@preacherallen

Hi,

The Song Maker in MMM2021 is a new feature in this version, quite different and much better than the old one. The F1 manual shows the new one, your image shows the old one that is still in the pdf document. Use F1 and search for "Song Maker."

Have you updated to the latest version of MMM 29.0.1.16?

There is no length that you can set for the duration, nor was there one in the previous version. The new one works with bars and beats and song parts (as did the last one), not by duration. You select a Genre template, Soundpool(s), limit instruments, and determine which song parts that you want.

I usually want short songs, so I limit them to the Intro, Verse, Outro. In the example that I just did for Pop, 80s... this gave me 25.5s. To see this, change the grid to milliseconds. The duration will show in the yellow bar. Change back to bars and beats for editing.

Then you still may have to play around with the song to get what you want, especially the endings. I usually extend the ending (yellow bar at the top) and adjust one or two loops to get an ending note or fade.

Don't confuse the Song Maker in MMM with the Soundtrack Maker in VPX. They are not the same. In VPX, you can indicate a range to limit the duration, but Soundtrack Maker uses Soundpool loops, thus bars and beats, and will most likely not give you an exact length. You can adjust the speed if needed to get an exact duration.

For VPX, you can see the Soundpools and the loops here:

C:\Users\Public\Documents\MAGIX\Common\Videocontent\Video Pro X\Soundtrack Maker Styles

I purchased a couple from Magix and put them here.

In the same location, you'll see .MMM files. You can copy these elsewhere so as to not accidently mess up the original, and open them in MMM. VPX actually uses a version of MMM to create the soundtracks.

John CB