Web Songwriting with ChordStudio.com: Like Online GarageBand, But With Chords
Apple’s GarageBand is a powerful tool for recording MIDI and audio and arranging loops. It can be puzzling to songwriters, though, because it doesn’t really understand chord changes. Sure, you can transpose MIDI loops or (more problematically) audio, but that process is a bit clunky and rarely sounds right. Many beginner-level GarageBand songs (especially by students) simply stay in one big, long I chord for an entire piece, which, by astounding coincidence, is what I sound like playing guitar. (Come on, I went to the trouble of getting my fingers on these frets — now you want me to move them? Where’s a piano? I’m through.)
Enter ChordStudio, an entirely Web-based tool that takes the opposite approach. Running entirely in a browser, the free Web app presents a blank score and lets you construct song structures with chords. Behind the scenes, 30,000 loops seamlessly render those chords into something that actually sounds like music. You can control the mix with common instruments, including electric guitars, bass, drums, piano, and electric piano.
The results are very simple, but I can see them being very useful. Aside from making it fun for a beginner with limited computer and/or music skills to put together basic song structures, it’s not hard to imagine someone using this as a quickie web tool on the road to get an idea down. It’s no GarageBand killer, of course — it’s just a simple Web interface — but if you like the loops, you can purchase them as a US$99 DVD and use them with GarageBand or your favorite looping app of choice.
Web applications are unlikely ever to replace dedicated, standalone music and audio applications, because these applications by definition require an intimate relationship with your computer’s hardware. But that doesn’t mean the Web won’t be a place for some simple, useful ideas to complement standalone apps. Previously:
Tune Your Guitar Via the Web, with Free Tuner and Instructions
8 Comments
Leave a CommentAhd Child
I’ve been looking for something like this for a long time. Sometime sat work I’ll come up with a lyrical idea, but the right I won’t have an appropriate instrumental on my mp3 player. Now I can quickly make something approriate AND come up with the chords I’ll use.
July 30, 2007 @ 10:58 am
daryl
wow, what a great little time-waster. Actually, I’ve always searched for an easy way to collaborate online with my less technically inclined band mates, this may do it.
July 30, 2007 @ 11:05 am
Marco Raaphorst
If someone creates webobject-plugins I guess we can start making music online. If this browser-based solutions makes it possible to record to harddrive and upload the final results, that will be great. I can see it coming … :)
July 30, 2007 @ 11:40 am
Matt
Another great way to collaborate online is using indabamusic.com
July 30, 2007 @ 1:17 pm
Marco Raaphorst
Seen the new Splicemusic player?
WITH effects!!! Yeah, on a browser. I absolutely believe that will be the platform.
July 30, 2007 @ 4:20 pm
Marco Raaphorst » Blog Archive » Geef me een browser en ik maak muziek!
[...] Met Peter Kirn van Create Digital Music heb ik al een aantal malen gediscussieerd over online muziekmaken. Ik geloof dat je in de toekomst slechts een browser nodig zult hebben. Peter gelooft daar niet in. Vandaag nog meldt hij: Web applications are unlikely ever to replace dedicated, standalone music and audio applications, because these applications by definition require an intimate relationship with your computer’s hardware. [...]
July 30, 2007 @ 4:46 pm
bliss
GarageBand Web 2.0?
July 31, 2007 @ 12:16 am
Plurgid
This is 36 flavors of awesome.
Seriously, I don’t know about all this “future of recording is on the web” stuff like Marco was talking about. I mean I guess, sort of, it’s a very well designed thing for a web interface … but that’s not what makes this so awesome.
What makes it so awesome is the concept itself, which is pure genius. Funny that you mention GarageBand, because I’d love to see this rolled into it. It’d be a perfect fit..
August 2, 2007 @ 1:20 pm
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