Jump to content

analoq

Members
  • Posts

    1,309
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Posts posted by analoq

  1. I use VMware Fusion on a MacBook Pro-- but I only use it for Win development (Visual Studio/SQLServer)

    Moving files back and forth is easy, your home folder just shows up on the Windows desktop which you can drag files into.

    The main problem with virtualization is that you'll have the CPU/RAM/Device overhead of OSX while you're using Windows. With dual-booting Windows has full access to resources, which may be better for gaming and music production. It depends on what kind of performance you expect to get.

    Obvious question is-- are you unwilling to try something other than Fruity Loops? If you have a Mac, making music in OSX would be ideal, and you have some great software to choose from.

    cheers.

  2. well, what kind of music do you make? And what are you going to be making it with? I mean, are you recording guitars and vocals or are you doing everything 'in-the-box' ?

    And why are you limiting yourself to FL and Logic? There's Ableton and others which run on both platforms.

  3. I deny that muscle-memory and physical capability have any bearing on arrangement procedures in general

    I can't argue with this because you haven't explained why you deny it. I reasoned how musical ideas are biased because of habituation... are you saying habituation does not occur?

    Anything arranged with only a mouse and sequencer or pencil and staff paper, naturally, will be affected only by mental biases.

    The physical aspects were brought up because piano was brought up. I work out all my musical ideas on piano before I ever touch a sequencer, though I know for some it is the opposite -- in which case you're right: naturally you'd only be left with the mental bias/habits.

    I would argue also that any arranging in which the intellectual aspect outweighs the physical (e.g. writing for a horn quintet or choir) will likewise avoid physical influences regardless of whether or not the arranging occurs at the piano.

    Unfortunately I've failed to grasp this point. I'm not sure how the creative process of exploring harmony and musical ideas is notably different between ensembles. I may not be taking 'arranging' literally enough in this context.

    don't think anyone is advocating feeding a melody into an auto-harmonizer, pressing go, and choking down whatever it spits out. Even the bits that were worth keeping would likely require tweaking and/or personalization. Maybe think of it as a potential inspiration to be used, abused, or discarded as the whim strikes you rather than as a mecha-composer-bot.

    Agreed, this is what I've been getting at. Since we've already established that these are tools at one's disposal, there's a very simple concept we can apply: Using the right tool for the job. There are situations in which Intelligent Arrangers can be beneficial and situations in which they have no practical use. Education and experience will allow one to discriminate between those situations.

    cheers.

  4. I was talking about intelligent arrangers in general. The only specific example I used was Band-in-a-Box, which zircon brought up early on. I can respond to point #1, though:

    Physical limitation doesn't affect one's ability to deal with harmony, especially when MySong only generates very basic chords that could easily be played on a piano. Constructing chords in a sequencer removes physical issues entirely.

    Hand coordination is only part of the physical limitation. The muscle memory Yoozer brought up is a big part of it. You will be biased towards certain chords and inversions by habit and by physical ease.

    Software has no bias, therefore it can derive variations that would've otherwise been avoided by one's personal habits.

    Now, MySong couldn't be recommended as strongly as other software because of its accessibility and simplicity. But I think you already outlined the strengths particular to it well enough a few posts ago.

    cheers.

  5. Entertaining your "mature" discussion would involve giving you a second chance. Unfortunately your attempt comes too little, too late. Thus far no one else seems interested, perhaps your topics aren't as compelling as you think?

    We can continue this for as long as you'd like, but here's how it's going to end: zircon will come in and delete our posts and tell us to stop adulterating the topic. Further discourse here will not earn you any credibility.

  6. I don't understand. I don't think of myself as old-fashioned... but how can "intelligent arrangers" offer me more harmonic variation than what is available to my imagination when I look at the keys of my piano?
    Because you are physically limited - you have only 2 hands and it's pretty damn hard to even learn to use them completely independently because one of 'm usually wants to mimic what the other's doing.

    Also, your imagination is constrained by muscle memory and "what sounds good". You'll subconsciously avoid certain progressions.

    To add to what Yoozer said, it's like collaborating with another musician:

    The other person thinks differently than you, so they're going to come up with variations that you habitually avoid.

    There's nothing old-fashioned about that.

  7. Since this seems more a discussion of the application of this technology rather than the technology itself, let me share something. Skip to 5:30 for the relevant bits, but be sure to go back and watch the jam session afterwards...

    Intelligent arrangers like Band-In-A-Box and MySong are merely one of many tools at your disposal. Experienced producers can benefit from them, as you can use them to explore a variety of musical ideas. Band-in-a-Box helped me work out ideas that I wasn't sure would work, and it showed me how ideas I thought would work actually didn't.

    The more software like this, the better. Amateurs may use it to throw crap together, but people who know what they're doing will use it to create even better music.

  8. The main reason we have subforums (and stickies) is to consolidate common topics. We used to frequently get FL threads so now there's a subforum for it.

    I seldom see threads that are 'hay guys check out dis sound i maed' so I don't think there's a particular need.

    If you want to share sounds you've made, feel free to indulge us with a boutiquey thread for such.

  9. Hooray for shitty $20 wal-mart headphones that picked everything up!
    I guess my headphones are pretty good.
    My headphones got them all and with great clarity.

    These tests are for speakers. Headphones have no acoustics, they won't have problems with frequency range. Just because your headphones passed these tests does NOT mean they're any good.

    My speakers couldn't play 30hz, but they're just $99 Tascams.

    Near-field monitors shouldn't pass the 30hz test. Only subwoofers can accurately respond to the 20-40hz range. My Mackie's stop at 50hz.

    cheers.

  10. Just to throw in my view on the matter.. basically, I am a hobbyist. I don't intend on selling my work at all.

    This is the worst and most common argument I see in amateur communities. If the software companies were only making their products for professionals...

    • There would be few software solutions available
    • They would be prohibitively expensive
    • They would be very difficult to use

    The very reason there is such a variety of music producing software that is inexpensive and easy to use is because of hobbyists like us. We're their main customers; their bread and butter.

    But at least if I pirate it I can have a way to have a little fun and learn about how things work ... For me it's more about learning

    That's why they provide educational licenses and stripped-down cheaper versions of products: so you can learn.

    I don't see how I'm doing anyone any harm.

    That's because you're a philosophically-bankrupt adolescent who is trying (and failing) to rationalize your anti-social behavior.

×
×
  • Create New...