Posted
I was very happy to discover you added the ability to read and utilize Yamaha .sty files. I am the proud owner of a Yamaha Tyros 4. Using Logic Pro, I record chord progressions with a number of different styles. I then break up individual parts to use 2 bars of soft rock guitar, then 1 block of 'rock stadium' guitar then 4 bars of 'live soulband' guitar etc.
This method gives you so much control and a such tremendous pleasing performance. If I am interpreting things correctly, Synfire Pro, will be of a great benefit to me here. I be able to load and split up instrument parts of many different styles. (There are already tons of free styles available to people). I can create categories of individual parts/riffs. I would be able to have a pool of horn riffs, culled from all the horn riff styles in Tyros. Same with guitars, bass, etc. Doing this an external sequencer is a laborious process. And there is no easy way to label and define them.
I'm still a bit confused here. Should I use the 'library function' or 'phrasepool' function? (Gonna take a while to figure this all out). For readers here a Yamaha '.sty' file consists of three intros, four main phrases, 4 fill in bars, and three endings. These all consist of one chord only. phrases can be any length, but most commonly 1 or 4 bars. Intros and endings often contain chord changes, main body phrases are based on one chord. These will lend themselves very well to Synfire Pro.
The User Manual states that phrase pool 'properties' will be expanded and developed later. Would I be able to assign a name or 'quality' to a phrase, say '16th chuka, pull up strum, I V 8thnotes, etc? Thus I could have several libraries available to use. Bass, funk keyboard, pop guitars, etc.
Perhaps if several users worked on this, we could create a huge invaluable library for users to have. Are there any 'uploaded' libraries, or phrase pools, available to us?.
Di., 01.03.2011 - 18:09 Permalink
The library is a collection of phrase pools, so you are better off using the library, if only for the flexibility. You can more easily group phrase pools by style and purpose and move phrases around.
You can name each phrase, albeit the name should be short or you will only see part of it in the user interface. We are not yet sure how to organize and categorize large collections of phrases automatically. Suggestions are always welcome. This kind of feature is easy to implement, provided we know exactly how it should work.
Perhaps if several users worked on this, we could create a huge invaluable library for users to have.
A very good idea, however, for copyright reasons Cognitone will not be allowed to host these libraries publicly on our site. Exchanging the files privately among users should be less critical, though.
Do., 10.03.2011 - 19:13 Permalink
You can directly import a .sty file in SF. A style file is actually just a short midi file consisting of contigous sections (1 - 8 bar parts depending on style). When you load it in you will see all the parts in one continous file. . Each section has a 'marker' for it, Intro I, II, III, Main A - D,' 1 bar fill-ins A - D, endings.
Reading the marker would be a function of your DAW. Logic has them sectioned off as regions automattically. I would assume Cubase, Nuendo, Cakewalk have a similar set-up.
I would love to build a library of Yamaha style files. You would have this tremendous amount of resources at your fingertips. And since they are already used in a style, they work very well together. You can import and easily modify the intros and endings, which consist of chord progessions themselves.
Here are some Tyros websites, This machine is as esoterical and powerful as Synfire Pro is. I can't think of more powerful combination. You can find a LOT of free style files at these sights.
(http://www.craftymusic.net/Forum/index.php)
(http://www.thelonearrangers.com/)
(http://www.jososoft.dk/yamaha/index.htm)
Do., 10.03.2011 - 20:45 Permalink
Although I'm not an owner of a Yamaha arranger keyboard, I'm indeed interested in tapping this huge source of musically inspiring raw material and will try to get hold of some style files for importing them into Synfire.
As already mentioned somewhere else in this forum, we should set up some kind of private share for libraries, phrase pools, phrases and progressions.
What do you think about this?
Fr., 11.03.2011 - 01:22 Permalink
Of course it's a good idea. Using Synfire Pro, anyone can use .sty files. It would make a great library. I'm beginning to understand, that the phrases in your library will let you create your own distinctive sound. Even though the riffs are morphed into something else.. some of the personality of the original riffs are there.
I'm still very new to Synfire Pro. Barely scratched the surface. I imported a MIDI file of 'How Am I Supposed To Live Without You. I changed the chord structure, created a library of phrases and pasted them into a song. Although you wouldn't know what the song was originally, there was something familiar about it.
You can find lots of Yamaha .sty files for free on net. Yes, we could each work on different .sty's and save them at a off site webspace. (Box?) I still need to figure out how to use set the library up. A Yamaha style can have up to 8 instruments, 3 intros, 4 main sections, 4 one bar fill ins, a break and 3 outros.
You could just leave them in a folder with the original style name. But also consider putting them in instrument folders, Funk bass, walking bass, phrases, organ parts. I get frustrated sometimes cause I can't remember what style on Tyros had the 8th note walking bass. I often audition a lot of styles looking for 'flavor' one instrument should have. It might be benificial to already have them sorted into folders.
I suppose you could also create just a word document with explainations, the styles etc. and refer to that. Pershaps others could post their preferences, insight,
Fr., 11.03.2011 - 12:49 Permalink
I would certainly be interested in discussing the creation a library from sty files...
I've done a couple of tests and here are my first observations :
- For some obscure reason it works quite well with certain styles and not at all with others, no idea why ?
We know that a Tyros style is completly based on a Cmaj7 chord and only contains that chord.
When importing, SF recognizes all chords as the right one on some styles, but one some other styles it creates very weard chords, like Ebm ....
no idea why ?
- in a style I have a piano track with pretty simple chords : G-E-C where C is C4, so a simple inversion of the C chord : C in the root position, G = -5 and E = -7. After importing, I would expect in the phrase editor to see the C note on the 0 line? Well no go, the pattern was way lower and I have to move it up. No idea why
As for library construction and naming, I choose for creating libraries by style and give the library the style name. Not saying that this better then creating instrument libraries. Just my way of working.
Rony
Fr., 11.03.2011 - 19:13 Permalink
.Sty files have a category, Pro and Session (might be more). The session styles have in implied chord change, that may or not work with what you have in mind. Some times you can work around this by transposing temporarily the "Chord Detect" track. This is especiallly helpful in Intros (most 2nd and 3rd intros have a chord progression,
I'm not knowledgeable enough to figure how SF interprets a chord progression yet. I still get confused by some chord progressions, and some are ambigous. Is Dm a im-iim-Vm-IVm. It depends on what the neighboring chordsare. You might have a song is that it consistantly goes between a I-IV.
I want to do some tests myself to figure how I want break .sty files down. Your way sounds good.
Fr., 11.03.2011 - 23:24 Permalink
Never knew about Tyros and its style file stuff until now, it is interesting that they are mostly just specially formatted MIDI files.
I found this on the net describing the types and the file extensions used for each:
sty= normal style
pst= pianist (solo piano)
pcs= piano combo
sst=session
prs=pro
bcs=basic
