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From Rocksmith to Synthesia?


spiritofcat

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I've been learning guitar thanks to Rocksmith since 2011, and it has been a great experience.

 

Now I'm interested in branching out to other instruments and I've started trying to learn piano with Synthesia.

 

I've got all the required gear, and I think their game is pretty good, but the variety of songs is somewhat lacking.

 

The game uses midi files for its songs, so in theory it's a very easy format to develop customs for.

Unsurprisingly the official forum for the game doesn't support sharing of midi files for copyrighted popular music, and most of the midi files I've found online for popular songs have been of vastly variable quality.

 

So I thought I'd ask here. Does anyone here know of any good sources for Synthesia custom songs?

Also, I was wondering how feasible it might be to convert Rocksmith customs into Synthesia's midi format? A midi file is essentially just a list of notes, which is what's at the core of a Rocksnith custom too.

Any ideas?

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There's the thread on the Synthesia forum:https://www.synthesiagame.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=6537Basically, the developer is saying the next major release of Synthesia is going to handle things very differently and would make it easy to mix two MIDI tracks into one left/right hand combination to play. In the mean time, I could have all notes in an arrangement write to the same MIDI channel which should at least make it less work. I could probably also have each track's notes use a different channel so combining them in a MIDI editor should be as simple as copy/paste and then they'll still be maintained as separate playable parts in the current version of Synthesia. Let me know if you'd like me to make these changes.

Thanks for pursuing this!

 

Being a raw beginner when it comes to midi files I think I've mistakenly assumed that Track and Channel both mean the same thing and it has caused some confusion when I try to get my point across.

 

Like you said over there, I'd like to be able to have the whole bass arrangement show up as one hand-part in Synthesia, and then have the Rhythm or Lead show up as another hand-part, or maybe two hand-parts for each guitar arrangement.

 

Having all those parts inside the same midi file would allow me to select which ones I wanted to play with my own hands, and Synthesia could take care of playing the others as accompanyment, similar to how Rocksmith plays the whole song in the background while you play the chosen arrangement.

 

As it currently stands, when I create a midi file with EOF from just a single track (Real_Guitar or Real_Guitar22 or Real_Bass), I end up with a file that when opened in MuseScore shows me one musical staff for each string, and in Synthesia I get one hand-part for each string.

 

If there's an easy way for you to make it so that each track in EOF (Real_Guitar, Real_Bass, etc.) comes out as an individual hand-part in Synthesia then that'd be my preference.

 

When the new version of Synthesia comes out supporting splitting and combining of parts then I can use that to split the guitar parts into two hands each.

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Synthesia is excellent for practicing full (two handed) keyboard arrangements, check out some Youtube videos and you'll see. I don't consider it to be so much an actual rhythm game like Rock Band 3 in that it doesn't play any backing audio track, just MIDI. However if you recorded the playing of a tempo-mapped MIDI from EOF, you could easily sync it to the chart audio and make a killer demo video.

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Do you know about other similar to Synthesia programs? or Synthesia is the best one?I just want to learn some songs to play on digital piano and I think what is the best tool for this :)

There's another product called Songs2See

http://www.songs2see.com/index.php/en/

It supports digital piano and a few other instruments as well.

 

Both Synthesia and Songs2See have free demo versions available, so you can easily test them out and see what you like.

 

There are probably some other ones too that I haven't heard of.

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thanks, I will test it :) :)

 

 

I suppose that "audio in" of the digital piano/synth can be used for playing backing track (from mp3/wav or something like this) using synthesia at the same time for a midi file?

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Yeah, but keeping them synchronized during playback may be a little more complicated.

 sure, you are right, probably the audio file should be done for a midi file (synchro), or maybe rather midi file should be done for audio :D :D so next customs work :)
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Do you know about other similar to Synthesia programs? or Synthesia is the best one?I just want to learn some songs to play on digital piano and I think what is the best tool for this :)

There's another product called Songs2See

http://www.songs2see.com/index.php/en/

It supports digital piano and a few other instruments as well.

 

Both Synthesia and Songs2See have free demo versions available, so you can easily test them out and see what you like.

 

There are probably some other ones too that I haven't heard of.

 

Songs to see is not as good you need a microphone to use it where as synthesia can use a usb cable for midi.

:wub: My mother said I could grow up to be anything I wanted

So I became an Asshole. :D

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Do you know about other similar to Synthesia programs? or Synthesia is the best one?I just want to learn some songs to play on digital piano and I think what is the best tool for this :)

There's another product called Songs2See

http://www.songs2see.com/index.php/en/

It supports digital piano and a few other instruments as well.

 

Both Synthesia and Songs2See have free demo versions available, so you can easily test them out and see what you like.

 

There are probably some other ones too that I haven't heard of.

 

Songs to see is not as good you need a microphone to use it where as synthesia can use a usb cable for midi.

 

Couldn't you use the realtone cable and connect it on the headphone output or the lineout or something of the piano?

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Do you know about other similar to Synthesia programs? or Synthesia is the best one?I just want to learn some songs to play on digital piano and I think what is the best tool for this :)

There's another product called Songs2See

http://www.songs2see.com/index.php/en/

It supports digital piano and a few other instruments as well.

 

Both Synthesia and Songs2See have free demo versions available, so you can easily test them out and see what you like.

 

There are probably some other ones too that I haven't heard of.

 

Songs to see is not as good you need a microphone to use it where as synthesia can use a usb cable for midi.

 

Couldn't you use the realtone cable and connect it on the headphone output or the lineout or something of the piano?

 

yea the reatone cable works for the guitar.

:wub: My mother said I could grow up to be anything I wanted

So I became an Asshole. :D

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I have had a lot of experience with MIDI files.  I usually use this program when editing them http://www.anvilstudio.com/ .  I remember merging midi files before, sometimes it worked great, sometimes bad if each one was at different tempos.  My wife uses Synthesia, and I was surprised in the lack of a "customsforge" associated with it.  Let me know if anyone starts one because I can contribute MIDIs. P.S. if you are having latency issues in Synthesia, having it synthesize through your keyboard (instead of PC) will usually fix it.

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Do you know about other similar to Synthesia programs? or Synthesia is the best one?I just want to learn some songs to play on digital piano and I think what is the best tool for this :)

There's another product called Songs2See

http://www.songs2see.com/index.php/en/

It supports digital piano and a few other instruments as well.

 

Both Synthesia and Songs2See have free demo versions available, so you can easily test them out and see what you like.

 

There are probably some other ones too that I haven't heard of.

 

Songs to see is not as good you need a microphone to use it where as synthesia can use a usb cable for midi.

 

Couldn't you use the realtone cable and connect it on the headphone output or the lineout or something of the piano?

 

yea the reatone cable works for the guitar.

 

Depending on your model of electric piano you may be able to use the realtone cable to connect the piano for Songs2See...

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I tried Synthesia now :)

 

I must say it is really great thing :)

 

I played few songs and liked very much the points system and playing left hand or right or both hands and many possible options and instruments :)

 

so thanks for the subject :D I did not know about this software before

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Synthesia is a nice program, if you don't bother about midi sound. (and classic notes)

Keyboards and Drums are not the problem, but many other instruments end in cacophony..

 

I wonder why nobody connect midi to something like a DAW plugin to play real instruments.

 

Or maybe the next Rocksmith will contain a keyboard section.  :huh:

Rockband 3 had this feature, but somehow it failed.

 

Meanwhile, I keep playing keyboards with the old Miracle software with classic notes, 

where you could record your play and save it as a midi file.  

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Meanwhile, I keep playing keyboards with the old Miracle software with classic notes, 

where you could record your play and save it as a midi file.  

What is this software you speak of ? :huh:

:wub: My mother said I could grow up to be anything I wanted

So I became an Asshole. :D

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I'm speaking of the 90ies.

The Miracle "DOS" software, and a keyboard with a serial cable is still the best system I know,

when it comes to teaching absolute beginners. I made it only half way to what it offers.

It certainly keeps motivated students busy for two years.

 

The Nintendo version was crap, the PC version was top, with software later updated to windows, in 256 colors...

It was then updated to Jump Music Piano Discovery (years 1 3)

It's compatible with USB midi cable and should work with any midi keyboard.

Once you have a correct USB midi Driver (tricky)

 

It has some funny games like shooting ducks with notes (RS "stole" the idea form the Miracle system)  

Analyzing your notes and rhythm with a 100% system. It may have about 100 songs, piano only, with different tones.

The Rose was my preferred song

 

The software now unavailable is incompatible with 64bit systems. 

I couldn't find a single video on Youtube, but a link to wikipedia

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I'm speaking of the 90ies.

The Miracle "DOS" software, and a keyboard with a serial cable is still the best system I know,

when it comes to teaching absolute beginners. I made it only half way to what it offers.

It certainly keeps motivated students busy for two years.

 

The Nintendo version was crap, the PC version was top, with software later updated to windows, in 256 colors...

It was then updated to Jump Music Piano Discovery (years 1 3)

It's compatible with USB midi cable and should work with any midi keyboard.

Once you have a correct USB midi Driver (tricky)

 

It has some funny games like shooting ducks with notes (RS "stole" the idea form the Miracle system)  

Analyzing your notes and rhythm with a 100% system. It may have about 100 songs, piano only, with different tones.

The Rose was my preferred song

 

The software now unavailable is incompatible with 64bit systems. 

I couldn't find a single video on Youtube, but a link to wikipedia

Sounds like exactly the sort of thing I'm looking for!

I'd love to get a copy and see if I can get it working.

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The Miracle Piano Teaching System was created by

The Software Toolworks (renamed Mindscape)

famous for their Chessmaster series. Their site is a dead end

 

I offer you this really rare product under this link 

It needs no install, unpack to a directory and create a shortcut on your desktop of the WINMIR.EXE (it has an Icon too)

 

It works well under XP with USB midi cable on a small Asus Eee,

just ignore the first error messages.

You may set compatibility to 95, colors to 256, if the errors repeat.

Setup the midi in to USB, midi out to what you prefer, maybe back to your Keyboard,

or even test a midi playthrough to a plugin whit asio4all. No Latency who knows.

 

I'm gonna test it on Win8.1 64 with the VM VirtualBox

 

It's very suitable for children too.

3 Minigames are included : 

Duckshot with notes single and 2 hands chords

Alien Dance (inspired from Spielberg Close Encounters of the Third Kind) :

Repeat notes that Aliens play and they come out and dance

Parachute Jump : Figures jump from a plane, in a chord form, and you need to hit the notes at the same time to open the parachutes.

Or else some smash on the ground. Very funny.

 

Should anybody find the followup "Jump Music Piano Discovery (years 1 3)"

Let me know : I installed the software, but the discs seem lost.

 

Don't forget to search for the "Thanks" button. Should be down here on the right  B)

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Just loving this thread, @@Absolution had it with the midi merge, or track merge regarding each string having a different midi track.

 

As for track and channel, if your midi device is multi-timbral it means it has 16 midi channels that it can receive data from your chosen sequencer, you can have a different voice (tone) on each channel of your keyboard. You could be playing track one on your sequencer but this can be routed to anyone of the 16 channels on your keyboard producing a different voice (noise) on each channel. Good keyboards and Daws (Sequencers) talk to each other these days but it still goes back to the good old days. 

 

Also the sustains could do with quantizing, when you mentioned about there being more than six notes on screen, that's because the sustain notes are having a Leo affect I think.

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The Miracle Piano Teaching System was created by

The Software Toolworks (renamed Mindscape)

famous for their Chessmaster series. Their site is a dead end

 

I offer you this really rare product under this link 

It needs no install, unpack to a directory and create a shortcut on your desktop of the WINMIR.EXE (it has an Icon too)

 

It works well under XP with USB midi cable on a small Asus Eee,

just ignore the first error messages.

You may set compatibility to 95, colors to 256, if the errors repeat.

Setup the midi in to USB, midi out to what you prefer, maybe back to your Keyboard,

or even test a midi playthrough to a plugin whit asio4all. No Latency who knows.

 

I'm gonna test it on Win8.1 64 with the VM VirtualBox

 

It's very suitable for children too.

3 Minigames are included : 

Duckshot with notes single and 2 hands chords

Alien Dance (inspired from Spielberg Close Encounters of the Third Kind) :

Repeat notes that Aliens play and they come out and dance

Parachute Jump : Figures jump from a plane, in a chord form, and you need to hit the notes at the same time to open the parachutes.

Or else some smash on the ground. Very funny.

 

Should anybody find the followup "Jump Music Piano Discovery (years 1 3)"

Let me know : I installed the software, but the discs seem lost.

 

Don't forget to search for the "Thanks" button. Should be down here on the right  B)

Thanks so much!

I'll give it a go on Win 7 64bit.

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