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Ravich

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Posts posted by Ravich

  1. Very interesting. Thanks for the link. I think I'd personally be disappointed to have less variety.

    The bundle says it has shreddage 2, shreddage classic, and shreddage bass. Shreddage 1 seems to be referred to as "Shreddage Complete" on the product page, and I was going to ask what the difference was, but then I saw the video you just linked said there was no reason to use shreddage 1 as long as you have the shreddage classic expansion. Anything I should know on that end?

  2. If I like how it sounds initially, I never bother checking if it's breaking voice-leading or counterpoint.

    Right, so theory can be used to help determine what doesnt sound good (or what does sound good, for that matter), but it cant tell you what does or doesnt sound good, and I think that concept is lost a lot of the time when it gets taught.

    I always cringe when theory students have been conditioned to wince when they hear a parallel 5th (or are just told that there is a parallel fifth and then it is played for them).

  3. Not sure I understand, unless you were pointing out that the conjunction of following the rules and having it sound good at the same time is what you think is absurd, not either of those things individually, in which case I misunderstood you.

    Generally if you follow the rules of voice leading it sounds good, and bad voice leading is distinctive to the ear. It's not about sounding "good", it's about sounding like it has independent lines with harmonic motion. "good" is subjective, but "independent" isn't as much.

    Yes, that requiring the 2 of those things together is incredibly misleading to theory students. And following voice leading rules will only sound "good" result with an extremely generous definition of the term "good." Adequate would be more accurate. If it really sounded good, computers would be writing music.

    I've tutored students struggling because they have a theory assignment that expects them to "compose" (assignment's words, not mine) something following these rules, and be evaluated based on how it sounds. It's not like these are composition students either, these are just theory students.

    So my point is that it's no wonder that people are confused about theory. Curriculum regularly treats it as though it is a formula with which to compose.

  4. Often what many people do is treat music theory concepts like rules, try to write to those rules, create shitty music, and then complain that music theory ruined their creativity. It would be tragic if it wasn't stupid.

    To be fair, that is what plenty of the coursework forces them to do, and I'm fairly certain that there are plenty of theory instructors that dont understand that theory doesnt work that way.

    I know more than just a few students that have shared stories of how their teacher would make them do voice leading exercises where breaking "rules" gets you points docked, and then they'd also get graded according to how good it sounds.

    Most often I think the curriculum is to blame for the misconception. There is far too much focus on cut and dry statistical analysis instead of connecting overarching concepts, which is why it took me such a ridiculously long time to realize that ritornello and fugue are the same god damn thing.

  5. Yeah, theory is an analytical tool, but what people often forget about that is that theory came about because composers discovered patterns - a method to the madness that sounded good and allowed them to more easily compose the kinds of music they wanted.

    Sorry, but this is not correct. Theory came about because people analyzed music and put labels on the trends that had already been established.

    Mozart didnt have any clue what sonata form was. He just did what he heard Haydn and other composers doing.

  6. Hi, I recently picked up Session Horns Pro for a project that needed some extra brass, and I'm having a significant amount of trouble figuring out how to... get a decent sound out of it.

    The first thing I've noticed is that there doesnt seem to be an option for a single instrument section. Either it is a solo trombone, or it is a trombone, bass trombone, and baritone sax, or any other mix of instruments.

    I can have 2 trumpets playing, but for some reason they have really weird panning, causing one of them to be very left, and another one to have this breathy texture only on the right.

    I also find that despite having the exact same reverb settings, instruments often sound like they are being played in COMPLETELY different spaces.

    Generally it feels like I have almost no control over the sound, the instruments sound thin and anemic, and I'm struggling to even make it sound usable next to kontakt basic's brass.

    Am I missing something?

  7. For my current project, I've been getting by with EWQL's hollywood brass with Kontakt 5 here and there.

    I dont think that's going to work for much longer, so I'm starting to look at what my options are. The Kontakt instruments are just a bit thin and synthetic sounding, while Hollywood Brass seems, in spite of my best efforts, situationally serviceable but overall quite.... clumsy.

    I would appreciate any suggestions for possible directions. Let me know if there's any info that would be helpful. Let's say that for pricing I'm looking to stay under $1000.

  8. So I've been working with music production for more than two years now, and while i can sometimes produce pleasing results, it seems the majority of the things i make either never reach completion, or still sound horribly amateur ( to me ). Lately ive felt quite discouraged whenever i sit down to make a mix. I'm curious what other people do when theyre feeling like theyre totally stuck.

    One thing i really struggle with is creating dynamic and interesting arrangements.

    Some things to keep in mind that might help:

    -You need victories. Those things that you feel you've been able to do well on? You need more of those. If you've done it before, you can do it again.

    -External motivation. Deadlines can be wondrous things when it comes to helping you push through work. Everyone is different in this regard, but consider collaboration on a project with someone if deadlines help you.

    -Feedback from other people. Working in an isolated vacuum can be very difficult for some people, especially those who are prone to pessimistic outlooks.

    -Goals. Creating a dynamic and interesting arrangement isnt a very measurable goal to achieve. Try to stay away from evaluative descriptions when you define a goal for yourself. You cant withhold feelings of success from yourself until you're satisfied with something, as that may not happen often enough to keep you going. Define a goal that is based on concrete factors such as instrumentation, solos, structure, meter, etc.

    -It is important to learn to recognize when you are looking too far ahead. Creativity doesnt mesh well with catastrophic predictions of the future. Chances are you're doing it without even realizing it. I remember when I would sit down to write music and tire out in less than an hour without even realize that I was weighing myself down with pessimistic thoughts. The first step learning to be aware of it and identify when it is happening. Aim to focus only on what you are doing in the moment. Looking ahead is necessary sooner or later, but you cant worry about it constantly.

    -Technique. You might be in need of developing some technical skills. Hard to say whether that is or isnt the case, but keep in mind that not everything is raw creativity.

    Remember, not everything you write is going to be good, and it doesnt need to be. I remember hearing Austin Wintory respond to the question "what would you consider a good day in terms of output when it comes to writing music" and he said that he never really knew, in the moment, when it was a good day. Things he'd written that he thought were fantastic would seems less than stellar in retrospect, while things he thought were terrible initially, ended up being what he was most satisfied with.

  9. So, this isnt a question about instruments, but I'm working on a track and I want an egg timer tick (synced to the tempo of my song), and also an egg timer ring.

    I have no idea where I'd find something quite so specialized, so my plan was to use my H2 to record the ticking and the ring separately, and then manipulate the ticking to sync with the tempo of the track.

    Any thoughts or advice?

  10. Hey guys, making a return to using kontakt after many years to expand my EWQL saturated library. I used Kontakt 3 back in the day, but havent updated since then.

    Couple of questions I thought you all would know the answers to:

    How often does NI offer Kontakt or Komplete on sale? Cant wait forever, but if there's some upcoming spring sale they do every year, I'd be patient.

    Any chance my owning several versions past qualifies me for some sort of discount? I doubt it, but thought I'd ask.

    Thanks.

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