Feature-rich software uses advanced algorithms to determine chords, song sections, bar lines, key, and bpm of any song, with looping, slow-down options, practice trainers and much more
These days, there are numerous apps and websites that claim to help you learn how to play the guitar. But we haven’t come across any lately that make learning and practicing your favorite songs simpler and more efficient than Aurally Sound’s Song Master.
“It really is a game-changer if you’re trying to learn songs or licks from recordings, as well as being able to practice them in an effective manner,” says guitar ace and instructor R.J. Ronquillo.
And what, exactly, is Song Master? Available for both Windows and Mac, Song Master, as Ronquillo explains, “uses advanced machine learning and deep learning algorithms to determine a song's high-level sections, chords, bars, beats, time signature, key, and tuning. It also has the ability to extract stems from an audio file, meaning it can separate the vocals, drums, bass and guitars, allowing you to solo or mute different instruments. Which is great for hearing individual parts better or creating a rough backing track.”
But that’s not all: “There’s also a key trainer,” he continues, “and of course you have the ability to slow down and speed up the audio without affecting the pitch. You can also adjust the pitch if you’d like to transpose the music to a different key, loop control and much more.”
And while there are many apps and websites out there that cater to beginning level musicians – Song Master is not one of them. It is designed for intermediate and advanced musicians who do not need simple chord fingering diagrams and basic how-to-play videos.
How does all this work? R.J. shows us in the above demo.
(Image credit: Aurally Sound)
To begin, he demonstrates what the app looks like when you open it up. Then he offers two examples. “The first one I want to show you is how Song Master can be used to learn fast licks from a song, and how you can not only slow down and loop the music but also how you can extract the stem so you can just hear the guitar sound,” he says.
R.J. then loads in an mp3 by merely clicking and dragging it onto the app, and watches as the audio file gets instantly analyzed, with the chords, bpms and other info laid out in an easy-to-view and access manner.
Next, he demonstrates how to focus in on a section of the solo by looping it, slowing it down to half speed (or even as much as to 10 percent speed – “really, really slow”), adjusting the pitch by semitones or going down or up octaves (“which might be cool if you’re learning something in a bass frequency,” he says). You can also employ auto pitch, which adjusts the audio to 440hz in order to be in tune with your instrument, or use Instrument Transposition if you’re working on an instrument like a sax or horn that’s in a different key.
Additionally, R.J. points out, “you can fine-tune the loop control to adjust the number of times the loop repeats – say, twice or three times in a row, or infinitely.”
Another particularly cool feature is the phrase trainer, which loops a section starting at a slow tempo and gradually increases the speed every time it repeats. “A great learning tool,” R.J. says.
“All in all, this is a very feature-laden piece of software,” R.J. concludes. “I think it’s a great tool for all musicians, whether you’re a beginner or a professional, and no matter what instrument and no matter what type of genre you’re practicing or playing. I must say that as a professional musician of 20-plus years I’m very impressed with the software. Good job, Song Master.”
You can try the free demo for Windows and MacOS now at songmaster.app.
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