How to deal with no touch sensitivty

[EB Miller]

I work in Garage Band and am learning Logic. How do people who work the way I do (direct keyboard input) deal with the lack of touch sensitivity on most GPO instruments? Am I just better off working with a score? Does using the mod wheel and pedal work as well as relying on keyboard touch in Garage Band? I am very new at all of this, so if you reply, please write at the "complete idiot" level. Thanks!

[marce]

to what keyboard are you refering? to the computer one or an electric piano?

[EB Miller]

An electric keyboard.

[EB Miller]

I mean to say, an electric piano.

[marce]

Your keyboard dont have touch sensitivity? Or dont have a mod-wheel?

GPO instruments are sensible to the touch of midi keyboards that sends velocity messages according with the hard you press. In the case of the percussion instruments, the volume is proportional to the hard you push the keys. In the case of sustained instruments, like the violin, flute, brasses, etc, the way you press the keyboard keys changes the attack values and the modwheel changes the volume.

Is that what you want to know?

[EB Miller]

Marcelo - I appreciate your help! My piano keyboard has touch sensitivity and a mod wheel. I've just been very spoiled by Garage Band whose sustained instruments respond the same as GPO percussion instruments. If I play legato, they sound legato, if I strike with more velocity, the notes are louder. I'm seeing I will have to learn to use the mod wheel and pedal. But just one more question: when you say "attack values" what does that mean?

Thanks,
Emily

PS You're a kindergarten teacher? That's great. I teach kids too (all ages)

[Hannes_F]

Emily,

the attack is an additional noise at the beginning of a tone. For example a violin can make a little scratching sound, a trumpet can make a little "t" etc.

Compare a violin section to a choir. Without attack it will sound like "ooooooh", with medium attack it will sound like "doooooh", with hard attack it will sound like "Toooooh". The volume of the "oooooh" part is regulated and shaped by the modwheel, the amount of "T" at the beginning by your key velocity.

You may ask yourself why the volume of the "oooooh" part is not mapped to the key velocity as well. The answer is that this would eliminate the possibility to shape the note continuosly - once hit it could not be changed any more.

Hope this helps.

[EB Miller]

Dear Mr. Hannes,

Thank you, I get it. on Garage Band I was able to mechanically change the volume of the Ooooh sound with the track volume. Perhaps ultimately, there is more control in manipulating the sound, especially the attack, with the Garritan method. What I really need is to be able to go back and mechanically change something I don't like, such as the attack or the volume. Is that possible with GPO? Also, I notice all of my dynamic shadings can't just be switched over to GPO instruments from a pre-recorded GB piece without losing all expression. Is there a way around that, or do I start from scratch?

Thanks for your help!

Emily

[marce]

Im not a Mac user, but googling a little i found this two links that explain how to deal with modulation (CC1 that controls the volume of GPO) and edit it in Garageband:

Link 1
http://www.sineshine.com/publications/GarageBand%20TweakLet.pdf

Link 2
http://www.thegaragedoor.com/instruments/step.html
http://www.thegaragedoor.com/gdicons/tipicons/gpitchbend.jpg

Appear to be that is no so difficult.