It’s been a long time coming, a new, more contemporary and cleaner design for my website, easier to manage thanks to WordPress.
The site is not completely formed, but it couldn’t stay offline for too long, so here we go and content, pictures and other design elements will easily be added over the next little while.
So welcome to my new abode, not completely furnished, but entirely comfortable!
One of the great things about film music is the immediacy. You write something and record it.
But samplers have always been a hindrance rather than a help. I just couldn’t write what I wanted, I was limited to writing for the sampler’s limited abilities. It was just a completely unmusical experience.
Things are changing. For the first time I can imagine something for real instruments of an orchestra and just play it with the sounds inside my computer.
Oh, don’t get me wrong, it’s not the same as a real instrument and I doubt it will ever be, but I can finally write what I want as if I were writing for real instruments and just play it rather than program it.
Today I want to present my newest toy: Clone Ensemble.
Choir samples are as limiting as you can imagine. You just can’t write as if it was a choir, forget it. Some get close, though, but it still becomes programming rather than music. And what about capturing the right inflection and emotion in the voice? Forget it. Only singing can do that.
Enter Clone Ensemble. With this plug-in I am able to sing what I want and it takes care of making my voice sound like the different sections in a choir.
Here is an example I wrote in about 5 minutes and then recorded in about 10. It has a Mozart meets Orff vibe. I sang all the parts independently, letting the plug-in take care of making my tenor voice jump up an octave to create the sopranos and altos. I just had to make sure I sang falsetto.
I doubled the choir with instruments to increase realism, because the choir plug-in sound when exposed is not as satisfying, but I haven’t finished experimenting with it.
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Not bad. Not bad at all. Let’s what else it can do.
Is a title important for a piece of instrumental music?
Yes.
Even if the piece is non-programmatic and just intended as pure music?
Yes.
Even if the piece is classical?
Yes!
The title is the first thing a prospective listener sees, it is a part of what makes the listener decide whether or not he/she will invest any time listening to your music.
And in a world where we seem to have less and less time, how a person chooses to spend time is a very important decision!
So that title, lost in an ever-increasing sea of music, better grab that right listener, get the curiosity going, the interest peaked and the speakers going.
But what kind of title? Well, that’s my big problem these days.
Getting the right tone, the right attitude, something that says “classical” but also “fun”, “contemporary”, “new”, but without being pompous and arrogant.
It’s not easy.
Personally, if I see a piece called “Allegro” or “Andante” by a modern composer I tend to skip over it. I might be missing out, but that is what happens. I have limited time, and boring titles tend to make me think the piece will be boring as well.
On the other extreme, I usually avoid pieces with flowery and pretentious titles. You know, things like “As the bird flies in the sky of intense, unrelenting boredom” or something like that.
So this is why I still haven’t chosen a title for Sandro’s piece.
Here are my options…
Any suggestions?
