Music Writing Software Gets MIDI Playback

Calling all musicians and aspiring composers: The newest release of Crescendo Music Notation Software (version 1.06) has a new feature that we are excited to introduce and that will help your musical compositions jump off the page. With the New MIDI Playback Feature, you can flip over to the Playback tab at any time and listen to your score to make sure all the notes are lining up the way you want, which can be a very satisfying feeling when you've been working away at putting down your musical score. You can even choose to Export MIDI to save a music file of your composition to share with others. We hope you will be as excited to take advantage of this new feature as we are, and will download or upgrade Crescendo Music Writing Software today.

Easier Than Ever Audio Mixing

When you�re mixing an audio project, you want things to be as simple as possible. Some great new features have been added to the latest version of MixPad recording and mixing software making it easier to use than ever.

To help you quickly make changes to the tracks in your projects - like adjusting the volume of tracks, adding effects, or using a VSTi - we've added a "mixer" view that opens in a separate floating window so you can still see the tracks. You can move the mixer anywhere on your desktop, or minimize or close it when you don�t need to use it. The mixer includes faders for each track along with a Master fader so you can control the volume of your entire project. Along with the faders for each track, the mixer has controls to:

• Pan a track right or left
• Arm a track to record
• Mute or Solo a track
• Open the Effects Chain to add, modify or delete effects
• Adjust the Audio Options
• Add a VSTi for a MIDI track

Another improvement you're sure to like is the ability to change the colors of the waveforms in each track. Use this feature to help organize your project. For example set your drum tracks to blue, your guitar tracks to green, and your vocal tracks to yellow. Now, at a glance, you can see where things are located in your project. It�s simple to change the colors of each track using the controls on the mixer, or just right-click on a track and select "Track Color" from the menu

Other enhancements you�ll find in the new version of MixPad multitrack mixing software include presets for effects, and an easier way to delete fade points. So if you mix audio, you will definitely want to check it out.

MIDI Support Coming to NCH Software

If you�ve ever gone rooting around for MIDI support in the feature lists of NCH Software audio products, you most likely didn�t find it�at the time. But soon you will. A myriad of MIDI features are being added throughout our audio software category.

The most notable example at the moment is in MixPad multi-track mixing software. You can load a MIDI file into MixPad and then double click the clip to edit it. This will launch a MIDI editor dialog that allows you to move notes around, create and delete notes and resize notes on a piano roll. Since a MIDI sequence is really only a set of digital instructions, it�s easier to pinpoint specific notes and alter them than with an audio file:


The current version of MixPad already features this new MIDI editor. In the future, MixPad will have broader MIDI support, such as allowing users to connect a MIDI capable mixing deck to control the program.

MIDI is starting to play a larger role in all our audio software. Plans to implement the following capabilities are in the works:

• Playback of MIDI files as music using built in and external synthesizers
  
• Record MIDI control sequences
  
• Edit MIDI files
  
• Control software (e.g., MixPad mixing software or Zulu dj software) with a MIDI device
  
• Convert MIDI files to audio
  

These features will be included in varying combinations in WavePad audio editor, MixPad multi-track mixer, Zulu virtual dj, Switch audio converter, and MIDIPad�a new full-featured MIDI editor currently in development. We�re excited to see how MIDI will contribute to our audio software. How do you think you�ll use it?