Midi Sequencing Hints
On this page I will give you some ideas how you can make
your sequences more musical and appealing to audiences. I have divided
this list into several categories and will add to it every few days. Please
let me know if you find this useful.
Architecture
- Before you attempt to make a sequence, listen
carefully to a real performance and notice the phrasing, melodic lines,
harmony, rhythm, expression, tempi etc. Try to imitate this in your sequence.
- In repeats, it is tempting to save time by making a loop or by copying
and pasting a section into the sequence that repeats earlier material.
A cardinal rule is to never make the repeat sound the same as before. Always
make something different about it (tempo, volume etc). The same applies
to phrases: Never make two phrases that repeat exactly the same. The
surest way to bore an audience is to do something the same way twice.
Melodic Lines
- The melodic line should not necessarily have all notes at the same
level. Notice the variation in dynamics in a real performance. Adjust velocity
values and/expression controllers to achieve this effect.
- If a melodic line is a legato sequence of notes, make the duration
of each note last until the next note starts or slightly beyond (to account
for slow attack time of some patches)
- In a piano sequence with slow sustained notes, notice how volume of
each notes dies away with time after it is struck. Make the next note match
the volume at the end of this time, ie not suddenly too loud or too soft.
- Where the melodic line of a string section of orchestral sequence changes
from arco to staccato, use patch change from string ensemble 1/2 to staccato
and back. Insert patch change commands into the track. For portamento,
make the duration of the notes shorter than for legato so that the notes
sound detached. Experiment to get the best effect.
- Where a line of notes includes two adjacent notes that are the same,
be sure that the duration of the first note does not extend beyond the
second note otherwise the second note will not sound. A small pause is
necessary between the decay time of the first note and the attack time
of the second for both notes to sound.
Harmony
- The notes which harmonize with the melody should not necessarily be
at the same volume. Usually the melody and the bass notes should be more
prominent with the inner parts at a lower level. This is especially true
in a piano sequence.
- In an orchestral sequence, balance the melody with the harmony using
volume controller 7 at the beginning of the track and expression controller
11 at suitable points during the sequence.
- When lines of the orchestral parts have the same notes played by similar
instruments, eg the same note played by 1st violin, violas etc, do not
allow the same note to be played on more than one track with the same patch.
If for example violin 1 on channel 1 plays a C5 and the viola on channel
3 also plays this at the same time, and they are both using string ensemble
1, eliminate one of the C5 notes. Having the same note played on several
tracks simultaneously using the same patch can cause some strange harmonic
effects to be heard.
Phrasing
- Music has some similarities to speech. There are pauses in between
phrases and sentences. Without this, speech would be difficult to understand.
The same applies to music. Make it clear where phrases begin and end. A
small pause may achieve the desired effect. This can be achieved either
by slowing the tempo between phrases (inserting tempo changes) or by cutting
and pasting the next phrase slightly later in time.
Expression
- Music is not just a series of notes, and a sequence should not sound
mechanical, especially in romantic or impressionistic music. Make good
use of velocity variation, use variable expression controllers (easy to
include using Cakewalk) to achieve crescendos and diminuendos.
- Accents can be easily made by increasing the velocity value of a note.
- Try to imitate a singer. Notice how the dynamics of the phrases increase
and decrease as does the tempo. Try to reproduce this in your sequences.
Recording Techniques
- Two ways to produce sequences are by step recording ( ie note
by note) and by playing the notes on a keyboard (the technique I use).
When recording in real time, do not worry too much about making wrong notes (unless
the "take" was a disaster). These can be corrected during
the editing process.
- In technically difficult passages, it is possible to record at a slower
tempo and then to speed the playback up to the correct tempo. Any inaccuracies
in rhythm will be magnified depending on how much faster the playback is,
but this can be corrected with editing techniques (see "Rhythm" section).
- "Punch in Punch Out" is an invaluable technique which allows
one to add or correct (replace) a section in a sequence by setting the
time when the sequencing program goes into the record and playback mode.
One can play along with the sequence when it is in the "play"
mode, and then continue playing when it is in the "record" mode
to make the new section match the rest of the sequence. Midisoft "Studio" has
this feature.
- I use a "notepad" sequence which I work on and then
copy and paste the section into the main sequence. This is a convenient
way of working.
- For orchestral "tuttis" in concerto sequences, I play
the melody on the piano, copy those notes to the sections of the orchestra,
adjuct note velocities and durations and then delete the notes on the piano.
- Before pasting in a section from a "notepad" to the
main sequence, I sometimes use a "marker" note to find out
where the notes to be pasted in should start. When I am satisfied
that this is at the correct time, I find out it's midi time, delete it
and paste in the new section to occur at this time.
- When pasting in new sections to the main sequence, be sure that everything
matches for tempo, dynamics and patch type. The "trick" is to
not make it obvious that sections have been pasted together.
Patch Choice
- In an orchestral sequence it is important to choose a patch that sounds
as close as possible to the real instrument. (This is difficult though
due to the poor quality of some GM patches on most synthesizers) In
a string section where the notes are moving slowly, string ensemble 2 is
a good choice. It is not a good choice for fast notes as the slow attack
time will cause the melody to be sluggish and to lag behind. String ensemble
1 would be a better choice. Some of the General Midi solo string patches
sound quite bad and should be avoided.
- Patches can be easily set using Cakewalk or Midisoft Studio. They can
be changed within a track by inserting a patch change command.
Reverberation
- Reverberation can make a sequence sound more life-like. The controller
91 can be included at the beginning of each track. The amount of reverb
is continuously variable betweenis 0 - 127. In an orchestral sequence,
different sections of the orchestra may require more or less reverb, so
experiment to get the best effect.
Editing Techniques
- Copy and paste is a valuable technique especially in orchestral sequences.
Look in the orchestral score for sections of the orchestra which have similar
lines (eg the violin 1 may be similar to the oboes). In this example, copy
the violin section, paste it in to the oboe section.so that it starts at
the correct midi time (everything is synchronized), change the channel
number to be correct for that track, and then alter the notes in the midi
list of the oboe sction so that they are correct.
- Rythmic inaccuracies can be corrected by several techniques: 1)
adjust the tempo between two adjacent notes by inserting a tempo changes
at the midi time of each note to speed or slow down the time the next note
is played; 2) Adjust the midi time of the notes within a group by editing
the midi list events (this is easy with Midisoft Studio, just by repeated
mouse clicks in the time field of the note); 3) cut the section from the
note which is too soon or too late to the end of the sequence and paste
it back in either sooner or later. Listen to the result and make adjustments
as necessary.
Orchestral Scores
- When working from a orchestral score it is important to understand
which instruments are "tranposing instruments" so that the correct
notes are sequenced. For example a clarinet may be a B flat instrument
in which a "C" sounds as B flat. In an orchestral piece
in C major for example, the violin part will be in C major and clarinet
will be in B flat major. It will be necessary to transpose the notes of
the clarinet so that they are correct in the sequence. Other transposing
instruments include the trumpet and French Horn.
- It is necessary to be able to read from the C clef. The viola and cello
often use them.
- Pay close attention to the notes in the score to make sure that they
are correct. During playback, listen for any dischords, slow down the playback
and identify where the wrong note is, correct it and play back again to
make sure it sounds correct.
- Also pay attention to dynamics, tempi, note types (eg legato, staccato,
portamento, arco, etc) and reproduce this in the sequence.
Synchronizing Orchestra with Piano
- It is best to play the piano part first (or step record it) and then
fit the orchestra to it. In a real time recorded sequence, examine the
orchestral score, relate this to the midi event list for each line of the
orchestra to determine where the notes coincide.
- In places where notes of the orchestral accompaniment occur before,
after or in between the notes of the piano solo part, it will be necessary
to calculate their midi times and note durations.
Pan Effect
- Pan creates the spatial stereo effect of the orchestral instuments
postioned on a stage. The values of pan are between 0 and 127. The central
position would be 64 (such as the piano soloist) and 64 would be the
1st violins on the left of the stage, and 127 the double basses to the
right of the stage, for example. Using "Cakewalk" the pan values
can easily be inserted into each track, giving the sequence a realistic
stereo effect.
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