Firstly please don't think about yourself that you're stupid! You're not. It's only lack of knowladge we all have started with. With time you will gain it like everyone.
And please don't use "posh" to express the quality. Because it's all about the second. you have either have good samples, avrege or bad :D
For good DAW i advice you to get reaper It's a great daw and you can use it for free withought any limitations. And it's fairly simple.
Now answering to your question:
0-127 that's not a volume. That's velocity - the strength of playing.
Track Volume in this case has got nothing to do with speakers volume. You have tracks volume and master volume. Try look up the mixer in the qse. As well in Edirol Orchestra I susspect there is build in mixer as with bandstand and there should be volume nobs.
Ok hope that will get you closer to achiving your goal :)
I understand your pain wth lack of technical skills. I was the same and I still have a lot to learn. But I've listened to your track. I think it's pretty good. Easly would fit in to jrpg game which is a good thing since those games always have most melodic and quality scores.Stop being so hard on yourself becfause that blocks you from letting all of your passion flow :D
Thise are going to be mostly general advices.
The production starts with the composition. If the composition has got badly arranged parts then producing it is a nightmare. I used to put loads of effects and eqs and spend hours upon hours trying to produce my stuff. Once I've realised that it was my composition which was badly arranged causeing the problem I've started to learn and improving my orchestration skills :D
Now badly orchestrated part doesn't mean everything is terrible. It means that there might be a doubled note somewhere or note in the chord could be moved to other octave to make the instruments sound clearer.
With better orchestration/arrangment i'm now only using convulsive reverb and limiter and everything sounds great so far and i can focus on continuing learning about orchestration. You can write with convulsive reverb on and when you finish and you wat to volume up you can put the compression/limiter on.
About your track. My first impression was that piano was to loud and it was distorting sound. Don't worry about the volume when you compose. Make sure nothing is to loud. I usualy set everything to -10 db.
Secendly you need to work on setting better velocity. This is very importand. You have to use your orchestra as it would be a mixing table. Setting the right velocities will create richer sound because instruments sounds will not be overpowering another. It is difficult but once you start working on it you will figure it out.
Don't add extra notes because this way will not make instruments sound reacher only muddled. If you want to bring up particular section just lower the velocity of other instruments and rise the instrument you want it to lead.
Make sure that notes are not doubled within the octave, so for example try only have one C one E and one G in one octave and use other octaves for other sections. And make sure bass has got a lot of space to sound out. But to bring up you the lead you can double the main melody and/or play it in unisono.
Read about the instruments and find out how they sound in different ranges.
Have good monitor speakers or headphones.
Should concider learning how to use ewql. Much better then edirol . Edirol sounds flat.
Hopefuly this will help. Let me know if you have any more questions.
So sorry for such late respond. I wasn't checking my page on here. Im not great at production although now im better then i used to be when i wrote pieces that are over here.
There is few things first. I realised sometimes your instruments are to loud, so the first advice is to set all of the tracks to -10 db. You will make them louder later.
In regards to everything else what sounds you're after?
Hello. Just came on to say howdy. Let's make our plan this week! Are you game?
Your friend from across the big pond,
Martha Maria
P.S. Is the royal wedding a big deal over there? Kate looks like a sweet girl. I'm not particularly interested in the royal anything, but I hope that Kate isn't devoured the way poor Diana was.
Hi There, I'm going to sleep very well!!!! This little piece reminds me of those sweet summer days when the ice cream truck came around and Mother always gave us a quarter to buy a brown cow.
Sorry, I haven't checked in more lately. I've been very busy, getting my new label off the ground. It's Dogwood Daughter, a site just for Christian music. It's daunting and scary to launch a new project.
I was wondering how your new job is working out? Write me a quick e-mail. I still haven't given up on your radio idea....I've just been preoccupied with other projects.
I love this section of your piece.....the flute solo in the middle. Your music has a gentle sweetness. Now I'm listening to the Oriental One. The plucked sound reminds me of a hammered dulcimer. I used to play those quite a lot. But the digital world has ruined me for anything that needs to be tuned...I've gotten very lazy.
Drop me an e-mail when you get the time.
Now, I'm going to sleep. Good night, Christopher. Martha
I suggest you to fix any latency matters, and to compose while listening to the loop beeing played. Never compose deaf on piano roll, you should always listen to the result. some instrument has less attack and you would have to move the note a millimiter before... but what you can do is just type on a keyboard the rythmic pattern and only after move the notes on the desires pitch. Anyway a clear idea of the rythm (which is the difficult thing on piano roll) is important to trasform a "time" idea in a visual one. Another fundamental thing is trying to set the right quantize for any piece... i think almost every rhythm is quantizable. also, for me, listening to american minimalistic is a huge font of inspiration, they seem to compose on piano roll, of curse they are not, but they develop useful ideas for computer composers.
Hello John, Have not been on the site much....been working a lot on my new website and making more videos. Just wanted to say a quick hello to you and hope that you are well. Will try to check in more next week and take a listen to some of your work. Hope you have good weekend. Bye now, Martha Maria
I'm listening, for the second time, to 'One for MarMelodian.' What a delightful surprise to find this ONE! It's lovely. It reminds me so much of piano music from the Civil War Era in the states. Did you see the Ken Burns film series on PBS about the American Civil War, by chance? Your piano piece would sound right at home on that sound track. I like that little surprise three fourths of the way through, the lowered half tone. This piece seems kind of a cross between Scarlatti (especially the part after the lowered half tone phrase, reminds me of a Scarlatti Sonata, one of the popular ones, but of course, I can't remember the number...it starts out sounding almost like a hunt....a short phrase, with three trilled notes and then an echo...do you know the one I mean?) and 19th century American piano music. But, on the other hand, since you're in East Sussex, I'm supposing you probably were not influenced by American piano music....so, I'm wondering about the traditional music you were raised on. Do you think traditional local music influences you? As for myself, the Appalachian mountain music is absolutely in my bones, no matter what I'm playing. When I was young, I tried to get away from it....now I embrace it . Thanks for posting this wonderful little piece. Martha
Listening to Sunshine Scene right now. I like your instrumentation, and the clarity of the parts. Very sweet melody. Is that lead instruments something like an ocarina?
Funny, I guess I just focused on your middle name, for some reason....don't know why. Didn't think about it, just typed. I shall investigate your suggestions about piano music submissions. Thanks for the tip!
That's a wonderful idea for someone on this site who has the technical know how, the time and the inclination to do exactly that....Composers' Forum radio. Actually, it could double as a Composers' Forum Music Library as well, a site for music supervisors to browse the members' music. Do you know how to do that, John? If the administrators here do not want this site's name on an internet radio station, there's nothing stopping you from starting it yourself, under another name....There would be many people here who would probably like to submit. Would a radio station just be a website with audio? That shouldn't be too hard to set up.
Hi John, Wow, thanks for your nice comments. To tell you the truth, I don't know the radio stations to which you are referring. Are they internet stations? To tell you the truth, what I don't do is market....I'm lazy and remiss about that. I diddle around in my little studio in the woods and leave it pretty much as a hobby. About mixing on the computer, I wish I could help you, but I'm a technophobe myself. I use a very old fashioned system, the Roland Boss recorders and a Roland keyboard, mostly. I don't know how to record on a computer, though I bought a Mac last spring, thinking that I WOULD learn, but so far, I haven't.
Thank you for the nice comments about the piano pieces. I'll load more new ones in the next few days. I'm working on a new suite right now that I like. Also finished up another piano suite a couple of months ago....A Week in the Life, a piano piece for each day of the week.
I wish you luck finding help with your computer. James Semple is a member here, in fact, I believe he's a site administrator. He also lives in the UK, though I'm not sure where...maybe no where close to you. At any rate, I have found him to be VERY generous with his knowledge and advice on here. Have you made his acquaintance yet?
Bye, Martha
At 9:18am on February 20, 2011, Tyler Hughes said…
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Christopher John Ulrich Burke's Comments
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Hi,
Hows the progress going? :)
I found great book about orchestration. You might want to look in to it.
http://www.musicroom.com/se/ID_No/096257/details.html
All Best
Mik
Hey,
Firstly please don't think about yourself that you're stupid! You're not. It's only lack of knowladge we all have started with. With time you will gain it like everyone.
And please don't use "posh" to express the quality. Because it's all about the second. you have either have good samples, avrege or bad :D
For good DAW i advice you to get reaper It's a great daw and you can use it for free withought any limitations. And it's fairly simple.
Now answering to your question:
0-127 that's not a volume. That's velocity - the strength of playing.
Track Volume in this case has got nothing to do with speakers volume. You have tracks volume and master volume. Try look up the mixer in the qse. As well in Edirol Orchestra I susspect there is build in mixer as with bandstand and there should be volume nobs.
Ok hope that will get you closer to achiving your goal :)
All Best
Mik
Hey,
I understand your pain wth lack of technical skills. I was the same and I still have a lot to learn. But I've listened to your track. I think it's pretty good. Easly would fit in to jrpg game which is a good thing since those games always have most melodic and quality scores.Stop being so hard on yourself becfause that blocks you from letting all of your passion flow :D
Thise are going to be mostly general advices.
The production starts with the composition. If the composition has got badly arranged parts then producing it is a nightmare. I used to put loads of effects and eqs and spend hours upon hours trying to produce my stuff. Once I've realised that it was my composition which was badly arranged causeing the problem I've started to learn and improving my orchestration skills :D
Now badly orchestrated part doesn't mean everything is terrible. It means that there might be a doubled note somewhere or note in the chord could be moved to other octave to make the instruments sound clearer.
With better orchestration/arrangment i'm now only using convulsive reverb and limiter and everything sounds great so far and i can focus on continuing learning about orchestration. You can write with convulsive reverb on and when you finish and you wat to volume up you can put the compression/limiter on.
About your track. My first impression was that piano was to loud and it was distorting sound. Don't worry about the volume when you compose. Make sure nothing is to loud. I usualy set everything to -10 db.
Secendly you need to work on setting better velocity. This is very importand. You have to use your orchestra as it would be a mixing table. Setting the right velocities will create richer sound because instruments sounds will not be overpowering another. It is difficult but once you start working on it you will figure it out.
Don't add extra notes because this way will not make instruments sound reacher only muddled. If you want to bring up particular section just lower the velocity of other instruments and rise the instrument you want it to lead.
Make sure that notes are not doubled within the octave, so for example try only have one C one E and one G in one octave and use other octaves for other sections. And make sure bass has got a lot of space to sound out. But to bring up you the lead you can double the main melody and/or play it in unisono.
Read about the instruments and find out how they sound in different ranges.
Have good monitor speakers or headphones.
Should concider learning how to use ewql. Much better then edirol . Edirol sounds flat.
Hopefuly this will help. Let me know if you have any more questions.
Good luck and all best
M
for some sounds there is free kontakt player with 600mb of samples and some more freebies http://www.native-instruments.com/#/en/products/?category=1339 , so you could give it a shot if you don't have them yet they are oretty good. And cinesamples has got free libs http://cinesamples.com/retail/
Hey man,
So sorry for such late respond. I wasn't checking my page on here. Im not great at production although now im better then i used to be when i wrote pieces that are over here.
There is few things first. I realised sometimes your instruments are to loud, so the first advice is to set all of the tracks to -10 db. You will make them louder later.
In regards to everything else what sounds you're after?
All Best
Mik
Hi Ulrich!
Thanks for your comments and advice. I will take this into account in the future and as you correctly point out I'm not a master in mixing.
I wish you a good 2012
BTW. The summer song was written as a knock-off of Percy Faith song for a TV show that wanted the same feeling
Hello. Just came on to say howdy. Let's make our plan this week! Are you game?
Your friend from across the big pond,
Martha Maria
P.S. Is the royal wedding a big deal over there? Kate looks like a sweet girl. I'm not particularly interested in the royal anything, but I hope that Kate isn't devoured the way poor Diana was.
Hi There, I'm going to sleep very well!!!! This little piece reminds me of those sweet summer days when the ice cream truck came around and Mother always gave us a quarter to buy a brown cow.
Sorry, I haven't checked in more lately. I've been very busy, getting my new label off the ground. It's Dogwood Daughter, a site just for Christian music. It's daunting and scary to launch a new project.
I was wondering how your new job is working out? Write me a quick e-mail. I still haven't given up on your radio idea....I've just been preoccupied with other projects.
I love this section of your piece.....the flute solo in the middle. Your music has a gentle sweetness. Now I'm listening to the Oriental One. The plucked sound reminds me of a hammered dulcimer. I used to play those quite a lot. But the digital world has ruined me for anything that needs to be tuned...I've gotten very lazy.
Drop me an e-mail when you get the time.
Now, I'm going to sleep. Good night, Christopher. Martha
hi Christopher, sorry for answering late
I suggest you to fix any latency matters, and to compose while listening to the loop beeing played. Never compose deaf on piano roll, you should always listen to the result. some instrument has less attack and you would have to move the note a millimiter before... but what you can do is just type on a keyboard the rythmic pattern and only after move the notes on the desires pitch. Anyway a clear idea of the rythm (which is the difficult thing on piano roll) is important to trasform a "time" idea in a visual one. Another fundamental thing is trying to set the right quantize for any piece... i think almost every rhythm is quantizable. also, for me, listening to american minimalistic is a huge font of inspiration, they seem to compose on piano roll, of curse they are not, but they develop useful ideas for computer composers.
I hope i told you useful things
ric
I'll try my best to help. If you can try your best to explain your goals and problems you'll get the best results ;D Enjoy the site!
Hi John, Wow, thanks for your nice comments. To tell you the truth, I don't know the radio stations to which you are referring. Are they internet stations? To tell you the truth, what I don't do is market....I'm lazy and remiss about that. I diddle around in my little studio in the woods and leave it pretty much as a hobby. About mixing on the computer, I wish I could help you, but I'm a technophobe myself. I use a very old fashioned system, the Roland Boss recorders and a Roland keyboard, mostly. I don't know how to record on a computer, though I bought a Mac last spring, thinking that I WOULD learn, but so far, I haven't.
Thank you for the nice comments about the piano pieces. I'll load more new ones in the next few days. I'm working on a new suite right now that I like. Also finished up another piano suite a couple of months ago....A Week in the Life, a piano piece for each day of the week.
I wish you luck finding help with your computer. James Semple is a member here, in fact, I believe he's a site administrator. He also lives in the UK, though I'm not sure where...maybe no where close to you. At any rate, I have found him to be VERY generous with his knowledge and advice on here. Have you made his acquaintance yet?
Bye, Martha
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