Confessions of a Wannabe!

[dogsincars]

Update: I've been redeemed! And to all you read and replied... THANK YOU !

[hummingbird]

Quote:Forgive me Musicians for I have sinned,I'm sure there are stranger situations than the one I'm about mention, but this one is mine and it's finally reached the point of frustration. As awkward as it is to admit, it's a necessary confession to make if I intend to move forward, so here goes it."I am not a musician", or should I say... not a musician as one would define as, " a person who plays a musical instrument." I do however understand and write musical notation well enough to create self satisfying compositions. Though I've tried to dress them up with love and attention they remain, nonetheless, in a perpetual state of midi boredom. Why? Other than occasional pan and volume adjustments available in my notation software. I've never, vsti'd, mixed, mastered, or produced. I'm a complete idiot without a guide. Not an ideal situation for someone with a dream. Then again, everything starts at the beginning. And as someone once told me," Bust that shiz open and make some tunes! If you suck you can only get better. " So if anyone remembers how much they sucked and would like to share tips, stories and warnings - feel free. respectfully, RanP.S The following is a list of "shiz" I have at my creative disposal : Sonar 6, Kontakt 2, Garritan Jazz BB and as a gift I received the EW Colossus sound library from my girlfriend. ( I still haven't figured out how to say "thank you", as hard as I try, ) Welcome to my world No seriously, I spent the last three years struggling to understand something about mixing & production. I was lucky enough to work with an 'internet band' who patiently allowed me my turn at mixing projects, and a couple of the guys gave me feedback on my mixes and that helped me make the first steps. My instrumental prowess is limited, but I can play the guitar and I can tinkle keys, play a little percussion, and I've picked up bits and pieces of other instruments. My best skill is singing. I say, if you are limited by your ability to play instruments - get creative!There's a book - the Dummies Guide to Home Recording(?)... and a few other books recommended by folks here. My ears have grown... I try to listen beyond the melody & notice where the other instruments are in the mix.My skills grew to the point that I'm now getting instrumental forwards, and I appreciate all the help I've received here on improving my knowledge of composition & production.I find the KISS principle really works. Keep it sparse, set a mood, let things ebb and flow.cheersHummin'bird

[edteja]

As Confucius said, "A trip of a 1,000 miles begins by learning which fader will make the violin louder than the cello." Or something like that.There are lot of bits and pieces to get a handle on--enough that I doubt we ever get it all. But that is what is cool. Cakewalk has some good stuff, and the Garritan site has some tutorials that help for adding realism. (Not that I have achieved it yet either). You can spend happy hours taking the midi file from your notation program into SONAR, dividing the strings into smaller groups (clone the tracks) and playing with expression and the thousands of other tweaks that are possible. I have developed a basic strategy for this sort of thing, but I manage to make it come out different every time somehow. Dave W. can tell you about the inconsistencies in my orchestral project!!!Keep the faith that it will come out in the end, and focus on the fun, and you will get your confidence up. Good luck.

[mazz]

I would suggest, since you work in Notation, to find MIDI software (maybe Sonar has this already) that allows you to create in notation but would give you much more flexibility in editing the MIDI information (expression, variations in timing, tempo changes etc.).Also I would suggest, since you obviously read music, get a score to an early Mozart symphony or Haydn or Handel and get a recording of the same piece and try to make your MIDI version sound like the recording. It will probably never sound exact but through your attempts, you'll learn a lot about sequencing, writing, orchestration, etc. For your original compositions, if you want to export them to the notation software afterward, you can. In my experience, the notation software doesn't offer a lot in the way of "humanizing" the notes that are entered in step time. I"m going to be doing a large project in Sibelius and may find out differently but from my experience, it's better to use a sequencer and then copy the file, quantize the copy and export it to the notation software.As far as production goes, there's tons of information out there on all aspects of the subject. Magazines like Electronic Musician, Mix, and so on have a wealth of information, a lot of it relating to entry level folks. Sometimes they interview people that are involved in recordings that you can buy and they talk about how they got certain sounds. You can buy the recordings and intensely analyze the sounds and try to re-create them on your gear. It's really like learning an instrument, practice, practice, listen, listen, practice, practice............................When I was starting out in MIDI with a Commodore 64, everything was 24 clocks per quarter note. It all sounded mechanical because of the low, coarse, timing resolution. Nowadays there's no excuse for mechanical sounding MIDI productions (I"m not saying that yours sounds like that) with all the great software available for editing and adding expression, etc. Good luck,Mazz

[edteja]

Randy,Part of this (well, most of it) sounds worse than it is. I use Finale Songwriter for notation software, but the same approach should work for Sibelius or whatever you use. After I get a rough of the tune in notation, I simple save it as a midi file. SONAR lets you import midi files (each staff goes to a separate track). Then you assign the synth to put the right instrument for each track (Garitan's JB for a sax, let's say). Then, in piano roll, you can edit the precise timings and all sorts of qualities of the "performance." If you take a violin track and clone it, then you can edit the two violins so they are slightly different.Just play with it, man, and you'll soon be doing Mazz's Motzart game.

[davewalton]

Quote:I'm using a Sonar tutorial vid and I'm trying to remain " the good little student" by staying in step with the course and not peeking ahead. So I'm not certain how much midi edit control I'll actually end up with. Based on a quick read of the user manual I know the midi edit functions are available in piano roll or staff view. Big woop! Will they allow for changes in expression, articulation, dynamics and so on...? I didn't read far enough into the chapter because I knew my DVD was in the mail. And now I'll have to wait for Lesson 07 - " Working with MIDI" , Yikes! I wanna be bad, so bad.I admire your patience... It would be nearly impossible for me to not zoom to the section that I need the most. I use Sonar and although I can't compare their midi editing features with that of other packages, I can say that you can easily edit just about anything you want. There isn't really any technical limitation to getting a realistic sound from a notation source. It's just a learning process, something that doesn't seem to end. Sonar is a good choice I believe, for what you're doing or wanting to do. I picked Sonar because 90% of what I do is midi. There were also other good choices but Sonar certainly isn't a bad choice, that's for sure. Don't ask me about notation though. It takes me at least 20 seconds to identify a single note on a bass clef, a little less in the treble clef. Reading or writing notation is not my forte! Dave