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ARA Audio Random Access

A pioneering extension for audio plug-in interfaces

The sound of an audio software is naturally the most important thing and it also has priority for us. But the user-friendliness and workflow of a piece of software also influence to a considerable extent the results you are able to obtain with it. If everything is effortless and swiftly accomplished, that will allow you to concentrate on your musical work.

For this reason, working together with Presonus, we have developed ARA Audio Random Access – a pioneering extension for existing audio interfaces. ARA expands the communication between plug-in and DAW, allowing the plug-in for the first time musical access to the audio data.

Background: the status quo and what Melodyne needs

The plug-in interfaces widely used today – such as VST, AU and RTAS – still work essentially the way analog mixers did in the past: a plug-in only receives audio data from the DAW track at the moment of playback, and therefore knows nothing about the entire track – and nothing either, therefore, of the musical context. For reverb, echo and EQ, this view through a real-time keyhole may be good enough, but not for plug-ins like Melodyne that need an overview of the entire audio clip for the analysis of the musical context and the editing of notes, rhythms and tempo. Previously a transfer of the audio file to the plug-in was required.

Melodyne’s way of working: first analysis, then real-time

Melodyne’s editing functions depend on a prior analysis of the audio material. This alone is what makes it possible for Melodyne to identify the notes, display them and make them available for detailed editing. And this alone makes it possible to alter the timing of notes – to shorten one note, for example, or move another note forward in time. Without a prior analysis of the audio material, this would be impossible. In the stand-alone implementation of Melodyne, this analysis takes place as soon as a file is opened; in the plug-in, it happens during and after the transfer. Incidentally: once the analysis is complete, all the subsequent editing in Melodyne can naturally be carried out and heard in real time.

How transfers work

A transfer is the process of playing through to the plug-in an audio segment that you wish to edit with Melodyne. As this is done, Melodyne records the audio data and stores it on the hard disk. Users can transfer as many segments of a track to Melodyne as they like or else simply transfer the whole track in one go. During the playback of passages that have been transferred to Melodyne, what you hear is Melodyne, whereas elsewhere what you hear is the original signal from the DAW track.

But transfers are only a work-around to overcome the shortcomings of the plug-in interfaces. With ARA, they are no longer necessary.

What ARA is

To make Melodyne simpler and easier to use, we developed ARA Audio Random Access. From a technical standpoint it is a channel of communication through which a plug-in can exchange additional information with a DAW. ARA is not a new plug-in interface designed to compete with the existing ones but simply an optional extension that has to be supported both by the DAW and by the plug-in. ARA requires no separate installation or setup by the user.

How ARA came about

ARA was born of the desire to improve the manner in which Melodyne was integrated by DAWs. Together with Presonus, we decided to realize the improved integration in the form of an extension of the existing plug-in interfaces. So ARA was developed in equal measure from the standpoint of a DAW and a plug-in developer. As a result, it takes account of the needs of both sides and therefore both get maximum benefit from it.

How ARA helps

With ARA, the DAW and plug-in can exchange information about the audio file, tempo, pitch, rhythm and much more, and this allows them to work together considerably more closely. The plug-in is closer to what is happening in the DAW and can therefore work more smoothly and effectively. The DAW, for its part, is able to integrate the plug-in far better and make more targeted use of it – exactly as though it was part of the DAW.

A good example of the greatly enhanced workflow is the interaction between Presonus Studio One Version 2 and Melodyne. With ARA, Melodyne is seamlessly integrated into Studio One and serves there as an alternative to the normal waveform editor: audio segments are opened directly in Melodyne and follow automatically when moving and copying, as well as changes of tempo or time signature, are effectuated. Studio One, for its part, uses Melodyne for high-quality timestretching and to get information about the musical content, such as for Audio-to-MIDI via drag-and-drop and for the evaluation of Melodyne’s tempo recognition.

The advantages of ARA in a nutshell

No transfers are necessary; audio clips on the DAW track can be opened directly in Melodyne.
Melodyne follows automatically the moving, copying, shortening, muting or deleting of clips on the DAW track.
From within Melodyne, you can position the DAW’s cursor as well as start and stop its playback.
Melodyne follows tempo and time signature changes in the DAW automatically.
The DAW can take advantage of the high-quality timestretching and tempo detection offered by Melodyne.
The DAW can select the notes detected by Melodyne, for example to drag-and-drop them on a MIDI track.
Since there are no transfers, no additional files are created, so the archiving and sharing of projects is at the same time easier and less error-prone.

Where ARA is to be found

Melodyne editor, assistant and essential from Version 1.3 onwards are equipped with ARA. The first DAW to implement ARA is Presonus Studio One Version 2 – in this combination Melodyne can already be used with ARA. Other manufacturers and products will follow.

If you as a manufacturer are interested in ARA

Please contact us under ara@celemony.com. We will be happy to give you further details.