This is really awesome. They really went the extra mile on building this out. It even supports multi-touch screens. Very well done.
Get started making music
231–240 of 476 posts
Re: Get started making music
#232I'm an amateur musician and one of the things I hate about electronic music is how "distant" it all feels. I'm used to picking up the guitar, playing a few chords and writing a melody. Ableton (or any other DAW) feels like a chore. I have to boot up the computer, connect the MIDI keyboard, the audio interface and the headphones, then wait for Ableton to load, then create a new track and add a MIDI instrument before I…
That "jamming feel" is sort of what they were going for with their "Push" line of controllers. Of course, you still have to do all of the things you said about launching the application, but I think that's akin to setting up a drum kit or hauling your amp out of the closet and tuning your guitar.
Re: Get started making music
#233I always wondered why musicians keep up with the conventional musical notation system, and haven't come up with something better (maybe a job for a HNer?). I mean the conventional music notation represents tones in five lines, each capable of holding a "note" (is that the right word?) on a line, as well as in between lines, possibly pitched down and up, resp., by B's and sharps (depending on the tune etc.). Since wes…
It is confusing at first, but once you memorize where all the notes are it is very good. Notation is based around the idea of key signatures, and once you have that down it becomes very intuitive and you can actually know what a piece of music sounds like just by looking at the notation. Western music has 12 distinct pitch classes, but typically the notes are used in scale groupings of usually 7 notes, with accidental "outside" notes being easily recognized by sharp and flat symbols. Doing it that way gives easy visual cues for musical "events" such as key changes, outside chords.. etc. There is a reason it has stuck around, it is a quite ingenious system.
Re: Get started making music
#234I always wondered why musicians keep up with the conventional musical notation system, and haven't come up with something better (maybe a job for a HNer?). I mean the conventional music notation represents tones in five lines, each capable of holding a "note" (is that the right word?) on a line, as well as in between lines, possibly pitched down and up, resp., by B's and sharps (depending on the tune etc.). Since wes…
There have been dozens of suggestions for alternative notation systems over centuries. Many documented here: http://musicnotation.org/
I guess it's just inertia.
Re: Get started making music
#235This seems like the wrong place to start. This seems like the place to start learning a DAW and snapping together samples—to, IMO, make depersonalized unoriginal loop music in a society awash with it because DAW's and looping have created an angel's path to production and proliferation. Learn to drag and drop and you can tell people you meet that you're a musician or a producer. I've met too many mediocre people like this. There should be a disclaimer when this page loads: learn to play an instrument first. Bringing forth music from a physical object utilizes the body as well as the mind, attunes to nuance, and emphasizes that music is primarily a physical phenomenon. It's also just fun and you can jam with or perform for friends. This cut and paste and drag and drop and sample and loop mentality popularized by the rise of hip-hop has lead to an oversaturation of homogeneous, uninspired, unoriginal sound in society. Maybe I'm old fashioned but I think people should spend long, frustrated hours cutting and blistering their fingers for the craft, at least at first. That builds character and will show in your music as you move on.
Re: Get started making music
#236I always wondered why musicians keep up with the conventional musical notation system, and haven't come up with something better (maybe a job for a HNer?). I mean the conventional music notation represents tones in five lines, each capable of holding a "note" (is that the right word?) on a line, as well as in between lines, possibly pitched down and up, resp., by B's and sharps (depending on the tune etc.). Since wes…
> I always wondered why musicians keep up with the conventional musical notation system, and haven't come up with something better (maybe a job for a HNer?).
Is this supposed to be satire? Invoking Poe's Law on this one
Re: Get started making music
#237Earlier quoted context omitted.
What DAW you would recommend? And what features do Ableton miss?
It seems to me each DAW focuses on a particular problematic. - Ableton Live: focus on painless transition between live and written electronic music, quick producing - Reason: focus on modulating everything with a studio feel - Orion: focus on cleanly mixing looping music, slow producing - FLStudio: focus on composing looping music - Reaper: focus on customization and performance - Protools: focus on getting the most…
> - Protools: focus on getting the most money out of the customer
Why am i giggling sooo much :-) The whole talk about it being a 'industry standard'.
I missed Renoise on your list:
- Renoise: Focus on appealing to former tracker users and demoscene music makers.
Re: Get started making music
#238I always wondered why musicians keep up with the conventional musical notation system, and haven't come up with something better (maybe a job for a HNer?). I mean the conventional music notation represents tones in five lines, each capable of holding a "note" (is that the right word?) on a line, as well as in between lines, possibly pitched down and up, resp., by B's and sharps (depending on the tune etc.). Since wes…
Many non classical musicians use other notations. For example, many guitarists and bassists use tab notation. It's simply a visual representation of the strings and a number for which fret to play. It's not as expressive but is far easier to get started with.
MOST guitar players I know use tabs. Personally, I'd rather see the chord type and root string. Ie. 6th string AMin, 4th string GMaj7. Tabs are almost as confusing because I memorized the notes, not the fret number.
Re: Get started making music
#239I always wondered why musicians keep up with the conventional musical notation system, and haven't come up with something better (maybe a job for a HNer?). I mean the conventional music notation represents tones in five lines, each capable of holding a "note" (is that the right word?) on a line, as well as in between lines, possibly pitched down and up, resp., by B's and sharps (depending on the tune etc.). Since wes…
> I always wondered why musicians keep up with the > conventional musical notation system, and haven't come > up with something better (maybe a job for a HNer?). Before starting down that path, I would recommend familiarizing yourself with the wide range of music notations that already exist and continue to be used, and then the ridiculously varying plethora of failed alternative music notations that have been invent…
That doesn't jive with the "I can do better" mantra around these parts. I say that both sincerely and sarcastically.
Re: Get started making music
#240I'm an amateur musician and one of the things I hate about electronic music is how "distant" it all feels. I'm used to picking up the guitar, playing a few chords and writing a melody. Ableton (or any other DAW) feels like a chore. I have to boot up the computer, connect the MIDI keyboard, the audio interface and the headphones, then wait for Ableton to load, then create a new track and add a MIDI instrument before I…
I made a pair of iOS apps to help bridge that gap: Composer's Sketchpad[1] and MusicMessages![2]. Above all else, I wanted to make note editing and navigation as simple as possible. At least for the basic ops, there are no tools, no modes, and no switches: what you see is what you get. Unfortunately, this also means that the apps are more suited for rough drafts than anything resembling full, polished pieces. But I've found them remarkably effective for notating quick rhythms, chord progressions, and even solos! They're very simple — there's not even MIDI support yet, only the built-in SoundFont — but I hope to add depth to them over time without compromising on their simplicity.
[1]: http://composerssketchpad.com
[2]: http://musicmessages.io -- will remove from sale to turn into a full iOS app at some point in the near future