Help

Using Fonn

Everything you need to go from a hummed idea to MIDI in Logic Pro. If something here doesn’t answer your question, email support@tryfonn.com.

Set up in Logic

Create an audio track and set its input to your microphone.
In the track’s Audio FX slot, choose Audio Units → Ingyn → Fonn.
Turn on Input Monitoring (the I button on the track) so your voice reaches Fonn. Wear headphones so your speakers don’t feed back into the mic.
Hum a few notes and watch the track meter. Adjust your interface’s input gain so peaks sit around −12 dB.

Fonn records first, then transcribes. It doesn’t play notes back live while you hum.

Capture a melody

Press Capture. The status changes to LISTENING…
Hum, sing or whistle your line.
Press Stop. Fonn works out the notes and shows BEARING FOUND. with the note names underneath, and the notes appear on the dial.

Not happy with it? Press Capture again. Each capture replaces the last one.

Use the MIDI

Drag to Track holds your melody with your timing as hummed, each note rounded to the nearest semitone (and snapped to your key, if you’ve chosen one). Drag it onto a software instrument track (or an empty part of the Tracks area) and Logic creates a MIDI region at that point.

The three Variations cards are ready to drag too:

Quantise: Your melody with each note pulled most of the way onto the nearest 16th, so it’s tighter but still sounds human.
Syncopate: Snapped to 16ths, with notes that land on the beat pushed just after it for more groove.
Harmony: Your melody plus a second voice a third above it, in your chosen key. In Chromatic, the second voice is always four semitones up.

Key and detail settings

Key: Pick the key of your song and Fonn snaps the notes to it. Choose Chromatic for no snapping: every note stays at the nearest semitone to what you sang, sharps and flats included.
Smooth: For long, flowing lines. Tolerates wobble in held notes.
Balanced: The default. Right for most melodies.
Detailed: For fast runs and small steps between notes.

Changing Smooth, Balanced or Detailed re-reads your last take straight away, so you don’t need to hum it again. A new key applies from your next capture, so set the key before you hum. Both settings are saved with your Logic project.

Getting clean takes

Healthy level. Aim for peaks around −12 dB, using the input gain rather than the track fader. Avoid clipping. If a take is too quiet, Fonn shows a hint.
Hard consonants for fast notes. Hum “da” or “dum” rather than “la”, so each note has a clear start.
Small gaps between repeated notes, so two of the same note don’t merge into one.
A quiet room and headphones, so background noise and speaker bleed don’t become stray notes.
One line at a time. Fonn transcribes a single melody, not chords.
A comfortable range. Fonn listens from E2 to C6, which covers most singing and humming voices. Notes outside that range are left out.

Troubleshooting

Fonn doesn’t appear in Logic

Quit and reopen Logic. If it’s still missing, open Logic Pro → Settings → Plug-in Manager, find Ingyn, select Fonn and click Reset & Rescan Selection. Fonn needs macOS 11 or later.

I press Capture but nothing is picked up

Check the track’s input is set to your microphone and that Input Monitoring is on. Watch the track meter while you hum. If it doesn’t move, the problem is before Fonn, in the input or your audio interface settings.

Fonn says the take is too quiet

Turn up the input gain on your interface (not the track fader) until peaks reach around −12 dB, then capture again.

Quick notes run together

Switch to Detailed, which re-reads the same take. For the next take, hum “da” or “dum” and leave a tiny gap between repeated notes.

A held note breaks into several notes

Switch to Smooth. Keeping your pitch steady through long notes helps too.

Some notes are a semitone out

Set the Key to your song’s key and capture again, so notes snap to the scale. In Chromatic, a slightly flat or sharp note can round to the neighbouring semitone.

I get stray notes

These usually come from background noise, speaker bleed or breaths. Use headphones, record in a quieter space, and check your level isn’t clipping.

Install, update, uninstall

Install or update: open the Fonn-x.x.x.pkg from your receipt email and follow the installer. Updating installs over the old version, and your Logic projects keep working. Restart Logic afterwards.

Uninstall: delete these two items, then restart Logic:

/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components/Fonn.component
/Library/Application Support/Ingyn/Fonn

In Finder, press Cmd Shift G and paste a path to go straight there.

Contact support

Email support@tryfonn.com. It helps to include your macOS version, your Logic Pro version, your Mac’s chip (Apple silicon or Intel) and, if it’s about a take, a short description of what you hummed and what Fonn produced.

Not getting on with Fonn? You can have a full refund within 14 days of purchase. See the refund policy.