Free spectrum analyzer plugin that displays all note letters?
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- KVRAF
- 1818 posts since 10 Jul, 2018
I've looked through a bunch of different free spectrum analyzer plugins, and while some of them will display the note value of the cursor position (like A# or Cb or so on), I haven't found any with an obvious way to display all the corresponding note letter values, for example as a vertical bar on the left listing the notes, with horizontal lines extending across the graph. Is there a free plugin that does this?
Or are users expected to have all the note frequencies memorized?...
Or are users expected to have all the note frequencies memorized?...
- KVRAF
- 16828 posts since 8 Mar, 2005 from Utrecht, Holland
Wait, I'm confused... Do you want an Audio-to-NoteName converter or just a spectrograph?
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- KVRian
- 964 posts since 21 Sep, 2013
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- KVRAF
- 3735 posts since 17 Sep, 2016
MAnalyzer (free) https://www.meldaproduction.com/MAnalyzer is probably the closest thing that I have seen in an audio spectrum analyzer. Works fairly well if you play one note at a time on your instrument. Works sort of like an electronic tuner.
But it would be more challenging if the music is polyphonic with many notes at the same time such as chords, or multitimbral with many instruments sounding together.
But it would be more challenging if the music is polyphonic with many notes at the same time such as chords, or multitimbral with many instruments sounding together.
Last edited by zzz00m on Sun Aug 26, 2018 2:50 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Windows 10 and too many plugins
- KVRAF
- 8118 posts since 13 Jan, 2003 from Darkest Kent, UK
SpiralCM that comes with Computer Music mag does this but in a spiral rather than a conventional spectrogram, useful for seeing the other harmonics stacked on the root. And as it’s not trying to identify notes, just showing the audio, it’s useful for picking chords out.
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- KVRAF
- 3735 posts since 17 Sep, 2016
For chord detection, it is hard to beat Riffstation Pro, which is now a free download. Riffstation is now owned by Fender.
https://pro.riffstation.com/download/
https://pro.riffstation.com/download/
Riffstation is a desktop application for Mac and Windows computers. Load any MP3 and Riffstation will automatically detect the chords and sync the chord diagrams with the music. You can also slow down the audio, change the pitch, isolate or mute guitar parts, loop specific sections and even sync a metronome!
Windows 10 and too many plugins
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- KVRAF
- Topic Starter
- 1818 posts since 10 Jul, 2018
The main thing is on the frequency axis of the graph I want the note values listed next to the corresponding frequency and lines extending across the graph so I can see how close it is to the exact note. Zoomed in if necessary... I guess most spectrum analyzers show too wide a frequency range for listing all the notes.BertKoor wrote:Wait, I'm confused... Do you want an Audio-to-NoteName converter or just a spectrograph?
Maybe what I really want is more of a pitch analyzer with dB color-coded, y axis frequency and note value (with horizontal lines extending across from each note), and time as the x axis. Mostly for isolated vocals, but also for EQ, because I want to be able to see that the note values of instrumental chords are coming through.
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- KVRAF
- 3735 posts since 17 Sep, 2016
Here is a chart of the note names and the corresponding frequencies:
Frequencies for equal-tempered scale, A4 = 440 Hz
https://pages.mtu.edu/~suits/notefreqs.html
A spectrum analyzer can accurately tell you the frequency and note names of pure tones such as a sine wave.
But musical instruments and vocals generally produce complex waveforms, not pure tones, so an analyzer can register multiple frequencies when only a single note is played due to the harmonics and overtones in addition to the fundamental frequency. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overtone
For example, I can see a huge difference on an analyzer between a synth with just a basic sine patch, and a high quality violin sample playing a C3.
Sine:

Violin:

Frequencies for equal-tempered scale, A4 = 440 Hz
https://pages.mtu.edu/~suits/notefreqs.html
A spectrum analyzer can accurately tell you the frequency and note names of pure tones such as a sine wave.
But musical instruments and vocals generally produce complex waveforms, not pure tones, so an analyzer can register multiple frequencies when only a single note is played due to the harmonics and overtones in addition to the fundamental frequency. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overtone
For example, I can see a huge difference on an analyzer between a synth with just a basic sine patch, and a high quality violin sample playing a C3.
Sine:

Violin:

Windows 10 and too many plugins