The music represented here, through the Javascript navigation menu above, and as high-fidelity MP3 audio files*, was created and compiled during the period between spring and summer of 2007. It is a comprehensive multimedia project which encompasses not only the core music and songs, but also custom graphic images and even full-motion video, and a web presence where full availabilty of the project is easily accessible. A list of the primary software involved is included below, with links to the respective manufacturers.
* MP3's are MPEG-1 layer 3, joint stereo, 128 kbps, 44100 Hz, 16-bit
TECHNICAL STUFF:
Due to the immense and timely kindness and generosity of someone who 'believed', I was able, in the spring of 2007, to acquire a fully-working, registered version of Sibelius 4.1.5, after fiddling with 'warez' installations of eariler versions, probably 3.0 or 3.1 or thereabouts. At the same time, she so generously invested in the current version of GPO (Garritan Personal Orchestra - Sibelius Edition), so that my Kontakt Player Gold sample library (already formidable), was fortified and expanded with the awe-inspiring sonic capacity of GPO.
All notation was entered manually, using a standard mouse pointer; no form of input, MIDI or otherwise, was used. Some copying/cutting/pasting were used in order to expedite the already-tedious mouse-manual notation process. All sounds are produced directly from digital samples (KPG and GPO), with the isolated exception of certain enviroenmental/ambient sounds which were added in 'post-notation' production, in Multitrack Mode in Cool Edit Pro 2.0, where all of the constiituent wavefiles for each piece were mixed and mastered.
Each Sibelius piece/song was rendered into multiple wavefiles - sort of 'subgrouped', as a recording engineer would for monitoring, or a house mixer would for ease of controlling levels. A piece might consist of:
Full drum set (kick, snare, four toms, high-hat, multiple cymbals and percussion)
One or two bass guitars, either electric and/or REAL GPO contrabasses or cellos
Acoustic and or electric guitar
Piano, grand and/or electric
Harpsichord, both middle-register and to reinforce bass lines and parts
Strings, either solo medocic lines or full sections
Melody, usually a woodwind or brass instrument - occasionally, a keyboard, etc.
Tympani, Harp, Brass Ensemble, Others
For wavefile-rendering purposes, I turn off ALL audio effects (reverb, echo, everything), and mute all but the parts/tracks that I wish to render. I also mute my own speakers, in the event that my RAM-challenged Dell Dimension 3000 will manage to avoid some of the inevitable glitches. For instance, I might sub-divide the above parts thusly:
KICK
SNARE
TOMS
ALL CYMBALS AND PERCUSSION
BASS GUITAR(S)
GUITAR(S)
PIANO
HARPSICHORD
STRINGS
MELODY
'UTILITY' PARTS - ODDS AND ENDS
So that is eleven separate rendering passes, eleven separate stereo wavefiles, 'dry' and ready to import into Cool Edit Pro 2.0, my digital mixer of choice. Fortunately, the accuracy AND precision of digital music creation, time-line-wise, is superb, and all wavefiles will predicatably synchronize perfectly, if you follow the correct procedure and do not mess with the wavefile length. When you open CEP in Multitrack Mode, you simply import each separate stereo wavefile into/onto it's own track, until you have all wavefiles imported. After adjusting the View so that you may view all parts, simply play the piece, adfust volumes, add effects, and generally mix the piece to your liking. It's not hard to get some pretty rough 'n' ready wavefiles sounding spectacular. Keep a close eye on overall output level, making sure that it is modulating in and around the range that is desirable for the particular track or piece of music.
At this point, I chose to add any SFX, environmental or ambient sounds, but importing them into additional tracks and making fine adjustments to blend them into the mix, both aurally and along the timeline. The final step is to combine all 'active' tracks, mastering it down to a stereo audio file (in my case, the preferred file format was MP3, but you may choose any of a number of standard formats).
That's it, in the proverbial nutshell. A whole lot of patience and endless meticulous tweaking is the only way to arrive at the desired endpoint ... an impressive rendition of music that you once heard in your head ... perhaps awake, pehaps in a dream...
Sibelius 4 (Version 4.1.5 build 104 Kontakt 6.3)
Native Instruments Kontakt Player Gold
Garritan Personal Orchestra (Sibelius Edition)
Syntrillium Cool Edit Pro 2.0
