EQ Magazine - February 2009 - (Page 34)

KEY ISSUES Fig. 1. Live’s Impulse drum instrument is playing back a drum part; a Compression MIDI Velocity effect has been added before Impulse to even out the MIDI velocity values. WRITE SONGS FAST WITH MIDI AND DAWS by Craig Anderton I’m beginning to feel “writing in the studio” is an oxymoron. In fact, it seems that writing a song and recording it are two totally different activities, and need to be treated as such. What got me thinking about this was how easily I could write songs when just sitting down at a piano or guitar, yet how difficult that process became when sitting in front of a sequencer. But I’ve learned it doesn’t have to be this way. So let’s investigate what I call “fast tracking”—using a sequencer/DAW in a way that’s optimized for writing, not recording or editing. With this process, I finally feel I can write on a computer as easily as on an instrument. Of course, different people approach the creative process differently, but I think I’m typical enough that many of you will find the following tips helpful. GET UP AND RUNNING ASAP Inspiration comes and goes fast: One way to prolong the state of being inspired is to exploit that inspiration as soon as it hits. Do everything you can to speed your computer’s startup time (such as periodic defragmentation), and remove all of those little memory-hogging programs that load at startup but you don’t really need. Next, create templates and layouts so you’re not just staring at a blank screen. Templates deserve an article of their own, but there’s nothing like having an “instant environment” that’s optimized for writing, with instruments, patterns, track assignments, and so on ready to go. If you can’t start laying down tracks within 30 seconds after opening your DAW of choice, there’s a problem. START WITH MIDI DATA, NOT AUDIO Sure, a MIDI piano probably won’t sound as good as that 9 ft. Bosendorfer you picked up on eBay for $200 (we can dream, right?). But when writing, keep a piece of music as malleable as possible. You may need to change key or tempo as the piece takes shape, and while it’s possible to make these kinds of changes with digital audio thanks to time and pitch-stretching, MIDI simplifies the process. USE A SOFTWARE “WORKSTATION” Quite a few plug-ins (like IK Multimedia SampleTank 2, Digidesign Xpand, and samplers such as NI Kontakt, MOTU MachFive, Steinberg HALion, etc.) are essentially multitimbral workstations with a boatload of sounds. Having a template that rewires Propellerheads’ Reason into your DAW is another excellent option. But even a simple plug-in—like a basic General MIDI instrument—is usually all you need to sketch out a tune. The advantage to using a single multitimbral plug-in is that it’s really fast to create tracks: Insert a MIDI track, assign it to a channel in your plug-in, assign a sound to the channel, and press record. Although you could create a template with a variety of instruments assigned to a variety of tracks, a multitimbral instrument simplifies matters. THINK SCRATCH TRACKS The object is to write a song, not to play a bunch of perfect takes. A good song in the conventional sense consists of memorable elements like melodies, strong lyrics, and a flow— not nailing the perfect bass timbre. You can always clean up your parts later, but when you want to lay down a part using a particular instrument, just do it. Don’t agonize over the sound quality, or your playing. Copy and paste to create “placemarkers” rather than play all the way through. Of course, most of this won’t make the final cut, but so what? The 34 EQ FEBRUARY 2009 www.eqmag.com http://www.eqmag.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of EQ Magazine - February 2009

EQ Magazine - February 2009 Contents Talk Box Sounding Board Dave Cooley Low vs. Diamond Hank Williams III Travis Franz Ferdinand Guitar Trax Bass Management Key Issues Drum Heads Vocal Cords Mix Bus Cheat Sheet Apple Logic Pro 8 Cakewalk Sonar Near-Field Monitor Roundup Gadgets &�Goodies Sounds Room with a Vu

EQ Magazine - February 2009

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