I posted a new YouTube tutorial online. Check it out.
Have you ever wondered how to make a great bass line from scratch? Here’s one suggestion. This technique will allow you to create a great sounding bass line to go behind your song using nothing but a MIDI editor and a drum track.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEdRCi_Wntk
Why MIDI is Better Than Audio Loops…
Here are a few good reasons. And if you see any I’ve missed, let me know in the comments below.
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MIDI
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AUDIO LOOPS
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User Editable
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Yes
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No
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Pitch Transpose
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Unlimited
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Very Limited Range
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Tempo Variation
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Unlimited
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Very Limited Range
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Edit a single note in the pattern
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Yes
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No
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Ability to change instrumentation
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Yes
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No
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File Size
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Tiny
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Large
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Device Compatibility
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Wide Range
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No
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Software Compatibility
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Wide Range
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Somewhat Limited
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To be fair though, there are some advantages to using sound loops though. The primary benefit is that they are essentially ready ‘out of the box’. If you have software that can accept them, you simply plug them in and away you go. You don’t have to set up a sound source first.
But having said that, I will always love MIDI above all other forms of recording because of its HUGE flexibility.
MIDI ROCKS!
OK, I’m all for innovation and changing the way we do things for the better. So in the spirit of experimentation I thought I would post this cool MIDI controller I found online.
This guy, Peter Davies, redesigned the musical keyboard arranging the keys based on harmonic table.
Take a look. It’s pretty cool looking.
My initial thoughts are… what about velocity sensitivity and after touch. But these are issues that I’m sure could be addressed easily enough.
Let me know what you think of this device.
Do you like it?
Have you used it?
What are the drawbacks or benefits?
MIDI Crossword Puzzle
Here’s a challenge for all you MIDI fans out there. Download this crossword puzzle and give it a shot. If you are able to actually complete it, comment below and let me know that you did it. I’ll be interested to see if you think it is difficult or easy. Certainly some of the clues are easier than others. But some are pretty hard.
If you guys like it, I’ll try to come up with more fun stuff like this in the future.
I’ll post the answer sheet once I’ve heard from some of you about it. Perhaps in a week or so. Or maybe sooner if there’s a demand for it.
So don’t wait! Comment below once you’ve tried it.
Happy Crosswording!
P.S. Go ahead and post this to your Facebook or Twitter. Or email it to friends who might be interested. Test their knowledge and see if they can finish it without your help.
peavey dpm3
I remember in college when I bought my first two-tier keyboard stand. It was great. I was so excited. Now all I needed was the second keyboard. Of course being a penniless, starving student didn’t allow for the extravagance of purchasing excess gear. So I went for what seemed like a really long time with just one keyboard.
At the time I had a Peavey DPM3, which was actually way more keyboard than I knew what to do with. I was completely overwhelmed by the thought of oscillators and envelopes and filters and modulators. But one thing I did know was that I had 16 MIDI channels to work with and only one set of keys. And this was a limitation that I was determined to overcome.
Although I only owned one keyboard, I knew that if I could get my hands on another one I could “MIDI them together” to access way more sounds (using different MIDI channels) than I could play with just the one keyboard. For example, in performance mode I could layer 5 sounds using MIDI Channels 1-5 and play those all with the main keyboard. Then using a second keyboard as a controller I could access another bank of 5 sounds on channels 6-10 without ever needing to change patches. So even though I was playing the two sets of keys, I would only trigger the sounds from the main keyboard.
It gets better. Using this logic, I determined that I could also do the same for the second keyboard, and at the same time. I could make my ‘main’ keyboard access the ‘secondary’ keyboard’s sounds as well.
Kawai k1
So, with much begging, threatening, and bribing, I convinced my brother to loan me his Kawai K1 for the weekend and I tried it.
Not only did my experiment work…. I looked SO COOL doing it! In fact, I think my wife married me because of this. (Ahhh… But that’s a story for another day)
By hooking the two keyboards together with MIDI, I was essentially using two sets of sounds from one and two sets of sounds from the other, at the same time. That’s why having two keyboards is actually like four keyboards.
SIDE NOTE: Using this logic… Three keyboards would be like having nine. I have yet to try that one.
What do you think? Do you have any interesting ‘MIDI Chaining” stories to tell?
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