harmonybob's Blog

• Royalty-free CD or DVD of "Vol.2 Sacred Hymns Collection" available.

  2007 Dec 24

  Vol.2 Royalty-Free Hymns Collection
  
  Click on the "Royalty-Free Version...." area up above. The royalty-free version includes a license which will allow one to use the recordings in films, video/multimedia productions, church services, telephone hold music, etc. without further payment, or fear of copyright infringement. Thanks so much!
  
  

• Royalty-free CD or DVD of "Sacred Hymns Collection" available.

  2005 Mar 08

  Royalty-Free Version of Hymns Collection
  

• MIDI and the Realism Game: Tips on Getting the Most realism from your MIDI Productions and recordings.

  2004 Nov 02

  Ever wondered how you might go about emulating real instruments, or even an orchestra? This article attempts to offer some suggestions to get you started. This article assumes you have a computer, are familiar already with midi, and also already have some kind of sequencing software and sampler(s), and/or sound modules.
  
  

  Trying to emulate an orchestra or other instruments to make them sound more realistic can be a challenge, but to make things easier, here are a few tips.
  
  

  In general, when choosing your panning settings, you will want to make sure they correspond with the usual seating arrangement of the particular kind of music group you are trying to emulate. For example, if you are trying to emulate a rock and roll group, its band members may actually move about while performing during a live concert; so, you could actually change the pan settings in real time during your song. In the case of an orchestra, this likely would never happen. For an orchestra you will pretty much always have the same seating arrangement, and the players will be stationary during a performance. You can find a general seating chart by browsing any of the on-line search engines, and typing in “seating arrangement” and “orchestra.”
  
  

  Secondly, when working with samples, using more than one articulation of an instrument (as if its player were changing playing techniques) during a performance is a very good way to bring realism to your sequences. You would start with a single MIDI track; record (via MIDI) the whole line using your first articulation up to the point where you will want to change the articulation. Next, add a MIDI track, and set up to use the next articulation. You would next play back (in MIDI record mode) your first MIDI track, and record in the new articulation at its appropriate entrance time. As an example, let’s say you have a string line that plays both whole notes and trills during a phrase. Using this method, the way to accomplish this would be to start off with one track (your long-note track), play your whole line up to the point of the trill, stop MIDI recording, then begin recording of your trill where you wish for it to occur.
  
  

  Use sounding processing based on the music group’s usual performance location. If the group you are emulating normally performs in a very large hall, then you will find it necessary to use a reverb which has this effect.
  
  

  When shopping for samples, buy the best ones you can afford. Something to avoid is buying samples solely based on reputation or its maker’s advertising. If realism is a concern for you, never buy any samples without first getting a listen to them with your own ears. Many sample manufacturer’s have web sites where you can easily preview an MP3 demo of their samples for sale, incorporated into a song.
  
  

  When using samples in your mixes, use the absolute best ones from your library, and put them “up in front” of the lesser quality ones. By using these on top, you allow yourself room to use the less-than-satisfactory samples underneath, thus disguising any bad frequencies, etc. Many times a sample will sound kind of plain or “weird” on its own, and not be of “solo” quality. In many cases, this kind of sample is exactly what you can use to fill in a missing frequency. When used in this manner, you will find they will sound real and add to your mix. You really have to let your ears tell you what’s best; some samples are just not very useful.
  
  

  When using less-than-satisfactory samples, try lowering their higher frequencies. You can achieve this by either running them through an equalizer, or if your sampler has a built-in filter you can simply use its own. This in effect reduces graininess, other unpleasant characteristics, and will generally make for a better sound. You may still have to do some tweaking with an equalizer after filtering to get rid of all bad frequencies, unless you choose to cover them up with another instrument.
  
  

  Employing dynamics in your song can help make it sound more convincing. What I mean by this is to use a lot of volume differences – loud to soft, etc., from phrase to phrase (section to section). Also try using both soft and hard playing techniques, tempo changes, key changes, etc. Finally, you could also try switching from a major key to a minor key about 2/3’s way through your song, and then go back to major for the final verse. The more contrast you have, the better your song will be. You will want to be careful and not go too overboard with high volumes, so as to save both your ears and your equipment. You will have to let your ears be the judge as to what sounds best.
  
  

  Layering your instruments will help add depth. If you are trying to emulate a very large group of players, as in an orchestra, you will want to layer parts. You can simply copy much of your data, paste it onto other parts, and then change the octaves (up or down depending on the instrument). Many times, however, it will sound much more realistic if you play in each part individually.
  
  

  MIDI processing effects such as a “groove” can also be helpful to add realism. If you have a sequencer which supports such, you owe it to yourself to give it a try. This generally allows you to select a group of notes, indicate what resolution to quantize to, and apply a special “groove” to the newly-quantized rhythm. Changing between two or more grooves during your song can also add another element of interest.
  
  

  I hope this article has helped. Feel free to give me feedback if you have questions at harmonyrmd-music@yahoo.com. Visit my Lulu store at: www.lulu.com/robertdominy, and website at http://www.angelfire.com/music5/robertd.
  
  

• RECORDING:

  2004 Oct 01

  Some tips to cut down on digital graininess, as well as some to help achieve that “wall of sound.”
  
  How would you like to help cut down on the “cringe factor” of your digital recordings? Maybe you might also like to thicken your sound; a “wall of sound” is one description of a song which is very full in its sound characteristics. This article attempts to help achieve these two goals.
  
  PREVENTION & RESOLUTION OF THE “CRINGE FACTOR”
  
  Digital audio is really a great thing, but there are times when you find that your recordings are just too grainy. Chances are there are just one or more instruments causing this problem. You may feel your entire recording is too grainy; here are some helpful hints to try to get around this, and get a better recording.
  
  One route of working around grainy sampled instruments involves the use of an external sound module. If you have one, you can use it to help out those digital (sampled) instruments which you feel are just too grainy in sound. For example, you may have a string patch that you would like to use, but it has grainy characteristics to it. If you can find a similar non-grainy instrument on your sound module, then you can copy your offending instrument’s MIDI track, and paste it onto a separate track for your sound module. You can then solo these two tracks together, raise or lower the volume of either, and tweak your sound module’s settings until you get the right sound. This should not only add dimension to your part, but should also help reduce the original string sound’s graininess.
  
  Another approach (could also be used in addition to the above) would be to reduce some of your upper frequencies on your equalizer just a bit. The frequencies I am referring to not only include the highest highs, but also the ones mid-way between them and the middle-most frequencies on your equalizer. The ones I normally adjust are 4,300 Hz and 11,000 Hz. In case your entire recording is too grainy, then these are probably the ones you want to try adjusting. Either way, 11,000 Hz usually requires less tweaking than 4,300 Hz.
  
  Finally, you may also want to try to reduce an offending instrument’s attack, as well as other aspects of the instrument (i.e. decay, release, sustain, etc.), including its own filter settings if it has one. Hopefully, if you have attempted all three of these ideas, you should now have a much better sound.
  
  ACHIEVING THAT “WALL OF SOUND”
  
  If you have ever tried to make a recording, only to have it come out too thin and sparse sounding, you are not alone. Many times, I have ended up with this same result, after long hours at work with my music. The easiest way to remedy this is to introduce some “doubling” of parts, one technique of orchestration.
  
  Doubling parts basically involves layering of sounds by using duplicate parts, and assigning each to different and sometimes multiple instruments. You may want to vary these “copies” ever so slightly with regard to timing, or even try varying them as extremely as dropping or raising them a whole octave. Another idea is to maintain only the rhythmic characteristics that were contained in the original part, but change the notes to those which would suit the part of a harmony.
  
  If you are using audio only, you may just want to record some additional tracks to help layer and emphasize special parts. For example, the melody in the chorus might possibly need a bit of backing up by the use of an additional voice. Whether this additional part would be identical in nature, or a 3rd below to add harmony is strictly your choice, and based on what sounds good to your ear. A mid-frequency instrument such as an acoustic six-string guitar might be able to use the doubled aid of a twelve-string during its solo or the chorus, or possibly the addition of a bass instrument to accent the downbeat while it is playing.
  
  If you are working with MIDI, you can simply copy one or more MIDI tracks (in part or in whole), then paste them onto new tracks for additional instruments. You can then remove or add notes based on how you want your song to sound. You may also want to pan one instrument one way, and the other the opposite, unless you like what you hear prior to doing this. Basically, by layering parts and using different instruments and making other changes, you can end up with a much fuller and interesting sound.
  
  You can also try doubling octaves, in which you would play the added part at an octave higher or lower than the original part was played. Most MIDI sequencers make this easy, by allowing you to use a “transpose” command. By going down “-12” steps, you can easily achieve this. For instance, a viola paired with a violin (the two parts being played an octave apart from each other) would make for a greater sonic presence, as opposed to the two playing in the same octave, or only one of the instruments sounding on its own (unless of course you need a solo – then you could choose the route of adding instruments to accent just the down beats, and/or certain notes of the solo, etc.).
  
  Another final method to try would be to go the route of effects. A little chorusing might prove to be helpful to thicken the sound. The addition of the reverb effect can also help greatly to add more dimension to your recordings. Lastly, you could also increase the release time of one of your instruments, which would allow for its playing to stick out just enough to help add more presence to your recording.
  
  
  I hope this article has helped. Feel free to give me feedback if you have questions at harmonyrmd-music@yahoo.com. Visit my Lulu store at: www.lulu.com/robertdominy, and website at http://www.angelfire.com/music5/robertd.
  
  

• Enough of the "Pop" Already

  2004 Aug 31

  VST/DXI SYNTHS: Removing the “POP” from your Music.
  
  Creating a song in the style of “pop” music is a wonderful experience, but having unwanted audio pops when producing music using a DXI/VST is a big nuisance. It seems this is a common occurrence among users of software samplers/synthesizers. Hopefully, this article will help you take control of the situation, instead of the problem taking its toll on your music.
  
  PREVENTION AND RESOLUTION OF VST POPS
  
  I recently visited a support forum on the Internet, dedicated to helping those who use a particular VST instrument. While there, I noticed several users all had the same problem – an infamous “pop” during VST playback. The only thing they could say for sure was that it was due to their VST synthesizer. I can sympathize with many of those posting there, as I had went through the same problem with my VST. Below are a number of ways I have found to prevent popping, as well as some ways to remove them from your music.
  
  PREVENTION
  1. a.Maximize your system’s resources.
  b.Make sure you have at least 1 GB of ram (512 MB will probably still be okay).
  c.Make sure if you are a Windows XP user you have set your system’s preferences to have background activities emphasized (see screenshot I). Other computer operating system users will want to do the same, but the procedure may be a little different.
  d.Turn off any programs which may be unnecessary while you are producing your music.
  e.Use an ASIO driver (for the lowest latency).
  f.Set your hard drives for the best possible response for music production, which is usually DMA mode. (see screenshot II – in Windows XP right click “My Computer,” select “properties,” followed by the “Hardware” tab, then select the “Device Manager” button, click on the “+” sign by “IDE controllers...,” right click “Primary IDE,” select “Properties,” the select the “Advanced Settings” tab).
  g.Upgrade your CPU if necessary; you will want to have the fastest possible processor possible, so it will be a matter of whether you choose to go with an upgrade or a newer computer. I once worked with a 533 MHz Celeron, and I do not believe it is possible to ever get all the pops out with this speed and processor type, or slower.
  2.Get the latest drivers and updates.
  a.Check your VST manufacturer’s web site to get the most recent update (this is very crucial to avoiding pops).
  b.Check your sound card manufacturer’s website for any driver updates (this is also very crucial).
  c.You may also want to choose to update to the latest service pack, etc. to your OS - i.e. any patches, fixes, etc.
  
  RESOLUTION
  
  Here are some guidelines for categorizing and eradicating VST pops once you have optimized your system as outlined above.
  
  
  
  D E S C R I P T I O N R E S O L U T I O N
  
  
  If you hear very bad popping that sounds like zipper noises or static, and experience total obliteration of your audio during playback (especially when all parts are sounding), it is going to be your CPU overloading.
  
  Reduce the CPU load as much as possible. You may have to mute a few tracks, record what is not muted, then create a new project. Import this “bounced” recording into the new project, the tracks left to record, and proceed from there.
  
  
  If you hear faint popping, scratching, or clicking noises that are every now and then and at the same location in your song every time, it is likely to be instrument and note-specific-only popping (usually a sustaining instrument as opposed to a percussive sound).
  
  Isolate the particular part/instrument by soloing each part until you find it. Adjust its playback quality level via your VST (assuming your VST has this option); set it at the highest quality for that particular instrument. Sometimes it can also be the filter being used– assuming your VST has them (turning it off can reveal if this is the case; you may have to adjust its parameters (i.e., release, attack, etc.)). A higher quality setting should cause most if not all pops to disappear. Sometimes settings in the range of 92-98% will still work, eliminate the popping, and help keep your CPU stress lower.
  
  If you notice a definitive click from your VST when you stop playing a note of your MIDI keyboard (as soon as you lift your finger off the keyboard), most likely this is either because you have an older MIDI keyboard model, or need to take a look at the sample/program itself.
  Get your VST manufacturer’s most recent driver from their web site. Most VST manufacturers have now accommodated for the older keyboards. If popping is still a problem after updating, follow your particular VST user manual with regard to checking and adjusting the start and end points of your sample, its release, as well as its loop start and end points.
  
  If you notice that the popping goes away when you reboot but starts again later …
  Work with your project until you are ready to record, and then reboot your system prior to recording your audio.
  
  At this point, if after having gone through the items above and your popping is virtually gone except for just one note, and you are pressed for time, you can always do a last-resort thing – play another instrument part over the offending note (assuming the very first item in the table above does not apply to you). On a song of mine a while back, I put in a bell sound right over the only “pop,” and it covered it. Whew! It was good to get that song done, and it added to it in the process.
  
  I sincerely hope this article has helped some. Feel free to give me feedback if you have questions at harmonyrmd-music@yahoo.com. Visit my Lulu store at: http://www.lulu.com/robertdominy, and website at http://www.angelfire.com/music5/robertd