Why not giving us some (pre-)alpha release (with no support of course, as the software can change in any aspect in that stage), but this way we could install it on another computer and already benefit from the exciting new features ?
My vote goes for alpha/beta releases for those who are brave enough! :) And, why not, also for a special price for those early birds who'd like to support the update process :)
If there is an alpha/beta release I will like to participate too. If there is licensing issue I don't mind converting my licence to ver 2 and use unstable pre release version.
VERY happy to see this update coming; after several years I'm still a synfire newbie (I was more distracted with sound design , synth and samplers than harmony/ melody)... my only request is to make sure the new release will be solid rhythmically as well (I mean timing wise), so groove will be "in the pocket" easily.
I'm playing with scaler 2 as well ; it is ok and straightforward to use mostly but I don't like fact melodies/ bass lines are mainly pattern based (melodies can be played following chords progressions) . Sundog is giving me more reward (and has some few common points with synfire)...
im stil watching the new synfire videos and impressed with what I see for the workflow simplification!
No video today, but audio: A proof-of-concept 100% synthetic performance, based on 3 phrases from a single KIM-generated phrase pool. This literally took me 30 minutes to make ;-) The challenge now is to make a host of simpler factories that suit styles like EDM, Pop, etc. But simplification is not the problem. I wanted to evaluate first, if it works also for more complex stuff.
To be clear, a week or so ago I played around like 10 minutes with the settings and got a few cool phrases. Yesterday I picked those up, dropped them in an arrangement, made a few minor tweaks (mostly nudging symbols up/down to improve the melody), bounced playback to disk -- violá.
This was fast only because I took the hunter & gatherer approach: See what crosses your path and make the best of it.
If you want to bend Synfire's output entirely to your will from the start, it will take a lot longer. That's for sure ;-)
I get it. I do something similar. I search for current popular songs and harvest the parts I like. About 4-5 songs. Then I get back to it a day later and piece it all together with my chords and manipulations. I'm honesly shocked at how fast I'm coming up with complete ideas and how fast I can get the parts together.
What is your process for harvesting the parts? Do you find MIDI versions of the songs and import them, or do you figure out the parts you like and then play them into Synfire as MIDI?
I mostly use MIDI imported into Synfire from the rather large collection I've accumulated over the years. I then send it out to various synths until something clicks. And like you, I am often amazed at how quickly Synfire can make it all work. And Synfire takes me in directions I never would have thought to go.
What is your process for harvesting the parts? Do you find MIDI versions of the songs and import them, or do you figure out the parts you like and then play them into Synfire as MIDI?
Yes, I use that import procedure quite often. But my question pertained more specifically to how Brahamh sources the MIDI so he can import it. IOW, where does he get the MIDI from?
I know there are companies that sell MIDI versions of popular songs but I've never used them, partly because I have so many MIDI files already (only so many hours in a day), and also because I have concerns re the quality of such services. And although figuring out the interesting parts and recording them into Synfire is doable, it can sometimes be time-consuming...for me anyway.
Yes, I use that import procedure quite often. But my question pertained more specifically to how Brahamh sources the MIDI so he can import it. IOW, where does he get the MIDI from?
You can buy or pirate midi's (warez) (thought i downloaded once 60.000 midi files..must look again on a drive for this)
Yamaha keyboard styles can also be imported in Synfire ( as in Cubase too )
Ah looked now at a pirate source ( search : midi) : found 50.000 midi file collection- 51.000 midi file collection saved from geocities-46845 midi-files and songtexts
Recently i am also do keyboardplaying with the PSRSX600 as start arranger keyboard.
Looks very promising the current psr SX700 /900 keyboards
I am waiting on the next generation mid-range arranger keyboard successor of SX700/900 and can be used for composing too.
Did not looked at the styles yet, but in the past i made some songs in Synfire by using styleparts
I can share this new styles from this arranger keyboard : https://app.box.com/s/d17xw0j85zxgdjpz6opdr6me37rylan2
You can harvesting what you like : at that time i use the styles there was no harvesting an did blockcomposing ( a container can overlap another one : with this i could get the wanted musical expression )
Thinking on also Band in Box has also a lot of midi's
The styles .psr can be imported in Cubase 8.5 , but they need the soundmodule for the psr sx600 keyboard to get the right sound , because it are not always ordinairy GM sounds.
In synfire it was .sty what was recognised as a style and could imported, but now with .psr ..can it be imported ?
I must figure out how i can use the keyboard soundmodule from the psr sx 600 in Synfire?
In synfire there can be made a wav file from a arrangement, but probably it all won't work , because it are not Vsti sounds used from the sx600 soundmodule.
There is midi for the "higher" mid range keyboards ( not on my present one) , but when the new model comes i can consider to upgrade.
I've made it a practice to never pirate anything. Anyway, I have a ton of MIDI, all of it paid for, and it's more than I can cope with already.
I have BIAB, and their MIDI might be worth looking into out of curiosity. And if I ever do work through all the MIDI on my computer (not likely in a hundred lifetimes) I could generate MIDI via my Korg Kronos...feed MIDI in and record the MIDI it then generates.
Back around 20 years ago I bought several sets called Twiddly Bits. I hadn't used them in recent years, because as the name implies they are small segments of MIDI, and I found them hard to make use of. But in Synfire less is often more, and I'm once again finding them useful.
If there is a legitimate (non-pirated) low-cost source of high-quality MIDI files of current pop hits, that would be of interest to me.
I purchased a lifetime membership to Supreme MIDI (price was so low considering how much content is on the website). I also got one for Kunstderfuge (classical music).
With the pop music, I look for really good 4 - 8 measure riffs/phrases for each part; bass, keys, synths, strings, drums, arps, etc. It's surprisiing how many of them go well together these days. With the palettes on Synfire, I make my chord progressions and then I start constructing and putting things together. Once I got the hang of it, I started figuring out which phrases work well together. I add a bunch of them and then eventually, I start to take out ones that sound - just ok - and leave the good sounding ones.
With the classical midi's from Kunsterfuge, they have some amazing piano rolls that are played by some of the greatest pianists from decades and decades ago. From what I understand, piano rolls were used as a music storage medium to operate a player piano, piano player or reproducing piano. Piano rolls, like other music rolls, are continuous rolls of paper with perforations (holes) punched into them. The perforations represent note control data. They have been transcribed into MIDI so you literally hear what the master piano player played, so with Synfire, you get the performance. Harvesting the MIDI needs more detailed attention, but it is still relatively easy. I can't play worth shit -- as the saying goes -- but I know what I hear in my head. Synfire, to me, is like having the pro-player, playing the music for me. It follows my chords and styles, etc. My music sounds like a know how to play. I've also created some amazing synth solo parts with classical music. Those fellas back then were the rock stars of their time, so it all translates well into modern day music. Then there's the regular midi on that website; it's not as good as the piano rolls but it's still remarkably well played.
I went off on a tangent, but to summarize, I've spend about $100US dollars total on two lifetime memberships for two different websites and it has me covered. I am in no way affiliated with those sites, by the way. It works so well for me that it sounds like a sales pitch. :-) I got tired of Google searching MIDI that was sub-par and sloppy.
PS: There's a site called Hit Trax that sells MIDI arrangements of hit songs. They seem to have a lot to choose from, but are not quite current with the latest charts.
I added one arrangement to the cart, and it came to $9.99 US, with appropriate royalties going to the rights holders.
That site sounds like it is definitely worth checking out. Thank you.
I'm not a keyboard player, but I am a fair-to-middling guitar player. Some people think I'm quite good, but really I'm just good enough to know that I'm not all that good. And these days I find working with MIDI and synths to be far more interesting.
Well, i am also not a good piano player, but with the electronic keyboard i can play better.
I can record styles as midi (intro (3x)-breaks-main(4x-)-endings(3x), all style parts are composed from simple to more complex.(on usb stick) , what i just did , so this is a gigantic source for composing.
There are free "packs" too : Voices & Style Expansion - Yamaha - UK and Ireland
With this you can do a lot more.
Best result is to use keyboard as a soundmodule to get the original sounds back from the styles ( if possible?)
Import this static in Synfire and styles are composed as ( or not , because it takes not much time for converting directly into a phrase?)
- rhythm1
- rhythm2
- Bass
- Chord1
- Chord2
- Pad
- Phrase1
- Phrase 2
My basic arranger has some limitations ( no midi) , but with the higher models keyboard i could probably record directly style parts via midi inSynfire ?
For Pop rock i do have 70 styles : how sounds the Jazzpop ?
415 styles in pop@rock-dance@R@B-latin@jazz-.... plus the free (world) pack styles
Those styleparts are only the start for composing, ideal should be to have songs out of them
Free songs for the keyboard : i must look for this ?
ability to import Yamaha PSR style files would be a nice addition, but there are many variations on the PSR files, so that would not neccessarily be that easy to add..
I think that the styleformat is now .psr and earlier it was .sty what synfire could read and import.
I could now not load a style from my latest arranger keyboard ( try again )
In a other thread i try to figure out how to use the soundmodule from my arranger keyboard psr sx600
Because now i record a style into midi and import this in Synfire.
Directly import of the style is now bypassed.
If Cognitone can make import directly styles into synfire again possible like in the past ?
Then no midi recording of style is needed by me.
In Cubase can the .psr style also be loaded and converted to a midi file...
Just wanted to let all of you know that things are going very well. Sorry for the long delays in posting. I just got new stuff done that I want to show tomorrow: A first look at the new Arrange window and a new interactive help system.
Is it also possible to vary your own existing melody with the new sliders in Synfire 2.0?
Good point. Synfire can extract KIM rules from MIDI. That would be helpful. It is not clear though how that would translate to the probability distribution sliders. One melody is only a single sample. You would need a hundred or so of them to derive meaningful probabilities and hierarchical structures. Still a great idea to consider.
Still no ETA, but it's definitely months, not years ;-)
Today a look at the new arrangement window, integrated library editor and interactive help system. This is really only a single quick take w/o narration. Didn't want to let you wait any longer (I'll never learn to never ever promise a date ;-).
The jazzy chaos towards the end is just what happens in a totally unscripted take. I didn't find the patience to redo it for better examples. It isn't about the music today anyway ;-)
The integrated library editor is really a boon. Generate stuff on the fly, switch to arrange tab and use it immediately. Prototyping on speed!
By the way, you can open any library in the arrangement now. Up to three are kept open at a time. Any number of standalone library editors can also run on the same libraries in parallel, allowing for drag & drop phrase exchange.
The help system was originally only a vague idea that now turned out to be a major feature. DITA based, offline and online. Will be easier to keep it current over time. Will include tutorials, troubleshooting, step-by-step tasks, basically 100% of all Synfire knowledge at your mouse click.
More stuff to come soon (you certainly noticed a few new things I skipped today)
As someone who has struggled mightily with the convoluted, incomplete, and often self-contradictory manual, I'm very excited to see the context sensitive Help feature. That looks AWESOME! Thank you.
Having access to libraries within an Arrangment will be very helpful.
Those "generative" features are beyond my understanding at this point, but should be fun and rewarding to explore.
The original manual was translated from German by a translator. Now it's written in English from the start. Much more concise and to the point after ideas have settled over the years (user feedback helped a lot). Non-linear hypertext is also more helpful than book format.
Is there any chance we'll see a mute figure function in 2.0? I mentioned this a while back, and you seemed receptive.
It would be handy to be able to mute one or more figures and then have the option to unmute some or all of them later when the arrangement has gelled a bit more.
A further refinement of that idea would be to have the ability to mute (or delete) all figures of a specific type (for example, bass figures) within a specified range on the timeline, on a per-instrument and/or per-container basis. That would speed up the editing process.
EDIT 1: I've been writing "figures," but I actually meant "symbols." Sometimes I'm still shaky as to the exact terminology. Also, I see that in the Transform menu it's possible to select all symbols of a certain type. I haven't tried this yet, but I assume this will allow one to delete multiple symbols (all of the same type) at once. Pretty cool. Even cooler if one could do likewise with a mute function.
EDIT 2: Hmmm...although the manual states that the Transform menu allows one to select all segments of the same type, there appears to be no such function actually on the Transform menu. Dang. Is it perhaps hiding elsewhere?
Select the symbol type on the toolbar and hold down the mouse button (as the tooltip suggests). A menu appears offering the option to select all symbols of that type.
Regarding your feature suggestion: Tagging individual symbols with a "mute" property is very hard to do. Symbols are just not prepared to carry additional properties. Segments are. Muting a segment will work easily. So you could have single-symbol segments and mute those. Muting symbols in the middle of a melodic run would probably not ne useful anyway, unless I missed the point.
"Select the symbol type on the toolbar and hold down the mouse button (as the tooltip suggests). A menu appears offering the option to select all symbols of that type."
Yes, that works, and it's very useful.
"Tagging individual symbols with a "mute" property is very hard to do."
You would know that better than I.
"Muting symbols in the middle of a melodic run would probably not ne useful anyway, unless I missed the point."
Actually, for me (and no doubt others) it would be quite useful. For example, I'm currently working on a dramedy project. I imported some MIDI from a piano library, and changed the sound to pizzicato strings. It's amazing how often this gets me really close to something I can work with. But typically I want to sculpt out various symbols or segments in the earlier parts of the timeline, so later the track will gather energy due to the fact that it becomes busier. But I'm often not sure which symbols or segments I should delete. The project hasn't gelled enough for me to make final decisions of that nature. I like to audition various scenarios, but would like to keep my options open. So I might delete a symbol or a segment only to later wish I hadn't done so. Having them still visible on the timeline, but muted, would make this process far easier. It seems to me a symbol mute function would be very much in keeping with the spirit of "music prototyping software."
As it is, my clumsy workaround is to make a duplicate of the instrument before I delete anything, so I can refer to it later. But I find this method a distant second. Anway, if it can't be done or would demand too much of your time then I will just have to accept that.
In Cubase, and probably in any DAW, it's trivially easy to mute an individual MIDI note, or a series of MIDI notes, so maybe I should delay such decisions until I transfer the project to Cubase. Again, this would not be my preference, but is doable. But if I don't want to use the clumsy "duplicate instrument" method, it seems my options are to make the decisions earlier than I would prefer in Synfire, or later than I would prefer in Cubase.
Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions.
Things are making great progress. Here's a brief update.
The arrange view features a new Overview perspective spanning the entire song. It breaks down rendered output into regions on a track, one per instrument. Actually that's how it would look like in a DAW.
This perspective rolls out everything flat, labeling spans on the timeline with container names, so you can see where the output came from. Zooming in reveals rendered MIDI notes. Clicking on a label jumps you to the Container perspective for editing.
The output display updates while you make changes, so you are no longer in the dark concerning the effects of a change.
The picture also demonstrates how a hierachical structure, in being a higher-level abstraction of the musical narrative, is more concise and flexible for editing purposes than flat tracks with isolated regions. For example, if you move the red "C" part in the middle, it'll move all associated regions in the overview, too.
What's also new: Headers and phrases in the arrange view are now separate, i.e. headers no longer scroll out of view.
Comments
Sat, 2021-01-09 - 12:06 Permalink
Why not giving us some (pre-)alpha release (with no support of course, as the software can change in any aspect in that stage), but this way we could install it on another computer and already benefit from the exciting new features ?
Sun, 2021-01-10 - 12:19 Permalink
My vote goes for alpha/beta releases for those who are brave enough! :) And, why not, also for a special price for those early birds who'd like to support the update process :)
Wed, 2021-01-13 - 20:06 Permalink
If there is an alpha/beta release I will like to participate too. If there is licensing issue I don't mind converting my licence to ver 2 and use unstable pre release version.
Sun, 2021-01-24 - 22:15 Permalink
VERY happy to see this update coming; after several years I'm still a synfire newbie (I was more distracted with sound design , synth and samplers than harmony/ melody)... my only request is to make sure the new release will be solid rhythmically as well (I mean timing wise), so groove will be "in the pocket" easily.
I'm playing with scaler 2 as well ; it is ok and straightforward to use mostly but I don't like fact melodies/ bass lines are mainly pattern based (melodies can be played following chords progressions) . Sundog is giving me more reward (and has some few common points with synfire)...
im stil watching the new synfire videos and impressed with what I see for the workflow simplification!
well done
Tue, 2021-01-26 - 15:47 Permalink
any new videos coming soon? :)
Tue, 2021-01-26 - 21:53 Permalink
No video today, but audio: A proof-of-concept 100% synthetic performance, based on 3 phrases from a single KIM-generated phrase pool. This literally took me 30 minutes to make ;-) The challenge now is to make a host of simpler factories that suit styles like EDM, Pop, etc. But simplification is not the problem. I wanted to evaluate first, if it works also for more complex stuff.
(https://soundcloud.com/cognitone/synfire-20-factory-generated-example)
Generated rhythm really cuts it. Are you prepared for 2.5 billion songs? (erm, rough estimate)
Wed, 2021-01-27 - 11:46 Permalink
Andre, it's impressive! Looking forward to taking on that challenge!... Q1? Spring?
Wed, 2021-01-27 - 18:08 Permalink
30 min? That's amazing!
Wed, 2021-01-27 - 18:27 Permalink
To be clear, a week or so ago I played around like 10 minutes with the settings and got a few cool phrases. Yesterday I picked those up, dropped them in an arrangement, made a few minor tweaks (mostly nudging symbols up/down to improve the melody), bounced playback to disk -- violá.
This was fast only because I took the hunter & gatherer approach: See what crosses your path and make the best of it.
If you want to bend Synfire's output entirely to your will from the start, it will take a lot longer. That's for sure ;-)
Wed, 2021-01-27 - 18:51 Permalink
That's excellent! Fast prototyping.
Wed, 2021-01-27 - 19:11 Permalink
I get it. I do something similar. I search for current popular songs and harvest the parts I like. About 4-5 songs. Then I get back to it a day later and piece it all together with my chords and manipulations. I'm honesly shocked at how fast I'm coming up with complete ideas and how fast I can get the parts together.
Wed, 2021-01-27 - 19:39 Permalink
@Brahamh:
What is your process for harvesting the parts? Do you find MIDI versions of the songs and import them, or do you figure out the parts you like and then play them into Synfire as MIDI?
I mostly use MIDI imported into Synfire from the rather large collection I've accumulated over the years. I then send it out to various synths until something clicks. And like you, I am often amazed at how quickly Synfire can make it all work. And Synfire takes me in directions I never would have thought to go.
Wed, 2021-01-27 - 20:21 Permalink
Very inspiring jazzy composition, it almost sounds like an improvisation jam !
Wed, 2021-01-27 - 21:51 Permalink
(2) Import: Harvest Phrases From MIDI Files - YouTube
Wed, 2021-01-27 - 22:12 Permalink
@janamdo:
Yes, I use that import procedure quite often. But my question pertained more specifically to how Brahamh sources the MIDI so he can import it. IOW, where does he get the MIDI from?
I know there are companies that sell MIDI versions of popular songs but I've never used them, partly because I have so many MIDI files already (only so many hours in a day), and also because I have concerns re the quality of such services. And although figuring out the interesting parts and recording them into Synfire is doable, it can sometimes be time-consuming...for me anyway.
Thu, 2021-01-28 - 00:19 Permalink
You can buy or pirate midi's (warez) (thought i downloaded once 60.000 midi files..must look again on a drive for this)
Yamaha keyboard styles can also be imported in Synfire ( as in Cubase too )
Ah looked now at a pirate source ( search : midi) : found 50.000 midi file collection- 51.000 midi file collection saved from geocities-46845 midi-files and songtexts
Recently i am also do keyboardplaying with the PSRSX600 as start arranger keyboard.
Looks very promising the current psr SX700 /900 keyboards
I am waiting on the next generation mid-range arranger keyboard successor of SX700/900 and can be used for composing too.
Did not looked at the styles yet, but in the past i made some songs in Synfire by using styleparts
I can share this new styles from this arranger keyboard : https://app.box.com/s/d17xw0j85zxgdjpz6opdr6me37rylan2
You can harvesting what you like : at that time i use the styles there was no harvesting an did blockcomposing ( a container can overlap another one : with this i could get the wanted musical expression )
Thinking on also Band in Box has also a lot of midi's
Thu, 2021-01-28 - 09:08 Permalink
The styles .psr can be imported in Cubase 8.5 , but they need the soundmodule for the psr sx600 keyboard to get the right sound , because it are not always ordinairy GM sounds.
In synfire it was .sty what was recognised as a style and could imported, but now with .psr ..can it be imported ?
I must figure out how i can use the keyboard soundmodule from the psr sx 600 in Synfire?
In synfire there can be made a wav file from a arrangement, but probably it all won't work , because it are not Vsti sounds used from the sx600 soundmodule.
There is midi for the "higher" mid range keyboards ( not on my present one) , but when the new model comes i can consider to upgrade.
Thu, 2021-01-28 - 00:59 Permalink
I've made it a practice to never pirate anything. Anyway, I have a ton of MIDI, all of it paid for, and it's more than I can cope with already.
I have BIAB, and their MIDI might be worth looking into out of curiosity. And if I ever do work through all the MIDI on my computer (not likely in a hundred lifetimes) I could generate MIDI via my Korg Kronos...feed MIDI in and record the MIDI it then generates.
Back around 20 years ago I bought several sets called Twiddly Bits. I hadn't used them in recent years, because as the name implies they are small segments of MIDI, and I found them hard to make use of. But in Synfire less is often more, and I'm once again finding them useful.
If there is a legitimate (non-pirated) low-cost source of high-quality MIDI files of current pop hits, that would be of interest to me.
But we're straying from the subject...
Thu, 2021-01-28 - 01:08 Permalink
I purchased a lifetime membership to Supreme MIDI (price was so low considering how much content is on the website). I also got one for Kunstderfuge (classical music).
With the pop music, I look for really good 4 - 8 measure riffs/phrases for each part; bass, keys, synths, strings, drums, arps, etc. It's surprisiing how many of them go well together these days. With the palettes on Synfire, I make my chord progressions and then I start constructing and putting things together. Once I got the hang of it, I started figuring out which phrases work well together. I add a bunch of them and then eventually, I start to take out ones that sound - just ok - and leave the good sounding ones.
With the classical midi's from Kunsterfuge, they have some amazing piano rolls that are played by some of the greatest pianists from decades and decades ago. From what I understand, piano rolls were used as a music storage medium to operate a player piano, piano player or reproducing piano. Piano rolls, like other music rolls, are continuous rolls of paper with perforations (holes) punched into them. The perforations represent note control data. They have been transcribed into MIDI so you literally hear what the master piano player played, so with Synfire, you get the performance. Harvesting the MIDI needs more detailed attention, but it is still relatively easy. I can't play worth shit -- as the saying goes -- but I know what I hear in my head. Synfire, to me, is like having the pro-player, playing the music for me. It follows my chords and styles, etc. My music sounds like a know how to play. I've also created some amazing synth solo parts with classical music. Those fellas back then were the rock stars of their time, so it all translates well into modern day music. Then there's the regular midi on that website; it's not as good as the piano rolls but it's still remarkably well played.
I went off on a tangent, but to summarize, I've spend about $100US dollars total on two lifetime memberships for two different websites and it has me covered. I am in no way affiliated with those sites, by the way. It works so well for me that it sounds like a sales pitch. :-) I got tired of Google searching MIDI that was sub-par and sloppy.
Thu, 2021-01-28 - 01:31 Permalink
PS: There's a site called Hit Trax that sells MIDI arrangements of hit songs. They seem to have a lot to choose from, but are not quite current with the latest charts.
I added one arrangement to the cart, and it came to $9.99 US, with appropriate royalties going to the rights holders.
They do give discounts for 3 or more tracks.
I might give it a shot out of curiosity.
Thu, 2021-01-28 - 01:42 Permalink
@Brahamh1:
That site sounds like it is definitely worth checking out. Thank you.
I'm not a keyboard player, but I am a fair-to-middling guitar player. Some people think I'm quite good, but really I'm just good enough to know that I'm not all that good. And these days I find working with MIDI and synths to be far more interesting.
Thu, 2021-01-28 - 01:50 Permalink
A site called Carlo's MIDI has free, contemporary pop MIDI files for download.
Thu, 2021-01-28 - 10:36 Permalink
Well, i am also not a good piano player, but with the electronic keyboard i can play better.
I can record styles as midi (intro (3x)-breaks-main(4x-)-endings(3x), all style parts are composed from simple to more complex.(on usb stick) , what i just did , so this is a gigantic source for composing.
There are free "packs" too : Voices & Style Expansion - Yamaha - UK and Ireland
With this you can do a lot more.
Best result is to use keyboard as a soundmodule to get the original sounds back from the styles ( if possible?)
Import this static in Synfire and styles are composed as ( or not , because it takes not much time for converting directly into a phrase?)
- rhythm1
- rhythm2
- Bass
- Chord1
- Chord2
- Pad
- Phrase1
- Phrase 2
My basic arranger has some limitations ( no midi) , but with the higher models keyboard i could probably record directly style parts via midi inSynfire ?
For Pop rock i do have 70 styles : how sounds the Jazzpop ?
415 styles in pop@rock-dance@R@B-latin@jazz-.... plus the free (world) pack styles
Those styleparts are only the start for composing, ideal should be to have songs out of them
Free songs for the keyboard : i must look for this ?
Thu, 2021-01-28 - 22:44 Permalink
ability to import Yamaha PSR style files would be a nice addition, but there are many variations on the PSR files, so that would not neccessarily be that easy to add..
Fri, 2021-01-29 - 00:01 Permalink
I think that the styleformat is now .psr and earlier it was .sty what synfire could read and import.
I could now not load a style from my latest arranger keyboard ( try again )
In a other thread i try to figure out how to use the soundmodule from my arranger keyboard psr sx600
Because now i record a style into midi and import this in Synfire.
Directly import of the style is now bypassed.
If Cognitone can make import directly styles into synfire again possible like in the past ?
Then no midi recording of style is needed by me.
In Cubase can the .psr style also be loaded and converted to a midi file...
Sun, 2021-02-14 - 16:47 Permalink
André,
is it also possible to vary your own existing melody with the new sliders in Synfire 2.0?
I mean small variations like in classical music.
Sat, 2021-02-27 - 00:16 Permalink
Hello André, I am anxious to know news of 2.0 and when we will have the new update with so many changes. A big greeting to all.
Sun, 2021-02-28 - 19:11 Permalink
Just wanted to let all of you know that things are going very well. Sorry for the long delays in posting. I just got new stuff done that I want to show tomorrow: A first look at the new Arrange window and a new interactive help system.
Good point. Synfire can extract KIM rules from MIDI. That would be helpful. It is not clear though how that would translate to the probability distribution sliders. One melody is only a single sample. You would need a hundred or so of them to derive meaningful probabilities and hierarchical structures. Still a great idea to consider.
Still no ETA, but it's definitely months, not years ;-)
Tue, 2021-03-02 - 22:06 Permalink
Today a look at the new arrangement window, integrated library editor and interactive help system. This is really only a single quick take w/o narration. Didn't want to let you wait any longer (I'll never learn to never ever promise a date ;-).
The jazzy chaos towards the end is just what happens in a totally unscripted take. I didn't find the patience to redo it for better examples. It isn't about the music today anyway ;-)
The integrated library editor is really a boon. Generate stuff on the fly, switch to arrange tab and use it immediately. Prototyping on speed!
By the way, you can open any library in the arrangement now. Up to three are kept open at a time. Any number of standalone library editors can also run on the same libraries in parallel, allowing for drag & drop phrase exchange.
The help system was originally only a vague idea that now turned out to be a major feature. DITA based, offline and online. Will be easier to keep it current over time. Will include tutorials, troubleshooting, step-by-step tasks, basically 100% of all Synfire knowledge at your mouse click.
More stuff to come soon (you certainly noticed a few new things I skipped today)
Tue, 2021-03-02 - 22:51 Permalink
As someone who has struggled mightily with the convoluted, incomplete, and often self-contradictory manual, I'm very excited to see the context sensitive Help feature. That looks AWESOME! Thank you.
Having access to libraries within an Arrangment will be very helpful.
Those "generative" features are beyond my understanding at this point, but should be fun and rewarding to explore.
Take my money now!
Tue, 2021-03-02 - 22:54 Permalink
Wow. Incredible work Andre. The integrated library editor looks so good.
Refreshing this thread a number of times a week - looking forward to v2!
Tue, 2021-03-02 - 22:57 Permalink
Amazing Andre! Cannot wait to be able to explore this with my John Williams snippets that i have in my library!
Wed, 2021-03-03 - 00:00 Permalink
Looking impressive, I predict the help system will be my most used feature, superb.
Wed, 2021-03-03 - 09:26 Permalink
Looks great! Caaaaaaan't wait!
Wed, 2021-03-03 - 09:41 Permalink
I think that Synfire 2.0 is so useful . It's just amazing interface. I am so enthusiastic to try soon. Thanks for great support Andre.
Wed, 2021-03-03 - 10:39 Permalink
It's gonna be very very very funny !!!! (LOL)
Wed, 2021-03-03 - 13:43 Permalink
This looks so good...
Hope it works on my old music machine (Windows 8.1, no internet connection)
Wed, 2021-03-03 - 17:03 Permalink
The original manual was translated from German by a translator. Now it's written in English from the start. Much more concise and to the point after ideas have settled over the years (user feedback helped a lot). Non-linear hypertext is also more helpful than book format.
Thu, 2021-03-04 - 18:09 Permalink
Man, that looks fantastic! Just can't wait.
Thu, 2021-03-04 - 19:15 Permalink
Clever idea also to build in the help for Synfire and hopefully it gives all answers :)
Fri, 2021-03-05 - 00:19 Permalink
Andre:
Is there any chance we'll see a mute figure function in 2.0? I mentioned this a while back, and you seemed receptive.
It would be handy to be able to mute one or more figures and then have the option to unmute some or all of them later when the arrangement has gelled a bit more.
Mon, 2021-03-08 - 02:48 Permalink
A further refinement of that idea would be to have the ability to mute (or delete) all figures of a specific type (for example, bass figures) within a specified range on the timeline, on a per-instrument and/or per-container basis. That would speed up the editing process.
EDIT 1: I've been writing "figures," but I actually meant "symbols." Sometimes I'm still shaky as to the exact terminology. Also, I see that in the Transform menu it's possible to select all symbols of a certain type. I haven't tried this yet, but I assume this will allow one to delete multiple symbols (all of the same type) at once. Pretty cool. Even cooler if one could do likewise with a mute function.
EDIT 2: Hmmm...although the manual states that the Transform menu allows one to select all segments of the same type, there appears to be no such function actually on the Transform menu. Dang. Is it perhaps hiding elsewhere?
Mon, 2021-03-08 - 15:42 Permalink
Select the symbol type on the toolbar and hold down the mouse button (as the tooltip suggests). A menu appears offering the option to select all symbols of that type.
Regarding your feature suggestion: Tagging individual symbols with a "mute" property is very hard to do. Symbols are just not prepared to carry additional properties. Segments are. Muting a segment will work easily. So you could have single-symbol segments and mute those. Muting symbols in the middle of a melodic run would probably not ne useful anyway, unless I missed the point.
Mon, 2021-03-08 - 20:26 Permalink
"Select the symbol type on the toolbar and hold down the mouse button (as the tooltip suggests). A menu appears offering the option to select all symbols of that type."
Yes, that works, and it's very useful.
"Tagging individual symbols with a "mute" property is very hard to do."
You would know that better than I.
"Muting symbols in the middle of a melodic run would probably not ne useful anyway, unless I missed the point."
Actually, for me (and no doubt others) it would be quite useful. For example, I'm currently working on a dramedy project. I imported some MIDI from a piano library, and changed the sound to pizzicato strings. It's amazing how often this gets me really close to something I can work with. But typically I want to sculpt out various symbols or segments in the earlier parts of the timeline, so later the track will gather energy due to the fact that it becomes busier. But I'm often not sure which symbols or segments I should delete. The project hasn't gelled enough for me to make final decisions of that nature. I like to audition various scenarios, but would like to keep my options open. So I might delete a symbol or a segment only to later wish I hadn't done so. Having them still visible on the timeline, but muted, would make this process far easier. It seems to me a symbol mute function would be very much in keeping with the spirit of "music prototyping software."
As it is, my clumsy workaround is to make a duplicate of the instrument before I delete anything, so I can refer to it later. But I find this method a distant second. Anway, if it can't be done or would demand too much of your time then I will just have to accept that.
In Cubase, and probably in any DAW, it's trivially easy to mute an individual MIDI note, or a series of MIDI notes, so maybe I should delay such decisions until I transfer the project to Cubase. Again, this would not be my preference, but is doable. But if I don't want to use the clumsy "duplicate instrument" method, it seems my options are to make the decisions earlier than I would prefer in Synfire, or later than I would prefer in Cubase.
Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions.
Tue, 2021-04-27 - 22:18 Permalink
Hi Andre,
Any update on SYNFIRE 2.0?
Thanks
Thu, 2021-04-29 - 21:07 Permalink
(Find links to larger images below)
Things are making great progress. Here's a brief update.
The arrange view features a new Overview perspective spanning the entire song. It breaks down rendered output into regions on a track, one per instrument. Actually that's how it would look like in a DAW.
This perspective rolls out everything flat, labeling spans on the timeline with container names, so you can see where the output came from. Zooming in reveals rendered MIDI notes. Clicking on a label jumps you to the Container perspective for editing.
The output display updates while you make changes, so you are no longer in the dark concerning the effects of a change.
The picture also demonstrates how a hierachical structure, in being a higher-level abstraction of the musical narrative, is more concise and flexible for editing purposes than flat tracks with isolated regions. For example, if you move the red "C" part in the middle, it'll move all associated regions in the overview, too.
What's also new: Headers and phrases in the arrange view are now separate, i.e. headers no longer scroll out of view.
Fri, 2021-04-30 - 10:28 Permalink
ıt is awesome improvement. I Think Synfire development worth to waiting for. Thanks Andre. We are so excited to use new version.
Fri, 2021-04-30 - 12:56 Permalink
But don't let us waiting too long :-)
Fri, 2021-04-30 - 14:44 Permalink
Can take more then a year from now till it is finished ..who knows ? EEA is unknown
Looks great Synfire, i am curious whta is under the hood
Fri, 2021-04-30 - 22:05 Permalink
Thanks for the update Andre. Looking good! Can't wait to try.