International Audio Laboratories Erlangen

Applications and Demos

A Real-Time Approach for Estimating Pulse Tracking Parameters for Beat-Synchronous Audio Effects (DAFx 2024)

real-time-plp

Accompanying Website

Predominant Local Pulse (PLP) estimation, an established method for extracting beat positions and other periodic pulse information from audio signals, has recently been extended with an online variant tailored for real-time applications. In this paper, we introduce a novel approach to generating various real-time control signals from the original online PLP output. While the PLP activation function encodes both predominant pulse information and pulse stability, we propose several normalization procedures to discern local pulse oscillation from stability, utilizing the PLP activation envelope. Through this, we generate pulse-synchronous Low Frequency Oscillators (LFOs) and supplementary confidence-based control signals, enabling dynamic control over audio effect parameters in real-time. Additionally, our approach enables beat position prediction, providing a look-ahead capability, for example, to compensate for system latency. To showcase the effectiveness of our control signals, we introduce an audio plugin prototype designed for integration within a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW), facilitating real-time applications of beat-synchronous effects during live mixing and performances. Moreover, this plugin serves as an educational tool, providing insights into PLP principles and the tempo structure of analyzed music signals.

This demo is related to the following publication:

  1. Peter Meier, Simon Schwär, and Meinard Müller
    A Real-Time Approach for Estimating Pulse Tracking Parameters for Beat-Synchronous Audio Effects
    In Proceedings of the International Conference on Digital Audio Effects (DAFx), 2024. Demo 
    @inproceedings{MeierSM24_RealTimePulseParameters_DAFX,
title       = {{A} Real-Time Approach for Estimating Pulse Tracking Parameters for Beat-Synchronous Audio Effects},
author      = {Peter Meier and Simon Schw{\"a}r and Meinard M{\"u}ller},
booktitle   = {Proceedings of the International Conference on Digital Audio Effects ({DAFx})},
year        = {2024},
address     = {Guildford, Surrey, UK},
url-demo    = {https://audiolabs-erlangen.de/resources/MIR/2024-DAFx-RealTimePLP}
}

Audio Examples for Real-Time PLP Control Signals

controlsignals_wide

Demo Website

This demo is related to the following publication:

  1. Peter Meier, Simon Schwär, and Meinard Müller
    A Real-Time Approach for Estimating Pulse Tracking Parameters for Beat-Synchronous Audio Effects
    In Proceedings of the International Conference on Digital Audio Effects (DAFx), 2024. Demo 
    @inproceedings{MeierSM24_RealTimePulseParameters_DAFX,
title       = {{A} Real-Time Approach for Estimating Pulse Tracking Parameters for Beat-Synchronous Audio Effects},
author      = {Peter Meier and Simon Schw{\"a}r and Meinard M{\"u}ller},
booktitle   = {Proceedings of the International Conference on Digital Audio Effects ({DAFx})},
year        = {2024},
address     = {Guildford, Surrey, UK},
url-demo    = {https://audiolabs-erlangen.de/resources/MIR/2024-DAFx-RealTimePLP}
}