Not comprehending notes.

[SilverStarApple]

Hi, I'm SilverStarApple, and this game doesn't seem to be able to tell what note I'm singing at when actually singing.

Is it a problem with the game, my mic, or my mic settings?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQrR2pevio8&feature=youtu.be

[sleumas2000]

As far as I can see, you haven't assigned your mic to a player.
Go to Options/Record, the page you are on in the video
Click down until you are on the Channel 1 line, then press right. (like you did at the end of the video)
Then press esc x2.
Click Play, choose a difficulty, then a song - and sing to your hearts content.

The slight discrepancies in the notes it shows on the record screen are because you drifted key a little.
If you pay with background music, you should be fine.
(also, why is 99 Buckets of oats your 'most popular song'!)

[PsychicWalnut]

It looks like it's working to me...
It is showing you the notes in black text just under the boxes that say Channel 1 and Channel 2.

Or is your issue that the game is not scoring you during a song?

[SilverStarApple]

It looks like it's working to me...
It is showing you the notes in black text just under the boxes that say Channel 1 and Channel 2.

Or is your issue that the game is not scoring you during a song?

My issue is twofold.

One: I sing a note. It'll bounce around the general area of that note before settling on what note it thinks it is. When singing a real song with multiple words and notes in one bar, this is problematic, to put it politely.
Two: When I try an actual song, rather than the blue notes fitting neatly on the notes it says to sing, it does the same bouncing thing, looking more like a certain object splattered a certain blue substance all over the sheet music.

[SilverStarApple]

As far as I can see, you haven't assigned your mic to a player.
Go to Options/Record, the page you are on in the video
Click down until you are on the Channel 1 line, then press right. (like you did at the end of the video)
Then press esc x2.
Click Play, choose a difficulty, then a song - and sing to your hearts content.

The slight discrepancies in the notes it shows on the record screen are because you drifted key a little.
If you pay with background music, you should be fine.
(also, why is 99 Buckets of oats your 'most popular song'!)

I used this screen because it'd be a good way to show what the note detection is like for me.

And 99 Buckets Of Oats is the most popular because I have viewed it a few times when I first saw it, first to figure out what it was(I hadn't yet seen that episode at the time), then to try and get a good score. I gave up when the splatters of blue were too annoyingly wrong.

[sleumas2000]

It looks like it's working to me...
It is showing you the notes in black text just under the boxes that say Channel 1 and Channel 2.

Or is your issue that the game is not scoring you during a song?

My issue is twofold.

One: I sing a note. It'll bounce around the general area of that note before settling on what note it thinks it is. When singing a real song with multiple words and notes in one bar, this is problematic, to put it politely.
Two: When I try an actual song, rather than the blue notes fitting neatly on the notes it says to sing, it does the same bouncing thing, looking more like a certain object splattered a certain blue substance all over the sheet music.

Just a quesion - when you sing on easy, what happens?

[Smilley]

You might want to play around with the Mic Boost and Threshold settings under Tools->Options->Sound.
Also, what you want to look for is not the grey-blue bar - that's the volume. It's the red dot below it that matters. It shows you what note the game detects. And that seems pretty accurate to me.
And really, 99 Buckets it a baaaaaaaaaaaad song to try for a high score. It's fast, and intentionally off-key.
If you want my recommendation, try a song with a slow pace, long sustained notes and little variance, like Land Of Equestria or Great To Be Different.

[PsychicWalnut]

It looks like it's working to me...
It is showing you the notes in black text just under the boxes that say Channel 1 and Channel 2.

Or is your issue that the game is not scoring you during a song?

My issue is twofold.

One: I sing a note. It'll bounce around the general area of that note before settling on what note it thinks it is. When singing a real song with multiple words and notes in one bar, this is problematic, to put it politely.
Two: When I try an actual song, rather than the blue notes fitting neatly on the notes it says to sing, it does the same bouncing thing, looking more like a certain object splattered a certain blue substance all over the sheet music.

I can see a couple potential issues happening here.

First, if you have an older system, or one bogged down with a ton of background programs, it could play tricks on note detection.
(This is usually not the problem, but it's worth mentioning)

Next would be if your microphone resolution is set too low, it can cause note detection to be a bit wonky.
For the purpose of checking this, I'm going to assume you have a windows-based system.

-Find the little speaker icon down by the time and right-click on it.  Select 'Recording Devices' from the list.

-Locate the device you are using with your microphone. Usually it is labeled as 'Microphone', but sometimes people use other ones.  (I, myself use Line-In as it gives me better recording clarity)

-Click on your device and click the Properties button below.

-A new window opens up.  Click the 'Advanced' Tab at the top.

- There will be a drop-down list in the section called 'Default Format'.   You will want to select a suitable value from this list.  Depending on your sound card the options can vary greatly, or have only a single option. (I have seen some go as low as '1 channel, 8 bit, 8,000Hz', and as high as '2 channel, 24 bit, 96,000Hz')  For good results, just make sure its in the area of 16 bit, and 44,100Hz.

- Also, make sure both check boxes in the 'Exclusive Mode' section are checked.

If you still have problems, be sure to let us know.

[SilverStarApple]

Mic Settings are already set to the maximum(Just a little above what you just mentioned), and it refuses to go any lower, something about the hardware not being capable of going lower. Also, the two boxes were already ticked.

[sleumas2000]

Find a song with a long note, and start recording yourself singing that song - record the screen too.
Try a slow song like 'You'll play your part'

[PsychicWalnut]

Mic Settings are already set to the maximum(Just a little above what you just mentioned), and it refuses to go any lower, something about the hardware not being capable of going lower. Also, the two boxes were already ticked.

That is an interesting result.  Your settings are likely at 48khz, which is good.

You aren't by chance using a USB interface for your microphone, are you?
(either an actual USB microphone, a microphone plugged into a multimedia USB Keyboard, or even a USB sound card)

Timing of microphone data can get a bit wonky if it has to share bandwidth with other devices.  If you are using a USB microphone, try to make sure it is plugged into its own USB plug directly on the computer.  If possible, make sure the plug next to it is empty as well.

Also, what kind of microphone are you using?  Is it a really small one like those found in a gaming headset, or is a big hand-held microphone?

Is there any chance you can record yourself talking or singing into the mic (preferably with no music)?  Just so we can rule out a damaged mic.

[SilverStarApple]

Yep, 48Khz.

I tried using the mic built into the laptop, and an old USB Eyetoy PS2 Camera set to work as a microphone. Neither gives good results.

[sleumas2000]

Is there any chance you can record yourself talking or singing into the mic (preferably with no music)?  Just so we can rule out a damaged mic.

[PsychicWalnut]

Yep, 48Khz.

I tried using the mic built into the laptop, and an old USB Eyetoy PS2 Camera set to work as a microphone. Neither gives good results.

Ugh... Yeah, the pickups on both of those would be rather small.  That can definitely have an impact on recording sound quality (regardless of the frequency used).

Just to help you visualize the issue...  Microphones and speakers work on similar principles.  It's just that one has sound going in while the other has sound coming out.  Just like how a larger speaker can (in general) give you better sound definition, a larger pickup diaphragm in a microphone allows a more clear and accurate recording.

Here is an example of how different microphones can affect things: My Microphone Test

I would expect your webcam and built-in microphones to sound similar to the first two in my recording.

[Renard]

You might be experiencing static from your computer's power supply. I had this issue once (even with a USB mic), turns out my PSU wasn't properly grounded.

Try to record / view the waveform of the sound detected by your microphone. You can, for instance, use Audacity - record a short clip in a quiet environment, without saying anything. Ideally, you should record some silence and the waveform should be very flat. Here's how it looks on my PC, using FMIT:



If you notice significant noise instead of silence, you may be experiencing static issues. This could mess with the game's pitch detection algorithm.

[sleumas2000]

Also, check your fan isn't constantly turning on and off.
That happened to me - it would turn on for 3 seconds, then off for 3 seconds.
Completely screwed up the pitches (especially n my laptop, where the mic was built in, and so the fan vibrations went straight to it, louder than my voice)