LOL!  Paranormal legato?  There's inspiration for your next work, William!  Add some overtone singing for that polyphonic voice performance, and you can have solo instruments and voice performing as "ensembles." 

Dave

Hi Sam,

So glad you enjoyed it.  I really appreciate your enthusiasm and would love to replace star ratings with pizza ratings :)  

Re. the global/mono legato settings, as far as I understand, the global legato affects the length/overlap of the notes, such that it can help smooth out a legato between two notes, but with too much overlap, will essentially allow both notes to play simultaneously, which obviously isn't possible with single voice instruments.  In my own experiences, there's always a trade off between "authenticity" and achieving a desired sound.  If you put the clarinet on mono, sure, the pitches won't overlap, but you may not achieve as smooth a legato sound as you might want for a particular passage.  It really is a matter of experimentation to find the sweet spot, which at times, I'm guilty of not finding :)

Cheers!

Dave

Thank you MMKA.  Your comments are most appreciated.  Believe it or not, I struggle to comment on the music of others as well.  Music is so personal, and of course, there are myriad technical aspects which as a listener, one may or may not feel equipped to discuss.  This often leads to general silence on the forums, for fear of saying things that the "know it all" types will correct and/or dismiss.  There is also the desire to not offend the composer, if what we want to comment on might be received incorrectly.  We all love music, which is why we're here in the first place.  It's my hope that in the future, more people will feel safe to share, and also encourage the composers that already share.

Cheers!

Dave

Thanks for listening, Francesco!  PM'd you the info.

Hi Fabio,

Just saw your comment on youtube.  Thanks again for listening and yes, the goal will be a recording with Becky down the road.  We've got our hands full with a little toddler who doesn't let us do anything remotely related to performance at this time :)

Cheers!

Dave

Thanks to both of you, William and Tom!

William:  Your ears don't deceive you.  You are the King of Detail when it comes to this stuff.  Yes, guilty as charged of forgetting the global legato setting :)  It is a midi performance, considering Becky's in the midst of some busy work that won't give her the time to learn the piece.  Of course, that's the end goal one day, with a suitable pianist...not me.  The fact that there was a time when certain composers on this forum felt it necessary to let me know how bad my music and/or mock-up skills were, and in consideration of the fact that they are highly respectful of your work...well, I guess I feel good getting your approval, William :)

Tom:  Thanks again for your always kind and motivating words.  I believe one of the reasons William's production chops are so extraordinary, is his uncanny sensitivity to sound and how instruments work/behave.  He really is at the top of the heap of VSL masters, alongside the usual heroes, like Guy Bacos, of course!

Cheers!

Dave

Hi all,

I have just completed a work with deep personal meaning.  Sonata, Opus Something (yes, I get the irony of my previous sentence vs. the title of the piece!) is a new clarinet and piano sonata, written for my beautiful wife, Rebecca.  It's in 3 movements, and I've included a youtube link below to the whole work, which is 17 minutes.  No, I haven't separated the movements with timecode, because I would much rather anyone that listens, give the whole piece a listen.  I think it's worth it, but of course, I'm partial :)

Seriously, I contemplated not posting this, because it seems that there is less and less interest in listening and commenting on music shared via the forums, which of course, has the effect of demoralizing those that spend so much time (foolishly?) tweaking endless midi data. 

I'd love to be proven wrong in this case, and receive some "I listened to the whole thing while downing a box of Twinkies,"  or "I couldn't get through it without a six pack, but I finally did...get through the six pack," comments. 

Sonata, Opus Something for Clarinet and Piano

Enjoy!

Dave

Hi Jim,

While I can't assist you directly with your request for someone to do a mockup of your piece, I can suggest that while that approach may give you a sense of what is possible with VSL instruments, you will ultimately be at the mercy of the competence/effort of the individual that you have hired.  Working with midi, especially to realize a piece with all the nuances and aesthetic considerations you likely would expect (based on your suggestion of a string quartet) requires an inordinate number of hours, which may make it less feasible, unless you find someone willing to do it for the sheer pleasure, and not for adequate compensation.

The other concern is, that even if you are satisfied with the individual's rendition of your piece, it doesn't do anything to help you with your own efforts.  That will require a fair amount of practice, experimentation, and oodles of patience.  Remember, your musical skills/composition chops have no bearing on your ability to feel comfortable working with daws, virtual instruments, plugins, mixing, and mastering.  Most of us that pursue this, coming first from a musical background, suffer years of frustration as we hone our skills.  There are amazing composers that wouldn't have the skill/patience/desire to ever render their pieces with virtual instruments, and there are less accomplished composers that possess a lot more skill in terms of computer music production chops.

With all that being said, my suggestion to you is to definitely try to find someone to commission (trust me, there are many composers that will welcome a pay day doing what they love, even if it is less than an ideal amount), but to also demo a few of the virtual instruments offered by VSL and try your hand at it yourself.  I believe you can demo them for 30 days (could be wrong on this?) so while an "expert" is working on your piece, you can at least explore the articulations, and workflow with your preferred DAW.

Hope this helps, and best of luck!

Dave

p.s.  if you do get your piece done by someone, please share it here, along with your own thoughts on how it turned out!

Thank you, WIlliam, Fabio, and MMKA!

William, I had to smile when I saw your comment re. the release samples for the oboe.  We have the releases cranked up to the mid-80s (I think they default in the mid 60s?)  Anyway, the oboe is what it is, and to be honest, those abrupt cut offs are less pleasant to me than a little more tail/reverb to help make the oboe sound sweeter than its raw/natural sound might provide :)  We were listening one day to a string quartet performing live in a radio talk show studio setting (PBS) and were originally thinking it sounded like a cheap late 90s midi recording.  At the end, the host introduced them as a quartet of members from a major symphony.  It is absolutely amazing how much we can change the perception of sound via the recording environment/techniques, etc.  I think, sometimes, our access to these tools does give us the possibility of moving away from true realism to idealism in sound.  In any case, for this piece, we actually were modeling the sound as close as we could to a piece by Glick, recorded in a cathedral in Toronto.  It definitely has a little more reverb than some might prefer.

Fabio, thanks for your encouragement.  It will be a while before I do more of these, as I'm finishing a clarinet sonata's midi performance, along with some bigger Acclarion pieces for our next (last) CD.

MMKA, that's great that you played oboe!  Did you fiddle with making your own reeds?  That seems to be the life of an oboist, and always amazes me how much time they devote to that part of their instrument.  I'm glad I'm a "pick up and play it" instrumentalist, without having to spend time on maintenance/reed making, etc.

Dave

Happy New Year, VSL Community!

I'd like to share a new piece with you.  It features VSL's French Oboe.

A wistful and melancholic piece, When the Bough Breaks, is the first in an as-yet-to-be completed collection of instrumental works for oboe and piano that seeks to explore the lyrical nature of the oboe through traditional romantic harmonies, flowing melodies, and a hint of 21st century modernity.

When the Bough Breaks for Oboe and Piano by David Carovillano - YouTube

Thanks for listening!

David

Happy Holidays, Jasen!  I've missed seeing your wacky sense of humour in action.  I'm not a Nigerian prince, but I'd still like to send you a million dollars.  I only ask you send me a small processing fee of 2 million, so I can release the funds to you.

Dave

Hi Maestro2be (love the username)

2020 has indeed been an experience for us all.  Glad to hear that you were able to use music as a form of healing and therapy.  Thanks for sharing your piece.  It's stylistically different than some of this forum's membership gravitates toward, but to me, all music that comes from the heart has value.  

Keep it up!

Dave

Hi Fabio,

Thank you for sharing this new work!  Picturesque and uplifting, it's a beautiful, reflective piece that deserves to be heard.  I noticed the dedication to Jos Wylin...he's a wonderfully supportive member of this forum and talented musician that always takes the time to encourage others.  Many "established" composers rarely take the time to do this, which is a shame.  It looks like whatever connection you and Jos have formed, yielded a beautiful piece of music!

Congrats and Happy New Year!

Dave

Thank you for sharing, FRG.  Definitely a hyped violin sonority that draws us in to the performance.  Keep up the great work and continue to explore your areas of interest.  It's always nice to see people take chances and put their work out there for others to enjoy.

Cheers!

Dave

Thank you for sharing this charming Christmas piece with us!  Enjoy the rest of the holidays and keep up the great music in 2021!

Cheers,

Dave

Originally Posted by: crusoe

Hi Dave,

It's a joy to see you two enjoying the music and each other. Thank you for this, must have been a sheer amount of work.

My favorite part starts at 13:27 and lasts for a minute. It's a rather wild mix of dissonances and consonances to my ear, which you resolve every now and then very firmly, to keep the ground, I suppose. Loved it. Clarinet flying around those descending strings - there can be very little doubt of the imagery here :). There were plenty of other moments to enjoy, but that specific part stood out to me.

All the best,

Crusoe.

Hi Crusoe,

Long time no speak!  Hope you are doing well.  Many thanks for watching the concert and I'm so glad you enjoyed it.  It was a labour of love for sure, but unlike a lot of music I write, at least, I got paid handsomely for this project :)

I'll share the part you enjoyed with Becky, and I'm sure she'll be happy to hear it.  

Be well,

Dave

Thank you, Jos!  Replied to you on youtube as well.  Your comments always motivate and inspire me.

Cheers!

Dave

Jos, Crusoe, much obliged.  

Cheers!

Dave

Looks like the accordion has put a stop to all social activity on the forum...not the first time it's caused people to remain speechless :) lol

Anyway, just a quick heads up that I'll be removing the link tomorrow, so feel free to check it out (or not) before then.  

Have a great weekend!

Dave

I actually got just as confused reading your interpretation of my explanation, as you did with my original explanation!  I wish we could do what you're suggesting, but we are only human, after all :)

It's actually quite simple, if I can explain it:  the audio counting cues (one, and, two, e, and, a, etc.) are added to the string playback file, which we hear in our ears through headphones, while following the score on the ipad with foot pedal as you suggested.  So basically, all it's doing is giving us more precise cues at certain points than a click track alone would be able to do.  A lot of subdivision of beats using the one-e-and-a concept allows us to create a more ambitious tempo track (which will get even more rubato-esque when we put the whole project together next year).

As for the idea of us with backing tracks, we already did this back in 2016.  We made a pretty ambitious 10 plus minute "Disney Classics" medley with us alongside orchestral arrangements, and did a live concert in Toronto, using the exact same concept as this piece.  It worked quite well, in terms of the blend of instruments and backing tracks, and the crazy number of tempo changes.  The only thing I'd improve today, is the actual orchestral backing tracks, which were "good" for the time, but would be better with the added experience (and libraries) I have today.

The "last" Acclarion album next year, essentially is all about "us" with others, and I could for sure see doing the entire album in concert (although the likelihood of touring at this stage of our lives is minimal).

Dave

Hi Tom,

Haha, with regard to production values, I wanted to get a theatrical smoke machine and some pyro, but Becky wouldn't budge (added some digital smoke in the concert anyway!)

You'll get a kick out of our strategy for playing along with the strings.  We made a "virtual instrument" with number counting, etc.  Example:  1, and, 2, and, 3, e, and, a, etc.  Then, we assigned each command to a keyboard key.  After creating the midi parts with the appropriate tempo changes, we made a new track with the counting, to sync/match up with the midi strings.  These allow for much more flexibility than simply a click track.  If we have a 3 second fermata, followed by a 2 second complete silence, we can have counts to ensure we release the notes and re-enter at the exact time (still with lots of practice, of course).

Anyway, that's how it's done.  Thanks for checking it out! 

William, thanks to you as well for listening.

Dave