Update History : Version 2.20 (June 20, 2003)
- NEW Always On Top function
- NEW Disabling Screen Saver function while MuseBook Tuner is running
- NEW Context Menu on main view by mouse rightclick
- and many more trivial errors have been solved.
- solved illegal operation error in Windows 98/ME
- solved Pre-expired problem
- solved Cannot show helpfile problem
- solved Invisible starting problem when there is no soundcard driver
- added Deutch Note Keys (C, D, E, F, G, A, H) to display a note
- added Control Clef Change, which helps you to keep current clef as long as it can
- added Effective Note Range Control to prevent unwanted pitch detection error
- added Webstore purchase button
- and many trivial upgrades
- New Design, a lot of great features and improved pitch detection engine
- Running on AMD K6 CPU
- Noise reduction
- Display a detected note on a staff
- The First software released by AMuseTec Co., Ltd.
- v1.00, v1.01, v1.02, and v1.03 with basic pitch detection engine
FAQ Updates
- 06-25-2003 : V2.20 Release
- 06-16-2003 : Online FAQ Started
Q. What is MuseBook Tuner?
A. MuseBook Tuner is REAL-TIME PITCH DETECTION TUNING SOFTWARE. Getting musical sound input from a conventional microphone, MuseBook Tuner shows the tuning status of an instrument and displays the performed note on a stave and piano keyboard image in real-time.
MuseBook Tuner displays;
- note on a stave and keyboard image
- note syllable with its octave
- current pitch frequency with reference
- wave form and frequency spectrum of input signal
MuseBook Tuner supports 3 Tuning Modes. They are;
- Chromatic mode : recognizes the pitch of input sound in chromatic scale.
- Manual mode : analyzes the pitch based on the assigned note.
- Sound mode : produces the oboe tone of an assigned note.
With MuseBook Tuner, you can TUNE ANY INSTRUMENT like piano, string, brasses and woodwinds, EVEN YOUR VOICE.
Q. What is Pitch Detection Technology?
A. Pitch Detection Technology is described as a technology which recognizes base frequency from a monophonic sound - sound with one instrument voice. This technology has been studied for long and shown some advancements. However detecting live sound while it is performed still has a long way to go. Errors in real-time pitch detection lie in i) possibility of picking up background noise, ii) unpredictable sound captured in onset/end of sound, iii) difficulty difficulty of post error correction as the detection process is done in real-time. Besides, different characteristics in waveform and frequency spectrum of each instrument adds far more difficulties. However, AMuseTec's real-time pitch detection technology is proprietary! and the most advanced! Based on this technology, our software detects a tone from microphone or other input source in real-time and displays the result within the minimal error range.
MuseBook Tuner recognizes sound input, displays current pitch frequency in real-time and does fine tuning. Besides, to reduces possible errors in detection and have better results, MuseBook Tuner distinguishes tuning mode depends on sound characteristics such as PIANO(piano), GUITAR(plucked strings) and GENERAL(the other instruments). Apart from plucked strings and piano, you are recommended to use GENERAL MODE, even for your voice.
Q. What can I do with MuseBook Tuner?
A. Basically MuseBook Tuner does tuning job. However, it is more than just a tuner! It can be your musical trainer to develop your sense of pitch and tell you the accuracy of your performance. Possible uses of MuseBook Tuner can be summarized as below;
With MuseBook Tuner you can;
1. Tune Any Musical Instruments
- Strings(Guitar, Violin, etc), Brasses, Woodwinds, Piano and many more!
(not for drums or combined organ sound)
2. Track Your Notes
- You will see the notes changing as you play or sing and the notes are displayed on the stave with its octave number. This is all done in real-time!
3. Get Perfect Pitch
- MuseBook Tuner helps you to develop sense of pitch so that you can acquire Perfect Pitch in the long run.
- Perfect Pitch is known for something hard to get! However the truth is it can be developed by training. As MuseBook Tuner shows the current note of your performance as well as pitch bias, you can intuitively know your quality and the accuracy of of pitch. (With this function, you can treat tone-deaf as well.)
Why don't you try to make a C(DO) sound and check if you sung correctly or not, using MuseBook Tuner?
4. Stimulate The Hearingimpared In Vocalization
- It wasn't actual our plan but we get a feedback that MuseBook Tuenr is very effective to help stimulate the hearingimpared in vocalization.
Q. How can I know my compass of vocal with MuseBook Tuner?
A. For those who want to be a good vocalist, MuseBook Tuner can be a help to check the compass of your vocal. As MuseBook Tuner shows the current pitch of your voice, you can know how high or low sound you can emit.
1. Set Instrument Mode as GENERAL.
2. Set the Tuning Mode as CHROMATIC.
3. Fix a microphone and try not to touch it. Low frequency from the body can be included as noise.
4. Your note is displayed on MuseBook Tuner.
"Reference C" for men after puberty is C3. For Men before puberty or woman is C4. If you can sing from G2 to G4, then your voice has 2 octave range.
Q. Can MuseBook Tuner detect pitch of accompaniment?
A. No, unfortunately it doesn't. Detecting one instrument with overlapping notes, for example pop songs, concerto or piano solo performance, is not possible. Even a monophonic pitch detection is not perfect at this time. Depends on software that you use, there are some differences in percentage of accuracy. (Mostly the errors occur in octave recognition.) Considering current achievements, so called polyphonic pitch detection is not possible at the moment and may take a few years. MuseBook Tuner uses AMuseTec's proprietary (monophonic) pitch detection engine and its detection technology is known for doing a better job than its competitors.
Q. Can MuseBook Tuner detect a pitch extracted from an Audio CD or a MP3 file?
A. MuseBook Tuner can detect Monophonic Sound. Hence if the audio file is monophonic solo performance, MuseBook Tuner will display the pitch on stave with its note syllable and octave number. The easiest way to see pitch information is to play the audio file with your speaker and let the sound goes into microphone. If your soundcard is allowed to send your sound directly to computer, make it do so. This is possible by changing input source through Window Record Control and will result in better accuracy.
*Tip: Press "Ctrl+R" in MuseBook Tuner to call Window Record Control.
Q. Is MuseBook Tuner better than portable hardware tuner?
A. MuseBook Tuner, despite its limitation in mobility as it can only be run in PC, has many features that other portable hardware doesn't have. So, we recommend you to use MuseBook Tuner with portable tuner together.
Powerful features of MuseBook Tuner includes:
1. Fast and the most accurate tuning result
MuseBook Tuner detects a tone more than 20 times a sec and displays the pitch information on stave. Note syllable and octave number appears altogether. Conventional hardware tuner shows tuning result every second or so, so their note information may be too slow to be correct. However, MuseBook Tuner not only precisely tracks changes in interval but also shows subtle changes in pitch.
2. Note syllable display with its octave number
Normally you have to first assign a pitch you wish to tune with conventional tuner. Chromatic tuner detects a tone automatically, but doesn't display its octave number.
3. Note on stave and many display option for note syllable
Portable tuner, as it doesn't know octave number of detected pitch, can not display your notes on stave.
4. Piano tuning
You cannot tune a piano with a normal portable tuner. With MuseBook Tuner, you can! Why is piano tuning so special? Because of its peculiar frequency spectrum piano has, unlike other instruments. Price for this special purpose amounts to a thousand dollar. However, with MuseBook Tuner, you can tune a piano with ease.
Q. How does MuseBook Tuner's tuning meter show the tuning status?
A. Information displayed on the Tuning Meter, Note Display Window and Signal Display Window helps you tune more precisely.
- TUNING METER : Displays current pitch bias ratio of input sound.
- NOTE DISPLAY WINDOW : Displays the information of an assigned or detected note. They are note, octave number, and reference frequency of A4 and detected/assigned note.
- SIGNAL DISPLAY WINDOW : Displays waveform, frequency spectrum, and sound level in dB(decibel) of current input sound in real-time.
The pitch is in-tune if the tuning meter is in center between -10 and +10 cents with green "IN TUNE" LED on.
Q. What is the difference between Chromatic Tuning Mode and Manual Tuning Mode?
A. CHROMATIC TUNING MODE : MuseBook Tuner analyses input signal, and based on the analysis, it assigns the closest note from the input sound as a reference note. Then, it compares both and displays pitch bias.
MANUAL TUNING MODE : You must assign a key on keyboard image as a reference note. MuseBook Tuner compares this with input sound, then shows current pitch bias.
*Tip : To check the range of your compass, you must use Chromatic mode.
Q. Is the reference frequency of A4 with oboe sound, under Sound Mode, 440Hz?
A. Yes, MuseBook Tuner's Standard Pitch Frequency for A4 is 440Hz. The Standard Pitch Frequency is not an absolute value. Different standard pitches have been used at different times and different places. So, this can be calibrated for your use from -600 ~ +600 cents by cent unit.
*Tip : MuseBook Tuner uses your sound card's MIDI sound to emit oboe sound. If that is calibrated lower or higher, the oboe sound will sound accordingly.
Q. I can select WAVE or FREQ for input signal display. How are they different?
A. Input signal can be displayed by either Waveform or Frequency Spectrum.
WAVEFORM displays the input signal in time-scale by Sin graph in range of -1 ~ +1. This is good to easily see the loudness of input signal.
FREQUENCY SPECTRUM displays the frequency analysis result in frequency-scale horizontally. This is good to easily see the the inharmonics in input sound.
Q. What is Standard Pitch? and When should I change it?
A. Standard Pitch is a universal frequency or note that all instruments are set to. It was necessary to help musicians to play instruments together in harmony. Today's standard pitch is A440. This is not an absolute value so different standard pitches have been used at different times and different places. As it is so, when you play a music composed in the time when standard pitch was not A440, you may be better to tune your instrument according to the value. Also to play with other instruments harmoniously, changing your instrument's standard pitch in accordance with main instrument is advised.
*For more information : http://www.uk-piano.org/history/pitch.html
Q. Does half note display have something to do with tuning a tone?
A. No, half note display style does not affect tuning result. With this option, you can display halfnote either common style or b(flat) or #(sharp) only for your preference. AUTO displays common halfnote style, e.g., C#, Eb, F#, G#, Bb.
Q. I want to tune my guitar. What if I set the Instrument Mode as General?
A. In Guitar Mode, MuseBook Tuner produces better tuning result. If you play the guitar on constant pitch level, then MuseBook Tuner detects a tone precisely. However, normally in guitar sound unstable harmonics is found as sound diminishes. In General Mode, MuseBook Tuner will not consider this characteristics of guitar. So the best is to tune guitar under Guitar Mode.
Q. I want to tune my violin (or brasses). What if I set the Instrument Mode as Guitar?
A. Under Guitar Mode, MuseBook Tuner detects a tone based on characteristics of plucked string instrument, which is unstable harmonics as sound diminishes. So the best is to tune in General Mode. This is critical when you want to see your notes while practising instrument.
Q. Is Piano Mode a must to tune piano?
A. Most instruments show a constant harmonic distance at its multiple. However, harmonics of some instruments tend to lean to the higher frequency region, a usual phenomenon you can notice on the piano. Due to this difference, if you tune piano under General Mode, the unique characteristics of piano won't be considered when it detects a pitch. Hence, you are strongly recommended to use Piano Mode to tune your piano.
*For piano tuning, please refer to [Piano Inharmonics] of MuseBook Tuner Help file.
Q. What is Harmonic Frequency?
A. Most instruments show a constant harmonic distance at its multiple. And this, along with base frequency, makes the sound richer and more beautiful. Frequency shown at this interval is called Harmonic Frequency. (Some instruments, like piano, tend to shows its harmonics on the right side of its multiple distance.)
Q. What is Harmonics Grid and how do I apply this to tuning my instrument?
A. Harmonics Grid, vertical lines shown in Frequency Spectrum, indicates the pitch and harmonics' frequency of a detected or assigned note. Most instruments show a constant harmonic distance at its multiple, so you are advised to match the frequency peaks with the harmonics grid, tuning instrument.
*Note : The Piano harmonics of a note are changing according to various conditions: quality of piano management, temperature, humidity, the kind of strings, and so on. You should consult with a piano specialist when tuning a piano.
Q. What is to control harmonic distance of piano?
A. You need to get used to basic knowledge about fundamental and harmonics to utilize this function. Most instruments show a constant harmonic distance at its multiple. However, some instruments, like piano, tend to shows its harmonics on the right side of its multiple distance. But note that the harmonics of a note are changing according to various conditions: quality of piano management, temperature, humidity, the kind of strings, and so on.
If you tune the piano only with its fundamental, you will hear the unbalanced harmonics of notes in different octaves, and the sound of the piano would not be euphonious due to inharmonics. In contrast, if you tune the piano only with harmonic distance and perform it with an orchestra, the result would not be desirable either. As explained, tuning a piano is not an easy task. It should be done exquisitely, considering environment and characteristics of the piano. Hence you are advised to consult with a piano specialist when tuning a piano.
Q. What does "Select Processing Load" do?
A. MuseBook Tuner displays real-time pitch detection result more than 20 times a second. As the processing speed is very fast, sometimes, depends on your system configuration, your computer may not be able to display every result.
"Select Processing Load" makes it possible to customize the speed displaying result as you prefer. [ Options >> Preference >> Select Processing Load ]
HIGH: displays the real-time pitch detection result, every frame, per 44 msec
MEDIUM : displays the pitch detection result, every two frame, per 88 msec (2 times as slow as HIGH)
LOW : displays the pitch detection result, every three frame, per 132 msec (3 times as slow as HIGH)
Q. When do I need to select Line-in source from the Input of the menu?
A. Electric music instrument, like electric guitar or base guitar, etc., has a function to export sound directly to a sequencer or synthesizer through line-in port. By connecting the line-out port of your instrument to the line-in port of your soundcard, you will be able to reduce noise input significantly and enhance tuning result. You may use your hardware mixer. In this case, connect the line-out port of your mixer to the line-in of your soundcard. With this, possible noise from the microphone can be reduced dramatically, too.
Q. Both MIC and LINE IN LED are off in my MuseBook Tuner. Why is it so?
A. MuseBook Tuner supports all kind of sound input source which are available in your soundcard. As the LINE-IN and MIC are the most common input source we have made them selectable from the main view of the application for your convenience. If current input source is one of WAVE-IN, AUX, or CD, etc. apart from LINE-IN and MIC, both MIC and LINE-IN LEDs are off. Please check your input source from Windows Record Control.
* Depends on your soundcard, some may not work with MuseBook Tuner's mixer interface, which results in its inoperation. In this case, both LED will be off and not be selectable, nor volume control is supported.
Q. What are WINDOWS RECORD CONTROL and INPUT SOURCE SELECTION in MuseBook Tuner? How are they different?
A. MuseBook Tuner supports all kinds of Input source selectable by your soundcard. As the LINE-IN and MIC are the most common input source we have made them selectable from the main view of the application for your choice convenience. However if you wish to use some other input source you can call Windows Record Control window and may do so. Basically Input Source Selection in MuseBook Tuner will affect the same result in Windows Record Control. If the Input Source is not selectable in MuseBook Tuner, you may use Windows Record Control or your soundcard mixer instead in order to control input source and volume level.
*Note that MuseBook Tuner's Mixer inoperation does not affect the tuning job.
Q. What is MIC BOOST function and when do I use it?
A. MIC BOOST function is only effective when you chose MIC as input source. It boosts the sound level by +20dB which is useful when the the input sound level is too low to be detected.
*Depends on your soundcard or its compatibility with mixer interface, MIC BOOST function may not be supported.
Q. What is NOISE REDUCTION and when do I use it?
A. Input signal from a microphone, mixer, soundcard, or power may have noise in it and this can cause errors in pitch detection. You may improve the pitch detection hit ratio by "Noise Reduction" and enhance the accuracy in detection.
Q. What is CAPTURE NOISE PRINT and when do I use it?
A. Noise Print is frequency spectrum form of noise included in input signal. In silence, frequency spectrum of input signal should be displayed as flat, but when there are noise, several peaks are shown at irregular intervals. In this case, you are advised to remove this noise pattern. CAPTURE NOISE PRINT will store frequency spectrum form of the noise then help to remove them effectively followed by pressing NOISE REDUCTION button. If MuseBook Tuner consistently detects your tone very low and shows inordinary peaks, please utilize CAPTURE NOISE PRINT then NOISE REDUCTION in order to reduce possible errors in pitch detection.
Q. How do I remove the captured noise pattern?
A. Press CAPTURE NOISE PRINT when MuseBook Tuner is still, and it will remove the saved noise pattern.
Q. I see two triangular shapes on keyboard image under CHROMATIC mode. What is this and when do I use it?
A. The two triangular shapes on keyboard image is named "Pitch Detection Range Controller" by us. This will define the compass of pitch detection range and subsequently prevent unwanted note from being detected. This is useful to reduce possible errors caused by noise input. (* The left lever indicates the lowest note to be detected and the right lever the highest note.) Not only a microphone, mixer, soundcard, or power but also a human gives out low frequency from his body. This can be included as noise when you hold a microphone and detected as low tone, subsequently resulting in errors in pitch detection. The noise can be removed by NOISE REDUCTION but the best is to extract low frequency bandwidth originally from the detection. If you play the guitar, you can place the left triangular shape on C2 or so (as the lowest tone of guitar is E2). Men's voice after puberty get changed and becomes deeper. In this case C2 for the lowest tone is recommended too.
Q. MuseBook Tuner's tuning meter, unlike other hardware tuner, seems to fluctuate a lot. Is it OK?
A. Yes, it is expected to do so. Conventional hardware tuner today moves every 500 msec or 1000 msec. However MuseBook Tuner detects a pitch every 44 msec. The truth is real audio sound is a continuous flow of every sound fluctuation and shows some (weak or strong) vibration effects. MuseBook Tuner's tuning meter may seem to fluctuate a lot, which means MuseBook Tuner detects and displays the change in your notes in real time whereas others don't because they are slow. This is very unique characteristic, because with MuseBook Tuner real-time pitch detection is almost realized and that makes fine and fast tuning possible.
*MuseBook Tuner's displaying subtle changes in your notes is appreciated by many instrument players as they can track their notes when they are practising.
Q. MuseBook Tuner fails to detect my notes and frequently displays low tone. Why does it so?
A. Low frequency from your microphone or input source is shown vividly and caused errors in detection. In this case you are encouraged to use NOISE REDUCTION function.
To remove the noise efficiently, following the steps are required.
1) Set DISPLAY Mode as FREQ, then you will see notable peaks in low frequency area.
2) In silence, press NOISE PRINT button on the right side of Note Display Window, then you will see uniform cepstrum across the frequency range.
3) When the frequency spectrum shows uniform and stable pattern, MuseBook Tuner detects the tone better.
Alternatively, you can use PITCH DETECTION RANGE CONTROLLER to prevent unwanted pitch from being detected.
Q. I touched microphone and MuseBook Tuner seems to fail to detect tone more frequently. Why does it so?
A. Not only a microphone, mixer, soundcard, or power but also a human body gives out low frequency. This noise can be included with input sound when you hold a microphone and detected as low tone, subsequently resulting in errors in pitch detection. If the peaks in low frequency when you hold a microphone are shown more notably than when you put it down, then it is assumed that low frequency from your body is included as noise. In this case, you are advised to fix the microphone right place and refrain contact. Alternatively you may use NOISE REDUCTION or PITCH DETECTION RANGE CONTROLLER to extract low frequency bandwidth.
Q. MuseBook Tuner only detects a tone when I'm playing very close to the microphone.
A. First, you are advised to check the characteristics of your microphone. Most dynamic microphone responses sensitively when the input sound is close from it. On the other hand when it gets farther, it does not effectively. For a distant sound input, condenser microphone performs better generally.
Second, your volume level might be too low to be detected. In this case, you are advised to level up the volume. If it still doesn't work, please use MIC BOOST function below the volume level slider. MIC BOOST will boost the sound level by +20dB.
*Note : If you are too far from the microphone, MuseBook Tuner won't be able to display your notes, so please keep appropriate distance from the microphone.
Q. How do I effectively control the volume level of the input device?
A. Sound volume level from the input device is critical in pitch detection with MuseBook Tuner. When it's too loud, background noise can be input with your performance and consequently result in errors in pitch detection. When it's too low, vice versa. Hence you are required to control the appropriate level. If the clipping in the WAVE display mode is shown, you are advised to reduce the volume. If the frequency height in FREQ display mode is seen small, you are advised to increase the volume.
Q. Which input source should I select, MIC or LINE IN?
A. If you are able to use LINE IN, please do so. This will prevent possible noise input and help better pitch detection. Using a microphone connected to a hardware mixer would bring far better performance of MuseBook Tuner.
Q. Can MuseBook Tuner tune my drum or organ?
A. 1. Drum shows many irregular frequency pattern in its low frequency area and it also has a lot of frequency components besides base frequency. Hence, MuseBook Tuner does not perform well in detecting drum sound.
2. Organ sound does reflect all sounds together from different pipes it has. Also depends on how it was made, the kind and number of pipes it consists, it shows 1/2 overtone, 3/2 overtones, etc., which is very uncanny in other instruments. Due to this characteristics, MuseBook Tuner may fail to detect its correct tone. However MuseBook Tuner may be used to tune each respective pipe as part of tuning the whole organ.
Q. How do I register MuseBook Tuner?
A. Registration is easy! To register MuseBook Tuner, you must have the program pre-installed in your PC.
1. Start MuseBook Tuner program. And click Enter Registration Code... from the menu.
2. You will be provided with an Enter Registration Code dialog. Enter your name and license code that you were given after ordering.
Note : Sometimes letter and number can be confusing, for example, '0'(zero) and letter 'o,' '1'(one) and letter 'l'(small), '8'(eight) and letter B(capital), '9' and letter 'q'(small). So it is easier when you copy and paste the codes part by part.
3. 'Congratulation' message will appear, which means your program is successfully registered.
4. To see your registration Information, go to Help - About MuseBook Tuner... .
5. The licensor information will appear as below.
If you encounter problem while registration, please email to musebook@musebook.com
