Hi, @morodiene, wow that Nektar controller looks really impressive! I was looking at a Novation Impulse 49. Do you have any experience with this controller or other Novation controllers? Why do you prefer a non-piano action for strings and brass? I've done a decent amount of MIDI work with the mouse, and almost none with a controller. I had always assumed that something like weighted/semi-weighted keybed would be best for picking up on subtle expression, etc. Would you disagree?
The bulk of my MIDI experience is pretty much confined to EW stuff. I have a few other plug-ins but the EW are my go to and what I've spent the most time becoming familiar with. How is it that you find the choirs to be particularly finicky? I have zero experience really configuring the sounds within the plug-in, and have generally only messed with velocity expression and finding the right places to start/end notes so that things sound organized. I have found that the choirs have a really slow attack.
I totally hear you about Composer Cloud and I think the cost of this kind of software is extremely prohibitive to the novice. I have found the same to be true for mixing and mastering plug-ins. With mixing and mastering plug-ins it seems like you can accomplish some decent stuff using freeware, but if you want a realistic orchestra sound you really do seem to need better software than stock plug-ins. I started out using free soundfonts in Fruity Loops and my lord, the difference in realism between most of those and the EW stuff is striking.
On reverb, I am still verrry new to the effective use of reverb haha. I have basically no idea how to position things from front to back but I understand that it is possible. I guess my very basic guideline is "more reverb=farther away, less=closer", but that's really the extent of any technical knowledge on the subject :D This particular post has no reverb but that reverb which was active in the EW plug-in itself. I have years of learning ahead of me in the mixing department, without a doubt :)
Here are my thoughts on copying and pasting - I LOVE it. It speeds up my workflow immensely. What I tend to do is craft a phrase or motive or what have you in a particular instrument and then copy it into new instruments for modification. Sometimes I will simply take a phrase and move it from a violin in the 4th register to a voila in the 3rd, and maybe a cello in the 1st or 2nd to create a very unified string section. It really depends on what I'm going for. Sometimes I will modify the melody to create a bit of counterpoint within that string section. Sometimes I will avoid copy/paste all together, especially as a way to generate new musical ideas, but when I do use it I always use it as a way to recreate a baseline idea in multiple instruments, which I will then go in and specifically modify to build depth and variation in the music.
I look forward to your input on any future orchestral type posts that I make. I've got several projects that are all mouse-made and I would definitely appreciate an experienced ear's opinion. I don't really know anyone IRL who is doing this kind of stuff! But I have made use of the velocity expression in most of them and they are better in quality than this particular post here.
I very much appreciate your sharing your insight and experience with me, @morodiene. :) And I really look forward to hearing more of the music that you and @negativer create! Thank you very much, ma'am! :)
Well, regarding copy/paste: it's great for composing, but not for production. I separate the two so I compose in Finale, and then I play that into my DAW, where I do not copy and paste once in the DAW or you end up with a very unnatural sounding orchestra.
Here's an idea of what I was able to do with EW Symphonic Choirs. Keep in mind that I had to overdubb all the parts with my own singing 3-4 times per part to get it to be legato and have clear words:
https://steemit.com/originalmusic/@morodiene/end-of-days-the-second-coming-an-original-piece-written-for-orchestra-and-choir
There's a great community of composers using virtual instruments called vi-control.net. Definitely worth joining, but there are some big name professionals on there like Hans Zimmer, so best to do more reading and listening before posting. ;)
This, unfortunately, isn't the best medium to talk, but I'm on The Writer's Block on Discord if you want to chat :)
:O:O:O WOW! Wow wow wow. Do you have an education or training in music? This is composition and execution beyond my ability. Haha! May I ask how long you've been practicing?
I'll check out the vi-control community and look into Finale, and I'll look for you on Discord. Thanks for sharing that piece! It's not just impressive from an analytical perspective, it was truly a pleasure to listen to.
Thank you!! I've studied piano since I was 5, and always loved listening to Beethoven and Shostakovich symphonies. I studied composition in college and then continued studying privately with my comp teacher from college. My biggest issue is that I'm very slow at it. Maybe this year I'll work to get some more pieces completed. ;)
Ahh your education and experience is very apparent. There is a kind of maturity and vision in the sound that seems, to me, unmistakable. I have no training in music and I feel like my brain doesn't put music together in a way that might result in what you have created in the oratorio. I can comprehend it from the perspective of an audience member and it communicates to me, but when it comes time to compose, my stuff just doesn't sound like that. I'm really very happy to have heard it and I do hope that you complete some more :)
I highly recommend that you do lots of listening of the music you want to create. If you wish to do movie scoring, for example, then learn how to read music and study scores of great classical composers as well as scores of John Williams and other film composers.
It's never too late! The craft of composing is a skill that you develop, it's not something that anyone is born with - even Mozart had many teachers and studied composition :)
I think that is very sound advice. I hadn't considered it, but I suppose that learning to read music would be necessary to study composition. :D I am really interested in composing for films and games (and also stock audio), but I have been focusing my attention on practice (of Cubase and EW software mostly) in the form of rewriting an old metal album I contributed to as epic symphonic metal. So I've been listening to lots of heavy metal in that spectrum (stuff like Mechina, Blind Guardian, Brymir, Dimmu Borgir).
It's very interesting what computers have afforded independent musicians, but there is so much to learn. Not just composition, but also production and performance. It is, without a single doubt, a lifelong pursuit. :)
You inspired me to go work on some stuff and I hate it/don't hate it! ? I guess? I dunno? Lol. I'll share it once it's more developed :)