David,

First of all, this piece of music is really, really good.  I mean, *really* good.  9:30-9:50 especially caught my attention; something about it gave me goosebumps.  It's not just the wry portamentos; those are all over the place in this piece.  There's something very simple and elegant about most of this.  It flows like a calming stream in an idyllic forest.

Second, I'd like to offer you what might be a unique (and hopefully uplifting perspective) in regards to the following point you made:

I'm a young buck (early millenial) who grew up on an infrequent diet of thumpy electronica, thrashing metal, and whatever poppy, punk-esque nonsense was playing at the skatepark I used to frequent (I used to skateboard a lot).  I was never exposed in an inclusive or educational way to classical, jazz, or more intellectually demanding/rewarding forms of music during my formative years.  All I knew is that it was what the band kids did, and I'd rather be jumping down stairs on a piece of wood with wheels.

So, many years later, when I first started diddling with piano and happened to listen to Bach, I was surprised to find that I loved it!  Same with Beethoven, Bartok, Chopin, Debussy, Gershwin, Ellington, etc.  Music that is supposed to be "artsy", "pretentious", "inaccessible" - I found that I couldn't (and still can't) get enough of!  You would think that a silly millenial with no music education or musical family (my mother and father are tone-deaf...frustratingly) would be completely averse to all this, but here I am!

I've puzzled over why this is, and I believe the reason is that I was never *told* what music was supposed to be and what I was supposed to like.  Or maybe I was and I just stubbornly ignored it.  I didn't have the practical benefit of music education (something I'm diligently trying to rectify), but I also didn't receive all the "shoulds" and "expectations" that I have since learned come with the multitude of music scenes and industries.  In other words, I discovered Music with a capital M in an innocent vacuum of child-like curiousity - even in adulthood when such things are not supposed to be possible - and I would have it no other way because listening to music fills me with a genuine, untouchable happiness that is hard to express.

My point is: yes, early exposure and education are crucial to allowing this kind of music to flourish in the minds of future generations and live on, but equally important, I think, is the *freedom* for said future generations to explore and discover the music on their own terms, sans expectations, pressures, and social implications of genre, style, etc. 

Or maybe I'm just an anomaly that has something in his DNA that says, "This dude will like Fugues no matter what!"  However, I know for a fact that, when I listened to your piece, I didn't hear "art music" or "pretentious" or "classical" or anything like that - I just heard music, and it was good, and I liked it, and I'm going to listen to it again now because I liked it :)  And, for me, that's all that really matters. 

Hopefully, one day, the general public will adopt the same outlook! 

- Sam

As promised, here's all Strings, Brass, and Woodwinds in addition to SYN-zed Dim. Strings and Brass:

https://www.vsl.co.at/community/posts/t53083-For-REAPER-users--Articulation-Management-System-for-all-Strings--Woodwind-and-Brass-VI-Libraries#post287931

As promised, here's all Strings, Brass, and Woodwinds in addition to SYN-zed Dim. Strings and Brass:

https://www.vsl.co.at/community/posts/t53083-For-REAPER-users--Articulation-Management-System-for-all-Strings--Woodwind-and-Brass-VI-Libraries#post287931

Hello REAPER users,

I have created a comprehensive set of articulation lists and presets for use with all String, Brass, and Woodwind Libraries as well as the SYN-zed Dimension Strings and Brass (all volumes).  

For those unfamiliar with Reaticulate, it's a brilliant little script that turns the Program Change function into a macro that can send up to 16 different MIDI commands with one click.  In this case, it sends 2-4 keyswitches to select from the hundreds of different articulations available, all visually and intuitively available on a dockable list.  For more information on Reaticulate, visit http://reaticulate.com/

I've attached a RAR file with:

1) The presets for both VI and Synchron Player that you will need to use

2) A text file with the Reaticulate reabank data that you will need to copy and paste into your Reaticulate.reabank file in order to use the script with the appropriate presets.

Once all files are in place, simply start up Reaticulate, match the preset with the correct bank (i.e. Violin I with the Violin I bank) and you're good to go!  This set-up is meant for detailed after-the-fact programming rather than live-playing.  While that may seem a disadvantage, this system makes it stupidly easy to access nearly every articulation an instrument has to offer from the *same* list, all organized and color-coded, with a single click - no multiple-keyswitches, no messing about with multiple faders, etc.  Just step-input the program change and the articulation will take effect - very similar to expression mapping.  Reaticulate will even chase keyswitches, so no need to rewind every time you want to play a passage!

Rather than type out a detailed tutorial on how to set this up, I'm going to assume that if you use Reaticulate you just want the files and you know how to plug it all in.  In case you don't, please don't hesitate to contact me and I'd be more than happy to give you more detailed instructions!

HOW I'VE ORGANIZED THE ARTICULATION LISTS:

There is one Core Articulation list, containing 8 essential articulations that every VI instrument shares (perf_leg, staccato, etc.)  This bank can be used in conjunction with *any* of the VI presets, allowing you to quickly sketch out basic figures and swap instruments out until you want to make a final decision.

The rest of the VI articulation lists are comprehensive, containing 90-100% of the articulations included in the full library of that instrument.  The articulations are organized as follows:

1. At the top of the list are all the bread-and-butter articulations (legatos, performance reps, sfz's, etc.) that are common to all instruments.  These are the articulations you're most likely to use often, so they are at the top to minimize scrolling.
2. There are "Slots" for tempo-dependent articulations like Crescendos/Decrescendos/Swells, Fast Reps, Upbeat Reps (for brass).  Since including all of these would unnecessarily clutter the list up, these articulations instead correspond to empty slots in matrixes that you can load the relevant patch into as needed by the piece you're working on.
3. Finally, there are instrument specific articulations at the bottom (Glissandos, Grace Notes, etc.) that are used less often or are very context-dependent.

I've left out certain types of articulations such as Scale Runs, Mordents, etc. because I personally find the performance interval patches to be more useful than pre-recorded phrases.  However, if you would like to include these, contact me and I'd be happy to let you know how to modify the reabank file to work with matrixes of your own design (assuming you don't know already).

WHAT EXACTLY IS INCLUDED IN THIS RAR FILE?

Articulations and Presets for the following:

STRINGS (Full Libraries): Solo I & II, Chamber I & II, Orchestral I & II, Appassionata I & II, Violin II, Cello II

BRASS (Full Libraries): Trumpet C, Trumpet C (Mute), Trumpet Bb, Trumpet Bb (Mute), Cornet, Piccolo Trumpet, Bass Trumpet, Flugelhorn, Euphonium, Triple Horn, Viennese Horn, Tenor Trombone, Tenor Trombone (Mute A), Tenor Trombone (Mute B), Alto Trombone, Bass Trombone, Contrabass Trombone, Tuba, Contrabass Tuba, Wagner Tuba, Cimbasso, Horn Ensemble, Epic Horns, Trombone Ensemble, Trombone Ensemble (Muted), Trumpet Ensemble, Trumpet Ensemble (Muted), Fanfare Trumpets

WOODWINDS: Flute I, Flute II, Alto Flute, Piccolo, Bass Flute, Oboe I, Oboe II, Oboe d'Amore, English Horn I, English Horn II, Heckelphone, Clarinet I, Clarinet II, Clarinet Eb, Bass Clarinet, Contrabass Clarinet, Basset Horn, Bassoon I, Bassoon II, Contrabassoon, Alto Sax, Tenor Sax, Baritone Sax, Flute Ensemble, Oboe Ensemble, Clarinet Ensemble, Bassoon Ensemble

SYNCHRON: SYN-zed Dimension Strings all volumes, SYN-zed Dimension Brass all volumes.

 

Enjoy!

TBH, what you're talking about is above and beyond what I use Reaticulate for.  I simply use it to trigger multiple keyswitches with one program change.  That's it.  It's capable of a hell of a lot more, but you don't really need it to do anything more with VSL's stuff.  So I'm afraid I'm out of my depth concerning what you're talking about here...

- Sam

By variable, I'll assume you mean way to control the way patches are selected and played.  This is accomplished in Synchron Player by the use of what are called "Dimension Controllers".  In essence, they are sliders that output a value of 0 to 127 that can be assigned to any Dimension (one of the columns in the player) as a method of selecting between the various slots in the dimension.  

Each Dimension Controller can be assigned to be controlled by Pitch Wheel, CC, Speed, Velocity, and a few other things that don't come to mind right now.  You get up to 8 Dimension Controllers which can be highly customized in the CONTROL tab at the bottom of the player.  

Examples of how the Dimension Controllers can be used:

- Using CC1 to select between different folders (types of articulations) such as Legato, Sustain, etc.  By doing this, you can use the modwheel to select your articulations rather than using keyswitches.

- Using a Dimension Controller controlled by Speed on a Dimension with progressively faster articulations down the column.  Thus, if you have this dimension selected, the faster you play, the faster the articulation that sounds.

- Using the same Dimension Controller, but having it controlled by velocity.  In this way, you could have a dimension that has softer dynamic articulations (Fp) at the top and louder (Sffz) at the bottom, thus allowing the attack of your playing to determine what articulation plays, as opposed to keyswitching.

Your imagination's the limit, really, as well as how you like to work.  Important to note is that little button next to the title of the column - if you click it (it turns blue), that sets the dimension to Parallel Mode, meaning ALL the slots in the Dimension will play *at the same time* as opposed to needing to be individually selected.  This is essentially how the Dim. Strings and Dim. Brass libraries can actually function in this player.

Furthermore, if you click on any slot in a dimension set to Parallel Mode and go to the EDIT tab, take a look at the Parallel Mode option (third from the top, left hand side).  You have two options: XFade and Mix.

- XFade means that the Dimension Controller will crossfade into that slot, rather than play it in parallel.  So, if all slots are patches that are set to XFade in a Dimension that is set to Parallel mode, then you can use that Dimension Controller to crossfade between all of them.  This is most useful in libraries like FX Strings, but don't discount its uses in conjunction with Dimension Controllers that use Speed and Velocity!  If you get real creative, you can effectively create one seamless column of an articulation made out of a bunch of discrete patches that blends depending on how hard you press a key or how fast you play.

- Mix, on the other hand, means that the patch in the slot will always play along with the other slots in the dimension.  If all slots in the dimension are set to Mix, then they'll all play at the same time.  This is the default setting for the Dimension Brass and Strings libraries (i.e. Trumpets 1-4 all play their individual patches at the same time in the "All Players" pathway of selection).  BUT, if you set *some* patches to Mix and *others* to XFade, you can "layer" patches onto patches that will always play.  For example, a Sustain patch that is set to Mix will always play, but if the slot below it is a Staccato patch set to XFade, you will use the Dimension controller to effectively turn a Staccato attack on and off.

I hope this, in detail, explains how the Dimension Controllers work and provides a few examples of how you can use them creatively, including with Velocity and Speed as the means of control.  To really get a feel for it, you'll have to familiarize yourself with the patches themselves and get experiment with how you can combine/crossfade between them to get your desired effect.

HTH

- Sam

adminatron,

I responded to you in the other thread, but just in case:

REATICULATE SYN-ized Dim Brass I and II Presets

Think of Synchron Player like a set of folders.  All the folders are just that: folders that contain more sets of folders.  It's very similar to a file explorer in an operating system.  While it's represented as a set of columns, it might be more helpful to visualize it like a flowchart.  Eventually, each path through each of the folders leads to actual patches (the samples that contain the sound files for a particular articulation).  In the case of the Dimension Strings and Brass libraries, the folders are ingeniously set up so that similar looking folders lead to different combinations of patches (Trumpet 1, Trumpet 1+2, Trumpet 1+2+3+4, etc.).

Thus, it's really just a visually intuitive way of organizing pathways to all possible combinations of the individually recorded players and their individually recorded articulations, allowing you very fine control of what instrument is playing what.

I don't have time right now, but if you'd like a visualization or more in-depth explanation, I'd be happy to provide it.  Let me know!

- Sam

Thanks for waking me from my hibernation to finish this!  You'll find what you seek in this thread.

- Sam

Hey REAPER users!

Attached to this post are custom presets for all instruments in the SYN-zed Dimension Brass volumes I and II that are designed to work alongside a comprehensive articulation list I've created for Reaticulate.

If you are unfamiliar with Reaticulate, it is a custom script for REAPER that effectively hijacks the program change MIDI feature into a "macro keyswitch" feature, allowing you to assign individual program changes to up to 16 different MIDI outputs.  This allows Synchron Player, with its complex folder-tree system, to be effectively navigated with a single click, especially important with the incredibly deep but potentially unwieldy Dimension libraries.  Each articulation in the reabank list corresponds to as many keyswitches needed to trigger the player to point to a particular patch (or group of patches, as the case often is in dimension libraries).

For more info: http://reaticulate.com/

The following presets map all the keyswitches outside of the 88-key playable range and are designed for an "after-the-fact" workflow in which you play in or click in a line (presumably with something like a perf_legato patch) and then step-insert the desired articulation changes afterwards, molding the line to your liking.  It's not at all suited for live-playing, but let's be honest: you're not going to be live-playing stuff like this, now are you? :)

The articulation lists are divided into 4 banks:

1. Regular, which works with Vol. I Trumpets, Horns, and Trombones
2. Muted, which works with Vol. II Trumpets, Horns, Trombones
3. Wagner, which works with the Wagner Tuba ensemble (duh)
4. Low Brass, pretty self explanatory :)

This allows you to play/click in a line, set up the articulation changes you desire, and then switch between compatible instruments groups as you wish.  Let's say you want to switch the Trumpets and Horns.  Easy, just re-adjust the note's range (or not) - no re-doing keyswitches needed!  Thanks VSL, for your super-organized libraries!

If you also use SYN-ized Dimension Strings Vol. I-III, see this post for presets and bank files for those libraries.

 

Enjoy!

- Sam

P.S. I now begin the lengthy project of doing this for the near-entirety of VSL's Brass, String, and Wind lines :)  I will post those when I am done in the relevant forum.

By collection, do you mean the special edition? The full oboe 2 patch files will appear in a different folder tree in the patch browser (right hand side of player), in a folder called something like "B - WOODWINDS".

Another thing: where did you install the library files? Perhaps you could boot up Vienna directory manager and make sure the program is looking on the right place for the sample content?

EDIT: I misread part of your post. The FULL part of the French Oboe library will install into the same folder te your normal files are. Browse the patch content in VI and you should see additional articulations available in the same folders: the full library articulations have a small "(ext)" next to the patch name that you should be able to see if you squint hard enough :)

Most welcome! I'll be doing this for Syn dim brass 1+2 as well as all VI string/brass/wind libs on the near future.

I took a listen on crappy phone speakers and the mix sounded nice and clear to me, which is a great sign for a mix!  I don't know if that's one of your intended listening formats, but if it sounds mixed well on crap mono speakers then something's going right.

I like the music quite a bit; this piece is my kind of epic.  The brass in particular is very exciting and I appreciate the imitative contrapuntal lines; they add harmonic depth to the composition while keeping it from becoming over-complicated.  I think you struck a nice balance here.  The dynamics (as much as they could come through on phone speakers) had a good contrast and kept the "stream of consciousness" structure of the music from becoming too static and boring.

A slight few of the high string phrases caught my ear as sounding a bit phase-y.  There's most likely some kind of release sample overlap going on (an easy fix).  I don't know what it is about string sample libraries but this kind of sample-overlap sound always seems to crop up with them compared to other orchestral samples.  I can't remember where exactly in the music this happened but it was so sparse that it didn't detract from the music, IMO, but it *was* noticable.  To me, at least: I highly doubt a listener who doesn't have orchestral sample sounds burned into their ears would be able to tell, FWIW.

- Sam

Paul,

Thanks to the series of 30% discount offers over the past four months or so coupled with VSL's upgrade and bundle pricing model, I've been able to actually invest in almost all of VSL's product line.  Without the aforementioned pricing policies, it would have been completely out of reach.  I think it goes without saying that I'm quite satisfied with the products, but I also heartily approve of the "don't pay for the same samples twice" policy as well as the monthly discounts offered.

Simply put, without those policies and offers, I wouldn't be a customer because I wouldn't be able to be.  I think that's an important kudos to pass on to the relevant people in the rest of the company, if you would be so kind.

Thanks again!

- Sam

P.S.  If VSL samples a Theorbo with enough depth to be able to approximate this sound, I will pay approximately 5,000,000,000,000 dollars/euros/bushels of grain for it.  :-)

So here I was agonizing over which piano to buy, and then this bundle comes out.  Obvious choice, there.  The Bluthner sounds spot-on for that "Chopin-esque" feel.  Many thanks!

- Sam  

For your purposes, absolutely. Synchron is designed to get you up and running much more quickly than VI. The great thing for you is that if, for whatever reason, you want to return to the under-the-hood flexibility of VI, you have that available too :)

I hope your intuition is correct!

VSL have structured purchasing so that you never pay for the same samples twice. Therefore, it is almost always advisable to spring for bundles and packages, assuming the content is all content you actually want to pay for.

So, if you own OS I Full and OS II Standard:

- If you buy the bundle, you will *only* be paying for the additional sample content offered in OS II Full. Furthermore, a discount will be applied to the entire purchase *as if* you were purchasing the entire bundle. In other words, just because you're only actually paying for a small amount of the bundle (since you already own most of it) doesn't mean you still don't get the entire benefit of the bundle discount.

Factor on the additional 30% this month and the bundle is a no brainer, imo.

Hope that helps

- Sam

For those of you who use REAPER as well as the Synchronized Dimension Strings libraries (full editions, not special edition), I would like to share an articulation management system that may be of use to you!

This system utilizes the amazing Reaticulate reascript.  More information on its installation and usage can be found here:

Reaticulate Home Page

I slightly altered the factory presets of the Dimension Strings so that a single articulation list will trigger the relevant patches in *every* section with a single click (manifested as a program change using Reaticulate).  The screenshot linked below shows how the whole thing works in more visual detail:

Screenshot

Whether or not you have violins, violas, cellos, or basses loaded up, the articulations correspond to the same keyswitches and thus you can switch any size of any part out for any other and the articulation programming will match.  This includes changing section sizes and string playing modes (open string, force G, etc.) - no matter what instruments you have loaded, the keyswitches will match.  Very convenient for quickly playing around with different orchestrations!

The slight exception is with the Double Basses - there is a slightly different articulation list for them since they are missing a few articulations compared to the other sections.  However, kudos to VSL for making everything else so damn consistent!

To implement this, download the attached archive file and follow the instructions in the README file.  I've done this for all volumes of SYN-ized Dimension Strings, but Vol 2 and 3 will follow suit shortly.  I am also making Reaticulate presets for most (and eventually all) of the VI String, Woodwind, and Brass libraries.  I will post those in the relevant forum when they are done.

If you have any further questions about how this works or how to use it, don't hesitate to ask!  I'll respond as soon as I can.

Enjoy,

- Sam

 

EDIT: I've added presets and banks for Vol. 2 and 3 of SYN-ized Dimension Strings.  The attached file is now updated to work with the entire bundle.  Have fun!

How do you know?

Gotcha. My bad!

- Sam

If my comments came across this way, I do apologize. Analysis can certainly go to ridiculous extremes, especially in academia. However, I think it can also be a tool for the listener to attempt to understand and appreciate the music with as much seriousness as the composer had in writing it. My intent was solely the latter.

Another user found a bug with feedback routing.  If you have any of the feedback routing enabled tracks sending to anything else, the first (but only the first) track will not send MIDI if it's *above* the VEPro track in the track control panel.  If this is the case with you, try moving any tracks with VEPro instances to the very top of your project's track list and it should fix the problem.

- Sam

That spontaneity comes across in the music, certainly.  I'm with you (and Debussy) on that point.  To me, theory is a tool to figure out, in detail, why and/or how something I like (such as the dissonant resolutions in your piece) works so I can promptly file it away in my subconscious and then forget about the theory behind it :) One day I'll reach the "unconsciously competent" level, but until then I rely on all these silly chord symbols to keep me from defaulting to my musical comfort zone.

Great!

Ah, that makes sense.  If they're to simulate a rapid gliss, I wonder if adjusting the sample start parameter in conjunction with legato blur would blend out the attack portion of the samples enough to create a smooth slide up?  Probably overkill.  No matter, the piece still works great as far as I'm concerned.

And thank you for sharing your music.  Please keep doing so.

- Sam

Dave,

Some timestamps and thoughts as I listen:

0:10 - I like that you set up a V-I cadence but whole-tone it to the b5 instead.  Parallel Lydian indeed :)

0:13 - Catchy A theme; a nice mix of smooth and jarring that gives the piece a vaguely sinister feel that I quite enjoy.

0:35 - I like the "slippery" feel of these portamentos.  Almost starts to sound dixieland-ish, but for strings.  As the theme develops, the playing seems to unravel and loosen slightly.  Have you played with further humanizing the players here (esp. delay setting)?  That might accentuate the effect, especially the portamentos.

0:38 - Either the meter changes to triple time for one measure or the 4th beat of this measure is rushed.  Either way, it throws the rhythm off kilter in a way I really like!  Was this intentional?

1:10 - These fast runs don't sound convincing to me.  Up 'til this point the piece could easily be a demo for SYN-zed dim. strings.  In lieu of a performance trill patch, maybe toning down the release a bit?  I'm hearing too much sample overlap and it's creating a phase-y effect.

1:16 - 2 against 3 really works here.  Again, not *too* dissonant, but doesn't let the listener rest easy.  Playfully sinister.  Is that poor, abused monkey planning to murder the circus owners in the distance? :)

1:40-2:10ish - B theme has a nice contrast to the manic nature of A theme, though short lived.  Very "welcome to pleasantville" vibe. The pizz. ostinatos sounds particularly nice.

2:40 - Runs are again sounding a little off.  Not as much as before.  The rest is really, *really* solid.  I wonder if VSL would consider this for their demo page...

2:52 - What an interesting way to segue back into the A theme.  It almost comes out of nowhere.  What's neat to the harmony geek in me is that the resolution back into the A theme is on the same chord (7b5 on ii, I think?) as the deceptive cadence in the first half of the A theme itself.  By this point, I'm familiar enough with that progression that the theme sneaks back in from the prior episode almost unnoticed...like a monkey planning to murder its captors.  The "true" modulation happens halfway through the re-introduction of the theme itself!  Lots going on under the surface here.  Love it!

3:35 - Nice, crisp ending.  /applause

This is great!  Only the fast runs stuck out to me as needing improvement.  Everything else was stellar.  I listened on laptop speakers on purpose (to test mix quality...and my ears :P ) and it sounded nice and crisp.  You clearly know what you're doing.  

I learned a great deal listening to this.  Thanks for sharing!

- Sam

EDIT: Ape, not monkey...

pat,

Did you check the out of tune notes against a mechanical tuner?