Create Your Own Songs and Music Videos Using Microsoft SongSmith

Leave it to Microsoft to butcher some of the most popular songs in our culture, all in the name of promoting their latest entertainment software program. And by the way, that's not a putdown, that's a compliment. I'll explain in a minute.

Microsoft is introducing SongSmith, a software program that records your sung or played melody and then generates an accompaniment track automatically based on what you sing or play. You have options to select musical style, choice of instruments, tempo, and other things like jazziness, brighness, and so on. Then hit the Record button and start singing into your microphone. When you're finished, hit the Stop button. SongSmith creates an instrumental background track that fits your song. Once it's been recorded, you can change settings, modify the sound, even change the chords if you like. Add pictures or video as you see fit. And when a project is complete, you save your creation and can 'port it to play on any computer or MP3 device.

To promote this new product, Microsoft took the videos of popular songs, stripped out everything but the lead vocal, and played the vocal into SongSmith. After the program generated the accompaniment track, they tied the video back into the song. Finally, they posted the end result on YouTube. When I saw the video with Billy Idol singing "White Wedding" backed with a country track, I laughed until I cried. (Remember, it's Billy Idol in the original video singing in the original style.) Other videos Microsoft re-engineered include "Roxanne" by the Police (ska), "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor (easy listening), "Hotel California" by the Eagles (dance), and "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" by the Beatles (blues/jazz). Then there are the videos that other SongSmith users have put on YouTube, and...well, let's just say some are better than others. Just go to YouTube.com, search for "SongSmith", and let the video viewing begin. (There's also a regular video ad on YouTube promoting SongSmith, but it's boring. I recommend skipping it and watching the videos instead--they're much more entertaining.)

While reengineering videos is fun, the main purpose of SongSmith is to create your own songs. Your kids can make up songs, sing them into the microphone (or play them through a MIDI instrument), and end up with their own original creations. Budding songwriters who do lyrics but don't do music can use SongSmith to create demo tracks for their works. The program could be used to create short music clips for Web sites. You are limited only by your imagination.

Microsoft is offering a free download of SongSmith which gives you six hours of usage. After that, you can purchase the program for $30. The company also offers packages to purchase additional instruments and musical styles which you can incorporate into the program, expanding its versatility.

While Microsoft recommends that professional songwriters, musicians, and advertisers will use SongSmith to get the creative juices flowing, my guess is this program will end up on the laptops of kids (and a few adults) as another form of entertainment. It isn't a bad deal, actually. For less than the cost of taking your family to one movie, you can provide yourself with hours of entertainment as you delve into the world of songwriting and music video editing. How bad can that be? Look out, YouTube!