Slow Down Learning Device

[lesleyann]

Does anyone have anything to say about the Tascam CD -VtImkII as a learning tool ? I need to get something to slow down the notes so I can learn certain tunes. I have read the forum messages about the Sony and Olympus recorders but nothing about the Tascam in comparison.

Thanks,

Lesleyann

[Larryo]

Hi Lesleyann,

I don't know anything about slow down machinery as such but what I can vouch for is the Best Practice progamme, downloadable from the internet free. Not only can you slow down without changing the pitch but you can change the key of the recording by a note or indeed by smaller percentages. Also great for learning one tune for example out of a set, you have the facility to set the loop feature which will return to the beginning of a set piece of music time and again- until you learn it !! Maybe this might help and be cheaper??

[Michael Reid]

I'm not familiar with the Tascam device but I found a description here: http://www.worldmusicsupply.com/cart/defau...Prod=CD-VT1MKII

 

It looks interesting, but you can achieve slow-down effects in two other ways. One is cheaper, and the other is more versatile.

 

- You can use software, which ranges in cost from nothing to about $40. I use Transcribe!, which is excellent and is available for either Windows or Mac from http://www.seventhstring.com/.

 

- You can use a digital voice recorder, which has the advantage of being able to record tunes in the field -- say, at a session -- for learning later. I recently got an Olympus DS-30 ($115) to replace my stolen Sony ICD-ST25, and I'm very happy with the Olympus. This is a very versatile device, and you might find uses for it beyond learning music, such as recording meetings or dictating ideas, whereas the Tascam seems specialized to learning music from CDs.

[stella24]

I use the tascam. it is designed primarily for voice, so it has a features you won't use much. it will slow down to 50% of original speed, sampling the cd. it sounds a bit stuttered at 50% because of the sampling. since i'm a bit challenged myself i wish it would go even slower. i can travel with it, routing the output in the auxillary port to a radio i have, and thats sweet. you can change the key up and down, make the tune flat or sharp in graduated degree and the loop is great, but i have to refer to the instructions frequently to loop the tune sections. it could be more user friendly for techno challenged. i bought it thru musicians friend for around 100 usd. since i don't want to hook to computers everytime i work on tunes, i would buy it again. wes.

[lesleyann]

Thanks for listening and the advice. I decided to buy the Olympus DS 2. Sitting in front of this computer and learning music (Roni Music program) is just not fun. The sound quality on slow is awful, and the program bogs down the built-in CD player so it stutters and eventually quits. Maybe if I had an apple or mac it would be different. My Dell laptop is the last PC I ever want. My brain and it's whatever are not a good partnership. I originally had an old Mac and we got along just fine. Should not have switched. Ah well,... hindsight....

So, leaving the computer behind, hopefully the little Olympus will be useful and fun to use.

[m3838]

Doesn't free Audacity slow down to any tempo?

My wife does wonders with Audacity, it seems to have most that amateur ever wants.

No?

[Michael Reid]

Doesn't free Audacity slow down to any tempo?

My wife does wonders with Audacity, it seems to have most that amateur ever wants.

No?

Sometimes it's worth paying for software to gain features or usability. See this thread: http://www.concertina.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=2532. The maker of Transcribe! is confident enough in his product to provide links to 43(!) other software packages with slow-down/practicing/transcription features; see http://www.seventhstring.com/resources/transcription.html.

[Woody]

Doesn't free Audacity slow down to any tempo?

My wife does wonders with Audacity, it seems to have most that amateur ever wants.

No?

I use Audacity & think it's excellent.

[Ironframe]

I use the Tascam. Of the three models available I chose the Voice Trainer (VT - the others being GT and BT for Guitar and Bass) each having different benefits in cutting out whichever track or part you are trying to learn. I bought mine for learning piano parts off CD tracks which aren't available as printed music so I can learn the music and transcribe to manuscript, then ultimately to Sibelius and (legibly) onto paper. Is that a long process or what? Still, it works and I have found it good for following the CDs that you can buy for the AB exams to learn how the professional artistes do the music. Since I only needed to know about 3 or 4 functions, the manual served well to teach me those although having not used it for a while, I'll have to re-read the sections.

 

It was bought via Thomann in Germany (www.thomann.de) who post anywhere in Europe for £7.00 (it was then - it may have changed?). Slightly disappointed in the plasticky feel of it - the pictures make it look very solid but it's the technology I bought it for, not for looking cool in a studio!

 

I'm sure it will work just as well for learning pieces on the 'tina though I'm still looking for a way to save that wonderful tune 'Stump Tailed Dog' mp3 that I heard for the first time yesterday - a very infectious tune and brilliantly edited 3 versions all in one by Jody Kruskal.

 

HTH

 

Foxy

[richard]

Hi

 

I would reccommend "Amazing Slowdowner" soft ware. It does everything I need. Any sound file that is in my computer either via my minidisc recorder, CD, or recorded or downloaded off the internet I can drag into "Amazing Slowdowner" and I can manipulate. By the way..I use audacity to record onto my harddrive, material that is streamed from the www.

 

Richard

[Woody]

Hi

 

I would reccommend "Amazing Slowdowner" soft ware. It does everything I need. Any sound file that is in my computer either via my minidisc recorder, CD, or recorded or downloaded off the internet I can drag into "Amazing Slowdowner" and I can manipulate. By the way..I use audacity to record onto my harddrive, material that is streamed from the www.

 

Richard

With Audacity you can choose Effect | Change Pitch to change the key, Effect | Change Speed to change the speed of the recording and it's pitch, or use Effect | Change Tempo to slow or speed the recording whilst retaining the correct key - and you get all this for free.

[Pete Dunk]

I'm still looking for a way to save that wonderful tune 'Stump Tailed Dog' mp3 that I heard for the first time yesterday - a very infectious tune and brilliantly edited 3 versions all in one by Jody Kruskal.[/color]

 

This is quite easy, go to the page with the link to the mp3, right click the link and 'Save Target As' in IE or 'Save Link As' in Firefox

[Woody]

Thanks for listening and the advice. I decided to buy the Olympus DS 2. Sitting in front of this computer and learning music (Roni Music program) is just not fun. ...

I've just bought an Olympus DS-30 for £105 from dabs.com as a tool to help learning - both for playing tunes and bits of tunes, and for recording myself or sessions.

 

So far I'm delighted with it - basic info follows.....

 

At it's highest quality setting it records at near CD quality into WMA format files (proprietary but they are half the size of equivalent MP3s). It has three recording levels suitable for different noise levels. I've only tried recording myself but quality was amazingly good - about the same as my minidisc recorder I think.

 

It has a built-in speaker which sounds OK given that the DS-30 is smaller than most mobile phones.

 

It has a built in mono microphone and a clip-in stereo one - both seem extremely good.

 

It has slow down options that you can select in steps of 12.5% - so 87.5%, 75%, 62.5% and 50% of full speed - whilst retaining the correct pitch. You can also speed it up if you want to play reels

 

It has a looping option where you mark the start and end of the bit of the recording you want to continuously repeat.

 

It has USB connectivity so it just connects to your computer as an external disk making transfer of recordings very easy.

 

It also plays WMA or MP3 files so you can use the USB link to load on an MP3 file of a tune you want to learn, slow it down & loop a difficult bit - all very straight-forward.

 

The DS-30 comes with 256Mb - space for roughly 4 hours of top-quality recording. Other models come with additional memory. Battery life is supposed to be ok - about 25-30 hours from 2xAAA batteries.

 

For the visually impaired it has a pleasant voice guidance system (which can be switched off!!!!) to help you.