Synchrony Performance Encoder

Synchrony is a new kind of MIDI editor that uses MIDI alignment to match the timing, dynamics and expression of one sequence of notes to another. This technique is particularly useful for tempo mapping, since it can be used to analyse the timing of a freely-recorded MIDI performance relative to a grid-aligned MIDI reference.

Provide Synchrony with such a reference – a take recorded in strict time, a score or simply a quantized version of the same material – and it can determine how much the performer’s tempo deviates from the grid. Synchrony then encodes these tempo fluctuations as a tempo map which can easily be imported into your DAW and used to warp the grid to the performer. This means you can record free from the rigidity of a click track and your DAW will follow your performance, with your grid-aligned arrangement staying in sync with your expressive playing.

Used by film composers and arrangers to lend greater realism to their MIDI mockups as well as in the studio to create dynamic click tracks for more free-flowing ensemble recordings, Synchrony is available on both Windows and macOS as a VST3/AU plugin and a standalone application.

Introducing MIDI alignment to DAW and notation software workflows required the creation of a new kind of interface to enable the user to visualise and edit the note alignment. Using design idioms that make it feel at home in a DAW rather than a research lab, we have developed the concept of an alignment editor from computer-aided musicology into a fully fledged, production-grade interface comprising dual interlinked piano rolls. The UX makes the robustness of the alignment algorithms visible, with pitch errors and notes the performer has added or omitted easy to identify via a rich note colour hierarchy.

Another key innovation is Synchrony’s new approach to tempo mapping, which automates the process in a way that is fundamentally different to existing methods. Other automated approaches found in major DAWs attempt to estimate beat positions from a raw signal. Synchrony takes the guesswork out of the equation by using a reference for the underlying metrical structure of the performance to guide the process. This method excels at tempo mapping complex passages with high tempo variability, which is typically where tempo detection falls short.

Finally, Synchrony enables MIDI performance transfer, allowing you to map velocities from one MIDI performance to another and encode CC messages. Groove tools have long transferred velocity “feel”, by resampling against a fixed grid; Synchrony is the first to map dynamics between two freely-recorded MIDI performances by true note correspondence. Using the tempo map, Synchrony is able to place every CC message in the performance at the correct time position in the reference, even though the curves flow continuously between the matched notes. This opens up new ways of working. For example, you can now rerecord just the pedalling of a take without losing the original performance.

While Synchrony is, perhaps, most often used to create more realistic orchestral mockups in a DAW or achieve more realistic playback in notation software, the most inspiring use of the software I have seen so far is to create a dynamic click track for a recording session with live musicians.

Composer Tom Rackham, one of Synchrony’s early adopters, discussed his approach with us and a full write-up can be found on our website. In brief, Tom brought the rubato feel of his original piano performance to a session with live string players who were recording his string quintet. After creating a freely-recorded sketch in Nuendo, he transcribed and orchestrated the piece in Dorico before using Synchrony to tempo map his original performance and create a click track for the live session.