Posted
I want to record violas and cellis and basses in octaves
Starting by recording violas in octave c2- c3 and then doubling the other 2 string instruments in octaves.
Synfire does not give me a visual starting point (octave notation) to start recording the violas.
This is separate from the playing range of an instrument that I think Synfire chooses for me automatically and the ability to deviate from this.
Thu, 2023-06-29 - 17:30 Permalink
Figure doesn't know octaves, except when you use chromatic shift +/-12 (or multiples thereof). Figure segments are relative movements based on the associated playing range of the instrument. If you alter the playing range, the MIDI output will be recomposed to match both harmony and the range (where possible).
If you want multiple instruments to play the same phrase octaves apart, you could use the excatly same Figure and Interpretation in a container and use the Chromatic parameter to shift them apart.
This may or may not violate playing their ranges, though.
Thu, 2023-06-29 - 17:47 Permalink
I am going to record a track through a certain octave area indicated in my example
The viola has a certain playing range in Synfire
Now how do I know when I am in the desired octave range of my example?
Don't understand the problem of recording these octave indications in Synfire and possibly deviating from the automatic playing range.
But perhaps it also comes in handy in chords building and separating instruments to have a handle on how to name the problem.
All available music education study materials work with octave indications, so Synfire thus places itself completely outside these study materials.
Synfire also cannot be used at music institutes.
If you want to be commercial you have to give the masses the generosity to use your product.
Thu, 2023-06-29 - 19:00 Permalink
Courses that teach you how to arrange with absolute pitch on a piano roll are only of limited use for composing with Synfire, which is more like algorithmic composing.
Similarly, a course that teaches you how to paint is only of limited use for, say, creating animated objects with Blender or Maya.
Still, there's lots of education going on that uses these tools.
Now how do I know when I am in the desired octave range of my example?
Move the playing range (typical pitch) or transpose the Figure with the arrow keys until it sounds the way you want. After all, music prototyping is not about graphics but sound. All the painstaking adjustment of octaves and pitch will be toppled once you change Harmony at a later time. If full control of static pitch is important for a project, you should use a DAW or notation program.
The most productive workflow is to prototype with Synfire something that harmonically and rhythmically works fine, export it to DAW or notation and do the final absolute pitch optimizations there. I'm usually too lazy to do that last step, but if perfection is the goal, I would do it
Thu, 2023-06-29 - 20:27 Permalink
I am not concerned with complete control of static pitch, no way.
The freedom of pitch I have is between octaves.
The music samples I would play in from a music notation sheet I cannot copy exactly anyway, but I can roughly record the pitch in an octave(s) in Synfire.
Indeed, I could then raise or lower the recorded figure in pitch should it deviate from an example or to my own taste, for example.
So it has nothing to do with complete control over static pitch and wanting to exactly reproduce a music example on the note.
It is about having a certain overview of what I am going to record or edit, for that an octave notation is needed to know what I am doing.
Synfire is prototyping midi and the DAW is for mixing and mastering.
I want to keep using all the features of Synfire, but Synfire must allow me to keep an overview of the composing process and not just record a figure
There is no serious orchestral composer who is not using the notion of a octave.
Fri, 2023-06-30 - 12:00 Permalink
Yes, of course is octave very important. You just can't control it with Figure directly, without also considering playing ranges and the Transpose, Chromatic parameters, etc.
Synfire allows for moving a phrase from one instrument to another and it is re-composed (and sometimes transformed) to fit the instrument's ranges. That is a priceless advantage when you are experimenting with themes, motifs, textures, etc.
Figure recognition eliminates absolute pitch. Sometimes the same Figure is created, no matter the octave you played during recording. If so, you need to assign it the upper/lower/middle playing range as desired, or transpose it with the arrow keys.
Fri, 2023-06-30 - 13:51 Permalink
Those octave indications are just a visual aid for me, which I think while recording makes it easier for me to keep track.
You can also deviate from a playing range more easily.
I'll see how it goes composing without octave indications in Synfire and try setting up the template for Synfire for a VEP server first.