A Demo of My "New Toys"

Rodney Carlyle Money September 19, 2015 at 2:46pm

Concerning great musicians, I'm talking about performers not composers who can play all of the repertoire of their respected instruments which is pretty great. All of them state in their master classes that even if the music is about nothing, make it about something.

Olmnilnlolm September 20, 2015 at 3:56pm

Why would anyone say, "Songs need stories?"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a15xkowPEPg

Isn't this woman singing?

Does she need a story to go with her singing?

Olmnilnlolm September 20, 2015 at 4:04pm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBTf50UXgME

This might be a better illustration.

Rodney Carlyle Money September 21, 2015 at 1:29am

That's not music, that's sound design.

Olmnilnlolm September 21, 2015 at 3:14am

Which one "isn't music?"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a15xkowPEPg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBTf50UXgME

I think the issue was whether either one illustrates the principle that songs do not need stories.

Rodney Carlyle Money September 21, 2015 at 3:37am

For it to be a song it needs to be music first, but those two pieces are early versions of what we now call sound design in which those elements could be used to produce music, but when samples of sound are played one after another or simply layered together it is simply sound design and not true composition for music. Cage succeeded in producing new sounds in the same way that sound designers do today. Sound design by itself is not music, is not art, and has no need to have meaning on its own merit, but it could be used in the production of music if used properly.

Arty "Skye" Shweky October 22, 2015 at 4:33am

First of all, beautiful composition, performed with a lot of feeling and dynamics. You really know what you're doing :)

Your comments about Cinebrass core made me purchase it yesterday, and so far I'm pretty happy, (outside of the limitations you pointed out). Thanks.

Regarding your composition, my only comment, coming from the engineering side, is that during the big brass section at around 1:30 the high end builds up across all the instruments and makes the track sound harsh. If you used a multiband compressor for the high end (around 3k upwards) on a few of the perpetrators, it would help tame those harsh frequencies.

-Arty

Rodney Carlyle Money October 22, 2015 at 12:43pm

Thank you, Arty. You are way too kind, my friend. Trust me concerning rendering and recording, I have no earthly clue what I am doing. I am a complete idiot so thank you for your help. During this piece, all I knew how to do was hit record in Cubase and play in the parts. This piece has no eq modifications for example. I did not know about how to eq until my music box piece called "Aria's Lullaby" when someone pointed out on another forum that there was a low rumble in the mix. He showed me how to cut those low frequencies out in Cubase. I need to go back now and edit all those frequencies in this piece to get rid of the mud.

Oh yes, CineBrass Core! So far, with CineBrass Pro it has been my go to brass library, and I am a brass player. I'm happy to hear that you are enjoying it also. Good news from Mike from CineBrass. We are getting some full ensemble brass patches for quick mock-ups and sketching plus we are finally getting trombone ensemble true legato!

I have Cubase, is there a "multiband compressor" in there and how would you use it and what settings could you recommend? Feel free to explain this like you are talking to a child, lol. Thanks again Arty for listening, commenting, and helping a brother out.
~Rod

Arty "Skye" Shweky October 22, 2015 at 2:52pm

Hey Rod, I am amazed that you're not really doing much 'mixing' in the track. For it to sound as good as it does, you're really making use of the right samples, playing the right parts with the right dynamics. I'm even more impressed now.

Yes, I saw a video this morning about the updates to Cinebrass, and it looks great! Guess we'll wait.

I'm not sure if Cubase has a multiband compressor, but I would guess they do. If not, you can get one from Waves. http://www.waves.com/plugins/c4-multiband-compressor#vocal-multiban... .But wait for it to go on sale for under $100. They rotate the items in special. And it's a good versatile tool you can use on the low end as well. Also, search for a coupon before buying. You can always get at least 10% off, sometimes more.

So insert the compressor on the channel with the brass. Play the loudest part of the piece (the part I pointed out, or around 1:50) and set the threshold of the compressor all the way up so nothing is compressing. Then bring the threshold down on the high end, (4k upwards) so it begins to tame the just the high end harsh when all the brass is playing ff. You won't effect the rest of the sound, and it won't effect the hi end on any of the lower sounds. It will just smooth it all out. Check it in solo mode, but also check it against the mix, and adjust the flavor. Hope this helps.

-Arty

Arty "Skye" Shweky October 23, 2015 at 5:49pm

Hey Rod, listened to your piece again, and the dynamic range is incredible. You went from as soft a perceivable sound as you could, to loud and bombastic! Really sweet!

Peter, good points on memory (on some mixes, I might have 30 audio plugins or more, so never an issue for me)

The problem with trying to correct it with EQ is that you will be affecting the overall sound of the instrument, even on lower volumes (unless you're automating the eq curve in a subgroup) . For a few trombones or trumpets playing forte, you want that hi end in there. But when you have them all playing together ff, it becomes too much, so you only need to tame those higher freq. past a certain threshold. But I guess there are a few different ways to do it, and if you can correct it before the final mix, yes. that's the best way.

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A Demo of My "New Toys"

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