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mstram
Account closed
Registered: Dec 2013
Posts: 112 |
Do you compose with midi or trackers ?
Just wondering what the workflow is for the musicians here now and in the "old" days ?
Are you composing with a midi keyboard / software, then converting to a tracker / utility to create SID "instruments"?
If so, what conversion tool(s) are you using?
Or are you composing directly in tracker / other software .. i.e. not "playing it in realtime" ?
Mike |
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Hermit
Registered: May 2008
Posts: 208 |
Mr Ammo was rigth, SID-Wizard has the addon called 'SWMconvert.exe' that can convert (only the first 3 tracks) of XM/MID into native .swm
There are restrictions during the conversion, as MIDI doesn't contain exact information on pitch-bending/vibrato ranges by default, so at this time only simple notes are transferred and chords aren't converted into arpeggios...
Also, it's good if the MIDI file is as exact as possible to ease quantization if needed.
You can find some practical description and an example made by Necropolo for his tune 'Midichlorian':
8 steps
In SW1.5 we'll include the 'Lights On' tunepack example as well which was also done by Necropolo and was first composed in Reaper, than converted to SW for instrumentation...
Personally I also like to compose everything on the real C64 machine, but when time is constrained MIDI-to-C64 conversion can become useful for people who prefer editing via piano-roll view in modern music programs... |
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Hein
Registered: Apr 2004
Posts: 933 |
I'm with groms. But I don't delete scetches, but very often I don't finish or release them either.
I sometimes experiment with chords and themes on a synth set to electric piano preset first. |
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Stinsen
Registered: Feb 2012
Posts: 71 |
Mostly I start out at the piano trying to find some kind of chord progression to work with. Then I add it in the editor and play along it to find a melody to go on top. Since I mostly need to be able to play the whole shebang on the piano, it is of course a bit limiting. :) |
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NecroPolo
Registered: Jun 2009
Posts: 231 |
I like to compose with an instrument in the hands. I am a guitar player but surprisingly a big number of actual guitar riffs that find a home in a rock album come from synth playing or C64 tracker composing. For example, this song existed as a C64 tune first:
https://soundcloud.com/wackormusic/borxx-redux
This is the original SID:
https://soundcloud.com/necropolo/borxx
Recycling my own stuff is not stealing I guess. I am not fuckin' Timbaland :)
When I use synths I prefer MIDI as I could build up a speed with it during the years. If creating a song in MIDI is 1 time unit then creating a song in a tracker is at least 10 time units. Now'days the time for fun stuff became drastically reduced for me so I prefer doing everything in MIDI then set the sounds in SIDwizard. As Hermit already mentioned, you can find some know-how in 8steps and an actual Reaper example included in SW1.5 and SW1.6.
Blessings to Hermit for the magnificient SWMconvert.exe :) |
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Radiant
Registered: Sep 2004
Posts: 639 |
I usually compose a few bars in my head, and then transcribe them into Goat Tracker or whatever, and the rest tends to build itself from there. Never use any instrument or other piece of software than the target editor. |
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ChristopherJam
Registered: Aug 2004
Posts: 1380 |
I compose by arseing about on a keyboard (ESQ1 or piano, usually), but from there I type numbers into data arrays or function calls in the Python script that generates data for the player routine. I think I tried using a few trackers on the c64 back in the day, but never completed anything going down that road.
For the Katy Perry cover I did for Jam Ball 2 I didn't use a keyboard, just kept hitting recompile on the script each time I added a few notes. Think I actually got hold of the score for that one to use as a starting point.
I do keep meaning to write my own tracker, but I've never quite gotten around to it. |
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Scarzix
Registered: Aug 2010
Posts: 143 |
I used JCH-editor back then and since I came back I have been using CheeseCutter as its like a modern version of JCH-editor, but running in 800x600 on all "modern OS's" (Win/MacOSX/Linux) so its pretty fast to work with multiple tunes and keep workcopies. (Thanks to Abaddon/TRIAD for coding that awesome piece of toy!)
When I compose, I have multiple ways of starting a new tune:
1) Start the editor. Play around with some instrument ideas, jam some notes in, see how it works, just to have fun and hear whats possible (I have 20 years to recall, so a lot of experimenting to do)
2) Play around with a real keyboard/synth or on a synth app on a tablet. Find a nice lead, bass or chords. Then try to enter those into the SID editor.
3) record my own "none pro" beatboxing in the recorder of my smartphone, while I drive to and from my office, then when I have the time, try to make that bass/rytme/lead into a SID... which have worked a few times too.
Unfortunately I get a lot of ideas in the bath too, but I dunno if its a general problem with SID editors or something, but the computers tends to break down when I start composing in there, so I dont do that.
www.berggreens.dk
www.berggreens.dk/c64 |
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Overthink
Account closed
Registered: Aug 2013
Posts: 10 |
If I want to compose on the C64 all by itself I use MSSIAH Sequencer with a 1351 mouse. Unless someone asks for a tune for use in a C64 production, then I have to use SID-Wizard. I love trackers but struggle with creating synth patches in the form of hex tables. Generally though SID-Wizard is great, and I don't use it with MIDI although that might be cool if I ever decided to build an interface.
If I'm making music wholly on the C64 alone, I prefer to do everything with native C64 software, running on real hardware.
I use MIDI extensively in the rest of my studio though, and for projects where the C64's are integrated into other music, that's where MSSIAH shines.
Stuff I do is here...
soundcloud.com/overthink |
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Gop
Registered: Mar 2007
Posts: 4 |
I've used most C64 trackers, but these days mainly use Renoise or FL Studio on PC and convert to whatever format. The hardest part is finding time to do anything! Real life intrudes often... |
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Jammer
Registered: Nov 2002
Posts: 1289 |
Notes directly into GT, instruments from scratch in every new project. I never have entire tune in my head - almost every one is practically improvised and composed in 'realtime' :D
My commercial projects, which recently oscillate mostly around orchestral scores are done with FL Studio and bunch of plugs. Composing methodology similar to the above. I click everything in piano roll, which scares the shit out of my fellow composers :D |
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