LAB FOUR USING AMADEUS

COMPLETING ASSIGNMENT TWO

Instructions for completing Assignment 2 Processing using
Amadeus are given at the end of this Lab.

SIGNAL PROCESSING
IN AUDIO EDITORS
Most audio editors allow for digital signal processing as well as
editing of audio material. In Amadeus, for example, there is a
dedicated menu entitled Effects for this task.
In all cases, processing is accomplished by selecting material
in an open audio file by highlighting it, and then choosing an
available process from the menus.
The process will only be applied to the selected material. If nothing is
selected, the process will be applied to the entire audio file.

Because of the nature of audio editors, the process is nondestructive until you save your work. In other words, if you
process a file, listen to it immediately and dislike the result, you can
undo the process by selecting Undo (Command Z) from the Edit
menu in Amadeus.

PROCESSING IN AMADEUS
Once you have a soundfile open, you can begin to process it. In
Amadeus, some processes allow you to work on the whole file
without making a selection; others require you to make an actual
selection. In order to avoid any confusion, if you do want to process
an entire soundfile, it is a good habit to select it by pressing
command-A for select all.
Some processes require no user input beyond the selection of
the process itself. For example, reversal will reverse the order of all
the samples in the file; therefore, Amadeus simply does this after
you select it from the Effects menu.

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Note that Amadeus follows the Macintosh operating system

convention of indicating further user required user input with an
ellipse () in its menus:

The Effects menu in Amadeus

Other processes, such as Change Pitch, will present a dialog
box in which further input is required from the user.

The Change Pitch dialog box in Amadeus

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Some processes can be previewed before permanently altering

the file, while others cannot. The Change Pitch process, shown
above, does not allow any previewing; the 3-Band Equalizer,
shown below, does allow previewing.

The 3-Band Equalizer dialog box in Amadeus

Click Preview to audition the processing. When you have
decided upon the settings, click OK to make the alteration to the
file.

TASK: REVERSAL
In Amadeus, the reversal process is accomplished via the
Effects menu, Reverse.

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Reversing a soundfile in Amadeus

TASK: PITCH SHIFT

In Amadeus, the process of Pitch Shift is called Change Pitch.
Select this menu item, and, in the subsequent dialog box, enter a
factor of 0.5, then click on OK to process the file.

The Change Pitch dialog box in Amadeus. Enter 0.5 as a

factor to lower the pitch to half speed.

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TIMBRAL PROCESSING VIA EXTERNAL PLUG-INS IN AMADEUS

Amadeus allows the use of VST plug-ins and Audio Units.
VST plug-ins can be found within the Effects menu, under
VST Plug-ins: selecting it will produce a submenu that lists many
more effects.

Additional signal processing effects in Amadeus, available via

the VST Plug-ins submenu (your menu will most likely differ).

TASK: TIMBRAL PROCESSING

The Graphic Equalizer

With a soundfile open, and something selected within it,

choose the Graphic Equalizer plug-in in Amadeus (Effects >
Audio Units > Apple > AUGraphic EQ).

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The Graphic Equalizer AU plug-in, found in both Audacity and

Amadeus
If the virtual sliders are not centered, as they are above, click
on Flatten EQ.
Notice that the Graphic EQ allows us to change the frequency
content over the entire spectrum: the lowest slider will affect those
frequencies centered around 20 Hz, while the highest slider will
affect those frequencies around 20 kHz. Between those extremes,
each slider controls approximately one third of an octave, resulting
in three sliders every octave.
Notice the range of control offers by the process. To the right
of the sliders, this range is shown as +20 db (decibels)to -20 db.
Low Shelf

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With a soundfile open, and something selected, choose

AULowShelfFilter from the Effect menu.

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The Low Shelf Audio Unit plug-in in Amadeus

High Shelf

With a soundfile open, and something selected, choose

AUHighShelfFilter from the Effect menu.

The Audio Unit High Shelf EQ in Amadeus

Move the Gain slider to -22 dB, and sweep the cut-off
frequency while previewing the result.

Low Pass

With a soundfile open, and something selected, choose

AULowPass from the Effect menu.

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The Low Pass Filter in Amadeus

Band Pass

With a soundfile open, and something selected, choose

AUBandPass from the Effect menu.

The Bandpass filter in Amadeus

Set the bandwidth to 12000 cents, preview the sound, and
move the cutoff frequency slider around.
Set the bandwidth to 100 cents, preview the sound, and
move the cutoff frequency slider around.

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VISUALIZING SOUND : SPECTROGRAPHS IN AMADEUS

With a soundfile open, and something selected, choose

Spectrum from the Analyze menu.

The Analyze menu in Amadeus

This will bring up the Spectrum dialog box, which allows the
user to specify particular parameters for the spectrograph.

Setting parameters for the spectrograph

The Size is how many samples to analyze at once. Without
getting into detail, this translates into how accurate the analysis
will be higher values generally result in more accurate analysis.
There is a trade-off, however; if the sound is changing quickly,
either in its frequency or timbre, a smaller size will result in more
accuracy for a specific instant.
The Location determines where the analysis will focus.
Because a spectrograph can only display an instant in time,
selecting more than a second for the analysis will not produce
desired results. In general, you should select very short durations
(less than a second), then the Location will have less effect on the
analysis.

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If the Window is selected, subtle differences can result from

choosing different types of windows for the analysis.

Click OK to begin the analysis

The spectrograph will appear in a new window. If Detect

Peaks is selected, you can move the mouse over the graph to
determine what the frequency peaks are. In the example below, the
mouse is over the first peak, and the Frequency pane displays this
frequency as 194.84 Hz.

A linear spectrograph, with frequency peaks displayed

Lastly, the difference between a Linear display and
Logarithmic display is dramatic. Note in the above example, the
highest frequency peak, 194 Hz (which is hidden under the vertical
lines) is given a value of 1.0. The next peak is a little above 0.5,
which is half the amplitude. Remember, this is only 6 dB less than
the highest peak.
Because we perceive amplitude logarithmically, a logarithmic
display will show us something closer to how we perceive the
sound.
The linear display shows discrete peaks, while the logarithmic
display shows more information between the peaks, suggesting
that the sound is not as harmonically defined (in terms of discrete
partials).

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The same spectrograph, displayed logarithmically

COMPLETING ASSIGNMENT TWO

ANALYZING THE FILES
Follow the instructions, above, to create a spectrograph of the files.
Use a size of at least 2048, as this will give a more detailed analysis.
Note that the spectrograph is done over the current audio
selection - if nothing is selected, it will attempt to analyze the entire
file.
Try selecting different portions of the soundfile, and different
location types (beginning of selection, end of selection, etc.).
Note that this spectrograph is a 2D line spectrum, and does
not take into account changes over time. Instead, it is displaying
either a given instant in time, or an average.
Finding the dominant energy
Where is most of the spectral energy in the sound (at the point in
time that the analysis is taken)? In the two examples below, they
fall in different places, but are easily recognizable they are the
points that reach 1.0 in terms of relative amplitude.
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The dominant energy of this particular sound, at this point in

time

The dominant energy of a different sound

GENERATING A SINE WAVE

Create a new file (command-N), then select from the Effects menu
Sound Generators > Waveforms...

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Getting ready to generate a waveform

In the subsequent window, enter the duration (2 seconds), the
frequency, and make sure the sine wave is selected:

Setting frequency, duration, and waveform parameters

GENERATING A SONOGRAM
In Amadeus, this is done via the Analyze menu, shown below:

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Getting ready to generate a sonogram

Note that a sonogram is done over the current audio selection
- if nothing is selected, it will attempt to analyze the entire file.
Unlike the spectrograph, a sonogram takes time into account the analysis will display changes in frequency content over time.

PROCESSING THE FILES

Note: do not save after any process. Apply the process, answer
the questions, then undo the process. This can be done in two
different ways:
by command-Z or via the Edit menu,
close the file after processing, without saving, and opening it
up again.
Reversing the file
In Amadeus, this is done via the Effects menu.
Lowering the frequency by one octave
In Amadeus, this is done via the Effects menu:

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Getting ready to lower the frequency

In the subsequent window, use 0.500 as the pitch change
factor:

Playing back the file at speed (a factor of .5) will result in

lowering it by one octave (as well as slowing it down by half)
Removing the dominant energy
In Amadeus, this is done via the Effects menu:

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Getting ready to filter the dominant energy

In the subsequent window, lower the frequencies at the
dominant energy (note that the scale has been changed to 30 db).

Filtering out the frequency band of the dominant spectral

energy. This is a band-reject filter.
Click the Preview button to hear your result without changing
the file itself.
Removing everything except the dominant energy
Follow the same procedure as above, but keep only those
dominant frequencies.

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Filtering out everything except for the frequency band of the

dominant spectral energy. This is a bandpass filter.
Click the Preview button to hear your result without changing
the file itself.

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