The Audio Update

David William Hearn • Dec 21, 2021

Audio support, studio effects, open key signatures, new symbols and more!

Happy Holidays, StaffPadders!


Today marks the release of a huge update to StaffPad - one we've been working on for the best part of the year! Audio support is here. This means it's now possible to record, import and edit audio clips seamlessly within your score, opening up new possibilities for compositions.


This update is, as always, free for all existing StaffPad composers and is currently rolling out in the App Stores on both Windows and iPadOS.


There has been a lot of work behind the scenes to make this happen, and I'm incredibly proud of the work the team has done here. To properly support audio, we had to upgrade the score format. This new format stores all your audio files, versions and custom artwork inside it; carefully managed and compressed using state of the art algorithms to avoid any score sizes getting out of hand. This makes sharing StaffPad scores super simple - even with complex audio arrangements. It's just one file!


This new format is not backwards compatible with earlier versions of StaffPad. If you're in the middle of a large project, or you use multiple devices that might not all upgrade simultaneously, you may wish to exercise caution when updating StaffPad - choose the right time for you!


To mark the release of this huge update to StaffPad, we're also giving new customers a holiday discount: a whopping 55% off the retail price for a limited time only... Check the App Stores for details.


There is a lot to talk about. Whilst you're reading about all that's new, you may want to have some background music... We're launching StaffPad Radio, an internet radio station that showcases some of the best work by StaffPad composers around the world, and includes some interviews with interesting people, as well as the latest news.


StaffPad Radio

You can listen to StaffPad Radio on our website, at http://radio.staffpad.net, on Amazon Alexa and Frontier Radio. All the music on StaffPad Radio is rendered f StaffPad; it's a testament to the incredible playback engine and integrated libraries that you can actually enjoy these compositions as musical pieces, rather than be distracted by poor sound quality. Of course, it helps that the composers featured on StaffPad Radio are super talented. If you'd like your composition to be featured on StaffPad Radio, get in touch with us at radio@staffpad.net.


We'll be updating StaffPad Radio regularly, so please do tune in when you're in need of some inspiration... or just to relax and enjoy the music with a glass of wine (of course).


Now you've got a soundtrack, let's look at what's new in the app itself...


Audio Staffs

Audio Staffs are much like other staffs in StaffPad, except they hold audio clips. You create an audio staff much like any other staff: there is a new "Audio" category in the Staffs control. From there, you can add different types of audio staffs, for example a "piano" or "guitar" audio staff. This might seem strange, but actually giving StaffPad some idea of the kind of content you'll be recording onto the staff lets StaffPad configure itself smartly behind the scenes. For example, a "vocal" audio staff will configure the microphone array on your device to record with a specific kind of polar pattern; it'll record in mono for a more focused sound; and it'll display a relevant set of tailored studio effects - which we'll talk more about later!


Audio staffs are rendered as a single line staff. You can add as many audio staffs as you like to a score, and each audio staff can hold multiple audio clips - there are no limits.


You can import an audio clip by tapping the Audio Staff name, and choosing the "Import Audio" button. You can also drag and drop audio directly from the iPadOS Files app, or Windows Explorer. All major formats are supported, and StaffPad will conform the audio to the correct sample rate, store it within the score file itself and intelligently compress it to save space.


You can also record an audio clip directly into your score, using your device's built-in microphone array. There is no support for external audio interfaces, but you may be surprised at just how good the microphones in your device are. For example, there is a new demo score, called "Keep Your Light On", featuring a real string quartet performing from StaffPad Reader and recorded directly onto an audio staff through the iPad Pro's internal mic array.


To record audio, tap the Audio Staff name and press the Record icon in the Staff Mixer to record-enable the staff. A new Record icon will then be displayed in the toolbar; press it to start recording from the playhead position. You can set a count-in from the StaffPad settings, as always.


You can connect headphones to record with StaffPad's metronome; the internal microphones on the device will still be used to capture audio. This makes it super easy to record your guitar or vocals by just putting on your AirPods, pressing record, and singing or playing your part.


You can edit audio clips with Apple Pencil, or your Windows Pen. Tap a waveform to view the clip's container, and drag the editing handles with Apple Pencil to trim, fade, loop and change the gain. You can drag clips around the audio staff, or onto other audio staffs. When you move audio clips left and right, they snap to the beat markers that display as you start dragging. This can help positioning clips in musical time; but if you need to freely position these clips precisely, hold the Pencil/Pen still for a second - the snap markers will disappear and you can freely slip the audio clip around without snapping.


To split a clip in two, slice down through the waveform with Apple Pencil or your Windows Pen. This slicing motion splits the clip into two separate clips. You can move multiple clips together using the lasso tool. Of course, bar selection tools work as well for quickly copy/pasting, deleting, moving, transposing or repeating any audio clips within those bars.


Studio Effects

To complement Audio Staffs, we've included a suite of studio effects that you can add to any staff - not just audio staffs - to enhance and elevate playback. From a simple noise gate, to a de-esser, plate reverb, EQ, sparkler/enhancer, chorus, compressor and more... there's plenty to choose from.


Audio effects are accessed from the new "Effects" tab on the staff mixer. You can toggle the effect on/off using the power button, and adjust the amount slider to increase or decrease the strength.


We've also created several multi-effects, which are tailored to each type of audio staff. For example, on the vocal audio staff, there's a "Pop Vocal" effect, which combines several rounds of compression, a high/low shelf EQ, a tempo sync'd delay, a bright plate reverb, a doubler a some sparkly high end boost to give you that professional pop vocal sheen.


Tempo Mapping

Tempo mapping is the process of synchronising a score's tempo with an audio file, even when it fluctuates over time. If you record something without a click/metronome, then it will likely not be at a steady metronomic tempo - there will be a human aspect to the performance that can be good to protect. Or, perhaps you don't know the tempo of an audio clip, or it's a deliberately free-form performance, and you want to add notation and other elements to it.


In these situations, you can tempo map the audio so that the bars and beats inside StaffPad line up with the audio clip. 


To tempo map a clip, first create a tempo staff, then enable tempo mapping mode by tapping the Tempo Staff's name, and toggling the "Tempo Mapping" switch. Top tip: You might want to disable "Adaptive Audio" on the staff which holds your audio clip, so that it doesn't try and change the speed whilst you're tempo mapping!


Once you're in tempo mapping "mode", you can drag the beat and bar markers of the tempo staff freely to match them up with the audio file. Drag the bars to match the transients of the audio file, and you can quickly map even a complex piece.


Adaptive Audio

Adaptive Audio is the name given to StaffPad's time and pitch stretch system. Adaptive Audio is on by default for Audio Staffs, but you can turn if off if you choose, by toggling it in the Staff Mixer.


Adaptive Audio works by applying high quality time and pitch stretching to your audio clips, to match your score's key and tempo. It makes working with audio very easy as you make changes to your score later. For example, you could record your piano into your score at 100bpm, and in Eb major. Later, you may want to speed up the score, or parts of it. You can just change the tempo as you would normally, and your recorded piano will change with it. The same with key - if you decide to transpose your piece, the audio will transpose as well. It's pretty magical - but essentially, it means you can think of audio as being as flexible as the notation you're used to working with in StaffPad.


You can also manually pitch shift audio clips by making a selection and using the usual transpose tools inside StaffPad.


Elements

Elements are royalty-free, production loops and sounds for use your score. There's a new Elements Browser that organises these sounds into categories, and you can search for, browser, preview and drag and drop them onto your score canvas to build up new parts, and augment your compositions.


Elements are adaptive, so will always fit your score's tempo and key. They're smart enough to know if they're unpitched and, if so, won't automatically pitch-shift when you transpose your score. Likewise, some elements aren't time specific, so won't time stretch it it's not relevant.


Elements are fetched on-demand from our new web-service, so you'll need to be connected to the internet to make use of this new feature. We'll be continually adding new Elements from now on.


We hope you enjoy using Elements in your compositions; they're genuinely useful for a lot of things, and a lot of fun too!


All the little things

You can now quickly insert pizz/arco text instructions by using the quick-insert tile from the symbols palette. StaffPad tracks what the last instruction was for a string player, so you can simply tap once to place a "pizz" instruction, then tap again to place an "arco" - no switching needed. Drag up to insert a snap (or "Bartok") pizzicato symbol.


StaffPad now creates new scores in an open key. Previously, all new scores were created in C Major. Do remember to change your key signature if your piece really is in C Major, otherwise transposing instruments won't show their transposed key signature correctly! You'll notice there's now a "No Key" option in the "Change Key Signature" control.


You can now add custom Cover Art to your scores. Choose the Edit Details screen for your score from the Welcome Page, then tap the new camera icon. You can import a photo, take one with the camera or choose an existing one from your camera roll. This will display as a custom thumbnail within StaffPad, and you also get an option to print the Cover Art in that score's print settings. This can be a great way to offer some visual organisation to your score library, as well as give your score that professional finishing touch!


You can now duration-drag rests as well as notation, and choose a specific automation layer view from the long-press menu, in automation view. We've localised the StaffPad Store into more languages.


There's been a lot of fixes and enhancements under the hood in preparation for the previously announced audio transcription features, which are now coming next year. StaffPad Reader has also been updated to support the latest score files, as well as a few layout and engraving fixes.



Whew! That's a lot... this marks another chapter in StaffPad's "full vision" journey, and it's an exciting one for sure. I'll leave you with our teaser trailer for this release: the audio in this video was created entirely within StaffPad, with vocals and drum loops/fx from audio staffs and Elements, with the notation rendered through StaffPad Editions of Berlin Strings, CineWinds, Spitfire Symphonic Percussion, CinePianos, Ambience One and CineBrass - all available in the design-refreshed StaffPad Store. You can hear the full arrangement on our YouTube channel.


I hope you've managed to stay happy and healthy throughout 2021 - another testing year for many of us.


All that's left for me to do is to wish you all a very happy holiday season, wherever you are in the world. We'll look forward to seeing you in 2022 with some more news, updates and music!


All the very best to you and yours,

David, Matt, and the StaffPad Team

David William Hearn
David is a the lead designer and co-founder of StaffPad, as well as a professional composer and orchestrator.

London, http://www.davidwilliamhearn.com

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