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Creating a song

This example creates a MIDI song file with three tracks:
  • a MIDI keyboard track,
  • an audio track, and
  • a rhythm track.
    • Anvil Studio lets you record to these tracks, one at a time. All of the tracks can be played back simultaneously. To make it easier to follow these steps, consider printing this page by typing P while holding down the Ctrl key, or if you have Internet Explorer version 4.0 or later, right-click on the page and select the Print menu item. so it is

    Step 1: Creating a MIDI track
  • If you don't have a MIDI Synthesizer, please skip to Step 2, or view Composer page and follow the instructions on that page.
  • Ensure that your MIDI cables are connected as described in the Connections page.
  • View the Mixer page.
  • Select the New Song menu item from the menu in the upper-left corner of the page. This new song has one MIDI instrument track. If you wanted to add a second MIDI instrument track, you could select the
    Create Track / Instrument Track menu item from the Edit menu in the upper-left corner of the page.
  • If you'd like a countdown to synchronize your recording, click the metronome in the upper right corner of the screen.
  • Press the record button to begin recording this track.
  • Press the stop button when you are ready to stop recording.
  • To edit this track, select Composer from the View menu and follow the instructions on that page.

    • Step 2: Adding an Audio track

  • Audio tracks are used to record from a microphone or other audio source connected to your computer. If your computer has no audio input device, please skip to step 3.
  • Go back to the Mixer page.
  • Save the song file by selecting the Save Song... menu item from the menu in the upper-left corner of the page.
  • Select the Create Track / Audio Track menu item from the Edit menu in the upper-left corner of the page.
  • View the Composer page.
  • Click on the Audio Quality button to select the audio quality you want.
  • Press the record button to record to this track.
  • Press the stop button when you are ready to stop recording.
  • Press the Filter to filter out noise from this track.
  • Follow the instructions on the Compose page to experiment with other Audio processing.
  • If you hear no Audio, try selecting a different Audio In or Out device.
  • View the Synthesizers page.
  • Click the down-arrow to the right of the Audio In or Audio Out Port fields.
  • Select the desired device.
  • Go back to the beginning of Step 2 and try again.

    • Step 3: Adding a rhythm track

  • Go back to the Mixer page.
  • Save the song file by selecting the Save Song... menu item from the menu in the upper-left corner of the page.
  • Select the Create Track / Rhythm Track menu item from the Edit menu in the upper-left corner of the page.
  • View the Composer page to edit the rhythm track.
  • Click anywhere on the grid with the left mouse button to add various drum sounds.
  • For more precision, click the Note: drop-down field and select 1/64 Note.
  • To remove a drum sound, click with the right mouse button on the note to be removed from the grid.
  • Click on the Loopback button over the first measure to show the Loopback window. In that window, type 3 in the Number of times to play them field. Press the Loopback window's Ok button to close it. This will cause the first measure to be repeated 3 times.
  • Click the Latin, Misc1, and Misc2 tabs to select different sets of drums.
  • Click the Sampled Sounds tab to add sampled sounds to your song.
  • Press the Create Sampled Sounds button.
  • Press the Help button, and experiment with the options it describes.

    • Step 4: Playing all of the tracks

  • Go back to the Mixer page.
  • Press the play button .

    • Using Anvil Studio to play with drums

  • Select Mixer from the View menu
  • To the right of Track 1, click on Instrument and change it to Rhythm
  • Click the Composer button at the bottom of the screen, or select Composer from the View menu.
  • Click on the grid where you want various drum sounds.
  • Click the > play button.
  • Select Save from the file menu to save the song.
  • The file you save can now be played on any standard MIDI player, copied to a web page, emailed to some, etc.

    • How to download an upgrade version of Anvil Studio

    The version of Anvil Studio you are running may be outdated, even if you recently downloaded it. This is because Shareware WEB sites sometimes take a while to upgrade to the latest version. To see a list of new features and bugs fixed in the latest version of Anvil Studio, and to download a free copy, please visit our Web-based Catalog.

    How to get songs to play on your MIDI synthesizer

  • View the Synthesizers page.
  • Click the down-arrow to the right of the Midi Out Port field.
  • Select the port your synthesizer is connected to, e.g. one that has MIDI Out as part of its name. Now, all songs played by Anvil Studio will be sent to that MIDI port.
  • Anvil Studio can also support multiple MIDI Out ports and Patch Bays, with the optional MIDI Manager Accessory. Select Catalog from the Help menu for details.

    • Creating a song with Audio Effects

    This example creates a WAV file with Audio Effects:
  • View the Mixer page.
  • Select the New Song menu item from the menu in the upper-left corner of the page.
  • On this page's track list, there is a row for every track in the song, showing that track's name and other attributes of the track. Now, change track 1's Type from instrument to audio by clicking on Instrument and selecting Audio from the list.
  • View the Composer page.
  • Save the song file by selecting the Save Song... menu item from the menu in the upper-left corner of the page.
  • Press the record button , sing into the microphone, and then press the stop button when you are ready to stop recording.
  • Press the Filter to show the filter window, and press its Ok button to filter noise from this track.
  • With the left mouse down, drag the mouse over part of the window to select part of the recorded song.
  • Press the Play Selection button to hear the selected sound.
  • Select Reverse from the Edit menu to replace the selected sound with the same sound played backward.
  • Press the Volume and Pitch buttons to adjust the volume and pitch of the selected sound.
  • If you have the Multi-Audio accessory, add another Audio track to this song by selecting the Create Track / Audio Track menu item from the Edit menu in the upper-left corner of the page.
  • Record some sound onto this track.
  • View the Mixer page.
  • Click the Delay check box for each track to add a delay, or echo effect.
  • Press the play button to hear all the tracks played together.
  • Experiment with the Track Volume, Delay Intensity and Time controls, pressing the Play button to hear the effect of the change. Select Export Mixed Audio... from the File menu to create a single .WAV file resulting from blending all of the audio and sampled rhythm tracks together.

    • The Audio and Instrument tracks of my song play back out of sync

    If you use a WaveTable synthesizer such as WinGroove or SXG50 for your MIDI Output, and your song also has audio tracks, you may experience the Audio tracks playing ahead of the Instrument tracks. Similarly, tracks tied to synthesizers connected to external MIDI ports also play faster than tracks tied to the WaveTable synthesizer. This is because the WaveTable synthesizer delays its output for about half a second while it computes the necessary wave forms using software rather than hardware. You can overcome this problem by letting Anvil Studio know the latency of your device. To do this,
  • Select MIDI / Audio Device Latency from the View menu,
  • in the resulting window, click the entry for the WaveTable synthesizer,
  • set its latency property to the number of milliseconds it delays its output, usually 500 (half a second).
    • This problem can show up at record time as well. If you record a new Audio track while playing an existing Instrument track that is tied to the WaveTable synthesizer, when you play the two of them back, it will sound like the Audio track is playing 1/2 second behind of the instrument track. The solution is the same - change the WaveTable synthesizer's latency to 500 milliseconds.

    Some WaveTable synthesizers, such as WinGroove, provide an alternate Audio Out device that is also delayed by the same amount as the MIDI Out. If you use such a device for your Audio Output, you need to set the Audio Out device's latency property to 500 as well by selecting MIDI / Audio Device Latency from the View menu.

    How to report a problem with Anvil Studio

    To help us diagnose the problem you are having, please press either shift key while starting Anvil Studio, and continue to press it until you see Anvil Studio's initial screen. This causes Anvil Studio to create a log file named log.txt in Anvil Studio's program folder. When the program ends, please email the log.txt file along with a detailed description of the problem you observed to support@AnvilStudio.com

    If you encounter a Setup problem, please download and run our Setup Diagnostic tool from:
    www.AnvilStudio.com/DrSetup.exe
    (It is very small and just take a few seconds to download.)

    What to do if you hear no sound

    1. View the Mixer page.
    2. Load the song you are trying to play by selecting Open from the File menu.
    3. Click the   to the right of the Record page's Duration field.
      This brings up the Volume Control window. This window controls the relative volume that various devices contribute to the the sound card's Line-Out signal.
    4. Select Properties from the Volume Control window's Options menu.
    5. Select the sound card you want to use in the field named Mixer device:.
    6. Click the   o  Playback   button and check all boxes in the field named Show the following volume controls:
    7. Press the OK button. Examine the various volume controls in the Volume Control window. These determine which audio sources contribute to sound produced by the speakers connected to your sound card.
    8. Make sure that the Mute check boxes under Wave and Synthesizer are NOT checked.
    9. Set the balance for Wave and Synthesizer in the middle.
    10. Set the volume for Wave and Synthesizer about half way up.
    11. If you are recording from a high-impedance microphone, like the ones designed to be plugged directly into a computer's sound card, make sure that it is plugged into your sound card's mic jack.
    12. If you are recording from a low-impedance dynamic or condenser microphone, like the ones designed to be plugged into a PA system, you need to either run them through a microphone pre-amp or mixer with line level output, and connect its output to your computer's line jack.
    13. If you are recording another audio source, such as the output of a tape deck, connect its line level output to your sound card's line jack.
    14. Press the Play [>] button on the Mixer page.

    If you are trying to play a song with Audio Tracks:
  • View the Synthesizers page.
  • Try selecting different Audio In port or a different Audio Out port.
  • View the Mixer page
  • Click on Instrument in the active track's Type column to change the track-type from Instrument to Audio.
  • Press the REC button to start recording.
  • Press the stop button or the REC button again to stop recording.
  • Press the play [>] button to play back the recorded track.
    • If you are trying to record an Audio Track, and are unable to monitor what you are recording through your headphones:
  • Click the   to bring up the Volume Control window.
  • Make sure the Microphone's and Line-In's select box is checked. Adjust the volume to a level that sounds good for monitoring.
  • Make sure you are using head phones instead of a speaker if the microphone is close to your speakers, or you will hear feedback.
    • If you are trying to play a song with Instrument and Rhythm Tracks (MIDI):
  • You need to decide if you trying to get songs to play on an external Synthesizer attached to your computer by a MIDI cable, or through your computer's sound card.
  • View the Synthesizers page and try changing the Midi Out Port to a different value.
  • This field controls which device on your system to send MIDI songs to.
  • Values like MIDI Out would send it to synthesizers connected to your computer by MIDI cables.
  • Values like MIDI Synth would send it to the internal synthesizer built into your computer's sound card.
  • Also on the Synthesizers page, try increasing the value for Master Volume controls.
    • If you cannot get a song to play on an external synthesizer after installing the MIDI Manager accessory:
  • If you want to hear the music played on a synthesizer connected to one of your external MIDI ports, you need to do the following:
  • View the "Synthesizers" page
  • Click on the MidiPort your synthesizer is connected to
  • Now, click the New Patch Library button.
  • In the dialog window, type the name of your synthesizer in the field named "Unique name you want to use when referring to this synthesizer"
  • Click the OK button.
  • Repeat the above steps for every synthesizer you want to add.
  • View the Mixer page
  • Next to each track, click on the Synthesizer you want the track to be played on.
  • Press the Play button.
    • If this does not fix the problem,     please send us a diagnostic log file

    Audio recording does not seem to work

    1. View the Mixer page.
    2. Add a new Audio track to your song by selecting Create Audio Track from the Edit menu.
    3. Click the   to the right of the Record page's Duration field.
      This brings up the Volume Control window.
    4. Select Properties from the Volume Control window's Options menu.
    5. Select the sound card you want to use in the field named Mixer device:.
    6. Click the   o  Recording   button and check all boxes in the field named Show the following volume controls:
    7. Press the OK button.
    8. This causes the window's title to change from Volume Control to Recording Control.
      This window now controls which hardware devices contribute to the Audio signal that will get recorded.
    9. Examine the various volume controls in the Recording Control window.
    10. Make sure that the Selected check box under Mic/Line is checked.
      The Selected check boxes under all other sources like CD/Aux, Mixed Input, and Synthesizer are NOT checked.
    11. Set the balance for Mic/Line in the middle.
    12. Set the volume for Mic/Line about half way up.
    13. Return to Anvil Studio's Mixer page, but don't close the Recording Control window yet.
    14. Select the Audio Track by clicking on it and making a green dot appear at its left.
      This makes it the active track  -  the track that will get recorded.
    15. Erase the track by selecting Erase track notes from the Edit menu.
    16. Press the VU button to warm up the audio device, so you don't record power-on noise.
    17. Press the Rec button.
      Because of the settings in the Recording Control window, this causes the audio source plugged into your sound card's Mic or Line jack to be recorded onto the new Audio track.
    18. Press the stop button, or the Rec button again when you are ready to stop recording.
    19. Right-click the audio track's On field so that it changes to solo.
    20. This makes it the only track that will be played when the Play button is pressed.
    21. Press the Play button.
    22. Press the stop button and right-click on the track's solo field, so that all tracks are enabled again.
    23. If the track is too quiet, go back to the Recording Control window and increase the Synthesizer's volume and go back up to step 13.
    24. If the track has static noise, go back to the Recording Control window and decrease the Synthesizer's volume and go back up to step 13.

    Recording from an Audio CD to an Audio track

    1. View the Mixer page.
    2. Add a new Audio track to your song by selecting Create Audio Track from the Edit menu.
    3. Click the   to the right of the Record page's Duration field.
      This brings up the Volume Control window.
    4. Select Properties from the Volume Control window's Options menu.
    5. Select the sound card you want to use in the field named Mixer device:.
    6. Click the   o  Recording   button and check all boxes in the field named Show the following volume controls:
    7. Press the OK button.
    8. This causes the window's title to change from Volume Control to Recording Control.
    9. Examine the various volume controls in the Recording Control window.
    10. Make sure that the Selected check box under CD/Aux is checked.
      The Selected check boxes under all other sources like Mic/Line, Mixed Input, and Synthesizer are NOT checked.
    11. Set the balance for CD/Aux in the middle.
    12. Set the volume for CD/Aux about half way up.
    13. Return to Anvil Studio's Mixer page, but don't close the Recording Control window yet.
    14. Select the Audio Track by clicking on it and making a green dot appear at its left.
      This makes it the active track  -  the track that will get recorded.
    15. Erase the track by selecting Erase track notes from the Edit menu.
    16. Press the VU button to warm up the audio device, so you don't record power-on noise.
    17. Put an Audio CD into your computer's CD-ROM drive.
    18. Press the Rec button on the Mixer page.
      Because of the settings in the Recording Control window, this causes the audio CD in your computer's CD-ROM drive to be recorded onto the new Audio track.
    19. Press the stop button, or the Rec button again when you are ready to stop recording.
    20. Right-click the audio track's On field so that it changes to solo.
    21. This makes it the only track that will be played when the Play button is pressed.
    22. Press the Play button.
    23. Press the stop button and right-click on the track's solo field, so that all tracks are enabled again.
    24. If the track is too quiet, go back to the Recording Control window and increase the Synthesizer's volume and go back up to step 13.
    25. If the track has static noise, go back to the Recording Control window and decrease the Synthesizer's volume and go back up to step 13.

    Mixing all tracks down to a single .WAV file


    After your song sounds the way you want it, you can mix the entire song, even Instrument and Rhythm tracks, down to a single .WAV file by following these steps.
    1. View the Mixer page.
    2. Open the song you want to work on using the File menu.
    3. Add a new Audio track to your song by selecting Create Audio Track from the Edit menu.
    4. Name the new track something like Mix by clicking the track's left-most field.
    5. If you want to produce a stereo mix, click the track's mono field and change it to stereo.
    6. Click the   to the right of the Record page's Duration field.
      This brings up the Volume Control window.
    7. Select Properties from the Volume Control window's Options menu.
    8. Select the sound card you want to use in the field named Mixer device:.
    9. Click the   o  Recording   button and check all boxes in the field named Show the following volume controls:
    10. Press the OK button.
    11. This causes the window's title to change from Volume Control to Recording Control.
    12. Examine the various volume controls in the Recording Control window.
    13. Make sure that the Selected check box under Synthesizer is checked.
      The Selected check boxes under all other sources like CD/Aux, Mixed Input, and Mic/Line are NOT checked.
    14. Set the balance for Synthesizer in the middle.
    15. Set the volume for Synthesizer about half way up.
    16. Return to Anvil Studio's Mixer page, but don't close the Recording Control window yet.
    17. Select the Audio Track by clicking on it and making a green dot appear at its left.
      This makes it the active track  -  the track that will get recorded.
    18. Erase the track by selecting Erase track notes from the Edit menu.
    19. Press the VU button to warm up the audio device, so you don't record power-on noise.
    20. Press the Rec button.
      Because of the settings in the Recording Control window, this causes all synthesizer tracks to be recorded onto the new Audio track.
    21. Press the stop button, or the Rec button again when you are ready to stop recording.
    22. Right-click the audio track's On field so that it changes to solo.
    23. This makes it the only track that will be played when the Play button is pressed.
    24. Press the Play button.
    25. Press the stop button and right-click on the track's solo field, so that all tracks are enabled again.
    26. If the track is too quiet, go back to the Recording Control window and increase the Synthesizer's volume and go back up to step 15.
    27. If the track has static noise, go back to the Recording Control window and decrease the Synthesizer's volume and go back up to step 15.
    28. If it sounds ok, select Export Mixed Audio... from the File menu to save the audio track to its own .WAV file.
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