[DECtalk] Midi conversion?

Jayson Smith ratguy at bellsouth.net
Sat Jun 4 03:03:56 EDT 2005


Hi,
Can you give an exact error message?  Also, what browser are you using?
Jayson.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Shaun Everiss" <shaun.e at xtra.co.nz>
To: "DECtalk Discussions" <dectalk at jaybird.no-ip.info>
Sent: Friday, June 03, 2005 9:25 PM
Subject: Re: [DECtalk] Midi conversion?


> jayson I can't download your mids.
> I try and it finds the file.
> I choose save.
> it says file name.
> I push enter and then it says it can't read the file from source.
> At 09:58 a.m. 4/06/2005, you wrote:
> >Hi,
> >I made the MIDI files with Quick Windows Sequencer.  It can be found at
<http://qws.andreLouis.com>http://qws.andreLouis.com
> >It's a free program written by a blind individual so as far as I know
it's 100% accessible.
> >Jayson.
> >
> >----- Original Message -----
> >From: <mailto:nick at nickgawronski.com>Nick Gawronski
> >To: <mailto:dectalk at jaybird.no-ip.info>DECtalk Discussions
> >Sent: Friday, June 03, 2005 12:12 PM
> >Subject: Re: [DECtalk] Midi conversion?
> >
> >Hi, What midi editor did you use to make these files and if it is free
where can I download it and how accessible is it?  Where is a good place to
get midi files of normal songs and a program to convert them to wav files?
bye
> >My web page is at
<http://www.nickgawronski.com>http://www.nickgawronski.com
> >----- Original Message -----
> >From: <mailto:ratguy at bellsouth.net>Jayson Smith
> >To: <mailto:dectalk at jaybird.no-ip.info>DECtalk Discussions
> >Sent: Friday, June 03, 2005 5:59 AM
> >Subject: Re: [DECtalk] Midi conversion?
> >
> >Hi,
> >I just made a few MIDI files for this purpose.  You can grab them at the
following url.
> ><http://jaybird.no-ip.info/mid.zip>http://jaybird.no-ip.info/mid.zip
> >There are three files.  The file row.mid is "Row, Row, Row your Boat",
mary.mid is "Mary Had a Little Lam" and joy.mid is "Joy to the World" (the
Christmas song and not the Three Dog Night song).  I made all these files.
They are all single-track files, and have nothing except the actual notes to
be sung.  Just about everybody on this list will probably be familiar with
these songs, so this shouldn't be a problem.
> >Joy actually really provides the only test of syllables being sung over
multiple notes.  Is there any provision for the opposite.  I don't even have
a song in mind, but let's say there was a song with the word 'idea' in it,
where the 'dea' part was to be sung on one note.  Now, this constitutes two
distinct vowel sounds.  Is the solution to make the midi accomodate the song
by putting in a double note in that instance?  Actually, an actual example
of this can be found in the song "God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen" in the lyric
"To save us all from Satan's power".  Here, the word 'power' is sung on one
note.
> >Jayson.
> >
> >----- Original Message -----
> >From: <mailto:eulenber at msu.edu>John B. Eulenberg
> >To: <mailto:dectalk at jaybird.no-ip.info>DECtalk Discussions
> >Sent: Thursday, June 02, 2005 10:47 AM
> >Subject: Re: [DECtalk] Midi conversion?
> >
> >Dear Jayson,
> >Thanks for your questions.
> >You're right about the licensing. It would require a license for DECtalk.
> >The program could be distributed in a form that doesn't include DECtalk,
if the user would be content with just a function that merged the already
phoneticized DECtalk string with the midi file.
> >The program works with just the first track of the MIDI file, so in
casese of multi-track MIDI files, you'll want the first track to be the
vocal track, rather than some other instrument. My current implememtation
doesn't isolate the vocal track for you, but there are MIDI editor programs
that allow you to strip out the non-vocal tracks from the song and resave
the stripped-down version.
> >As for operating systems, this program has worked under ME, and probably
would work under 98 and 2000. I've been using XP during the last several
years, as I've refined the software, but the code doesn't depend on it's
being used under XP.
> >The program does assign one syllable per note, where a syllable is
defined as a vowel, diphthong or syllabic consonant, plus the preceding
consonants, if any. For syllables that need to be stretched over two notes,
such as the "O" in "O say can you see by the dawn's early light....", the
solution is just to put a number (in the case of "O", it would be "2") in
the DECtalk phoneme text box directly before the phoneme for the vowel, as
in "[2ow]", and the program will automatically assign two consecutive notes
to that syllable.
> >
> >If I have time over the weekend, I may be able to give the list a couple
examples of how this works.
> >
> >Does anyone have a song (with lyrics and associated midi file) for this
test?
> >
> >Yours,
> >John Eulenberg
> >
> >Jayson Smith wrote:
> >>Hi,
> >>Thanks for the explanation.  I do have a few more questions.  One's
about DECtalk itself.  Does the software actually have a DECtalk program in
it, or does it call an external program to play the song you've just
created?  If DECtalk is bundled with the program, this might present a whole
mess of licensing concerns.  Most of us in this community use the freely
available DECtalk demo program put out by Digital way back when, called
speak43.exe.  I have written a small program called Playdec which will allow
for command-line or Windows association playing of DECtalk files using the
Speak43 application or any similar application.  Let me know if you want a
copy.  The license for my program is, basically, do whatever you want with
it but if you use my code somewhere else I'd like credit.
> >>Is your program only usable under XP?  That's not a problem for me or
probably for most others, but I'm just wondering if it actually requires XP
or if it's just not been tested on older systems such as 98.
> >>My other question involves the translation of MIDI notes into DECtalk
code.  Let's say you have an eight-note MIDI file, and you create a DECtalk
phonemic version of the text 'This is a test'.  Now, would the first note
sing 'this', the second note sing 'is', the third note sing 'a', and the
fourth note sing 'test'?  If so, what about the other four notes, would they
be silent?  In other words, is it always assumed that one note equals one
syllable?
> >>Thanks,
> >>Jayson.
> >>
> >>----- Original Message -----
> >>From: <mailto:eulenber at msu.edu>John B. Eulenberg
> >>To: <mailto:dectalk at jaybird.no-ip.info>DECtalk Discussions
> >>Sent: Thursday, June 02, 2005 9:20 AM
> >>Subject: Re: [DECtalk] Midi conversion?
> >>
> >>Dear Jayson et al.,
> >>Basically, the program, which runs under Windows XP, presents three text
windows: The first is for English orthography (regular spelling); the second
is for DECtalk phonemic code, without the musical note codes; and the third
is for the fully "enchanted" DECtalk code, including the musical notes. You
can enter text into either the first window or the second window. If you
enter it into the first window, clicking a control button creates the
corresponding phonetic text in the second window for you automatically. A
separate navigation control allows you to select a midi file on your
computer. Then, once you have thus specified the phonetic text in the second
text window and the desired midi file, clicking a second control button
creates the fully "enchanted" DECtalk text in the third text window. This
text can then be played by clicking a third control button. Any of the texts
can be copied to the clipboard for use in another application. Also, one can
hand-edit the text in a
>  ll th
> ree windows at any time.
> >>
> >>I am working with Michigan State University on getting this software
available either for free (my preference) or for a nominal license fee under
$15.
> >>
> >>As for accessibility of this software for blind users, I think it would
be accessible to a person using most screen reading programs. I will give it
a test with JAWS this week.
> >>
> >>Yours,
> >>John Eulenberg
> >>
> >>
> >>Jayson Smith wrote:
> >>>Hi,
> >>>A few more questions if you don't mind.  I understand that this
software is currently unavailable to the public, and you'd need sufficient
interest in order to release it.  With that said, I'd like to ask a few
questions which might let everybody know if this program would work for us.
> >>>1.  What operating systems does the program run under?
> >>>2.  How does it work?  E.G. what is the user interface like?  Is it a
deal where you write a text script which describes what phonemes or sounds
are to be put on each note, or is it a graffical representation where you
somehow find the proper notes on the screen and put phonemic symbols on
those notes or something?  If that's the way it is, it probably wouldn't be
that useful to most of us, as most of us on this list probably are blind.
> >>>I think once there was talk of writing a program to do something
similar, but putting some generic phonemic symbols on each note so you could
then go in and manually put the  phonemes in.
> >>>Jayson.
> >>>
> >>>----- Original Message -----
> >>>From: <mailto:eulenber at msu.edu>John Eulenberg
> >>>To: <mailto:dectalk at jaybird.no-ip.info>DECtalk Discussions
> >>>Sent: Thursday, May 26, 2005 10:23 AM
> >>>Subject: Re: [DECtalk] Midi conversion?
> >>>
> >>>It hasn't been released, but it ould be. It's pretty much a matter of
clearing the MSU office of Intellectual Property. I'd be happy to look into
it if there is sufficient interest.
> >>>John B. Eulenberg
> >>>
> >>>John Bryson Eulenberg
> >>>
> >>>Professor
> >>>
> >>>Director, Artificial Language Laboratory
> >>>Jayson Smith wrote:
> >>>>Hi,
> >>>>Has this software ever been made available to the DECtalk community at
large, or is it only available for internal use?  Just curious.
> >>>>Jayson.
> >>>>
> >>>>----- Original Message -----
> >>>>From: <mailto:eulenber at msu.edu>John B. Eulenberg
> >>>>To: <mailto:dectalk at jaybird.no-ip.info>DECtalk Discussions
> >>>>Sent: Thursday, May 26, 2005 7:15 AM
> >>>>Subject: Re: [DECtalk] Midi conversion?
> >>>>
> >>>>Dear Jayson et al,
> >>>>We have been doing MIDI to DECtalk conversions for years at the
Michigan State University Artificial Language Laboratory, using our own
proprietary software. Our main application has been for nonspeaking people
using a communication aid system such as DynaVox.
> >>>>Our program allows the user to input either at the phoneme level or at
the level of orthographic representation (regular spelling).
> >>>>Yours,
> >>>>John Eulenberg
> >>>>
> >>>>Jayson Smith wrote:
> >>>>>
> >>>>>Hey,
> >>>>>
> >>>>>Did anybody ever figure out a way to convert data in MIDI files into
proper
> >>>>>
> >>>>>DECtalk format for singing?  Obviously you'd have to put in the
proper
> >>>>>
> >>>>>phonemes yourself, but still it'd be nice to be able to have the
notes and
> >>>>>
> >>>>>durations converted.
> >>>>>
> >>>>>Jayson.
> >>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>>_______________________________________________
> >>>>>
> >>>>>DECtalk mailing list
> >>>>>
> >>>>><mailto:DECtalk at jaybird.no-ip.info>DECtalk at jaybird.no-ip.info
> >>>>>
> >>>>>http://jaybird.no-ip.info/mailman/listinfo/dectalk
> >>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>--
> >>>>
> >>>>John Bryson Eulenberg, Ph.D.
> >>>>
> >>>>Professor
> >>>>
> >>>>Audiology and Speech Sciences
> >>>>
> >>>>Linguistics, Germanic, Slavic, Asian and African Languages
> >>>>
> >>>>African Studies Center
> >>>>
> >>>>Director, Artificial Language Laboratory
> >>>>
> >>>>405 Computer Center
> >>>>
> >>>>Michigan State University
> >>>>
> >>>>East Lansing, MI 48824-1042
> >>>>
> >>>>517-353-6622 voice
> >>>>
> >>>>517-353-4766 fax
> >>>>
> >>>>517-896-6655 mobile
> >>>>
> >>>>517-332-1970 home
> >>>>
> >>>><mailto:artlang at msu.edu>artlang at msu.edu
> >>>>
> >>>>http://www.msu.edu/~artlang/
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>This e-mail may contain proprietary information and may be
confidential. If you are not the intended recipient of this e-mail, you are
hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this
message is strictly prohibited. If you received this message in error,
please delete it immediately.
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>----------
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> >>>>http://jaybird.no-ip.info/mailman/listinfo/dectalk
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>_______________________________________________
> >>>>
> >>>>DECtalk mailing list
> >>>>
> >>>><mailto:DECtalk at jaybird.no-ip.info>DECtalk at jaybird.no-ip.info
> >>>>
> >>>>http://jaybird.no-ip.info/mailman/listinfo/dectalk
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>
> >>>----------
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> >>><mailto:DECtalk at jaybird.no-ip.info>DECtalk at jaybird.no-ip.info
> >>>http://jaybird.no-ip.info/mailman/listinfo/dectalk
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>_______________________________________________
> >>>
> >>>DECtalk mailing list
> >>>
> >>><mailto:DECtalk at jaybird.no-ip.info>DECtalk at jaybird.no-ip.info
> >>>
> >>>http://jaybird.no-ip.info/mailman/listinfo/dectalk
> >>>
> >>>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>----------
> >>_______________________________________________
> >>DECtalk mailing list
> >><mailto:DECtalk at jaybird.no-ip.info>DECtalk at jaybird.no-ip.info
> >>http://jaybird.no-ip.info/mailman/listinfo/dectalk
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>_______________________________________________
> >>
> >>DECtalk mailing list
> >>
> >><mailto:DECtalk at jaybird.no-ip.info>DECtalk at jaybird.no-ip.info
> >>
> >>http://jaybird.no-ip.info/mailman/listinfo/dectalk
> >>
> >>
> >
> >
> >
> >--
> >
> >John Bryson Eulenberg, Ph.D.
> >
> >Professor
> >
> >Audiology and Speech Sciences
> >
> >Linguistics, Germanic, Slavic, Asian and African Languages
> >
> >African Studies Center
> >
> >Director, Artificial Language Laboratory
> >
> >405 Computer Center
> >
> >Michigan State University
> >
> >East Lansing, MI 48824-1042
> >
> >517-353-6622 voice
> >
> >517-353-4766 fax
> >
> >517-896-6655 mobile
> >
> >517-332-1970 home
> >
> ><mailto:artlang at msu.edu>artlang at msu.edu
> >
> >http://www.msu.edu/~artlang/
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >This e-mail may contain proprietary information and may be confidential.
If you are not the intended recipient of this e-mail, you are hereby
notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this message is
strictly prohibited. If you received this message in error, please delete it
immediately.
> >
> >----------
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> >DECtalk mailing list
> >DECtalk at jaybird.no-ip.info
> >http://jaybird.no-ip.info/mailman/listinfo/dectalk
> >
> >
> >----------
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> >http://jaybird.no-ip.info/mailman/listinfo/dectalk
> >
> >
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