J is for Jammin' Music Software

NCH Software ABCs Series

Get down with your music, and liven up all your favorite jams. Keep the beat on the dance floor, be the DJ at your party with your music library favorites, modernize and convert your vinyl collection, or record a jam session with your garage band, all with software from NCH Software’s audio department. Music is a part of who we are. It defines us as listeners and fans, and is a creative outlet for musicians. Whether you are trying to identify notes in a song to play along, or commit the composition in your head to paper, there are all kinds of jammin' musical software for your inner musician to explore:

• Zulu disc jockey software
  
• MixPad multi-track music mixing and recording
  
• WavePad music editing software
  
• PitchPerfect guitar tuning software
  
• TempoPerfect metronome software
  
• TwelveKeys music transcription software
  
• Crescendo music notation and composition software
  
• RecordPad simple sound recording software
  
• Golden Records vinyl and cassette digital audio converter
  

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Getting Started With Music Transcription

TwelveKeys Music Transcription Software is a unique tool for musicians who want to learn how to play a piece of recorded music without the sheet music. If you recorded a piece of music and want to turn it into a personal composition or improvisation, you can use TwelveKeys to pick out the notes, along with Crescendo Music Notation Software to write your transcription out. Or maybe there is song you've been listening to on your iPod that you would love to learn how to play on the piano, guitar or any other instrument. You can use TwelveKeys to create a visual representation of the notes in that song, pick out the notes using the TwelveKeys keyboard, and slow the music down and loop the phrases you want to learn while you play along.

Transcribing music can be a great way to both learn songs and improve your ear. Download TwelveKeys to help you learn your next song, and watch the tutorial below for tips and tricks to make your transcription process faster and more accurate.

Software for Musicians

Audio Software is one of our biggest categories, and sound editing is just the beginning; we have lots of tech solutions for musicians too. From music recording software to other handy musician software tools, each program is specifically designed for a particular music related task so musicians can go high tech while tuning, transcribing or even just practicing. Check out a few of our audio software favorites for musicians:

TwelveKeys Music Transcription Software is perfect for any musician trying to learn how to play a piece of recorded music, or for notating compositions. TwelveKeys provides a visual aid for musical transcription using a graphical representation of the music, allowing musicians to notate any orchestration with accuracy and ease.

Crescendo Music Notation Software is a simple way to work with musical notation. Crescendo allows musicians to compose, save and print music from their computer. The wide array of notation symbols, time and key signatures, and text on a free-form layout gives you complete control over musical arrangements.

PitchPerfect is a free guitar tuner that also works great for other string instruments. It automatically detects the note you are playing and lets you know if you are sharp, flat, or perfectly in tune. Performing will be less daunting, having this product to eliminate the need of tuning a guitar conventionally.

TempoPerfect is a free software metronome. Designed to help musicians play in time, this tempo software creates accurate beat patterns for simple or complex rhythms. TempoPerfect provides a clear and precise beat that won't wind down, making it an essential tool for all musicians.

WavePad Sound Editor is designed to be an easy to use audio editing package. Within minutes you will be able to open or record a file and edit it. It has many robust tools including audio effects to amplify, normalize, reverb, a free sound effect/music library, text-to-speech voice synthesis, and a voice changer, just to name a few. Combined with MixPad multitrack mixing software, these two audio applications are perfect for any audio project, from making soundtracks and podcasts to creating high quality demo CDs for your band.

Learning to Play the Song Stuck in My Head with TwelveKeys Music Transcription Software

Last March I took a trip to Hawaii and came home with a ukulele and no knowledge of how to play it. It wasn’t the first time I’ve tried to teach myself an instrument. Six years ago I worked in the music department of my alma mater and had the key to the instrument room. I tried the tenor saxophone, the bass clarinet, and the oboe. Simultaneously, I was working on mastering my new banjo, and was switching between recorders and crumhorns in other ensembles. The entire time, I was reading music and was extremely reliant on having someone work out the notes for me.

The ukulele has changed the way I learn music. It’s such a small and portable instrument I want to bring it with me on all my weekend excursions, camping trips, and picnics. I envision myself taking requests and, like a jukebox, being able to instantaneously play a rendition of any song. But in order to become this on-demand type of uke player, I need to develop some skills that plain old music reading hasn’t taught me. Luckily, I have a good ear and NCH Software’s TwelveKeys music transcription program.

I’ve been singing a song in my car on the way home for weeks and have been longing to learn the accompaniment. But where to begin? How do I know what the first note is, or what key it’s in? How will I learn it efficiently if I’m running back and forth between the CD player and my chair?

Today, I downloaded TwelveKeys and a minute later had loaded the song and was seeing the notes I needed to learn wiz by. What TwelveKeys does is highlights the frequency of the song’s notes in a graph and lines them up with a keyboard, so you can see and hear where to begin. As the first note came at me, I paused the music and honed in on it, and made TwelveKeys sustain the tone until I was able to locate it on my ukulele. In another few minutes, I had the basic notes of the intro picked out and was able to play along with the song slowed down enough so I could keep up. Learning my song was so much easier than I had anticipated!

Now I’ll be able to practice by looping the sections I’m focusing on. I’ll master the picking pattern that runs throughout the song, and after that I’ll add strums and other fancy riffs to make the song my own. Next time I get fixated on a tune, I’ll load it into TwelveKeys to transcribe. And maybe one day, I’ll be able to take a few requests.

Learn more about TwelveKeys music notation software and see for yourself how easy transcribing music can be by downloading the free 14-day trial.