tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4119918719087869579.post7174644853238255686..comments2023-11-03T05:44:29.722-07:00Comments on The Electric Semiquaver: Baby got "Playback"Kenneth D. Froelichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12140430781961765944noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4119918719087869579.post-30877661619923568272009-11-22T18:22:22.267-08:002009-11-22T18:22:22.267-08:00Hi Amanda,
I can understand how difficult it can ...Hi Amanda,<br /><br />I can understand how difficult it can be to hear your music properly when you are just starting to learn how to compose. The best thing that you can do in your situation is to work on training your ear so that you can "hear" your music in your head, without using either playback or even a live player. Practice by studying scores that you are unfamiliar with first without a recording, and then verifying what you heard with the recording later. It is vital that your ear is strong enough to give yourself at least an approximation of the piece. This takes time and patience, but is probably the most important thing that you can do for yourself.<br /><br />To get a better idea of how the instruments themselves sound, you can look at several online resources that demonstrate all of the major (and several auxiliary) instrument groups. Here is one such resource:<br /><br />http://www.mti.dmu.ac.uk/~ahugill/manual/intro.html<br /><br />This site will allow you to hear these instruments properly, rather than what you might think they sound like through MIDI playback.<br /><br />I hope this helps you out - please feel free to send me a message if you need further guidance.<br /><br />- Ken FroelichKenneth D. Froelichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12140430781961765944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4119918719087869579.post-27355644348301591332009-11-22T17:06:06.515-08:002009-11-22T17:06:06.515-08:00I can see the sense in the idea, but if you have n...I can see the sense in the idea, but if you have no live musicians to play your music and are still learning how to write the music so you get something like the sound you hear in your head, what else would you suggest other than listening to midi playback, no matter how flawed that is?<br />AmandaUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17790043352910963743noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4119918719087869579.post-68188854808516117892009-06-28T16:31:12.673-07:002009-06-28T16:31:12.673-07:00Hi Kenneth, good start of your blog! Some of your ...Hi Kenneth, good start of your blog! Some of your MIDI tips were new thoughts to me, esp. the idea to mute all but one voices and imagine the rest.<br /><br />What I do frequently is to switch MIDI sounds in playback to give rise to a imagination of what I've written independently from its MIDI sound. I use grand piano sounds for vocals, brass etc. Also, I strongly second your idea to take the tempo down a bit by default, and, even more so, to be aware that long notes, unaccompanied passages and even breaks can sound so much better if played by a real musician than with unedited MIDI.<br /><br />I've posted twice on my blog about how ReWire integration in Sibelius 6 changed my workflow drastically: <br /><br />+ http://fritzfeger.blogspot.com/2009/06/update-on-sibelius-6.html<br />+ http://fritzfeger.blogspot.com/2009/06/sibelius-6-update-2.html<br /><br />Best,<br />FritzFritz Fegerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07840387425711917723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4119918719087869579.post-17803901631056732772009-06-27T22:16:49.572-07:002009-06-27T22:16:49.572-07:00I agree with much of what you’ve written in this p...I agree with much of what you’ve written in this posting. I will definitely take your advice into consideration with respect to taking my tempos down a notch, for example. Both Sibelius and Sonar, my two weapons of choice, default to 100bpm. After years of listening to this tempo, I find that it unconsciously informs my starting decisions at times. <br /> However, I need to bring up one situation which, I admit, is probably unique to persons in my situation. Specifically, I refer to the need to use MIDI playback as a means of orienting myself to the entire score at once. Since I have a severely restricted visual field, it isn’t really possible to keep track of one’s situation by reading. Fortunately, I have decades of experience both as a classically trained pianist and as a long time listener of classical music. In addition, I am blessed with having the opportunity to hear far more classical music performed live these days than I ever used to ear. <br />Finally, the adaptation of Sibelius for the blind by Dan Rugman with his Sibelius Access plug-in has enabled me to literally prepare the scores which have been trapped in my head waiting to be heard. <br />When I was a student at New England Conservatory in the 1970s and early 80s, I attended every orchestral, wind ensemble and choral rehearsal I could in order to hear the works of the great masters disassembled and reassembled section by section. Unfortunately, my inability to then run home, write something down and have some people try it, drastically diminished the educational experience I had back then. <br />However, the combination of modern notational possibilities and the wealth of live music I’m hearing now, combined with the passage of years and serious aural development should help me to avoid many of the pitfalls that you mention in your post. <br />All that said, just as a neutral proofreader helps the author to correct spelling and grammatical errors, hearing comments like yours, no matter how obvious they may seem, will definitely help me “catch myself” as I work my way through various pieces I’m working on. <br />Thank you for this blog. <br />KevinKevinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15485714652289748380noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4119918719087869579.post-49141707320165902732009-06-24T14:04:23.058-07:002009-06-24T14:04:23.058-07:00You have a great point here Jim - one thing that I...You have a great point here Jim - one thing that I would like to distinguish here is the difference between using playback as a *composition* tool, and its effect on our ears, rather than creating a finalized MIDI for performers to work from. I too often will create MIDI mock-ups of my works for performers to work with, but this is after the piece has been composed. This is a valuable use of MIDI, and one that I completely endorse! :)Kenneth D. Froelichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12140430781961765944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4119918719087869579.post-82815104651988525882009-06-24T11:30:35.497-07:002009-06-24T11:30:35.497-07:00As with all technologies, MIDI playback can be a c...As with all technologies, MIDI playback can be a crutch or a tool. I have gone a step further - I actually export MIDI files out of Sibelius and import them into Logic 8. I then use samples from the Vienna Symphonic Library to "prototype" my pieces. I do this for myself and my players. So many players (non virtuoso division) need a realistic sounding document to compare to the score, especially modern music with modern rhythmic, harmonic and melodic languages.<br /><br />I am a "young" composer - in my mid-30's - and am always working to better train my ear - but I find the technology helps me and more importantly my performers - who are often not as versed in modern music and sound as they could/should be.Jim Scully - aka jimmuscomphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17471829981924551501noreply@blogger.com