Wow. Just finished listening to \"String Adagio\" GPO demo by Thomas Bishop... quite a stunning piece of music, and I would strongly encourage any other struggling stringers out there who haven\'t yet heard it to go an do so. Inspiring stuff.
I don\'t know if Mr.Bishop is a member here but I would *love* to hear more about his sectioning and GPO structure.
The \"String Adagio\" was excellent. I\'m just amazed at how good GPO can sound in the hands of the competent. Now I must go back and listen to the other 2 pieces. Also check out his website [img]graemlins/tounge_images/icons/smile.gif[/img] as it looks like he has a lot of other decent music to listen to.
Well, I didn\'t expect this! Thanks to all of you who enjoy my music and took the time to say so. My personal favorite to date is the Flight of the Glider (dedicated to Gary). To me, it serenely exemplifies the depth of expression that GPO has to offer.
The String Adagio took me by surprise \'cos it seems to me favored by a lot of people. Myself, in creating it, became a bit numb after all the tweaking.
Some methodology and a few things new I tried on this piece:
Normally, I start out playing polyphonically using one instrument such as violas or cellos with a rough idea in my head. I then fix most of the booboos and clean up the performance a bit and even quantize. (!!?? more about that later) Then while still on a single track in Cubase, I add mod-wheel dynamics. I do this so that it doesn\'t have to be recreated on the separate tracks. I then duplicate the track onto the other string parts. It is now a process of eliminating the notes that don\'t belong to that instrument range. For the Contrabasso, only the lowest part is kept, etc. Since it was only using strings, I could afford to add some solo instruments into the mix. If you listen carefully, you\'ll hear some portamento. The most important thing to add realism is mod-wheel values that emulate string section bowing with crecendo and decrecendos. I\'ve also learned to use the Sustain for legato lines and a couple of custom Functions I set up in Cubase SX to randomly move the placement of notes plus or minus 10 or 20 ticks. This is how I can quantize and then regain some \"human\" feel. I\'ve also made some that lower selected mod values 10 or 20 levels (a real time saver). It is a testament to Gary\'s fine product that these demos sound as good as they do.
My latest project is the most ambitious ever; to be the first to compose a complete four-movement symphony entirely with GPO. It will not be completed for quite some time, and will be based upon my impression of clouds. The first movement, \"altocumulus\" (andante - allegro), has most of its opening thematic material and some of the development and recapitulation elements using the Sonata-Allegro form. It is already over eight minutes long. I may post bits of it after some more tweaking in a week or two.
Thanks for listening. And thanks again, Gary, for all your encouragement.
Thanks for visiting with us. I received some emails and comments about your work.
I appreciate your sharing your methodology and tips with us. Never realized one could randomly move the placement of notes plus or minus certain ticks in Cubase. This is a handy trick as was the judicious use of portamento.
I cannot wait to hear your complete four-movement \'cloud\' symphony with GPO. What an ambitious undertaking. Let us know if there\'s anything we can do to help.
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