Step by step
The video shows the steps one by one.
Click 
to enlarge.
What you can make out of a piano scale.
The video shows the steps one by one.
Click to enlarge.
The small composition already sounds quite nice with Sibelius' "on-board tools". The sustained string sound (pedal point) and the reverberation of the concert hall contribute to this. Nevertheless, the musical text still looks a bit "thin". Performers would spontaneously think about how this music could be interpreted.
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Branded software always tries to present an acceptable result to the user in the simplest way possible. But it can also be annoying if you don't know exactly what the software is doing in the background. In Sibelius, for example, it is possible to change the playing style from "Meccanico" to "Molto Espressivo" and the rubato style (tempo variations) from "Meccanico" to "Molto Rubato". Whether the result is satisfactory must be decided on a case-by-case basis.
We hear from professionals that when working with virtual instruments, you have to "touch" every note. It is therefore advisable to deactivate all presets as described above and "do it yourself". With notation programs, you can usually fine-tune the volume, start position or note duration parameters independently of the musical notation.
This can be demonstrated most impressively by trying to play a scale as synchronously and evenly as possible to the quarter note click of a metronome on a separate MIDI keyboard: The values for the played velocity, the start positions or the note durations are guaranteed not to match 100%.
If you entered the same scale with the mouse, the playback values above would always be constant - and unfortunately that is what the result sounds like. Now you can see the dilemma you face when recording music - and this also applies to working with a DAW.
Tones entered by
default are initially given 'default values' by the software, depending on the
default setting.
Solution 1: If necessary, these "defaults" can be changed
satisfactorily using plug-ins or program settings.
Solution 2: Note-by-note editing is advantageous, regardless of whether
the notes were played by clicking or entered using the keyboard.
The note text of the little piano composition was entered into Sibelius via an
external MIDI keyboard, but without metronome recording, i.e. all velocities
are the same, the start positions are at the position of the respective note
value in time, and the note durations correspond to the rhythmic values. Of
course, the whole thing is linked to the selected sound library - Sibelius
Sounds with the same note text will sound different from, for example, a
connected MIDI sound module or Wallander's Noteperformer.
Basically, you need to find the propper virtual instrument for the music you
have chosen and then adjust it note by note. Notation programs vary in the way
they do this - some have graphical editing options similar to DAWs, while
others require the input of numerical values. The trend towards graphics has
also been picked up by Notation Central, which has developed a plug-in for
Sibelius called Graphical MIDI Tools, which allows graphical editing of MIDI
controllers.
Individual parameters
(volume, emphasis, note length, note start position, articulation, etc.) can be
changed to suit personal taste.
TIP: Add some empty bars to the
composition (or open a new document with the same setup) and record sections of
the piano part with or without metronome clicks in different characters. It is
advisable to experiment a little before recording.
Try the following:
How does the piano
part sound if the left hand strikes a fraction too early or too late?
How does the piano part sound when the left hand is slightly louder than the right?
How does the piano part sound when a sustain pedal is used?
Compare
this with the result when you enter the sounds using the mouse or keyboard. The
best way to hear this is to have the reverb switched off all the way.
click to enlarge.
with reverb
no reverb
Even small variations
in the way you play music on a MIDI keyboard can affect the character of the
music. Before thinking about keyswitches (selection of sounds) and automation
of controllers, the "pure note text" should be optimised, no matter
whether you enter the pitches with mouse or keyboard or play them in with
click. You may need to make corrections later, as there may be sound collisions
with other instruments.
It is also interesting to note the effect of a
sustained sound in the background. It is not for nothing that this phenomenon
is also popular in film music - but it was invented much earlier in music
history. Anyone who writes music for orchestral instruments should definitely
listen to symphonic music from the 19th century onwards and, if possible, take
a look at scores from that period.
We are still with the "factory sounds" of one notation software. The box with the sounds of other manufacturers is still closed. The optimised piano sound from just now is taken over for the next step: Next, it is about the string organ point.
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When working with virtual instruments, it's easy to
get tempted by the many possibilities to select articulations just by trying.
Some cryptic names of player plug-ins reveal little about the actual sounds
produced by the original (acoustic) instrument. Well-known manufacturers at
least document the different articulations and microphone types, and VSL e.g. offers its own instrument history with the historical development of the
instruments and notations.
On the other hand, before writing a score (on paper or digitally), you have to
think about how, for example, the sustained string note should sound or how the
instrumentalists should play. Ideally, you have a sound idea or an example from
the literature to guide you. Without familiarising yourself with the
instruments you're writing for, you won't get very far. There are plenty of
tutorials on the Internet to help you learn about the techniques and sounds of common
acoustic instruments. If you want to learn more, you can take a look at instrumentation manuals.
There weren't that many questions about the piano part - in the audio
example there was one instrument with one player. The string sound is a bit
different.
From
the Sibelius work sounds, you can select a specific string section, e.g. the
first violins, as in the audio example. It is not known how many players are involved in the samples. However,
you can tell that there are several players in the group "Violin 1"
by listening to the different articulations. The following video demonstrates
this with simple means.
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For example, if two first violins play the note 'e' live on the D string at about the same volume, you will almost always hear subtle differences. There are many reasons for this, including the players' playing levels, slight differences in intonation between the two instruments, and possibly vibrato at different speeds. Initially, this sounds problematic. However, as the number of players increases, these small deviations will cancel each other out. An empirical value from instrumentation is that the number of players in the group should be at least "three". The mixture of the individual instruments then produces the characteristic, fuller sound of the group.
Good information about the sound character of string instruments can be found, for example, in the 'Academy' section of the Vienna Symphonic Library.
The video shows a selection of possible articulations for the sustained string tone. Sounds from a notation software are used.
Click to enlarge.
The next step is to show how to orchestrate a string pad from the sustained note, which can also be played live without any problems. For this purpose, the previously strict rules are relaxed somewhat:
The articulations in the video have a very different character. For the strings pad, you now need to select 'one' of the many possibilities:
"The string section should sound a little flat without distracting too much from the piano part. The string section can become dynamic on its own without using other pitches (except octaves)".
Variation 1: "non vibrato"
Variation 2: "sul tasto"
On an (acoustic) violin it is possible to play several
articulations simultaneously. Since the resulting score should also be suitable
for live use, you should avoid the common DAW technique of
"overlapping" two articulations. Instrumentalists play this in one go
without any problems - just with a hint in the score: "sul tasto, non
vibrato". Tinkering with software instruments is not always successful.
Of the sounds available in the Sibelius notation
software, "sul tasto" is perhaps the most suitable, as it is a
"vibrato-free" sample.
If
you are looking for some quick information on playing technique "sul
tasto", you can have a look at Vienna Symphonic Library Academy.
The instrumentation of the
strings varies according to the literature being performed:
5-3-2-2-1 small string
ensemble
8-6-4-3-2 classical string ensemble
16-14-12-10-8 (late) romantic string ensemble
The position of the individual voices can also vary -
1st and 2nd violins can sit next to or opposite each other. This affects the
interplay in live performances and the sound in studio productions.
Depending on the composition, you may want to consider
a strategy for the instrumentation,
Ideas for an arrangement created only with the onboard resources of a music notation programme.
Click to enlarge.
Current notation programs with their own sound
libraries usually offer the customisation options described here. Before the
next scenario deals with external sounds, a word about comparing sound
libraries.
On YouTube, you can find videos in which notation
programs "render" notated texts using different sound libraries. The
results are then compared.
A practical comparison: Anyone who has tried
instruments in a shop or at a manufacturer knows that they naturally sound and
feel different (!). You need time to get used to the instrument.
Translated to internet sound comparison, this means: simply rendering a piece of music does not bring out the best in a sound library. Producers often say that you have to "touch" and "adjust" every single note of a composition. This is as true when working with a DAW as it is when working with a music notation software.
