Syntrillium Backup Forums :: View topic - BEAT MARKING & SPLICING...Recycle-style in CEP2.1

Syntrillium M.D. · Location: USA

BEAT MARKERS (part 1 of 2)

With the introduction of the Loopology™ CDs, we began utilizing a new technique to improve the stretching of our loops. Optimized for Cool Edit Pro 2, our beat markers allow you to adjust the BPM of files well beyond the range of conventional loops and loop applications. Our marking technology also enables you to zero-in on individual hits within a loop (as in a drum groove or bass line) and easily splice, or batch-out those individual hits for creating your own, unique performances. Using beat markers (and inserting your own) is a fairly simple process.

Start with a loop-ready file in the Edit View. Go to Edit>AutoCue>Find Beats & Mark, you’ll be prompted with a window asking about "Decibel Rise___dB" and "Rise Time___ms". Essentially, when Cool Edit is auto beat marking it’s looking for "attacks" or "sharp transients". These come in the form of short bursts in amplitude. The default settings (of 10dB/9ms) are good for most straight-time applications. For busier, on-top music, like Fusion or fast Metal, you might use settings of 10dB/4ms or sometimes 8dB/4ms. Slower grooves may require less aggressive detection settings to avoid over-marking a file. In that case, settings of 10dB/40ms or 12dB/50ms might be something to try. Normalizing a file can often assist the beat-detector in improving its accuracy. In general, try sticking with the defaults, and modify as needed.

Once you click OK, the vertical red markers will appear. To enable the markers in the loop, go to View->Waveform Properties (or press CTRL-P) and select the LOOP tab. Check the LOOP button. Under Stretch Method, select BEAT SPLICE and check the radio button labeled Use File’s Beat Markers. Insert into the multitrack and you’re ready to roll. If you find that you’re experiencing clicks or pops at the beat-marked boundaries, this probably means that your markers were not placed at "zero crossings" (see manual for details). This can occasionally occur with complex stereo material. If you right-click on the time display and select Snapping>Snap to Zero Crossings, this will allow you to place the markers in Zero-Crossed areas, which will improve the stretched performance.

On the other hand, if you notice that a particular beat was not marked, with Snap to Zero-Crossings enabled, click the mouse to place the yellow cursor at the appropriate position (you can also drag the yellow triangle for more precise positioning) and hit F8. This creates a "basic" cue-- but we want to turn that into a Beat Marker. Simply right-click on the new Cue, and select Change Cue Type>Beat. You can make these Cue Type adjustments in the Cue List as well.

Note: When changing the Cue Type in Edit View, you will want to move the yellow cursor away from the new cue, then right-click on the cue handle (the red triangle). Otherwise you will see the pop-up menu for the cursor and not the cue.

Syntrillium M.D. · Location: USA

SPLICING AND SLICING (part 2 of 2)

In today’s music, it’s very common for artists to use sounds from classic tracks or classic performances. When sampling was new, the most common task was to record a groove (generally, from an LP source), ‘loop’ the groove, and then begin overdubbing, creating something new, but not terribly unique.

However, legal issues aside, it become evident that artists didn’t necessarily want to sample the entire groove, but merely the drummer’s snare drum, or a particular bass note, or maybe a hi-hat. Enter BEAT SPLICING.

There are several programs available today (such as RECYCLE™) that allow you to ‘extract’ individual hits from a drum loop or bass groove. This allows you to create your own unique beats and grooves from scratch, as well as use individual hits for accents and emphasis in your musical creations. The process is fairly simple in Cool Edit, and it can be carried out by working with beat markers.

Once you’ve followed the steps to add beat markers to your file, you’ll notice that you can now ‘snap-highlight’ between the markers, selecting individual hits, ie, kick, snare, hat, tom, etc. Let’s try ‘slicing’ some beats from one of CEP2.1's Startup Theme files...

C:\Program Files\coolpro2\StartupTheme\SlickFunkDrm16.cel

Open this file in Edit View. You’ll see that it’s already been beat-marked. Highlight between the beginning of the file and the first marker. You’ll notice as you highlight that you can perfectly snap to the beginning and end of each marker. Now, press PLAY. You can hear that you’ve highlighted a single Kick/HiHat drum hit. To ‘splice’ this hit, right-click on the highlighted area and select COPY TO NEW. This will place the Kick/Hat into a new file where you have the ability to save it as a new loop OR a one-shot (most common).

Now, let’s click back to our original file (you can use the organizer window to select the original SlickFunkDrm). Highlight between beat marker 1 and beat marker 2. Press PLAY. Now, we’ve highlighted a single kick drum hit. Highlighting between beats 2 & 3 will isolate a snare hit. Right-click>Copy-to-new and you’re good to go.

It’s easy, it’s beat splicing, and it’s all in Cool Edit Pro 2.1