The Note-Range Panel

 

The Note-ranging panel provides:
  • a overall picture of the relative signals of all notes in the audio file.  In some cases this may reveal problems or unusual characteristics in the recording which may need to be compensated for during the MIDI generation process.
  • Interactive selection of notes
  • An envelope editor, where an "envelope" is a graphical representation of the threshold and maximum parameters used in frequency => MIDI conversion.
Help Topics:

 

Layout of the Note-Range Panel
The note ranging panel displays a series of vertical bars (displayed in red below) representing the observed signal range for each of the 127 MIDI notes, plus one bar on the far left side of the panel representing the range for all notes.  The mean signal of each note is represented by a dash mark (dark blue in the figure below).

The various components of the Note-Range Panel are shown in the figure below.  The color scheme used by the Note-Range Panel is configurable.

Lin/Log Toggle switches the vertical axis between logarithmic and linear scaling
Mouse location indicator displays information about the position beneath the mouse.  For example, above, the mouse is located over the note A-flat 3, at a power value of 1.69x1011.
Mode Toggle sets the current mouse (and keyboard) operation mode.  
Amplitude Range Adjustors Pressing these buttons expands or shrinks the overall amplitude range of the display.
Navigator Visible only when the view has been zoomed, pressing regions of the navigator shifts the view in that direction.  Depressing the Control key shifts twice as much; Control-Shift shifts 5x as much.
Envelope The Note-range panel contains two envelopes, one for note thresholds (shown), and one for note maxima (not visible in the above figure).
Note Selections A "note" in the Note-range Panel is indicated by a vertical bar (shown in red in the above figures) spanning its signal range on the signal axis.  When notes are 'selected', a vertical line (green in the above figure) is drawn through their bars.

Mouse Operation Modes

The note-range panel operates in three modes.  The operational mode is changed either by pressing the mode toggle button, or by right-clicking and selecting one of the modes from the context menu.
  • Zoom Mode - drag-selecting with the mouse zooms into the view.  Double-clicking unzooms.
  • Note Select Mode - mouse actions change the current selection of notes.
  • Envelope Edit Mode - mouse actions modify the envelope.

Zoom Mode
In zoom mode, drag-selecting with the mouse will zoom the view into the selected region.  In a zoomed view, the Navigator or the up/down/right/left keys can be used to move around the view.

While in Zoom mode, selecting "Unzoom" from the context menu, double-clicking the panel, or double-clicking the center of the Navigator will zoom out completely.

The Navigator

Note-Select Mode
Clicking the mouse selects a single note, or deselects all notes if the clicked note is already selected.

The selection state of individual notes is toggled if the Control key is depressed during the mouse click.

If a note is selected by clicking the mouse, and another note is selected while the Shift key is depressed, all notes between the two notes will be selected.

New note selections are immediately reflected in the note selector and (perhaps after a brief pause while a new Note Map is generated) in the dynamic notemap panel.

 

Envelope Edit Mode
Envelopes define the parameters that AudioExplorer uses to convert note signals from the audio file into MIDI note events.  There are two envelopes - a threshold envelope, and a maximum envelope.  When a note's signal intensity rises above the threshold, it is considered to be 'on'.  The MIDI velocity of an 'on' note is calculated based on the ratio:

Envelopes allow the note-recognition and velocity calculations to be customized on a note-by-note basis.

While in envelope edit mode, mouse, keyboard, and menu actions are available to edit the "envelopes". 

Modifications made to envelopes cause the dynamic note map to be refreshed, providing visual feedback on the effects that the new envelope has in defining the "note".

 
 

When any Note Map is opened for the very first time, it will display default envelopes similar to the ones shown on the right - a single threshold and a single maximum value which apply to all notes.

The values set for the default maximum and threshold are 1) the observed maximum signal in the entire audio file; and 2) the threshold defined by the "threshold factor" defined when the Note Map was generated, respectively.
 

 

Adding and removing nodes
The panel must be in Envelope Edit Mode to add or remove nodes.

To add a node, place the mouse over a region of the envelope where there is not already a node, right-click, and select "Envelope - Add Maximum Node" or "Envelope - Add Threshold Node" from the context menu.  The available "Add" command will be different depending on which envelope is closest to the point at which the mouse was right-clicked.

To remove a node, place the mouse over a node so that it becomes hilited, right-click the mouse, and select Envelope-Delete Node.  The default nodes at notes 0 and 127 cannot be deleted.

After a node is added or removed, the Note Map will be recalculated.
 

 

Shaping the Envelopes
A very clean Note Map can often be obtained by shaping the threshold and/or maximum envelopes.

To shape an envelope, one or more notes must be selected.  Right-click anywhere on the panel, and select Envelope-Shape from the context menu.  The three shape commands are:

  • Maximum to maxima - add nodes (if not already present) to the maximum envelope for all selected notes, and adjust their values to the maximum observed signal of each note.
  • Threshold to minima - add nodes (if not already present) to the threshold envelope for all selected notes, and adjust their values to the minimum observed signal of each note.
  • Threshold to means - add nodes (if not already present) to the threshold envelope for all selected notes, and adjust their values to the mean observed signal of each note.

When a shape command is completed, the Note Map will be recalculated.
 

 

Moving Nodes
Place the mouse over a node so that it becomes hilited, and click on the node.  Move the mouse to the desired new position, and click again.  Moving of nodes can also be initiated by selecting Envelope-Move Node from the context menu.

The nodes for notes 0 and 127 can only be moved vertically, not horizontally.

Nodes for notes 1 to 126 can be moved horizontally only within the region for which no other nodes exist.

To vertically constrain the mouse motion, press the Control key while dragging the node.

To cancel an ongoing node-drag operation, press the Cancel key.

When a move operation is completed, the Note Map will be recalculated.
 

 

Selecting Nodes
While in Envelope Edit Mode, drag-selecting around a group of nodes will cause those nodes to be selected.  If the Control key is pressed, the selected state of all encompassed notes will be reversed.  If the Shift key is pressed, previously selected nodes will remain selected; otherwise, previous selections will be lost.

Pressing Control and clicking on a node will toggle the selection state of that node.
 

 

Nudging Nodes
After selecting a group of nodes, pressing the up or down arrow keys will "nudge" those nodes in the arrow direction.  The amount of the nudge is configurable via the Note Range Panel Configuration Dialog.  Nudging can also be accomplished by selecting Envelope-Nudge from the context menu.

If the Control key is pressed, the nudge amount will be 2x the default amount.  If both Control and Shift keys are pressed, the nudge amount will be 5x the default amount.
 

 

Resetting the Envelope
Selecting Envelope-Reset from the context menu will reset both threshold and maximum envelopes to their default, flat shapes.

Saving and Loading/Managing Envelopes
After modifying the default envelope, it may be assigned a name and saved by selecting Envelope-Save As from the context menu, which invokes the Envelope Dialog.

An envelope may be loaded for viewing and editing by selecting Envelope-Load/Manage from the context menu.  If changes are made to the envelope, these changes may be saved to the same named envelope using the Envelope-Save command, or the modified envelope may be saved with a new name using the Envelope-Save As command.

The current note selections are saved and loaded as part of the envelope.
 

 

Associating an Envelope with a Note Map
An envelope becomes associated with a Note Map by selecting (checking) the Envelope-Associate menu command.  The association is removed by un-checking the same menu command.

When an envelope is associated with a Note Map, that envelope will be automatically loaded when the Note Map window is first opened.  Only one envelope can be associated with any Note Map.

 

Menu Commands
Mode The Zoom, Note Selection, and Envelope Edit commands in this submenu change the  current operational mode.  These commands have the same effect as clicking the Mode Toggle button.
Unzoom Zoom out to the panel's full range.
Select Notes
None Deselect all notes
All Select all notes
All above Threshold (mean) Select all notes whose mean signal is above the threshold.
All above Threshold (max) Select all notes whose maximum signal is above threshold.
Note Selector... Open the Note Selection Dialog.
Envelope
This submenu contains commands for modifying and managing the threshold and maximum envelopes.  Many of the commands will be unavailable ("grayed out") unless the panel is in Envelope Edit mode and the node is hilited by moving the mouse over the node before right-clicking to bring up the menu.

 
Edit When the mouse is over an envelope node and it becomes hilited, this command opens a small dialog that allows direct editing of the note's threshold and maximum envelope values.
Move Threshold / Maximum A portion of the envelope can be moved up or down in a single operation using this command. The command is only available if there is no node present on the note beneath the mouse.  After selecting this command, the two nearest nodes on each side of the envelope will move up or down with the mouse.
Add Threshold Node/ Add Maximum Node Add a new node.  The menu will change (threshold or maximum) depending on which envelope was nearest to the mouse when the menu was invoked.  A new node will be added to the envelope for the note position beneath the mouse when the menu was invoked.  The command is not available if a node already exists.
Move Node This command initiates a move operation on the currently hilited envelope node.  The same action is initiated by simply clicking on the node. 

While moving, the node can be moved up or down along the signal scale, but can be moved horizontally along the note scale only as far as the next neighboring node.  The nodes for notes 0 and 127 are "anchors" and cannot be moved to another note.

The mouse movement can be constrained to the vertical direction by pressing the Control key.

Press Escape to cancel the move operation.

The move operation is completed by clicking the mouse on the desired new node location.
Delete Node Delete the currently hilited node.  The anchor nodes at notes 0 and 127 cannot be deleted.

Shape
Maximum to maxima After selecting this command, nodes will be created for all selected notes, added to the maximum envelope, and positioned at the maximum signal observed for each note (i.e., at the top of the vertical bars marking the note signal ranges).
Threshold to minima Nodes will be created for all selected notes, added to the threshold envelope, and positioned at the minimum observed signal for each note (i.e., at the bottom of the vertical bars marking the note signal ranges).
Threshold to means Nodes will be created for all selected notes, added to the threshold envelope, and positioned at the mean observed signal for each note (i.e., at the mean marker of each note).
Nudge After selecting a set of nodes, the Nudge Up and Nudge Down commands nudge the selected node(s) up or down by a small amount.  The amount can be increased by pressing Control while nudging, and even more by pressing Control-Shift.
Reset Reset both envelopes to their default shape/values.
Save As Open the envelope dialog to save the envelope with a new name.
Save Save this envelope.  This command is unavailable if the envelope has not been previously named and saved.
Load/Manage Open the envelope dialog to delete and/or load envelopes.  If the current project contains no saved envelopes, this command will be unavailable.
Associate Associate the current envelope with this note map.  Only one envelope may be associated with a note map.  When the note map opens, its associated envelope (if any) is automatically opened.  This command is unavailable if the current envelope has not been named and saved.