Combining Windows Media Player Playback with Mic Input

[brianejsmith]

Hi I am trying to record a vocal track over an accompaniment played by Windows Media Player.

I am using a laptop with the following configuration
Operating System Windows 7 Professional 32-bit SP1
CPU Intel Mobile Core 2 Duo @ 1.20GHz 69 °C Merom 65nm Technology
RAM 3.00GB Dual-Channel DDR2 @ 332MHz (5-5-5-15)
Motherboard LENOVO 647717G (None) 67 °C
Graphics ThinkPad Display 1440x900 ([email protected]) T23B551 ([email protected]) Intel Mobile Intel 965 Express Chipset Family (Lenovo) Intel Mobile Intel 965 Express Chipset Family (Lenovo)
Hard Drives 119GB KINGSTON SVP180S2128G (SSD) 41 °C
Optical Drives No optical disk drives
Audio SoundMAX Integrated Digital HD Audio

and the microphone is connected via an M-Audio Mobile Pre USB interface.

Audacity version is 2.0.2 and its info shows

Code: Select all

==============================
Default capture device number: 1
Default playback device number: 3
==============================
Device ID: 0
Device name: Microsoft Sound Mapper - Input
Host name: Windows DirectSound
Input channels: 2
Output channels: 0
Low Input Latency: 0.200000
Low Output Latency: 0.200000
High Input Latency: 0.400000
High Output Latency: 0.400000
Supported Rates:
==============================
Device ID: 1
Device name: Line 1/2 (M-Audio MobilePre)
Host name: Windows DirectSound
Input channels: 2
Output channels: 0
Low Input Latency: 0.200000
Low Output Latency: 0.200000
High Input Latency: 0.400000
High Output Latency: 0.400000
Supported Rates:
==============================
Device ID: 2
Device name: Microsoft Sound Mapper - Output
Host name: Windows DirectSound
Input channels: 0
Output channels: 2
Low Input Latency: 0.200000
Low Output Latency: 0.200000
High Input Latency: 0.400000
High Output Latency: 0.400000
Supported Rates:
    8000
    9600
    11025
    12000
    15000
    16000
    22050
    24000
    32000
    44100
    48000
    88200
    96000
    192000
==============================
Device ID: 3
Device name: Speakers (SoundMAX Integrated D
Host name: Windows DirectSound
Input channels: 0
Output channels: 2
Low Input Latency: 0.200000
Low Output Latency: 0.200000
High Input Latency: 0.400000
High Output Latency: 0.400000
Supported Rates:
    8000
    9600
    11025
    12000
    15000
    16000
    22050
    24000
    32000
    44100
    48000
    88200
    96000
    192000
==============================
Device ID: 4
Device name: Primary Sound Capture Driver
Host name: Windows DirectSound
Input channels: 2
Output channels: 0
Low Input Latency: 0.000000
Low Output Latency: 0.000000
High Input Latency: 0.000000
High Output Latency: 0.000000
Supported Rates:
==============================
Device ID: 5
Device name: Line 1/2 (M-Audio MobilePre)
Host name: Windows DirectSound
Input channels: 2
Output channels: 0
Low Input Latency: 0.000000
Low Output Latency: 0.000000
High Input Latency: 0.000000
High Output Latency: 0.000000
Supported Rates:
==============================
Device ID: 6
Device name: Primary Sound Driver
Host name: Windows DirectSound
Input channels: 0
Output channels: 2
Low Input Latency: 0.000000
Low Output Latency: 0.000000
High Input Latency: 0.000000
High Output Latency: 0.000000
Supported Rates:
    8000
    9600
    11025
    12000
    15000
    16000
    22050
    24000
    32000
    44100
    48000
    88200
    96000
    192000
==============================
Device ID: 7
Device name: Speakers (SoundMAX Integrated Digital HD Audio)
Host name: Windows DirectSound
Input channels: 0
Output channels: 2
Low Input Latency: 0.000000
Low Output Latency: 0.000000
High Input Latency: 0.000000
High Output Latency: 0.000000
Supported Rates:
    8000
    9600
    11025
    12000
    15000
    16000
    22050
    24000
    32000
    44100
    48000
    88200
    96000
    192000
==============================
Selected capture device: 5 - Line 1/2 (M-Audio MobilePre)
Selected playback device: 6 - Primary Sound Driver
Supported Rates:
    8000
    9600
    11025
    12000
    15000
    16000
    22050
    24000
    32000
    44100
    48000
    88200
    96000
    192000
==============================
Available mixers:
==============================
Available capture sources:
0 - Master Volume
==============================
Available playback volumes:
0 - CD Audio
1 - Master Volume
==============================
Capture volume is native
Playback volume is native

and it picks up the mic fine but I can't get it to hear the WMP output.

I've been fiddling with Audio Devices setting in Control Panel but can't get it to work. Anyone with thoughts on what I'm doing wrong?

[steve]

Hi I am trying to record a vocal track over an accompaniment played by Windows Media Player.

Audacity supports multiple tracks.
Rather than using Windows Media Player to play the accompaniment it would be better to Import the accompaniment track into Audacity and then record your new track.
There is a relevant tutorial here:
http://manual.audacityteam.org/o/man/tu ... rdubs.html

There may also be some useful stuff in this one:
http://manual.audacityteam.org/o/man/tu ... music.html

[brianejsmith]

Thanks, that's a good thought and one that hadn't occurred to me. I will certainly consider that for full accompaniments.

What I am struggling with just now is getting a tone into Audacity. I use a drone note to check my pitch as I sing a song unaccompanied and as that is generated by a program running on the PC in real time I can't import it.

More thoughts?

[kozikowski]

Many computers can be set up for self recording, to record Stereo-Mix, What-U-Hear or other process which can change depending on your computer.

http://manual.audacityteam.org/o/man/tu ... puter.html

Some don't, though, so it's not unheard of to have a computer which won't allow this. A work-around might be to set audacity to generate a pure, flute-like tone instead. You'll need to figure out the name of the note you use and then the frequency of that note. International "A" is 440Hz for one example. That's the oboe tone at the beginning of a symphony.

Koz

[brianejsmith]

The laptop I'm using can't capture "off air" like my desktop can because the manufacturer (Lenovo) conspired with Microsoft to make sure it can't happen.

If I could get Audacity to generate a musical tone - not a pure tone because it's so hard to tune to - that would be brilliant but I looked at the Nyquist stuff on here and couldn't see how I could get, say, an organ or pitch pipe tone. I suppose one way would be to record a suitable number of tones (ie various tonics for different keys) and use them?

[kozikowski]

I suppose one way would be to record a suitable number of tones (ie various tonics for different keys) and use them?

I'll be making coffee while you try that. We got lots of time.

People keep telling me you can get anything on-line and by Google. You can't find someone that recorded a pitch pipe?

What's the note, or is it one of those things that has different notes around the outside of a little circular blowy thing? Would that be like one octave of notes from middle C on the organ and up?

Koz

[kozikowski]

That work? I started with C below middle C because it sounded cooler.

Koz

[steve]

What I am struggling with just now is getting a tone into Audacity. I use a drone note to check my pitch as I sing a song unaccompanied and as that is generated by a program running on the PC in real time I can't import it.

What's the drone note?
Yes, with Nyquist you can generate almost any sound imaginable. What are we aiming for?

[brianejsmith]

Really grateful for the help here; and an offer of coffee as well just adds the cherry. (Mixed metaphors - nah.)

Yes. Ideally, I would be emulating a continuous note as blown by one of those round blowy things but an organ like note would also work well. (Maintaining a continuous, unwavering note on a pitch pipe is very difficult, a mechanically generated one would be more reliable.)

I don't need all the notes, just those that are popular for baritone singers, so things like Ab, Bb, C, D, E, F, G, all on the lower half of the treble clef. I think this would make them D4, E4, F4, G4, Ab5, Bb5 and C5?

I'd probably just go through our repertoire (I sing in a barbershop chorus) and pick out the appropriate notes from there.

Making recordings of drone notes wouldn't take that long as I could use Audacity to double and re-double them?

[steve]

Here's a C4 (Middle C)

C4.wav

Middle C

(837.58 KiB) Downloaded 28 times

It's just under 10 seconds. If you want it longer, use the "Repeat" effect http://manual.audacityteam.org/o/man/repeat.html
If you want other notes, use the "Change Pitch" effect: http://manual.audacityteam.org/o/man/change_pitch.html