Two Giga Demos

[rendleman]

In a previous thread, I mentioned that I did not believe I was able to get the same sound quality from Giga as I have heard from other artists. Steve Chandler invited me to post a few examples, so here they are.

http://www.rendleman.com/giga.html (\"http://www.rendleman.com/giga.html\")

These are my first two attempts at using GigaStudio (Garritan Strings, Dan Dean Winds and Brass, London Orchestral Percussion, and Malmsjo Piano, all driven by Digital Performer, no effects processing other than that which is built in to GigaStudio and DP). With both works, I tried to start small -- I did not want to get overwhelmed with the system right away.

A few notes on the two works. Opus 242 was actually composed as a piano piece by my father (with some assistance from me) who died in January 2002. This summer I arranged the piece for piano and small chamber orchestra in an attempt to familiarize myself with my new Giga system. FWIW, this was my father\'s only music composition. He did not know what the term \"Opus\" meant, but also didn\'t know what to name his piece. When he finished writing it, he looked up at the clock. The time was 2:42, hence Opus 242.

New Millenium Ragtime Serenade was started in 1987, put aside for 13 years and finished as a piano composition in December 1999. As with Opus 242, a small chamber orchestra was added in summer 2003 as an exercise in getting accustomed to GigaStudio.

I am now working on a piano concerto which obviously presents a greater challenge, both in terms of composition and getting the best from my Giga setup.

[Bruce A. Richardson]

Hi Richard,

Welcome.

You may want to try rendering the tracks to audio files (using the GigaStudio Audio Capture, or other method), and getting them into DP for mixing as audio tracks. I think that would be one method of getting more spaciousness around the instrument choirs.

Are you using the EXP instruments in GOS? That\'s a way to get nice dynamic movement in the strings. My only idea with the strings is to taper the entrances and exits just a little more, so that they emerge from almost nowhere.

On Opus, I think you might benefit from collapsing the stereo image of the piano a bit to give it more focus. What I think is holding that mix back is the fact that the strings are less wide than the piano, so the image is a little skewed. I think you want the feeling of expansion when the strings sneak in and swell, rather than just thickening, and I think that is 100% a mix issue. The voicings seem just fine. You might also (if you haven\'t already) choose just one channel of the flute and clarinet (turning the other one down in the DSP Station) and pan that where you want it, again, with the goal of reducing the width of the solo instruments so they can be very pinpointed in the stereo field and the strings can always \"widen\" the feeling whenever they enter.

That\'s all I\'ve got. My wife heard your father\'s piece from the next room and said, \"That\'s pretty.\"

[rendleman]

Thanks Bruce, Sharmy and Steve. I will attempt to see what I can do taking your suggestions into account. Presently, I\'m not even sure how to do all you have suggested, but I will try to learn. As Steve mentioned, my music generally is more adventurous than the two selections I have posted, but at this point I am trying to walk with Giga before I run. Obviously, I want to get a better sound from my equipment, but my primary focus is on composition. Hopefully, trying to get a better sound will not interfere with my composing.

Thanks again for the suggestions.

[pantonality]

Richard,

I love that piano. I have the PMI Bosendorfer, but the Malmsjo sounds very intimate and has a wonderful delicate quality. I\'ve just listened to Opus 242 and am listening to the Rag now.

Here are some random thoughts. Bruce\'s suggestion of recording the audio into DP has considerable merit. It will allow you to tailor the EQ and compression (if necessary) of each individual instrument. The GOS definitely needs some top end taken off. You\'ll also be able to pan each instrument into place and apply reverb individually if necessary. Learning to do this can take a while and has been discussed in some depth in this forum.

Also use the mod wheel. The GOS EXP instruments are particularly good with this. But many libraries use the wheel for expressive effect. You don\'t want instruments to sound static, it\'s a dead giveaway that samples were used.

Finally, there will always be those who will suggest the next big thing. That may be appropriate for some, but I think you should learn to use the tools you have now. Once that\'s accomplished then you\'ll be better prepared to take on the challenge of VSL or EWQLSO.

I liked both pieces, but I also know some of your other work is more adventurous. I can\'t wait to hear your renderings of them with Giga.

Steve Chandler
http://www.mp3.com/stevechandler (\"http://www.mp3.com/stevechandler\")

[Hans Adamson]

Richard,

I read this thread a few days ago, but haven\'t taken the time to listen to the mp3\'s until now. I think both of those pieces are really lovely. Just like Bruce, I heard my wife from outside the room: \"What is that? That\'s beautiful!\"

Hans

[Lewis]

My wife didnt say anything. Maybe its because I dont dare play these arousing tunes for her. The last thing we need here is a \"Musically Don Juan\". We got enough problems already convincing them about our own stuff.

Love - Chris

[rendleman]

Thanks, Hans. Lewis, I think my own wife has only listened to these once.

[Thomas_J]

Hehe Lewis images/icons/wink.gif

Get a new wife, Richard!!! images/icons/grin.gif

Seriously though, personally I would never be able to live with someone who couldn\'t show great interest in what I do. Of course it is a mutual thing. You gotta pay attention to what she\'s up to as well images/icons/smile.gif

I haven\'t listened to your music, but you\'ve gotten some nice feedback by some professional people in the business, and that should count for something images/icons/smile.gif


Thomas

[eliam]

Lovely pieces indeed! Peaceful and soothing, just like we need to calm us and strengthen us on our earthly pilgrimage!

[rendleman]

Thanks, Eliam. And Thomas, I was actually just kidding on the wife thing. My wife\'s a terific lady!

The piano version of Opus 242 was actually played at my father\'s funeral, and friends and family were very touched. On Father\'s Day I worked up the small orchestra version as therapy for me as much as anything else.

Opus 242, the main theme written by my father, is at the extreme as far as \"prettiness\" of my music is concerned. However, I do have to work at keeping my music from being too pretty. Even the third movement of my First Symphony, http://www.rendleman.com/symph.html (\"http://www.rendleman.com/symph.html\") , which starts out violently, eventually gets back to a more calm style. Not that I don\'t like the contrast between the two, but it is always a challenge to keep the \"prettiness\" or calmness out of my music.

I know I\'ve gotten off topic, and this discussion has nothing to do with sample libraries, so I offer my apology to forum members.

[mschiff]

Richard,

I enjoyed both your giga pieces and your other work on your website. You\'re very talented as a composer. Now it\'s time to get talented as an engineer. That is the next step to making your music sound better using giga.

Forget that you are able to play all the instruments at once in giga and treat them as individuals. When you compose, you probably listen to instruments individually, and then listen to how they fit in with the other instruments. Do the same thing in DP. Instead of creating a big mix and recording that all at once, record each track individually. Then you have a wealth of tools that you can use to make that track sound more like you would want it to individually (like envelopes, EQ, effects, etc.) and the ability to balance it measure by measure with the other parts. That is what you would do when you write the piece for orchestra and tell the trumpet players to bring that part out, or hold back on another part. To do that, just mute all the other parts and record an individual track for each instrument in DP. Once you have all the tracks in place, start experimenting with envelopes and effects to see how that affects the interaction of the tracks.

Once you get good at that with the tools you already have, you will know which tools are lacking and what you should focus on as additional purchases.

-- Martin

[rendleman]

Martin,

Your advice sounds very good. As you mentioned, I do record everything at once, and it gets very difficult to control everything. In the future, I think I will continue to do everything at once as I am composing, but once I am satisfied that the piece is where I want it to be compositionally, I will take the score and go back and work on each part individually. Although I am currently working on a new piece (again, all parts at once), I may go back and do as you have suggested with Opus 242 and/or the ragtime piece to see if I can get a better sound.

Thanks so much for your comments.

[eliam]

I think that the most beautiful music is quieting in essence, and this quality is to be preserved, in my point of view...