18-06-2011, 01:47
Steve, it works something like this. I normally come up with the music on an acoustic guitar (my main instrument). Then I use sample libraries like Vienna Strings or EastWest or Soniccouture (sp?) or Arturia etc to find the sound of the instrument that I want. This is then played into a DAW (digital audio workstation - essentially a recording studio in a PC), in my case I use Samplitude 11 Pro, via a controller (usually a keyboard but it can be any midi-enabled controller). In the case of drums, I normally program the structure into a package called Artist Drums then send it off to a guy called Marc Norgaard in Baltimore who then follows my layout/structure and adds his own twist to it. This is then imported back into the DAW once he has prepared the different tracks for the different elements of the kit (usually 10) and mixed in with the rest of the tracks. You can emulate most instruments but I find that guitar just cannot be done convincingly in software. Being a guitarist anyway that does not really pose a problem as they are all recorded live anyway. Sometimes an authentic performance is required (cello/banjo) etc and that gets farmed out to session musicians who copy my original synth-generated part. Most movie soundtracks are done this way these days although there are studios that insist on authentic instruments. Video/PC games are nearly all software emulations of instruments. The advertising world is a mix of the two - some real,some fake. It takes a lot more time to do it this way but you do have greater control over the sound selecton and you are able to try out the same notes/sequence with various different instruments to find out which works best. It keeps the cost of composition down. Hope that sheds some light on the process. If you are unsure about anything, give me a shout and I will try to explain further. If you are thinking of doing it yourself I can give you some tips on what programs to avoid and which are the best/most reliable to use. Essentially you need a powerful computer, an audio interface, a midi controller keyboard, a sequencing program and a sample library to get started. And of course the most important ingredient - imagination!