Musician who have challenges identifying the chords/notes of a song should check out this neat application. It’s a java based music player that packs some unconventional features to help you go beyond simply listening to a song. It’s lightweight, doesn’t even require an installation as it’s an executable JAR file – so all you have to do is simply double-click the JAR file to get going. Sounds good? Read on!
This app for musicians is called SlowMP3, but it also plays WAV files. Once opened, it presents a simple single window interface with basic music player controls at the top and transcribing functions at the bottom. The wave spectrum of the MP3/WAV file fills the rest of the screen in between.
Use the File-Open menu to open a song and you’re on your way. Hit the ‘play’ button on top to listen to the song. Now let’s cover the musician specific features:
1. Use the “Speed” controller placed at the top right hand side to slow down the playback speed – useful to figure out the notes of a solo.
2. Use the “Transpose” controller next to the “Speed” controller to transpose the file up to 6 steps lower or 5 steps higher.
3. You can use the mouse to drag and select portions of the song and SlowMP3 will play the selection as a continuous loop, so you listen to complex parts of a song repeatedly.
4. Once the “Transcribe” button is switched on, the virtual piano keyboard will highlight the notes being played, which will help figure out the chords. This works best when combined with feature no. (1).
SlowMP3 is also cross-platform, working on Windows, Linux and Mac. Here’s the free download link:http://www.rinki.net/pekka/slowmp3/
Do you know any other free app that has similar features for musicians?
