Non-Guitar Centric Music

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  • Clarky said:

    when you "fix up" you keys playing.. out of curiosity, do you quantise the performance, or go to the editor and just drag that occasional iffy note into a better place?

    Drag, drop, push, pull, whatever works.  Sometimes I'll move the note up and down the scale to see what happens too, Ignite is great that way.

    “Theory is something that is written down after the music has been made so we can explain it to others”– Levi Clay


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  • ClarkyClarky Frets: 3261
    Clarky said:

    when you "fix up" you keys playing.. out of curiosity, do you quantise the performance, or go to the editor and just drag that occasional iffy note into a better place?

    Drag, drop, push, pull, whatever works.  Sometimes I'll move the note up and down the scale to see what happens too, Ignite is great that way.

    the difficulty of 'mousing in' is that you have to have a very good idea how to programme the velocities..
    it's really easy to make a great instrument sound mechanical and unnatural..
    play every note as if it were your first
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  • SnapSnap Frets: 6256
    I play the stuff in, then tweak the bum notes manually.

     I can play keys, but I'm rusty. I learned to a fairly high standard as a kid, on the classical curriculum, but jacked it in my teens for the guitar. So, I can read music well for piano, but slowly for guitar. That aside, the good things about learning piano as a kid is that I learned theory, parts of which I still remember. The bad bit is that I can't play as well as I used to or remember to, so I get very frustrated when I can't get what is in my head into my fingers.

    Like all of us, my time for music is very limited, so I can't see the situation changing anytime soon.
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  • SnapSnap Frets: 6256
    here's something I did a fwe months ago,




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  • ClarkyClarky Frets: 3261
    Snap said:
    I play the stuff in, then tweak the bum notes manually.

     I can play keys, but I'm rusty. I learned to a fairly high standard as a kid, on the classical curriculum, but jacked it in my teens for the guitar. So, I can read music well for piano, but slowly for guitar. That aside, the good things about learning piano as a kid is that I learned theory, parts of which I still remember. The bad bit is that I can't play as well as I used to or remember to, so I get very frustrated when I can't get what is in my head into my fingers.

    Like all of us, my time for music is very limited, so I can't see the situation changing anytime soon.

    I play keys, but not great.. certainly not good enough to do live... in the studio though I'll noodle on keys with chord progressions and stuff.. specifically when experimenting with inversions, chord voicings, and for checking harmony etc..

    I find composition on a keyboard interesting because it makes me go about things very differently

    play every note as if it were your first
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  • ClarkyClarky Frets: 3261
    do any of you guys add orchestral parts to your music?
    play every note as if it were your first
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  • FretwiredFretwired Frets: 24601
    Clarky said:
    do any of you guys add orchestral parts to your music?
    Something I'm working on ... slowly. I have NI's Session Strings which is quite good.

    @Clarky check out this piano .. one of the best I've heard for a while ..

    http://www.native-instruments.com/en/products/komplete/keys/una-corda/?content=3237&uuh=12167ed19cd68216412a605e1b039eb5&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Una+Corda+c=Una_Corda+b=Komplete+t=Release_PD

    Remember, it's easier to criticise than create!
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  • ClarkyClarky Frets: 3261
    edited December 2015
    looks interesting that Una Corda don't it..

    I have Session String.. yes they're nice, however the whole ensemble is too small for my needs..
    it's great for chamber stuff or the sort of strings you get in pop / Motown etc..
    but it lacks the sort of 'weight' you need for those full orchestral vibes…
    that's why I eventually went for CS2.. which is a whole different deal..
    the real pisser is that just a few weeks after getting it, NI released their Symph Series strings.. which are absolutely beautiful..
    bastards.. ! ! !
    that said, CS2 is amazing and exactly what I need [very similar to the new Symph Series String in tone etc..] so I'm not really missing out
    play every note as if it were your first
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  • FretwiredFretwired Frets: 24601

    Remember, it's easier to criticise than create!
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  • ToneControlToneControl Frets: 11788
    Clarky said:
    kin said:
    just had a quick scout through some of your stuff @Clarky ,  that first track sounds epic .
    Do you do most of it with a keyboard controller?

    I 'mouse' in the notes, velocities and other expressive characteristics.. even the drums..
    because I'm a crap keys player.. lol..
    when I'm composing, often I'm nowhere near a guitar or keyboard.. I'll hear it in my head and start scoring it..
    my 'portable DAW' is a notepad and a pen.. I carry it absolutely everywhere..
    try an Ableton Push2
    I can only play in C major/A minor really on a keyboard, and do not think I can find time to learn all keys & scales, but the Push lets you play chords and melodies in any key, including weird stuff and harmonic minors

    check out their videos 
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  • FretwiredFretwired Frets: 24601

    Remember, it's easier to criticise than create!
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  • ClarkyClarky Frets: 3261
    Fretwired said:
    that's the one I was referring [Syphm Series strings] to in my post [immediately above yours]
    really beautiful ain't it…
    check out Cinematic Strings 2.. this is the one I'm using right now.. it's very similar sounding to NI Symphony Series Strings..
    play every note as if it were your first
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  • ClarkyClarky Frets: 3261
    Clarky said:
    kin said:
    just had a quick scout through some of your stuff @Clarky ,  that first track sounds epic .
    Do you do most of it with a keyboard controller?

    I 'mouse' in the notes, velocities and other expressive characteristics.. even the drums..
    because I'm a crap keys player.. lol..
    when I'm composing, often I'm nowhere near a guitar or keyboard.. I'll hear it in my head and start scoring it..
    my 'portable DAW' is a notepad and a pen.. I carry it absolutely everywhere..
    try an Ableton Push2
    I can only play in C major/A minor really on a keyboard, and do not think I can find time to learn all keys & scales, but the Push lets you play chords and melodies in any key, including weird stuff and harmonic minors

    check out their videos 
    wow.. that looks like a useful lil' tool

    why not just play in a key you're familiar with, then select all the notes and drag them into the target key??
    play every note as if it were your first
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  • ClarkyClarky Frets: 3261
    Fretwired said:
    I have this… it's great too.. very heavy on resources though
    a massive percussion instrument is an absolute must for trailer music

    ever looked at the East West stuff? I don't have any of it myself but it is highly rated..
    play every note as if it were your first
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  • ToneControlToneControl Frets: 11788
    Clarky said:
    Clarky said:
    kin said:
    just had a quick scout through some of your stuff @Clarky ,  that first track sounds epic .
    Do you do most of it with a keyboard controller?

    I 'mouse' in the notes, velocities and other expressive characteristics.. even the drums..
    because I'm a crap keys player.. lol..
    when I'm composing, often I'm nowhere near a guitar or keyboard.. I'll hear it in my head and start scoring it..
    my 'portable DAW' is a notepad and a pen.. I carry it absolutely everywhere..
    try an Ableton Push2
    I can only play in C major/A minor really on a keyboard, and do not think I can find time to learn all keys & scales, but the Push lets you play chords and melodies in any key, including weird stuff and harmonic minors

    check out their videos 
    wow.. that looks like a useful lil' tool

    why not just play in a key you're familiar with, then select all the notes and drag them into the target key??
    Imagine my joy in playing complicated-sounding triads and chord fragments against the tracks already recorded, thus using my ear and brain without 5 or 10 years of muscle memory needed to pay for it

    I'd say composing in one key then transposing was a more mathematical technique - valuable sometimes, but stopping you get a direct feel for what you are recording
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  • FretwiredFretwired Frets: 24601
    Clarky said:
    Fretwired said:
    I have this… it's great too.. very heavy on resources though
    a massive percussion instrument is an absolute must for trailer music

    ever looked at the East West stuff? I don't have any of it myself but it is highly rated..
    Yes I have seen the East West stuff .. check this out ...

    http://www.soundsonline-europe.com/composercloud

    Remember, it's easier to criticise than create!
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  • ClarkyClarky Frets: 3261
    Fretwired said:
    Clarky said:
    Fretwired said:
    I have this… it's great too.. very heavy on resources though
    a massive percussion instrument is an absolute must for trailer music

    ever looked at the East West stuff? I don't have any of it myself but it is highly rated..
    Yes I have seen the East West stuff .. check this out ...

    http://www.soundsonline-europe.com/composercloud
    jeez… that's bundle..
    when I was looking for my choirs, it was a very close run thing between East West and Sound Iron..
    and I knew that no matter which one I got I'd still be wanting the other… lmao..
    play every note as if it were your first
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  • SnapSnap Frets: 6256
    I've started using a lot more orchestra parts recently, but IO've always been a fan of big strings. I have Session Strings Pro and have also started expliring the factory library in Kontakt - there are some very big weighty settings in there, but of course no articulation.

    I can see symphonic brass and strings being bought at some point down the line.

    I've got a few synths that have good orchestra patches in them - Cakewalk's Rapture Pro is very good, as is Alchemy. Omnisphere 2 is excellent for vocal stuff - some v good choral and ethnic/tribal patches, and of course the ability to import and manipulate audio.

    I;'ve got a few recordings of Imams doing the Azan (or is it adhan), which I have yet to start arsing around with, very atmospheric.
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  • ClarkyClarky Frets: 3261

    The orchestral strings in Komplete are not bad.. they have a handful of articualtions that you can keyswitch and they react well to velocity.. before I had CS2, I used to blend them with Session Strings Pro.. SS Pro provided the "tone" and Komplete provided the body and size.

    the down side though is that the Komplete strings cannot cres and dim.. this is a big part of getting the realism.. to do this I used to create two parts where for example the cres was to happen.. one soft and one strong.. then I'd fade in the strong up through the soft one.. worked ok.. that said, doing this in CS2 [and the new NI Symph Series Strings are the same] via the Mod wheel is much better..

    take a look at the sttrings in Omni.. I think there's one called Hollywood which is beautiful for the softer side of things... really smooth...

    I love the sound of Azan.. when it's done well it makes my hair stand on end..

    play every note as if it were your first
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  • This was intended as being non-guitar-centric (although it does have a little guitar in it) but it's more about the chord progression and ways to layer the sounds



    The keyboard on this track has since died, and the shaker was made of rice in a used squash bottle. I ate the rice for lunch the day after doing the recording.
    "Working" software has only unobserved bugs. (Parroty Error: Pieces of Nine! Pieces of Nine!)
    Seriously: If you value it, take/fetch it yourself
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