Just Starting Out

Hi Everyone, I stumbled upon this forum in my search to learn more about composing. I walked into a sound studio and someone showed me the software of EWQLSO, and Symphonic Choirs. I was blown away with the possibilities these programs offered. Since then i messed around with a few sequencers, but i am still a bit novice to how everything works. I havent spent money on anything yet, but id like to get the option of the experience of this group .

What programs do you prefer to use these libraries?
Could you recommend any books, or other internet resources for someone just starting out?

I would like to try and mess with shareware or freeware before i put my dollar down for anything too serious.

Thank you very much for your time, it is much appriciated.

A couple of questions:
- Are you more concerned with notating music OR making music files which sound realistic?
- what sort of music do you want to write?
- how advanced is your knowledge of music (theory/composition, etc.) ?

1. Making Music that sounds realistic, although that may go hand in hand with notating music.
2. I enjoy classical, ambient, and especially soundtracks, so it would probably cater along those lines, i also love choirs, and old latin stuff, ave maria, Carmina Burana etc.
3.I am so so at reading music, i play a few instruments, trumpet, guitar, penny whistle, a little piano. I've studied some theory, but i wouldnt say it is my strong point.

In that case if you are serious I recommend you get yourself a few books. First off I recommend Walter Piston's 'Harmony'; I learnt an awful lot from it and still refer to it on an almost daily basis. Then it would be wise to get a book on orchestration/instrumentation. This will tell you about all of the diffrent instruments of the orchestra; how they are played, and how to write for them; knowledge that is critical if you ever want your music to be played by real musicians.

For making your music sound realistic you could search the Software and hardware forums on here for 'sample libraries', but it's important to understand what you're doing instead of hiding behind the pretty sounds these can offer you, so it's perhaps not too advisable to get one straight away.

I look forward to hearing some music from you

Originally Posted by Djaloza

1. Making Music that sounds realistic, although that may go hand in hand with notating music.
2. I enjoy classical, ambient, and especially soundtracks, so it would probably cater along those lines, i also love choirs, and old latin stuff, ave maria, Carmina Burana etc.
3.I am so so at reading music, i play a few instruments, trumpet, guitar, penny whistle, a little piano. I've studied some theory, but i wouldnt say it is my strong point.

Hmmmm.... probably first I would recommend a book such as "The Idiot's guide to Music Composition", which covers the basics. If you want to get into orchestration eventually, a good online resource is Principles of Orchestration On-line - northernsounds.com, although it is fairly advanced.

If you want to make classical/ambient/soundtracks that sound realistic, then I would recommend getting some sequencing software. The few that I would choose from are:
- REAPER : free to download and I think it only costs $40-50 to register. Very good sequencer with bang for buck, although the MIDI editing lacks a little.
- Cakewalk Sonar 6/7 : There's a web trial which you can download. The Home Studio versions are good if you are on a budget (I have Sonar Home Studio 6 XL and recommend it).
- Steinberg Cubase - I think it's still at version 4 which puts it maybe a bit behind Sonar, but many people still use this as a seqencer/DAW. I don't think there's a download trial for this one
- FL (Fruity Loops) Studio - This one aims more at the beginner electronic-style music market, but it is still pretty decent for editing MIDI tunes. Has a trial download.

After that, you might want to get some Sample Libraries. Most support the VST plugin format, which should work with all of the sequencers I mentioned above. You already mentioned EWQL. Another popular orchestral library is Garritan Personal Orchestra (GPO). As far as I know, those 2 are the most popular. There are others, varying from quite cheap to in the 1000s of dollars - depends how much you want to spend.

I'm new to sequencers/sample libraries as well, would I need an especially good computer to run these well? Because I dont have one of those.

Originally Posted by 920bpm

I'm new to sequencers/sample libraries as well, would I need an especially good computer to run these well? Because I dont have one of those.

You don't need the latest and greatest computer to run a sequencer. But if you are using a sample library in a song with many tracks that use the samples, then it does help to have a fairly recent computer. What are the specs on yours?

Thank you both for your suggestions. I went to the local library, picked up Harmony, and some other good books on compisition and theory.
My next question is that of work flow? I am still a little confused on the process. Can you create decent music with a sequencer and a sound library alone? I read quite a few posts about people using Finale or other notation software, how does that fit in? I downloaded the demo version of Finale, and it seems great for exactly what'd i'd like to do. I am just unsure of how all these software pieces fit together to create a finished product.

Thank you very much again for your time and responces, this seems like a great community!

I'd recommend going over the first few chapters in Harmony; doing the exercises and so on (if you need someone to check them I'd be happy to look them over for you; PM me ) and then trying to write a short piece in finale, just for solo piano or something; nothing fancy and post it on here. I'm sure plenty of people will be willing to give you some advice

Enjoy!

Originally Posted by Djaloza

My next question is that of work flow? I am still a little confused on the process. Can you create decent music with a sequencer and a sound library alone? I read quite a few posts about people using Finale or other notation software, how does that fit in? I downloaded the demo version of Finale, and it seems great for exactly what'd i'd like to do. I am just unsure of how all these software pieces fit together to create a finished product.

Yes, you can create decent music with just a sequencer and a sound library, although sometimes it might take a fair beat of tweaking tracks and articulations, etc. Finale is mainly a notation program - which means people use it for notating music, and then printing out scores for performance. It can still play back pieces, but perhaps less realistically and without as much control over the sounnds as a sequencer would have (although it is getting better). Sequencers are not as good at printing out scores (both Sonar and Cubase have staff-views though, but not REAPER or FL studio).

As for work flow... most sequencers have a piano-roll view which allows you to see and edit the notes on a grid matrix, which can be easier than editing on a staff. Or if you are using a notation program (finale or sibelius, etc.) then you usually input the notes onto a staff using the mouse. The other option that a lot of people resort to is using a MIDI controller keyboard - many people using either sequencers or notation programs use a controller keyboard to enter the notes, either in "real time" or a step at a time (step sequencing). Some people use both a sequencer AND a notation program. ie - write the piece in a sequencer and produce a demo, then export to a MIDI file, and import into finale/sibelius to notate and print out scores.

Oh, and another thing sequencers usually have is the ability to use VST plugins, which are either software synths or audio effects. Many are available for free on the internet (although there are commercial ones too). I am not so sure if finale or sibelius allow VST plugins...