Tutorial: Converting a Percussion Track
This tutorial will demonstrate intelliScore's beat detection capability. The MIDI file that intelliScore generates when using the beat detection feature indicates where the beats are, but not which instruments are creating the percussion sounds. Included in the Samples subdirectory is an MP3 file that contains only percussion instruments. We will use this music as we use the New Project Wizard to give you practice at adjusting recognition settings. To preserve the original files, back them up to a different folder or rename them, or else you will be prompted to replace them as you follow the tutorial. You can also preserve and compare the results of your experiments using different filenames. This tutorial assumes you are using the default settings in the Options window and that you installed intelliScore at the default path of C:\Program Files\IntelliScore Ensemble (or C:\Program Files\IntelliScore Polyphonic if you have the Polyphonic Edition of intelliScore).
1. Click the Blank Document Icon in the Tool Bar to start the New Project Wizard.
2. You are asked where the audio will be obtained from. Choose the first option at the top next to the folder icon, since an audio file for this tutorial already exists. Click the Next button to continue.
3. You are asked to specify the name of the audio file. In the Select Audio File dialog box, change to the folder in which you installed intelliScore. Select the file Samples\Percussion.mp3. Click the OK button to remove the message and the Next button to continue to the next step.
4. Select Beat detection. Click the Next button to continue.
5. Now select a percussion instrument from the list box that you want to hear in the MIDI file for each beat present in the audio file. Leave it at the default 38 - Acoustic Snare. You can click the speaker button to hear what the instrument sounds like through your sound card. Click Next to continue.
6. Now you are asked if you want easy or notation timing settings. For this tutorial, just select the Easy radio button. Click Next to continue.
7. Accept the suggested MIDI filename Percussion.mid and click Next to continue.
8. Click the Finish button to close the New Project Wizard and start the recognizer.
9. When it is finished, the Music Player will open and play the MP3 and MIDI file synchronously so you can listen to the conversion results and how the beats in the MIDI file match the beats in the audio file. (If the Auto Sync Play feature in the Options window is disabled, your MIDI editor will open instead.)