snare, try specifying only one of the instruments in your drum kit (Ensemble Edition only).  Also, try excluding percussion instruments that cannot be prominently and frequently heard in the audio.  You can also restrict the Polyphony in the Drum Kit Editor to the maximum number of drums that can be played at one time.  (If the original audio contains percussion instruments and you have the Polyphonic Edition of intelliScore, consider upgrading to intelliScore Ensemble Edition since the Polyphonic Edition cannot convert percussion.)
  • If your music is on an audio CD, be sure to use the intelliScore's direct CD transfer feature rather than the wave file recording feature.  This is the second option from the top in the Audio Source step in the New Project Wizard.
  • Try converting simpler music until you become familiar with intelliScore's controls, then try more complex material.
  • If your audio is monophonic, set Polyphony to 1, but be sure your audio is really monophonic.  If you are playing in the instrument, release one note before playing the next note so that there are not overlapping notes -- a damper pedal on piano and reverb can also cause one note to overlap the next.  Also be sure your audio source is not producing multiple notes at the same time, such as octaves.
  • For vocals, try the following:
  • Limit your singing to using "aah" or "ooh" rather than the actual words.
  • Avoid singing in legato style. Rather, sing each note individually.
  • Select patch "52 - Choir Aahs" or "53 - Voice Oohs".
  • Select Polyphony of 1 for solo voice.
  • If you have trouble singing in key, you may want to disable Track Pitch Bend and enable the Constrain to Key option.
  • Whenever possible, set the tempo manually using the Tempo Tracker, and manually set the timing resolution rather than relying on the automatic detection features.  Before tapping in the tempo, close any other unnecessary programs that may be running.
  • Remember that when playing MIDI files, the instrument sounds you hear are originating from the sound card. Therefore, it will sound somewhat different than the instruments used to record the source audio.
  • If your music changes rhythm, try converting the audio file in several pieces, using a separate project specifically optimized for each piece.
  • If the rhythm of the generated MIDI file seems too fast or too slow, adjust the Notes Per Beat (Timing Resolution).  Usually, the correct setting is either Eighth or Sixteenth note (Quaver or Semiquaver).
  • After trying the suggestions below for more specific problems, review the Project Editor section of the Settings Reference chapter in this User Guide to learn how you can adjust various settings to improve accuracy.  The most important settings are Audio Instrument, Polyphony, Pitch Range, and Timing Resolution.  Keep in mind, however, that the default settings usually provide the best results, so you should only adjust a setting if you have a specific reason for doing so.  Continual adjustments will probably not greatly affect results.  If you cannot get good results after a few adjustments, we suggest trying a different piece of music.
  • If the converter runs very slowly, this often also indicates that you adjusted too many settings in the Project Editor.  Leave the settings at their default values unless you have a specific reason for changing them.