I know there are several threads about this already, but I wanted to bring it back up for people who may be new and don't know about it. I got a copy of it this weekend and it is simply, well, AMAZING! What a great tool to learn those tunes that are just too fast for your ear to grab! I've had a terrible time trying to figure out Liz Carrol's Drunken Sailor and I have almost got the whole thing! The program effectively slows down tunes without affecting pitch. I have included the link below. Does anyone else have any comments about the program?
On the advice of someone on a thread somewhere on this site (thanks again, jeremy!) I downloaded a copy last week but haven't submitted my credit card # for the full version yet. I was impressed as all getout with my few minutes of demo-ing, and can't wait to play with it.
I just wish there was a "live version" -- I could have used it in those huge Tionol sessions this weekend!
I love the Amazing Slow Downer and swear by it. I can now slow down Matt Molloy, Jimmy Noonan, and all my other favorite flute players. For me, it's the best tool for learning new tunes and hearing all ornamentation, nuances, and tricky passages. I can even take recordings from mini-disc and slow those down as well.
The only thing that worries me is that since I can learn new tunes (slowed down to 30%) so easily from this software, I wonder if I'll have difficulty at workshops this summer learning tunes without my Amazing Slow Downer. I'm building my reporitoire much faster now, but at the same time, I'm probably hindering my ability to learn tunes at full speed in a session or workshop. Just some food for thought. Hopefully in time I will be able to learn tunes at 40%, then 50%, then 60% etc....
For the more technically adventurous, there are a number of similar products available for free. In particular, you can look for the Winamp plug that does the same thing (and is, in fact, also from Roni Music).
There's also a CD player with this functionality built-in. I happen to own one and, although its expensive, I find it much more useful than using a laptop. YMMV.
I,ve always used the winamp plugin (pacemaker) till recently.You need an older version of winamp to make it work.I,ve found it really usefull.Only problem is that you have to play in mp3 format.With the Amazing slower down you can just stick the CD in and play straight off - saves having to convert all the time.Another good programme is "Transcribe" you can get free for month trial.To my current understanded it can do anything the amazing slower downer can do.
Cooledit2000 (www.syntrillium.com) does the job as well in the wave-form editing mode. It also tells you the vibration frequency and the name of the note where the cursor is on the wave-form.
There's another program called "Transcribe!" that has a lot of the same features as all of the above programs. The demo version lets you play the whole file whereas Amazing Slow Downer only lets you play the first 25% of the file.
Its user interface could use some work, but it does a fine job of slowing down the tunes.
On a more general level, I have found that tunes I learn slowed-down are much more sticky; that is, I think I learn to play them better, and I remember them more easily. I assume that the same would be true if I simply used the metronome more often.
I think I know why, too. A (superb) musician friend of mine pointed out that many people learn a tune, but stumble at a certain point--and they end up stumbling in the same way at the same point. He contends that what you're doing in this case is learning "how to play the tune wrong", training your fingers to play the tune at speed, with the stumble. His antidote is slowing the whole thing down until you can play the entire tune perfectly, without stumbling, THEN speed up. Slowing the whole tune down sticks the whole tune into your head correctly, such that you learn to play it properly and don't reinforce the stumble. Slowdown software is a lot more fun than the metronome, but either will do the trick if you have the discipline.
Obvious? Well, yes, in my experience, this kind of thing is patently obvious... after you've realized it yourself, or someone has told you about it. Or when you're telling people about it.
Joyce, I wouldn't worry about it affecting your ability to learn. I think it's more likely, as Michael B says, that it will help your learning processes to be better and you'll make quicker progress. I think the Amazing Slow Downer is... um... amazing! Haven't got the full version yet, as with so many things I am thwarted by the lack of a credit card... but so far as I have tried the trial version, it's been great.
There's no reason why a novice like me should be learning tunes at the speed that Paddy Keenan or Ronan Browne or whoever else plays them... they are lifelong players and the world-leading exponents of their craft! It's madness really when you think about it, to jump right in and try learning the tunes at that level of proficiency when you've only being playing a fraction of the time and your skills aren't up to the task.
In the traditional paradigm (hey, couldn't miss the opportunity to use that juicy word) you'd probably have patient mentors who would teach you the tunes at a slow pace. Learning from CDs really throws us right in the deep end and it's not the ideal way to learn.
I just spent a delightful weekend with my Amazing Slow Downer, and am now going to marry it. I learned several tunes in no time, and it was awesome to have Seamus Eagan and Laurence Nugent as my teachers. (Best of all, they never got impatient with my asking them to play that B part over and over and over again!)
Joyce, I found that ASD feels like it's actually helping my ear -- now, instead of being overwhelmed by a deluge of notes and ornaments, I seem to be able "parse" the thing out better.
Oh, how lucky we are to live in this age. And alas, how sad not to be able to sit at gazillions of sessions and learn the original way. But once again, technology replaces time ......
Helen & Cat - thanks for your postings! Yes, I too have felt like being thrown in the deep end when trying to learn tunes off CD's. But now the ASD has really opened up many doors for me. This past weekend I also spent some quality time with my ASD as I do almost every weekend at some point.
Wow, SteveM, it's hard to believe something could be more user friendly than the Amazing Slow Downer. Wonders never cease...: )
Transcribe! is currently in version 6.00, is maintained (and upgraded) by the developer, Andy Robinson, in Mac and PC-compatible versions, and is so useable and feature-laden (not feature-overburdened) that I urge anyone who is using their computer as a tune-learning aid to download it and try it out.
Even if you have already paid the fee to register one of the others, or only want something you don't have to pay for. The Demo is fully enabled for 30 days of evaluation - try it out.
An example of the sophistication incorporated into this product is that if you have a recording that is not in concert pitch, or is in the "wrong" key for learning, not only can you 'correct' the pitch, you can export a new sound file incorporating the changes in pitch, tempo, key and equilization! Make a 'slowdowner' CD to lilt along with while you commute!
I have no personal or business interest in this product, it is just so far ahead of the others that I just need to post every time someone re-opens this discussion.
The Amazing Slow Downer
The Amazing Slow Downer
I know there are several threads about this already, but I wanted to bring it back up for people who may be new and don't know about it. I got a copy of it this weekend and it is simply, well, AMAZING! What a great tool to learn those tunes that are just too fast for your ear to grab! I've had a terrible time trying to figure out Liz Carrol's Drunken Sailor and I have almost got the whole thing! The program effectively slows down tunes without affecting pitch. I have included the link below. Does anyone else have any comments about the program?
http://www.ronimusic.com/
# Posted on March 31st 2003 by KP
Re: The Amazing Slow Downer
On the advice of someone on a thread somewhere on this site (thanks again, jeremy!) I downloaded a copy last week but haven't submitted my credit card # for the full version yet. I was impressed as all getout with my few minutes of demo-ing, and can't wait to play with it.
I just wish there was a "live version" -- I could have used it in those huge Tionol sessions this weekend!
# Posted on March 31st 2003 by cwildeky
Re: The Amazing Slow Downer
I love the Amazing Slow Downer and swear by it. I can now slow down Matt Molloy, Jimmy Noonan, and all my other favorite flute players. For me, it's the best tool for learning new tunes and hearing all ornamentation, nuances, and tricky passages. I can even take recordings from mini-disc and slow those down as well.
The only thing that worries me is that since I can learn new tunes (slowed down to 30%) so easily from this software, I wonder if I'll have difficulty at workshops this summer learning tunes without my Amazing Slow Downer. I'm building my reporitoire much faster now, but at the same time, I'm probably hindering my ability to learn tunes at full speed in a session or workshop. Just some food for thought. Hopefully in time I will be able to learn tunes at 40%, then 50%, then 60% etc....
Joyce
# Posted on March 31st 2003 by JMH
Re: The Amazing Slow Downer
For the more technically adventurous, there are a number of similar products available for free. In particular, you can look for the Winamp plug that does the same thing (and is, in fact, also from Roni Music).
There's also a CD player with this functionality built-in. I happen to own one and, although its expensive, I find it much more useful than using a laptop. YMMV.
-- Scott
# Posted on March 31st 2003 by srt19170
Oh, since I'm going to get the question anyway...
The Winamp plugin can be found at
http://www.ronimusic.com/miscdownload.htm
Note that it is only for Winamp 2.
A program similar to Slowdowner, but with considerably more capability, is Transcribe!
http://www.seventhstring.demon.co.uk
which has the nice feature that it can analyze pitch and tell you what note is being played at a particular point in a tune.
The CD Player I have and like is the Marantz model, e.g.,
http://www.larkinam.com/MenComNet/Business/Retail/Larknet/MusicLearning
although I think you can find it cheaper elsewhere.
-- Scott
# Posted on March 31st 2003 by srt19170
Re: The Amazing Slow Downer
I,ve always used the winamp plugin (pacemaker) till recently.You need an older version of winamp to make it work.I,ve found it really usefull.Only problem is that you have to play in mp3 format.With the Amazing slower down you can just stick the CD in and play straight off - saves having to convert all the time.Another good programme is "Transcribe" you can get free for month trial.To my current understanded it can do anything the amazing slower downer can do.
# Posted on March 31st 2003 by Christopher Reynolds
Re: The Amazing Slow Downer
Cooledit2000 (www.syntrillium.com) does the job as well in the wave-form editing mode. It also tells you the vibration frequency and the name of the note where the cursor is on the wave-form.
# Posted on March 31st 2003 by Trevor Jennings
Re: The Amazing Slow Downer
There's another program called "Transcribe!" that has a lot of the same features as all of the above programs. The demo version lets you play the whole file whereas Amazing Slow Downer only lets you play the first 25% of the file.
Here's the URL
http://www.seventhstring.demon.co.uk/xscribe/download.html
I like it a little better than Amazing Slow Downer but they both are really useful.
# Posted on March 31st 2003 by B Rad
Re: The Amazing Slow Downer
I have tried SlowGold with reasonable success.
http://www.slowgold.com
Its user interface could use some work, but it does a fine job of slowing down the tunes.
On a more general level, I have found that tunes I learn slowed-down are much more sticky; that is, I think I learn to play them better, and I remember them more easily. I assume that the same would be true if I simply used the metronome more often.
I think I know why, too. A (superb) musician friend of mine pointed out that many people learn a tune, but stumble at a certain point--and they end up stumbling in the same way at the same point. He contends that what you're doing in this case is learning "how to play the tune wrong", training your fingers to play the tune at speed, with the stumble. His antidote is slowing the whole thing down until you can play the entire tune perfectly, without stumbling, THEN speed up. Slowing the whole tune down sticks the whole tune into your head correctly, such that you learn to play it properly and don't reinforce the stumble. Slowdown software is a lot more fun than the metronome, but either will do the trick if you have the discipline.
Obvious? Well, yes, in my experience, this kind of thing is patently obvious... after you've realized it yourself, or someone has told you about it. Or when you're telling people about it.
---Michael B.
# Posted on April 3rd 2003 by MichaelBolton
Re: The Amazing Slow Downer
Well, I don't know whether all these slow-downers really work for me. I reckon I must be the original Amazing Slow Learner.
# Posted on April 3rd 2003 by Trevor Jennings
Re: The Amazing Slow Downer
Joyce, I wouldn't worry about it affecting your ability to learn. I think it's more likely, as Michael B says, that it will help your learning processes to be better and you'll make quicker progress. I think the Amazing Slow Downer is... um... amazing! Haven't got the full version yet, as with so many things I am thwarted by the lack of a credit card... but so far as I have tried the trial version, it's been great.
There's no reason why a novice like me should be learning tunes at the speed that Paddy Keenan or Ronan Browne or whoever else plays them... they are lifelong players and the world-leading exponents of their craft! It's madness really when you think about it, to jump right in and try learning the tunes at that level of proficiency when you've only being playing a fraction of the time and your skills aren't up to the task.
In the traditional paradigm (hey, couldn't miss the opportunity to use that juicy word) you'd probably have patient mentors who would teach you the tunes at a slow pace. Learning from CDs really throws us right in the deep end and it's not the ideal way to learn.
# Posted on April 4th 2003 by Nell
Re: The Amazing Slow Downer
I recommend the Winamp package over the Amazing Slow Downer, it's more user friendly and powerful. And it's free.
Here's Winamp 2, a player you can use to playback music files and CDs. Download the 2.x
# Posted on April 6th 2003 by SteveM
Re: The Amazing Slow Downer
I just spent a delightful weekend with my Amazing Slow Downer, and am now going to marry it. I learned several tunes in no time, and it was awesome to have Seamus Eagan and Laurence Nugent as my teachers. (Best of all, they never got impatient with my asking them to play that B part over and over and over again!)
Joyce, I found that ASD feels like it's actually helping my ear -- now, instead of being overwhelmed by a deluge of notes and ornaments, I seem to be able "parse" the thing out better.
Oh, how lucky we are to live in this age. And alas, how sad not to be able to sit at gazillions of sessions and learn the original way. But once again, technology replaces time ......
cat.
# Posted on April 7th 2003 by cwildeky
Re: The Amazing Slow Downer
Helen & Cat - thanks for your postings! Yes, I too have felt like being thrown in the deep end when trying to learn tunes off CD's. But now the ASD has really opened up many doors for me. This past weekend I also spent some quality time with my ASD as I do almost every weekend at some point.
Wow, SteveM, it's hard to believe something could be more user friendly than the Amazing Slow Downer. Wonders never cease...: )
Joyce
# Posted on April 7th 2003 by JMH
Re: The Considerably More Amazing... Transcribe!
Transcribe! is currently in version 6.00, is maintained (and upgraded) by the developer, Andy Robinson, in Mac and PC-compatible versions, and is so useable and feature-laden (not feature-overburdened) that I urge anyone who is using their computer as a tune-learning aid to download it and try it out.
Even if you have already paid the fee to register one of the others, or only want something you don't have to pay for. The Demo is fully enabled for 30 days of evaluation - try it out.
An example of the sophistication incorporated into this product is that if you have a recording that is not in concert pitch, or is in the "wrong" key for learning, not only can you 'correct' the pitch, you can export a new sound file incorporating the changes in pitch, tempo, key and equilization! Make a 'slowdowner' CD to lilt along with while you commute!
I have no personal or business interest in this product, it is just so far ahead of the others that I just need to post every time someone re-opens this discussion.
Bob
# Posted on April 21st 2003 by Laughtonb
Re: The Amazing Slow Downer
i wana have some password because i wana used it pls
# Posted on December 28th 2009 by ghirulledo
Re: The Amazing Slow Downer
Then pay for it like everyone else and you will get the password by email!!
# Posted on December 28th 2009 by No Cause For Alarm