Same audio played by two different instruments

[Serge Huysmans]

Hello everyone, I'm new on this forum. It was only very late that I became interested in computer-assisted music and Cakewalk is my greatest friend in this field. Of course, I've watched many tutorials but still haven't found the answer to this question: how to make an audio phrase recorded using an instrument automatically play through a flute or any other instrument? Thanks to watch.

[User 905133]

31 minutes ago, Serge Huysmans said:

. . . how to make an audio phrase recorded using an instrument automatically play through a flute or any other instrument? 

One way is to use software to convert the audio to MIDI data and then to use the data to play either MIDI hardware  (sampler, sound module, etc.) or software (soft synth, rompler, sampler, etc.). There are different methods of audio-to-midi conversion.

Edited March 31, 2023 by User 905133

[Kalle Rantaaho]

To confirm: You are not confusing audio and MIDI, are you? (no offence taken, please. One never knows)

Many audio instrument sounds are very difficult to convert to MIDI with convincing results, or they require a lot of manual adjustments.
Melodyne (not the entry level version) could be the best VST application for  tasks of that sort (?) 

I'm not aware of any equipment that could convert real audio instrument sounds to another live. But then again, I fell off the wagons of development many years ago. There are gadgets that convert, say, guitar to MIDI  as you play, and that MIDI can be used to control a synthesizer to produce whatever sounds.

Someone with better updated info surely chimes in.

 

[User 905133]

2 hours ago, Kalle Rantaaho said:

To confirm: You are not confusing audio and MIDI, are you? 

I am assuming this comment was not directed towards me, but to the OP.

2 hours ago, Kalle Rantaaho said:

I'm not aware of any equipment that could convert real audio instrument sounds to another live.

Aside: although it does not use audio-to-midi conversion, the OP's question reminded me of a Synthophone which dates back to the late '80s.  

[Serge Huysmans]

Many thanks for your quick responses. I realize that I was probably not precise enough and I apologize for that. I'm a guitarist and, thanks to MidiGuitar2, I use plugins in Cakewalk that allow me to output sounds from many other instruments, but I don't leave the category of waves. I would like to be able to compare the result of my phrasing with consecutive instruments without having to replay the phrase on the guitar each time. A friend using Logic Pro assures me that he does it fluently.

[User 905133]

5 hours ago, Serge Huysmans said:

Many thanks for your quick responses. I realize that I was probably not precise enough and I apologize for that. I'm a guitarist and, thanks to MidiGuitar2, I use plugins in Cakewalk that allow me to output sounds from many other instruments, but I don't leave the category of waves. I would like to be able to compare the result of my phrasing with consecutive instruments without having to replay the phrase on the guitar each time. A friend using Logic Pro assures me that he does it fluently.

Glad you clarified your needs.  In Cakewalk you can record a phrase using MIDI, set it up to loop, and then change the presets on your soft synth by hand (one after another).  If the soft synth allows for program changes by MIDI, you can create a MIDI track to send program change messages. There might be other ways to automate program changes, but only for software synths that allow it.

I have no idea if its easier to do in Logic Pro.

I have found that often VST2 versions of plugins respond to MIDI program change commands if VST3 versions of the the program. 

• I just did a test as follows:
  1. Create a phrase (MIDI data recorded on a instrument track that has a soft synth on it). 
  2. Set the loop points.
  3. Press play.
  4. Change the presets (instruments / samples) with the soft synth's up/down preset selection buttons / browser.

If you want to select a phrase that's in the middle of a track you already recorded, you can use the same method.

Edited April 6, 2023 by User 905133
To list the steps in a basic method to switch preasets; To add a comment about program change commands in VST2s v. VST3s

[John Vere]

Got me thinking about midi and the end result potential of creating a real musical instrument.
Piano and keyboards are easy as you can play the actual instrument and with a good controller and VST instrument for playback it will capture 90% of the emotion and dynamics. 

Attempts over time to capture guitar have for the most part failed and have resulted in more like 40% or less accuracy.  I own a few options for that.  Midi guitar VST  and a Roland GR50. 
In the end Melodyne works the best for me but still requires editing to remove artifacts created by overtones.  
All my bass parts I play on a real bass and convert to midi with out much fuss. 

Drums have come a long way and once again it depends on the quality of the controller which in this case is a set of digital drums. My $500 Yamaha kit is only slightly better than using a keyboard. A $5,000 Roland kit is up in the 90% accurate score.  
Then Yamaha in particular has produced some midi instruments like wind controllers and violins that seem like they are pretty convincing. 

But back to midi itself. Turning a note on message into a Saxophone can work if the saxophone uses a good Sample with options for various articulations of the sound. 
The VST instrument is probably the most important aspect of achieving convincing results of any instrument. 

So a good midi controller for data input will help add extra controller data  as you perform.  But you could  also simply draw a midi note and if your good at editing and know how to add articulations and controller data you can get close to what you want. 
Midi is king. It allows real players a way to capture performances using many different input devices and fine tune that performance into a masterpiece. It allows a guitar player access to drums and keyboards even if they are not proficient with those instruments. 

It also gives non musicians a tool to try their hand at creating music. 

In a way it revolutionize the way we make music now. Midi 2 is just coming out after 40 years of midi 1. Things will even get better.  

[Serge Huysmans]

Well, a big thank to  User 905133 and John Vere, a day in this week I must try this method but it already seems that it should work. To achieve my explanations, I may send you a message with a pair of my works if you like. Have a nice weekend.