Posted
This is a general discussion to see how all you good people keep up with learning how to use all this music software.
I've owned Synfire for about a year now (think it was last year's Christmas present to myself!) and there's still so much about it that I don't know how to use properly. Read the manual, watch the videos, go through all the tutorials. But there's so much it's difficult to take it all in.
But it's not just Synfire. It's hard to keep track of all the latest technology of your DAW these days, as well as all the VSTIs, etc.
For example, I've owned BFD2 for quite a while now but never really got round to learning it properly, and now BFD3 is out!
Also I've finally taken the plunge and ordered an EWQL package on a hard-drive with several instruments (this year's Christmas present!) and I thought I'd take a quick look at the manual before it arrives. The Play manual (the interface) is over 100 pages, and that's without learning about how to use all the individual instruments properly!
I was just wondering if it's just me or does anyone else sometimes feel overwhelmed and not really know where to start?
I suppose it would be ok if I didn't have this damn full-time job and family to look after :) I could do with a month or two of solitude and no work!
Di., 03.12.2013 - 10:24 Permalink
Because you are interested in classical composing, perhaps you can enhance your knowledge about classical composing.
http://www.alexanderpublishing.com/Departments/Whats-New-and-On-Sale/Whats-On-Sale.aspx
Di., 03.12.2013 - 11:16 Permalink
It's not just you. I feel the same, except for Synfire ;-)
EWQL is great. There is a device description for EWQL available in the repository that includes all the "Master" patches. You can thin them out for customized presets as needed. Synfire offers much comfort in this regard.
I too feel music software in gerenal is extremely complex. Although I worked with Logic and all its predecessors for many years, after a long hiatus (working on Synfire), I was totally overwhelmed and confused.
Same with Ableton Live. I just could not seem to wrap my head around the session view, as everything in my head concerning music was organized on a timeline. Their concept is great, but it takes time to get used to it. And you probably need to be a DJ to really appreciate it from day one.
"Not knowing where to start" is a challenge that Synfire can really help with. For me, feeling the desire to resemble a particular music that I like became the starting point. While in the past I often started with fiddling with gear, thanks to Synfire, I now start with a musical goal in my head. Needless to say that the outcome is always completely different to what I originally wanted to achieve, but hey, there IS a result and I learnt a lot while getting there. And I wasted much less time fiddling with gear.
Di., 03.12.2013 - 22:45 Permalink
Thanks Jan,
I had a quick look but I've no desire at the moment to learn to read and write music notation so I'll give it a miss. I only hope I never have to use "Counterpoint by Fux Home Study Course" and "Kunst der Fuge" in the same sentence! :)
Also, I'm not especially interested in classical composing. Obviously the EWQL package comes with the orchestral modules and they will be nice to have for sure. But I've also ordered some other modules with it and I'm particularly excited about the Fab Four module, in which they have got hold of and sampled some rare instruments used by The Beatles.
So for now I've decided to spend my time (after getting to grips with EWQL) concentrating on how to learn Synfire properly and not to keep buying updates to other software just because it's been updated.
The plan is to make my own documentation containing text, screenshots and GIFs because I find when I learn something it is often quickly forgotten if I don't use it regularly.
Andre,
What is the suggested learning path for a 'beginner to intermediate' user of Synfire? The 'Synfire Workflow' section on this site looks to be a good place to start. Should it be navigated in a particular sequence, e.g. from top to bottom?
Also there are a lot of videos on YouTube in the Cognitone section. Are they all covered in the Workflow?
Di., 03.12.2013 - 23:13 Permalink
It's hard to keep track of all the latest technology of your DAW these days, as well as all the VSTIs, etc.
Absolutely. Life as a composer does not get easier. In the past, people had to grapple, dealing with notes, today we have to grapple, to deal with the all that software.
Di., 03.12.2013 - 23:56 Permalink
At your service ..:)
As with all experts in whatever field..knowledge in the smallest detail of the subject they study.
I only hope I never have to use "Counterpoint by Fux Home Study Course" and "Kunst der Fuge" in the same sentence!
Books about counterpoint are difficult i found this video tutorial outstanding .
http://www.dancemusicproduction.com/fundamental-7-counterpoint/
It is big task to master this ...:)
A problem with this all, that the phrase editor in Synfire gives not the actual audio output ..so you may hope that your counterpoint phrases made in Synfire are musical acceptable ( does it sounds good ? )
The phrase editor with all his difficulties ( chromatic notes input , etc ) and the lack of information about what your input there is. ..is unsatisfying.
Mi., 04.12.2013 - 00:44 Permalink
Books about counterpoint are difficult
As I said before: Back in the Stone Age, i.e. the age when Fux lived, the people had to grapple with all that theory stuff when they wanted to write a fugue. Today I would recommend the software "tonica fugata" for this task.
http://www.capella.de/us/index.cfm/products/tonica-fugata/info-tonica-fugata/
It writes a complete fugue on a given theme in a second. Fux would probably turn green with envy.
Mi., 04.12.2013 - 23:18 Permalink
What is the suggested learning path for a 'beginner to intermediate' user of Synfire? The 'Synfire Workflow' section on this site looks to be a good place to start. Should it be navigated in a particular sequence, e.g. from top to bottom?
There is no particular sequence of the videos yet. We are working on that. The current "Introduction" and "Worklow" sections on this site are just beginning to evolve.
In the meanwhile you should probably just view them all. They are rather short.
Also there are a lot of videos on YouTube in the Cognitone section. Are they all covered in the Workflow?
Some older videos are exclusively on this site. Only the newer ones get published on YouTube. All YouTube videos should also be listed here.
Mo., 09.12.2013 - 21:14 Permalink
No it is not just you.. Software has become much more complex.. And they are breaking the 'normal protocal' that once exsisted for programming especially on Macs..
Perhaps it's because some of the new software has no equivalent with earlier software.. But I think it's also the new generation of programers which have taught themselves, and don't want to stick with convention..
Just think if every car manufactorur placed his componants, steering wheel, brake, clutch, meters, in a different place just to be unique?... That is happening to a degree in the software..
As a result you have to learn all this new 'disposable knowledge' which will become obsolete in 24-36 months.. You have forget all that and learn the new way of doing things.. The norm is learning and building on knowledge, not learning something, then disposing it to adapt to some new companies idea of what works. The human brain was not designed to work that way.
I am NOT for any of that.. When MIDI started 30 or so years ago. The six leading synth manufactorues got together to agree on a format they would all adhere too. Imagine if they didn't.. In recent years big companies, just create a new format, and '(#$*' the others who don't want to follow that.. Apple certainly has been guilty of that.
Protools at one point used a different format for their audio, and wanted you to pay $1000 to be able to convert the audio from one to the other to be able to port your project into a competor's software (really to discourage you)..
I got on/off the protools bandwagon rather quickly after 2 updates.. It was just a ploy for you to spend thousands of dollars more to keep up.. (Protools is great, I just don't use it).. When Apple bought Emagi's Logic.. they streamlined, and cut the price in half.. I think they also knowingly let a lot of illegal copies float about.. Because of the volume, they then drastically cut the price.. Why use pirateware, when the real thing is a legitmate price, and you can call and get help (at least for the first 3 months.
I've had Logic for close to 30 years now, I couldn't imagine diving into it now. I stay with it because it works, and I have invested very heavily into it.
Di., 10.12.2013 - 07:28 Permalink
Just think if every car manufactorur placed his componants, steering wheel, brake, clutch, meters, in a different place just to be unique?... That is happening to a degree in the software..
This is probably my greatest pet peeve ... and I cast it at O/S too. If Windows prides itself of backwards compatibility with 16 and 32 bit programs, why don't they practice this with their GUI? There is no reason in the world they couldn't offer you an option to restore a GUI from an earlier release. So what if there are new options if you don't care about them?
Of course, MAC is worse, they not only change the O/S but they don't even bother with backwards compatibility ... so if you get stuck with a new O/S by buying a new computer much of your previously purchased software ... including some that may no longer be available ... no longer works.
Sa., 05.04.2014 - 10:36 Permalink
I believe I answered the questions I posted below:
Would you all recommend learning Harmony Navigator Advanced before downloading the Synfire demo? I think the answer to this is "Yes."
Are the programs similar enough in that HN would be a logical springboard to Syn? Looks like the answer to this question is also "Yes."
Would knowing HN beforehand speed up the learning curve of Synfire? This also looks like "Yes."
How quickly can a beginner (in general) get up and running and producing results with Synfire? By some of the comments, it seems like it can take awhile to get the hang of it.
I was going to start a thread with my newbie question, but this one looked similar/logical enough.
(I don't see a subscribe/notify feature yet.)