"Really New At This" <newatt***@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:f25au19ukqsmkrp0bv38bvth3balf4m92g@4ax.com...
> Is it possible to pull a track of a specific instrument from an mp3
> file?
>
> For instance, if you had an mp3 with Honky Tonky Woman by The Rolling
> Stones, would it be possible with VB to separate out the cowbell sound
> so that you could then have an mp3 file with just the cowbell from the
> song?
>
> Can something like this be done in VB or would this require some tool
> that only recording studios have?
>
> Thanks.

> Is it possible to pull a track of a specific instrument from an mp3
> file?
>
> For instance, if you had an mp3 with Honky Tonky Woman by The Rolling
> Stones, would it be possible with VB to separate out the cowbell sound
> so that you could then have an mp3 file with just the cowbell from the
> song?
>
> Can something like this be done in VB or would this require some tool
> that only recording studios have?
>
> Thanks.

>No. Although it's a nice idea!
>
>MP3s generally have two tracks - left and right - that's it. As do CDs.
>It would be hugely inefficient to have separate tracks for each instrument.
>
>When recording the song in studio the artists will lay down many, many
>tracks - one for each drum component for instance (or maybe even two).
>Even for an amateur recording, 16 tracks isn't unusual.
>
>When the final version is produced it's mixed down to two tracks (L&R).
>Nowadays instruments are often panned (ever so slightly) to one side or
>the other. Lead vocals are normally splap bang in the middle - and
>that's how tools such as Nero's karaoke thing work - they strip out (or
>rather dim) lead vox by finding audio that is symmetrical in L&R tracks.
>
>Thus, even if you took an MP3 file back to a studio with banks of
>hi-tech kit they wouldn't be easily able to get the cowbell for you. YOu
>need the original master.
>
>You may find with HonkyTonk Woman (but I'm not very confident) that you
>find the cowbell on the left track or right track only. In the sixties
>when stereo was first implemented it was badly used - at least by
>today's standards. If you've ever been in a bar with a bad audio set up,
>say left speaker in one room and right in another, when an oldie like
>Hey Jude comes on the jukebox you'll find you'll hear vocals and drums
>in one speaker and the remaining instruments on the other (or some such
>arrangement). Very annoying.
>
>What you /might/ be thinking of is MIDI. MIDI files have multiple
>"tracks" in them - there's no audio in them to speak of. Instead,
>simplisticly, it instructs your hardware (or software) to make certain
>sounds, at what pitch (if applicable), how long and when. Something like:
>
>Bass Drum   | X     X  |  X    X  |
>Snare       |    X     |   X     X|
>HighHat     |X X X X X |X X X X X |
>Guitar1     |GG GGG GGG|CC CC CC  |
>Cowbell     |X         |X         |
>etc.
>
>If you have a good midi player these can sound great. More often than
>not they sound terrible (IMO). Most cellphones support MIDI files for
>polyphonic ringtones these days.
>
>You can find freeware midi players on the web that will allow you mute
>certain tracks - indeed Nokia have one in the Nokia Suite* to allow you
>to edit midi files before loading onto your phone. So... if you wanna
>get that cowbell desperately I would:
>
>(1) Google for Honkytonk Woman midi file (.mid)
>(2) Get a midi file editor
>(3) Pick up cowbell
>(4) Jam to your heart's content
>
>*I'm not recommending you install this product. It's a pervasive pile of
>XGXX that works.... but insists on running about 5 apps at systems
>startup and offers no way of disabling it w/o editing your registry.
>
>Really New At This wrote:
>> Is it possible to pull a track of a specific instrument from an mp3
>> file?
>>
>> For instance, if you had an mp3 with Honky Tonky Woman by The Rolling
>> Stones, would it be possible with VB to separate out the cowbell sound
>> so that you could then have an mp3 file with just the cowbell from the
>> song?
>>
>> Can something like this be done in VB or would this require some tool
>> that only recording studios have?
>>
>> Thanks.