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Post by Emerald Midi on Aug 24, 2009 7:32:18 GMT
I personally think that one of the hardest sounds to reproduce with midi is that of a good drummer, you cannot beat the sound of real drums. In fact nothing beats the sound of a full live band, i use midi because i'm a one man outfit and pubs won't pay the money for 4 and 5 pieces anymore. Lets get real, Midi is brilliant, but it will never replace real instruments for sound. Yes, yes and yes....the only "no" is some bands are useless without their MIDI backing but I fully agree that when it comes to a good, professional band V MIDI there's simply no comparison.
I personally think that any competent full band; drums, bass, lead, rhythm and keyboard, etc... should never have to use anything like backing. |
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Post by shyamwestwind on Aug 24, 2009 10:07:02 GMT
A GOOD Midi is perfect, but personally, I like the imperfections of a LIVE band, the wrong note, the wrong chord, the ill timed cymbal bash, . They were all things we joked about. They were part of the fun of playing and no one....... I repeat no one in the audience ever cussed us for it !! That was the joy of making music together !!! I was very lucky to have like minded musos with me , guys who simply and lovingly, made good music together. The audiences knew it was a slip up and not bad playing !!
I have a very healthy respect for the Drummer and Bass guitarist ......... they could infuse life into the music and dictate the mood to the occassion. The expressions created by them brought oout the best in us.
Yes I miss my band, but that was THE BAND, a group of music loving friends who just LOVED to sing and play. Today, I'm very sure I can never find such a gang and I'm so thankful to my Midis,, a large bunch of very attentive "musicians" who will play exactly what I wish they will play.
Everyone is busy in this present world and no one finds time to put in their soul to the music, so it is a blessing to still be able to play our music the way we want it to be, with our own imaginative Band, doing the "cakewalk" in my clinical musical life.
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Post by weegeo on Aug 25, 2009 11:09:59 GMT
Shyam has made quite a good point maybe worth exploring
He said that he doubts whether or not he could find a gang of musicians like those in his last band and this has started me wondering i`m sure we all have good memories about the `old days` when we all played live could we replicate those days again could we find the musicians that would be totally dedicated just to `music`i think personally it would be like looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack, with all the helpful technology [most of which is beyond me lol] bands don`t need to have the same level of expertise before i get jumped on lol i know that we have some excellent musicians coming up but i don`t think that they are as good as us oldies lol i have a few examples of local guys a few of which i thumped with lol Rab McCullough is 1 i can hear
the younger brigade saying `who is he` lol well he gigged with McCartney but is better known for his outstanding playing with Joe Cocker at woodstock who have we to match him the late Trevor Forbes is another one he was quite simply a genius. These are just two people i had the pleasure of playing with and if i could i would play with them tomorrow. Anyway i`ll throw this open to see what you all think
weegeo-------- standing for re-election as president of the drummers appreciation society
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Post by frank on Aug 25, 2009 11:18:41 GMT
Using midis or Mp3 backing is more disciplined than a band of muscos.Sure it is more fun in a band and there are other people you can blame for muck up's.
Ecconomically a solo,duo or trio using backing files is more of an attraction for booking agents than a band.
If you can entertain with a bit of banter is more icing on the cake.
Also there are only 3 knobs to turn down !
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Post by shyamwestwind on Aug 25, 2009 14:24:08 GMT
Yes Frank................. BUT........ that is the economical angle. No one will disagree but , now we are talking about the sheer pleasure of playing music. Thats somehing hard to come by, nowadays. Yes, I know I'd be PROUD man with a live band with me, but I also know I'd be a PROUD PAUPER !!!
Who doesnt need money ? We all do, so unless I'm left with a healthy inheritance and can indulge myself in insensitive musicaians , methinks it'll be midis for me.
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Post by weegeo on Aug 25, 2009 15:16:45 GMT
Just an aside to my other post lol the clever one`s will of course know i meant Henry McCullough though i have also played with Rab McCullough lol sorry for that wee oops lol
weegeo----------------now taking his tablets lol
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Post by shyamwestwind on Aug 25, 2009 16:20:47 GMT
GOSH, George you really have played with the best !!! It must have been a great experience.. We have so many musicians in this Forum who have had the honour of playing with the big guys, like George, Bri, Pat etc etc etc, I feel honoured to be here with you guys. It would be interesting to know the lind of experience you have had, the lessons you have learntm, the mannerisms you have borrowed , the good and the bad sides of it all
Do share them with us,
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Post by JohnG on Aug 26, 2009 11:59:19 GMT
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Post by weegeo on Aug 26, 2009 14:15:52 GMT
That was really very interesting John and quite easy to follow, thanx for the link if you have any more gems like that would you mind sharing them with us
weegeo
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Post by JohnG on Aug 27, 2009 11:43:41 GMT
Hi Wee Georgie,
So pleased you found them useful. I remember I did when I first read them. I'll take a browse through my old magazines that I have on CD and see what other ones I can come up with.
BTW, did you see the link to download the examples in MIDI format on site?
Al the best,
JohnG.
P.S. if you want them in pdf form I have them, I think. Mark you it is quite easy to get the site to reformat them for printing. I still have an electronic subscription to the site so I'm able to read all the latest stuff there. The Forums are quite good too with people like Martin Walker and other professionals in the business frequently posting.
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Post by Stephanie on Sept 4, 2009 23:31:31 GMT
I've had BIAB for about three years now and have always been amazed at how it can fill out an arrangement. For those of you who don't know how BIAB works, you enter your chords on a chart, bar by bar, and then select a style which it will use to generate accompaniment. Well-written styles are incredibly versatile, although simple ones can sound rather mechanical. Styles have "A" and "B" parts (for choruses and fills etc.). and with the latest version you can specify a second style file to give you "C" and "D" parts. There are a bunch of solo generators (some good, some awful), a melodist which generates melodies in several different styles and a harmoniser feature that will add various types of harmonies to your own playing. The newest version has the Audio Chord Wizard which will take a WAV or MP3 file and pick the chords out of it ready to drop into BIAB - quite amazing.
You can also import other midi files and it will extract chords and bass lines. You can change the style to something totally different or simply flesh out a bland piano-only score with a whole combo. You can mute any or all instruments, push or hold chords and much more.
The rock-bottom package includes a handful of styles (20 or so) which simply serve to whet your appetite for more. Add-ons end up costing noticeably more than they would if you got the package that includes them. I downloaded the demo, then bought the biggest pack I could afford. I then went to Bob Norton's site (www.nortonmusic.com) and bought a number of his most excellent styles as I needed them.
Things I don't like about it: it generates rather awful intros and endings for the kind of music we do. It doesn't support some time signatures (6/8, 12/8, cut-time (2/2) and anything like 5/4, 7/4 etc.) It doesn't play easily with non-GM synths like my Kurzweil K2500; and there are still some cosmetic burps with the Mac version.
On the whole, though, worth every penny to me!
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Post by sweeney on Sept 7, 2009 11:07:13 GMT
Hi Stephanie! Do you have the BB2009. I bought it last week. I had older versions and was able to buy it as an upgrade. The last version before this one was Ver10. It wasn't great and the styles/intro's/ Fills Etc: Etc: weren't good. I gave up on it after a while and never learned workings of the programme...... I took a look at this new version and it looked a lot better so I purchased. Being Irish it's mostly Irish country that is my forte. I have only the basic styles that came with it and no Tutorial DVD. Do you have this DVD and is it worth purchasing.....................Gerry.
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Post by Stephanie on Sept 14, 2009 19:36:53 GMT
Hey Sweeney:
Yes, I have BIAB 2009 (build 8, the latest, for Mac). I didn't bother with the DVD as I had the tutorial videos from my previous purchase. There are a few helpful tips in the videos that show some rather obscure but surprisingly useful features, but I think a through read of the manual should get you on the rails fairly quickly. Also join the forums on the PGMusic site - very knowledgeable and helpful people there. Just like here!
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Post by ramon1108 on Mar 17, 2011 8:45:15 GMT
I personally see MIDI remaining the choice for many in the "biznus" because when some of the bands go back to actually playing they just don't sound as good. The best known "live" band in my area uses many of the MIDI files I provide them ;d I totally agree. Absolutely true. Iv'e been using midi files since the beginning of the 90's and still currently using it for my work as a musician. Some friends and acquaintances were so boastful of using MP3, WAV, etc. but I find it too tight and clean in my own opinion. Am still using the old reliable VANBASCO and my SC 55 MK II. Served me well. ;D |
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