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Activity 5 - Use effects to fade in

Workshop Resources

Pre-requisite: Python Basics: Print, Comments, Functions

Difficulty: Intermediate

Now that you have one effect in your song, let’s try to fade in the introduction of our song.

In activity 4, we used setEffect function to apply an effect to a specific track for the entire duration of the song, but what if you only want a specific section of your song to have an effect? Use the setEffect function with more parameters!

startValue: The starting value applied to the parameter
start: The measure at which the starting value is set
endValue: The ending value of the parameter
end: The measure at which the ending value is set

This version of the setEffect allows for us to perform automation on a specific piece of our song. Automation is a way to change the value of an effect over time. One use of automation is to make a song fade in or fade out. To do so, we must adjust the GAIN parameter’s volume in the VOLUME type over time. For example, if we define our startValue at -60 db and our endValue at 0 db, it will sound like our song is fading in over time. To adjust the starting point and length of the effect, specify the start and end.

DJ Nuvi

Add another setEffect function to your song

Add another setEffect function call into your code, but ensure all 7 parameters are present in the call.
Set the type to VOLUME.
Use the “Every Effect Explained in Detail” reference guide to see which parameters VOLUME has. To adjust the loudness of an audio clip, use the GAIN parameter.
If we want to make something sound like it is fading in, we must have the sound’s volume start at nothing and increase it until around 0 decibels. To do so, set effectStartValue at a very low value, and effectEndValue to be a higher value.

Hint: Volume is measured in decibels. In decibels, the more positive a number is, the louder it gets. Also, try not to exceed 0 decibels.

Set values for start and end to specify when to start and stop the fade in effect.

Your code should now look something like this:

from earsketch import *

setTempo(120)

fitMedia(HOUSE_DEEP_CRYSTALCHORD_001, 3, 1, 5)
fitMedia(HOUSE_DEEP_CRYSTALCHORD_002, 3, 5, 9)

# Section A
def sectionA(startMeasure, endMeasure):
    fitMedia(RD_UK_HOUSE__AIRYPAD_1, 1, startMeasure, endMeasure)
    fitMedia(HOUSE_MAIN_BEAT_002, 4, startMeasure, endMeasure)
    fitMedia(HOUSE_ROADS_BASS_001, 5, startMeasure, endMeasure)

# Section B
def sectionB(startMeasure, endMeasure): 
    fitMedia(Y37_ORGAN_1, 2, startMeasure, endMeasure)
    fitMedia(HOUSE_ROADS_BASS_001, 5, startMeasure, endMeasure)
    fitMedia(RD_UK_HOUSE__ARPLEAD_1, 6, startMeasure, endMeasure)

sectionA(1, 9)
sectionB(9, 17)
sectionA(17, 25)
setEffect(2, DELAY, DELAY_FEEDBACK, -6.0)
setEffect(2, DELAY, DELAY_TIME, 1200.0)
setEffect(0, VOLUME, GAIN, -60, 1, 0, 3)

You did it!
Workshop complete