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Song Surgeon Professional – Version 4, Review by Eric Parsons
Song Surgeon Professional – Version 4
This month I am reviewing Song Surgeon, another software product from TMJ, Inc. Song Surgeon provides the user/musician with a multitude of software tools that will aid in the process of learning and transcribing songs.
Getting Started
Song Surgeon software is available for both Windows and Mac operating systems. The Windows version has recently upgraded to version 4 while the Mac version is currently at version 3. The software was delivered digitally and was easy to install and activate on my machine, with no complications or rigorous security processes. Once installed, the user is provided with an exceptional amount of support documentation in the form of : a quick start guide, a user guide, a large selection of training videos and a help desk.
I find the main GUI to be well laid out with an intuitive design. A song can be loaded by opening an audio file already stored on the computer hard drive, by ripping a file from a CD or by using the “Sniffer” – which allows the user to extract the audio from an internet video site such as Youtube.
I find the upgraded Sniffer to be one of the most innovative and useful tools included in the Song Surgeon package. While reviewing this product, I was offered a corporate function gig that required me to learn a couple dozen old-school tunes in a rather short time frame. Some of the tunes were obscure and the bandleader also specified renditions by specific artists. With the Sniffer, I was able to quickly locate the material I needed to get the job done. The Youtube Sniffer simply requires that the user copy and paste the URL for the relevant video and then the Sniffer extracts the audio and converts it to a .WAV file for use with Song Surgeon.
In Use
Once a song is loaded into Song Surgeon, it’s simply a matter of pushing the play button and then setting the start and end loop points in order to focus in on learning a desired passage. I like to set the loop points in real time and then, if needed, I will go back and refine the loop placement by zooming in on the wave image to make adjustments
If you lean toward making numerical adjustments, simply select the edit button to fine tune your parameters.
The user can readily adjust the tempo and pitch of the entire song or the selected loop by using slider controls, selecting preset numerical values or by clicking on the available plus or minus buttons for these parameters.
I have also found the pitch function to be a real lifesaver when dealing with older tunes that were not recorded at concert pitch ( with the A note at 440 HZ).
Loop 1 – Pitch Shift Up a Third
Loop 1 – Slowed to 75%
Version 4 Upgrades
Version 4 has added some upgrades that I find to be quite convenient. When opening a file, the user can now quickly navigate to “Recently Opened Files” which greatly speeds up the process of accessing files that may be stored in different locations on your hard drive. There is also a Loop Bypass button which allows the user to toggle between playing a specific loop or the entire song without loosing the loop settings. The user now has access to a 31 band graphic equalizer to enhance or de-emphasize selected frequencies.
Loop 1 – Flat
Loop 1 – Bass Enhance
Additional Functions
At this point, I have covered the functions that I commonly use to learn songs with Song Surgeon. There are, however, several more tools and functions that are available to the user.
Some of the other additional functions include:
- saving a song as a project
- exporting: loops, the entire song or even a Song Surgeon Project
- audio file conversion of multiple songs via a batch file process
- the ability to record audio information/notes in sync with the song file
- comprehensive editing of the song file
- production and editing of song markers
- vocal reduction in a song file
- the ability to produce musical notation and notes using the Music Pad function
In Conclusion
I find Song Surgeon to be an extremely useful tool for any musician who needs to transcribe musical parts, particularly when on a short time frame. At the time of writing this article the MSRP of Standard and Pro versions of Song Surgeon were $69.00 and $99.00 respectively, but were being offered at a sale price of $55.20 and 79.20.
For more information, or to download a fully functional demo go to : Song Surgeon
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Photo: Self-portrait by Melissa Auf Der Maur
Melissa Auf Der Maur is a Canadian bassist who played with Tinker, Hole, and The Smashing Pumpkins. She released her own work and is a photographer with photos published in Nylon, Bust, and National Geographic. She released her ‘90s Rock Memoir “Even The Good Girls Will Cry” on 17 March 2026.
KB: Did you always want to be a singer-musician growing up?
I’ve played music my whole life. In school, I played trumpet and sang in a children’s choir, so music was always within me. My mother was the first female disc jockey on the Montreal airwaves; her record collection played a huge role in my inspiration and love of music.
KB: When did you start playing bass, and why this instrument?
When I was 19, the early 90s music explosion began to percolate in tiny clubs around the world. I was lucky to be a ticket girl at Montreal’s underground music club. In one year, I saw Hole, Sonic Youth, Smashing Pumpkins, White Zombie, and The Breeders – all had female bass players. That’s when the seed was planted. By the age of 22, I was the bass player of Hole.
KB: Which brands of basses have you used in your career, and which one are you using now?
The first bass that I learned on was a vintage Squier Precision. Hole was sponsored by Fender guitars, so I upgraded to Fender Custom Shop Precisions. That is all I play, but I have a cool vintage 8-string Greco that I use on recordings to thicken up guitar parts.
KB: What equipment do you use or have you used with your basses?
Ampeg SVT amps and cabinets, a couple of Sans-Amp pedals, and that is it.
KB: How did you become a member of Hole, and what is your fondest memory of that time?
Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins was helping scout a replacement for (RIP) Kristen Pfaff, Hole’s bass player. My band, Tinker, opened for them on the Siamese Dream tour, so Billy had seen me play and could vouch for me. Courtney trusted her talented friend, and that was it. I initially said “no thank you” due to my commitment to my photographic studies and the drama and chaos surrounding the band during the “Live Through This” album release. Courtney took it as a good sign that I said no, so convinced me to reconsider, and soon after, I accepted their invitation, in the name of helping put females in the male-dominated landscape of rock music. My fondest memory is every show we played as a mostly female band, symbolizing what a woman could do in a rock band. Every show had a purpose: get more women to play music.
KB: You are a photographer as well. What makes a great picture? Do you shoot in color or b/w?
I started shooting photographs at age 15. Initially only shot black & white and worked in the art school darkroom. In university, I took a color photography course, and shifted mostly and forever to that, because it was easier to process film on the road when I joined a rock band. I experimented with many cameras, point and shoots, manual, polaroids, medium format, and vintage finds. The trick to a good photograph is to shoot many and all the time – the magic is in the edit and selection process.
KB: Are there artists you would love to collaborate with or wish you had?
??I’ve been lucky to collaborate with some of my favorite musicians in my career. I would still love to collaborate with a new generation heavy electronic artist on an analog bass, heavy electronic drums, and synths collaboration project. Take me out of my usual zone, merging the past and future: my love of 80s dark new wave and new artists exploring that genre. It was very futuristic back then, and we are now, after all, living in the future. I am in the mood to play bass to heavy beats I want to dance to.
KB: What are your 7 favorite bass lines in music across all genres? And why these 7?
“Mountain Song” – Jane’s Addiction (love a rambling, rolling bass line – feels like the ocean waves)
“Black Top – Helmet” (was the first bass line I taught myself)
“Gold Dust Woman” – Hole from “The Crow 2” Soundtrack (it was my first bass line contribution to the band)
“Get Ready” – The Temptations (Motown just feels so good, because of the bass)
“Lucretia My Reflection” – Sisters of Mercy (makes me want to hit the dance floor and play bass simultaneously)
“Be My Druidess” – Type O Negative (full chord bass playing at its best by iconic, demonic, Peter Steele, RIP)
“Romantic Rights” – Death from Above (1979 – unique distorted overdriven tone, combined dance rhythm and melodic intelligence, all in one shot – also! Shout out to a bass & drum only band, which is awesome, and we should have more of, but the bass player needs to be a killer to fill that role.
KB: What are you currently up to?
Releasing my ‘90s Rock Memoir “EVEN THE GOOD GIRLS WILL CRY”. Visceral healing process, it was to get it out of me and write it, but I suspect the real magic will begin by putting it into the world and reflecting with others on what the magic of the ‘90s was all about. Powerful music decade that carried us into what is now a brave new world of digital corporate weirdness – may the past shed a light on our future. That’s my hope for this book release and tour.
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