Transcript Methods of Music Creation on Computers Jin

Methods of Music Creation on
Computers
Jin-Yong Lee
#1: MIDI.
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Basically, a series of messages that are sent to a host synth
or sound generator for play.
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Very small file size.
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Catch: will sound different depending on synth!
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Also lots of different interpretations of the standard between
DAWs, hardware, synths....
So a little early history.
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1987: Roland MT-32
(dedicated synth unit)
Designed for amateur
musicians but was also
used a lot in games
Also the AdLib sound
card (but that was more
FM synthesis)....
General MIDI Era (1991 - 1999)
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1991: MIDI Manufacturers Association
(MMA), Japan MIDI Standards Committee
(JMSC) create General MIDI 1 standard
128 instruments, 1 drumset, 24-note
polyphony minimum, 16 MIDI channels at
once (#10 reserved for drums)
Quickly outpaced specialized synths such as
the MT-32
Proved rather limiting, so Roland and
Yamaha created their own GS and XG
standards, respectively, in addition.
1996: MSFT licenses parts of Roland's Sound
Canvas-55 (SC-55) sound map (albeit at
considerably worse quality ^^')
1997: AAPL licenses same, but the
implementation is slightly different.
General MIDI Level 2 Era (1999 - )
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1999: GM2 standard
introduced
256 instruments,10
drumsets, 32-note
polyphony, still 16 channels
Tried to balance out against
GS (317+ ins., 10+ drums)
and XG (676+ ins., 9+
drums) standards
But now MIDI was to the
side as CD audio and
trackers became more
prevalent.
But it still lives very strongly
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Hardware synthesizer
boards and drum controllers
still rely on MIDI controls
Software synthesizers
(Steinberg VSTi, Creative
SoundFont, Apple Audio
Units) have grown
significantly...and MIDI
control support is very
common among them to
allow for easier porting.
Still a vibrant MIDI
community around.
Examples of MIDI
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Hardware: MT-32,
Sound Canvas series,
PSR/MOTIF series
Software: S-YXG50,
VSC-MP1, TTS-1
DAW: Cakewalk,
Cubase (MIDI-centric),
Logic, FL Studio
(secondary)
#2: Tracker
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Music is not written in
standard notation at all!
Instead, it's typed and
written/read vertically.
Generally uses samples
and/or chip sounds, though
this is changing recently
Samples are kept alongside
the modules.
Very popular among
demoscene, chiptune,
electronic music enthusiasts
Brief history?
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Took off in the mid-1980s with
the Commodore Amiga
Its 4-channel sound chip
(Paula), which relied on
samples, proved popular for
electronic composers – tended
to use Ultimate Soundtracker
and later Protracker
Soon trackers for Atari ST,
Commodore 64 and ZX
Spectrum created – used the
chip's sound generator (PSG)
instead for the most part due to
hardware limitations.
Amiga -> DOS Transition
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1990s – the growth of
wavetable-based
soundcards such as the
Gravis Ultrasound (GUS)
and SoundBlaster 16 (SB16)
led to a migration to the
DOS ecosystem
Along with this came new
software – Scream Tracker,
Fast Tracker, Impulse
Tracker.
Even used in some games
(notably Unreal Tournament)
Post-2000s
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Also declined with the growth of
storage space, CD-quality audio
However, the community, while
much smaller than the MIDI one,
still lives through their genre, as
well as the demoscene
Growth in attempting to create
trackers and/or modules for
other old systems (GB, NES,
Megadrive are common)
In addition, emulation of older
chips has expanded their growth
among chiptune fans.
Examples of tracker software
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Classic: FastTracker,
Impulse Tracker, ProTracker
Modern: OpenMPT
(Windows), Renoise,
Milkytracker.
Most newer ones retain a
classic Amiga/DOS-style
interface, OpenMPT being
the major exception.
Thus OpenMPT tends to be
popular among newer users
for its native Windows
interface.
#3: Loops (briefly)
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Use of a repeated waveform
or note sequence in a work
This is not new to music at
all, really
But in the case of computer
music, it helps by giving
prefabs to allow composers
to focus on other areas. Or,
just make music entirely out
of them!
Quick rundown
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Started with Sonic Foundry's
ACID in 1998
Its revolutionary use of ACID
Loops propelled the use of
loops in other DAWs and
general music making
Logic began using Apple
Loops in 2004 – over 20k
packed in, comes with easy
utility to make your own
Also frequently used in
GarageBand.
...and is that it?
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...not really, but these are three of the main
ways.
Even here there are a great number of
variations – in MIDI, for instance, once can
drag notes, use piano rolls, have keyboard
controllers, even import info from a tracker,
etc.