Cheez
Moderator
Let's start another thread on sequencing winds. By winds, I refer to both brass and woodwinds - instruments that require somebody to blow into it.
For brass:
1. Do not play block chords. Sequence each part one at a time. Impossible for players to play together to the millisecond.
2. Becareful of the "machine-gun effect" - when playing the same notes very quickly. This happens especially when one uses step recording. Each note, no matter how fast they are played, should have a different velocity. Sequence slow first then change the tempo later. Nowadays, different samples for each fast note are sampled so that when you sequence fast repeated notes, each note sounds different.
Woodwinds are simpler - we don't usually use 3 flutes or 3 clarinets. Usually solo instruments, so block chords problems are rarer. Saxophone samples are the challenge - to date, it is extremely difficult to get very realistic saxophone samples. The closest comes from the Vienna Symphonic Library. This is because there is too much variations in the playing technique.
In all wind instruments, remember:
1. All players need to breathe! The biggest mistake is to sequence extremely long lyrical passages and forget that the player is human. Players can sometimes play as if he is not breathing by using a technique called cyclical breathing - but this is not done commonly. Sometimes I get breathless just listening to some music with sequenced wind instruments. If you have a breathe controller, use it.
2. When a player blow the first note, it has a certain attack. This is called tonguing. The rest of the legato phrase will not have this. So it is better to have samples with both attack and legato variations.
Here is an example of a slow piece I did for my wife a few years ago. Sorry, cannot post the entire song as it is pending copyright (and I'm re-doing the song from scratch). But focus on the woodwind (it is a cor anglais - english horn, the elder brother of an oboe). See if you can see where the tonguing comes in and when it is legato. Also note the breathing points of the player.
http://s22.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=1GCHDREV7NKHL3L733871IO7LR
Any other tips?
For brass:
1. Do not play block chords. Sequence each part one at a time. Impossible for players to play together to the millisecond.
2. Becareful of the "machine-gun effect" - when playing the same notes very quickly. This happens especially when one uses step recording. Each note, no matter how fast they are played, should have a different velocity. Sequence slow first then change the tempo later. Nowadays, different samples for each fast note are sampled so that when you sequence fast repeated notes, each note sounds different.
Woodwinds are simpler - we don't usually use 3 flutes or 3 clarinets. Usually solo instruments, so block chords problems are rarer. Saxophone samples are the challenge - to date, it is extremely difficult to get very realistic saxophone samples. The closest comes from the Vienna Symphonic Library. This is because there is too much variations in the playing technique.
In all wind instruments, remember:
1. All players need to breathe! The biggest mistake is to sequence extremely long lyrical passages and forget that the player is human. Players can sometimes play as if he is not breathing by using a technique called cyclical breathing - but this is not done commonly. Sometimes I get breathless just listening to some music with sequenced wind instruments. If you have a breathe controller, use it.
2. When a player blow the first note, it has a certain attack. This is called tonguing. The rest of the legato phrase will not have this. So it is better to have samples with both attack and legato variations.
Here is an example of a slow piece I did for my wife a few years ago. Sorry, cannot post the entire song as it is pending copyright (and I'm re-doing the song from scratch). But focus on the woodwind (it is a cor anglais - english horn, the elder brother of an oboe). See if you can see where the tonguing comes in and when it is legato. Also note the breathing points of the player.
http://s22.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=1GCHDREV7NKHL3L733871IO7LR
Any other tips?
