There's something addictive about software updates. Every now and then users tend to open a random app and check for its updates, be it a web browser, a development tool, the Microsoft Store or Windows itself. While this behavior may reward us with the latest and greatest features and security fixes, there are also risks … Continue reading Running Chronotron on Windows 11

In a previous post, I showed how you can use Chronotron to extract vocals and instruments – stems, actually – from almost any clip. This enables many scenarios, like learning the song chords by listening to the accompaniment in isolation. Starting from Release 167, Chronotron makes the job a bit easier by detecting chords automatically … Continue reading Automatic Chord Detection with Chronotron

Luxembourg is the smallest continental state in the European Union by area and population. Its political system is a constitutional monarchy – or a crowned democracy, if you will – headed by a Grand Duke. With 620,000 inhabitants, half of them foreigners like me, the country is the very definition of a melting pot. The … Continue reading Made in Luxembourg

Music source separation is the task of extracting separate instrument tracks, or stems, from a final a song mix. This is an incredibly hard problem, often compared to getting the eggs back from an omelet. While theorists haven't completely solved yet the source separation problem, recent advances in AI are getting us closer and closer … Continue reading Music Source Separation (aka “Unmixing”) with Chronotron

Chronotron allows you to download YouTube clips and also to stream videos without downloading them. In Release 151 and older versions of the app, though, the Search functionality in the YouTube flyout may no longer work as expected. Release 152 and later should be more stable when it comes to searching clips. Still, if you … Continue reading YouTube Search Errors

For a long time, I resisted mentioning Coronavirus in this blog. After all, computer programs can get infected by viruses, but just not by that kind of virus. Or can they? Luckily, my family and I are safe so far, and so is the Chronotron app. Social distancing and other changes in our behavior have … Continue reading Using Chronotron via Remote Desktop

Last year I blogged about Chronotron's built-in YouTube downloader. Since release 145, Chronotron can also stream online videos without actually downloading them. To try it out, after searching for a clip, click on the ellipsis and select Add link to current playlist. Yes, you can create playlists where some – or all – of the … Continue reading You Stream

Today I turn 47. Like last year, I'd like to thank everyone who said congrats through the usual social platforms. And like last year, I'm blogging something about it. It turns out that being just one year older triggered in me the need for prescription glasses. Glasses being expensive gear, I quickly found myself shopping … Continue reading 47

In the previous post of this series I wrote about how Chronotron can detect and classify transients, which are then shown on top of the waveform using different shapes. In a nutshell, this feature provides you with visual clues about musical events, like note attacks, which may not be obvious to spot by looking at … Continue reading Funny Shapes (Part II)

What are the funny shapes that appear on top of the waveform in Chronotron? There are circles, triangles and sometimes even diamonds! I'll come to the meaning of these symbols shortly, but even more important than the shapes are the vertical bars behind them. These bars represent transients, that is, sudden changes in intensity, like … Continue reading Funny Shapes (Part I)