Getting Started

1. Hello! I'm new here. What can I do to best get started?

   Hello! Welcome to Splice. You've found a community of wonderful musicians and music lovers who love to collaborate on various projects. We're glad you're here! The most useful thing for you to know is that you can always get help from other users in in the forum. Don't be shy if you get stuck - learning is a good way to make new friends. To learn the basics of the Splice Studio, try watching the video here, or read on:

Making Music

1. How do I load a sample into the sequencer?

   To add a sample, you must first create an Audio Track by selecting Add Stuff > Instruments > Audio Track. Drag the audio track to the open space on the left. When you see a red line appear, let go. Now, under add stuff, select any sample from public sounds or your soundcase and drag them into your audio track. You can have lots of different samples in the same Audio Track, and they will share the effects accordingly.

2. Are there keyboard shortcuts for working with a sample?

   Yes. Shift + Drag to duplicate a sample. Right click to remove it or loop it.

3. How do I add effects?

   Once you have created an Audio or Instrument Track, you may add effects to it by selecting Add Stuff > Effects. Select the effect you wish to use and then drag it just below the track you want to use it on. When you see the red line appear, you can let go. The effect name will show up under the track name. Double clicking the effect name will open a device panel at the bottom of your screen, where you can play with the settings to get different sounds. You may add multiple effects to the same track.

4. How do I use the other instruments?

   The advantage to using the other instruments is that you can create melodies directly in Splice (versus uploading them.) To do this, you must first create an instrument track by selecting Add Stuff > Instruments. Choose the one you'd like to work with (there are two right now but more are coming soon!) and drag it all the way to the left until you see the red line, and let go. Next, create a blank palette for the sound by click-dragging the area where you want this melody to appear. Double click the box to open the note editor/piano roll.
   
   The note editor works like a piano turned sideways. You can see the keys on the left. To fill in a note, shift + click anywhere on that grid. The square that lights up corresponds to a note on the keyboard. Fun, yeah? You can shift + click + drag to make longer notes, and you can drag those notes around until they sound how you like. To delete a note, just shift + click again. (Mac users need to Fn + delete to remove a note.) When your melody is finished, you can select "Go Back" to be returned to the normal sequencer page. From there, you can work with your new melody the same way you'd use any other sample - you can move it, copy it, stretch/shrink it and apply effects to it.

5. How do I change the speed of the sounds in my song?

   You can do it two ways: Change the tempo (speed) of the whole song by changing the Beats Per Minute (or BPM). You do this by click + dragging up and down on the number above the BPM label at the top of the page. Higher numbers go faster.
   
   If you want to change the speed of just ONE sound, you can stretch and shrink that sound by grabbing the very end of it and dragging it to the side a little.

6. How do I save my song?

   When you are ready to save your song, just push Save at the top of the screen. In the box that shows up, give it a title, tags and description to make it easier to locate later on. You should also select a license, which you can learn more about here.
   
   The last option is a public/private box. If you leave this box unchecked, your song will save privately to your page and nobody will see it but you. This will allow you to finish things later, before everyone gets to listen. But if you want to share your song with other people - to allow them to listen to it, comment on it, rate it and collaborate with you, you should make your song public.

7. How can I add my own sounds and songs to Splice?

   To upload your samples and sounds, just click this upload button from the page you're on. From there, you can select your clip. Make sure you enter some information for it and tag it really well, so that others can find it.
   
   Some uploading tips:
   
   

   • Splice is for uploading sounds, not songs. If you upload a fully mixed song from any source, it is likely to be deleted without further comment.
   • Splice works with public domain and Creative Commons licenses, so before you upload something, be sure that you either own the copyright on it or have express permission from the person who does, which states you are allowed to enter the work into the Creative Commons.
   • Believe it or not, cover songs and movie clips are almost always copyrighted, too, and they will be deleted.
   • Rap instrumentals and a cappellas are usually illegal, too - though some artists like The Beastie Boys have embraced the sharing of their work and actually encourage remixes. If you really want to lay down some rhymes, why not make up your own words and get another user to make you a beat? We all work together here to fill in the gaps. That's what Splice is about.

8. How do I delete a sound/song from my page?

   If your sound or song has not yet been used by another user, you can delete it yourself. Just click it's title to open it's information page, and then choose "Delete this Song" from the sidebar.
   
   If someone else has already used your sound, we can't delete it without breaking their creations, so that function is disabled. However, if you have a good reason to have something removed, please write to a moderator at community@splicemusic.com and let us know what's up. (Make sure you include your user name, a link to the sound and a reason.)

9. How do I record sounds?

   Just push this button any place you see it and you will be taken to the upload and recording page. You can use your internal computer mic if you have one, or just plug one in. (You can actually plug into any external sound source, like a minidisc player, etc.) Click to start recording, and then Allow when the window pops up. After that, just push the Record button to start! When you're done, you can play it back to check it or re-record it. The sound will have to process before you can use it in your song, but in the meantime, you can visit the sound's page to give it a photo and more.

Your Account

1. I lost my username or password.

   No problem. Just click here to get a reminder. If you don't see it, be sure to check your spam box. If you're still having trouble, you can send us an email.

2. Why do I have to verify my email address?

   You don't, technically, but you should. This helps us to know that our mail is going to a real person who wanted it, and not to someone else who never signed up. We cannot mail you anything - including help for lost login information - if you don't verify your email. Splice will never rent, sell or share your personal information with other sites or affiliates. If you believe your account security has been compromised, or if you have questions about this, please send us an email.

3. How can I change my password?

   Just go to your settings page and there is a section there to change it.

4. How do I update my user photo and profile information?

   coming soon.

5. What's the difference between fans and friends?

   If someone marks you as a favorite, they automatically become a fan of yours. If you favorite them in return, you will automatically become friends. Alternatively, you can just send a friends request. Right now, these designations just help you keep track of your favorite people, but soon, it will also help you keep track of their latest songs and share things in groups.

6. How do I accept a friend request?

   If someone requests to be your friend, you will receive a notice on your home page. Simply click Accept (or Deny, if you don't want to be friends.) To remove a friend, just visit their page and select Remove From Friends in the sidebar.

7. How can I remove a comment on one of my pages?

   Above each comment are links to delete the comment or to block the user who left it.

8. How can I get less mail from your site?

   Splice will automatically notify you once a day with a list of actions regarding your account - when someone friends you or uses your music. You can edit what we notify you about, as well as how often we notify you, by visiting your settings page.

9. I need some help understanding the licenses on your site.

   We're glad you asked! Splice works using both Public Domain and Creative Commons licenses. We do this because most samples on the site are shared among users and this prevents questions later about ownership of a finished work. We like to share and share alike. We use three different CC licenses here. You can learn more about each of them by visiting our license page or the Creative Commons home page. If there is a license you prefer, you can also visit your settings page to set a default license for all of your uploads.

10. How can I delete my account?

    To remove your profile from Splice, simply send a mail to community@splicemusic.com. We will also remove the sounds from your page, but please be aware - once you license a sound or song as Creative Commons, you cannot revoke it. In other words, if someone else has already used your sound in their song, we can't make them delete that song, or even just your sound in their song. If your sounds have not yet been used, we are, of course, happy to delete them for you.

Sharing the Music

1. How do I download an mp3 of something I like?

   *** Note: Mp3 downloads are temporarily disabled but are coming soon in a few days. In the meantime, why not make some more music to share when it's back? *** You can download an mp3 of both sounds and songs you want to keep a copy of. Just click on the title and go to that item's page. Near the picture, there is a button that says download. Just push it. :)

2. Can I bookmark my favorites?

   Yes! You can mark any user, sound or song as a favorite by clicking the little heart next to their nameor by selecting "add to favorites" in the sidebar. This will list them in your favorites folder so you can find them easily later on. For people, this will also display you as their fan. (If they favorite you back, you will automatically become friends.)

3. How do I put my songs into my MySpace, blog or site?

   You can use the Splice embeddable player for both sounds and songs. Just open the page for the item you want to share. In the Spread This Sound/Song module are the codes you can use to directly link or drop a player into your site. This should work on MySpace and most blogs, but some sites block embedding like this unless enough of their users request access to a certain site. If you can't get your embed to work, email community@splicemusic.com and also the admin of the destination site.

4. How can I get my friends involved?

   Great question! Splice is always more fun when your friends are here, too. Invite them! On your profile is a box that says "Invite friends." Use this to send them an invitation - if they click it and sign up, they will automatically be your friend on Splice, too. Send them a song. On the song page, you can input your friend's address and we'll send them a link to your song.

5. I'm a teacher/librarian/educator and I'd like to use Splice in my classroom. I have some questions and/or suggestions for you.

   We really like educators. (Especially thaumata, who has spent a lot of time teaching music herself.) We are working hard to grow Splice into a tool that works great for classrooms with limited budgets and hungry brains. Your input is really valuable, and we would love to hear what you're thinking. You should join the discussion in our educators forum, where you can meet other educators on the site and trade ideas. You can also email thaumata@splicemusic.com if you prefer. Let's put our heads together to make this a great resource for your students!

Troubleshooting

1. What system requirements do you recomment when using Splice?

   You will need to have Flash Player 9 or better installed, get it here: Flash Player 9.
   At the moment, Splice runs best on Firefox or, for you Mac kids, Safari.

2. Why is the sequencer skipping so much when I play things in it?

   The most common cause of this is that you are running Splice in two different tabs or browser windows. Make sure Splice is only open in one place on your computer and try again. Also, make sure you're not running any other Flash sites at the same time, as this could interfere with Splice. For best results, don't touch anything during the playback.

3. Another user is bothering me!

   If you're having trouble with another user, there are a couple of things we recommend: Delete their comments. By each comment is a button that says delete. Just hit it! Block them. There is a block button under every comment and also under their profile photo. If you're still having trouble, contact us.