No, I'm from Colorado Springs, but I've been to SLC a few times and could tell where you were.

Sam, all I can say about your essay is "+1". You very clearly elucidated what I've long felt about recorded music, particularly as it is used in the cinema. Cinematic orchestral sound has evolved in a way that sounds extraordinarily "fake" but works for its intended purpose. Your remark about the frame rate brought to mind seeing the Peter Jackson Hobbit films in HFR (48fps) 3D. I was struck by how obvious it made it that these were actors in make up performing on an artificially lit sound stage...you could tell that Ian McKellen's beard and nose were fake and the mix of CGI with live actors in the green screen shots just didn't work. It is ironic that a technology that makes the film much more realistic has the troublesome effect of making it clearer that it actually is fake. It is harder to suspend disbelief and just live the story.

This, of course, makes for an interesting problem for VSL, whose whole claim-to-fame has been the extraordinary realism of their products. For those of us hoping to accurately create concert music that we will, in all likelihood, never hear performed by a live professional orchestra, VSL is the only game in town. But for the folks who are sure that they will be the next Hans Zimmer, it's a different story; the hyper-realistic VSL samples need a battery of expensive, complex plug-ins with an El Capitanishly steep learning curve to make them sound "fake" in just the right way. Enter the BBO line. Good stuff, but you have to wonder if VSL has got a long road ahead of them trying to catch up to competitors who have been following this approach for years. What I don't understand: why VSL doesn't focus its marketing on musical hobbyists who actually want to hear music they have composed. Set up a website to present concert music created by customers using their products; contests for concert music (not wannabe film scores) made with VSL stuff, judged by big-name music pros and with nice prizes; you name it. Do you think it is because their products are too expensive for hobbyists? No way! People will pour plenty of dough into hobbies they think will give them pleasure and satisfaction, and music has always been a prime example (do you think that Steinway only sells pianos to the Rubinsteins of the world?). Well, however it goes, I wish them luck. They make great products and I hope they will still be around when I have saved enough pennies to get them. End of rant...

This is absolutely exquisite! I especially liked the tight sound and close-ups in the real world...her handbag and shoes, the distant sound of traffic (on Wahsatch Dr, I suppose), the sharp clicking of her heels on the bridge...it's all outdoors but it feels claustrophobic and closed in. Then, in the dance sequences, slo-mo and just your music. Freedom! Your dancer is wonderful and your cinematography and editing showed her moves beautifully. As for your music, I'm with Bill. Don't be too critical of your work; it fits the video perfectly and sounds great. Bravo!

Macker, this is exactly what happened at my house! My wife Gerrie is a director and actor in local theater. She watched it with me and immediately stated that she wanted a stronger storyline. Interestingly, she worked out a rather specific story, which differed from the one I had worked out in my own head. Which is precisely why I enjoy such a nonspecific, abstract work; it lets you write the story you need to hear. That may be why I've always preferred instrumental music to songs with lyrics. I know the bass lines and horn figures to songs that I don't recall any other words than the hook. And I'm talking about Hall of Fame, #1 hits that everyone else in the world has completely memorized. Music, to me, is not just a vehicle to dispense poetry....without words, it tells me the story I need to hear.

(I left this same message on the YouTube of the video, but I thought it needed to be shared here, also.)

Bill, this is simply astonishing! Absolutely fantastic work! I was especially struck by your attention to the tiniest detail: the Foley work, the lighting, the incredible props, the computer-animated sequences...right down to the scratchy "needle-in-a-worn-record-groove" sound in the silent spots. The music is wonderful; every cue compliments the visuals perfectly, right down to the source cues. I'll let folks know that they need to check this out, if only to get an idea of what one talented person can accomplish with modern audio/video equipment and a ridiculous amount of creativity and hard work. Thanks for sharing it. I'm curious...there must be some sort of contests in the film production bag for which this would be a strong entrant. Are you going to submit the Dream for consideration in something?

Oh, OK, I get it. Frankly, I feel a bit silly for not grasping your meaning off the git-go. Clearly overthought it. I have considered doing something like that to help me record myself with MusicMinusOne tracks. You don't have a MIDI file to track along with but you could manually record the click while listening to the track then adjust any click that went a bit rogue to put it right on the sweet spot. Of course, with the same amount of time you could probably memorize every ebb and flow of the accompaniment and just...uh...play the damn thing. But what fun would that be?

There's one in every crowd...

So let me get this straight: You're not looking at a PDF of your notated clarinet and accordian parts on that iPad and making page turns with a foot switch...you're reading your parts off a running MIDI notation track along with your counting track? In Cubase? Sort of "Follow the Bouncing Ball!" ala Mitch Miller? If so, very clever. (If not, help me understand how you're doing it.) This performance also brings up a sticky question: could you foresee yourselves using this approach on a live concert date? Pianist/singers doing a Holiday Inn singles date have been making rhythm track accompaniments since the Casio days, but you legit guys are a different kettle of fish. It would not be without precedent, however. Before the lockdown, I caught a couple of ballet/modern dance shows, one from NYC, one from China. Both danced to prerecorded tracks that took full advantage of the complete sonic liberty that studio production gave them: soundscapes, montages, any type of vocal or instrumental music you can imagine, you name it. Would I have rather heard these folks dance to live musicians? I don't know...most of what they did simply could not be produced by musicians in the pit. It would be a completely different show; apples to oranges. What do you guys think? 

Dave and Becky,

Beautiful performance with a not-bad-at-all-considering-it's-on-the-fly production, to boot! You can trust me on this; I've been involved in a couple of Midnight Studio projects that make your production values here look like a Michael Jackson video! (A story for another time) I'm especially impressed with the way you perform so seamlessly with the virtual quartet, something that I have always found challenging and see myself doing more of in the future. Do you guys have a piano reduction of the quartet part on your music? Of course, this tune doesn't have a pile of tempo changes or rubato patches, but there are some stretches where the strings are resting, aren't there (I'll have to listen again)? Do you have a metronome light pulsing the tempo on your iPad or are the internal clocks in your heads accurate to 1/1,000th of a second?

Again, great performance and thanks for sharing it here. I look forward to your virtual concert on the 27th.

Tom

Fishing out the parts by ear from behind evrything but the kitchen sink? Good grief, that's crazier than I thought it would be! Very cool cue, though. Must have taken more than a few runs to hear everything you did back in "the day". Now remind me again...you do this for pleasure, right? Sort of like hitting yourself in the head with a hammer because it feels so good when you stop? BTW, I really enjoy following your work on the score on your YouTube tracks. Thanks!

Beautiful stuff, Bill! I can see why you wanted to pull this score out of mothballs. Tell me, what were the synth tracks? Were they string patches from an OB8 or something that you played straight on to the tape, forcing you to arrange and orchestrate the separate string lines from a piano part (or worse yet, have to pick it out by ear, having lost any written-out version)?

I strongly ecourage anyone who is contemplating getting into the world of composition using VSL instruments (or really, any type of virtual orchestra) to watch this video. It is the clearest, most straight-forward description of the work involved in creating lifelike MIDI renditions of this type of music that I have seen. Great work, Dave!

Very cool, Bill! I thought at first that you were channeling Rossini, who it is said would yank arias wholesale out of his previous works when he knew his next premiere was in a town that hadn't heard the previous use of the tune. But when I rechecked the intro of one of my favorite Kersten opuses, I found that I was wrong; similar, but clearly different. I like 'em both.

On the subject of the Goldsmith Universal fanfare, I just heard an interview with the great LA studio French hornist Jim Thatcher wherein he talks about playing on that track. He relates that he played Wagner tuba on it. When queried if being stuck with the tuben part was the fate of the last hornist to show up for the session, he declared, "No way!" Honking a few bars on the tuben earns the player 50% premium pay as a doubler. The hornists always try to talk the composers into using Wagner tubas for a lick or two.

This is weird, Bill. I happen to be listening to the Romantic Symphony right now on Spotify! I'd switch over to your video so I could follow along on the score but I have to maintain at least the facade that I'm working; I can listen to music in the "background" as long as I at least have something work related on the screen. Guess that goes for the VSL website, too! Bye...

Tom

Bill,

I really enjoyed the walkthrough video; very informative. It led to a question that may seem terribly basic, but here goes: I see on the sequenced tracks of the two wind intsruments that you showed (2nd flute and oboe) that there is an overlap as one note passes to the next, even on these monophonic lines. This is intriguing because, obviously, a flute cannot still be playing the previous note after you have changed fingerings and begun sounding the next. It sounds wonderfully natural when it happens in your recording, however. Is this trick something that you add manually when you create the sequence or is this something the system does automatically, either as part of the legato patch itself or in the Humanizing logic?

There's something liberating about being so damned ignorant you are not ashamed to ask stupid qestions.

Thanks!

Tom

Bill, you outdid yourself on this one. The montage of those glorious HST images blended so perfectly with this exquisite, ethereal, music...wow. The mix on this piece simply blew me away! I was so reminded of my favorite old Mehta/LA Phil recording that I wore the grooves off of in my youth that I called it up on Spotify and compared it side-by-side with yours (for me, a sort of acid test). Your work with VSL compares very favorably with this great orchestral recording. I have loved this particular recording (more even than the highly regarded Boult or my usual favorite Bernstein) primarily for the sound of it. I always figured that they'd used a bit of Hollywood soundstage recording technique, as opposed to the more legit "put 'em onstage in a great concert hall and try to make the recording sound as if you were sitting in row 20" school of thought. The woodwind parts, the pitched percussion, the solos, the pipe organ...all stand out with a clarity that I've never heard sitting 50' away in the audience. It's not as if the balance is screwed up, it's perfect. It just sounds more close, more present. Your Neptune has this effect even more palpably than the LA Phil recording for me. I don't know if that's what you intended, but it absolutely works for me.

Tom

Paul,

I am so sorry that you are struggling with such serious health issues at this time of your life, Paul. I only know you through your posts, our limited correspondence, and your music, but that is enough for me to confidently say that I know you to be a man of faith, courage, and character, all of which will carry you through this difficult trial.

I always enjoy your music and look forward to your next piece; your skills with the virtual orchestra grow with each new effort. Courage, and all my best wishes to you, my friend.

Tom

Thank you, David. I Iooked up a couple of YouTube videos of violinists demonstrating ponticello. I've heard it often enough, just didn't know that was the technique used to get that sound.

Lunar, this is some fine work, both the music and your midi realization. This Bb clarinet/string trio/bass clarinet configuration is very cool. I've never heard it used before. To me, the bass clarinet in and of itself does not add to darkness or "bleakness" of the sound; just a distinct, easily-differentiated bass voice...especally helpful in stuff like this with a polyphonic-type texture.

If I could ask a technical question: to my badly worn-out ears, it sometimes sounds like there are more things going on than the five afore-mentioned instruments. In paricular, at 1:40 and again at 6:57, there is a sound in the background, sort of pulsing quarter notes in minor seconds, that sounds for all the world like a couple of muted trumpets. I assume it's some kind of special technique in the strings but I can't identify it (I'm a brass player and don't have much knowledge of string performance methods). What is it?

Again, very impressive stuff. Thank you for sharing it.

Give a listen; you will be richly rewarded. Not just by the inventive music itself, but by the astonishing use Dave has put the VSL software to in creating the solo cello part. For those who might consider a half hour too much of an investment of precious time, well, let he who has never watched an entire episode of Gilligan's Island (or some contemporary equivalent) cast the first stone. Just sayin'...

Well Bill, never let it be said that you don't know how to make a point. That's a lot of stuff. Still, since confession is supposedly good for the soul, I might as well say it: that's what I want to do. I want to write stuff for symphoic band and hear what it would sound like if one of the great wind bands performed it. I have been lurking around this company's website and others for years, pricing the libraries, DAW software, specialized computer, and peripherals I would need to do it. Even if I suddenly could get all that stuff, I am probably too old to live through the learning curve, but I keep dreaming. The fact that virtually no one (even other band enthusiasts) would ever so much as listen to it is discouraging, but not a deal breaker. I would listen to it. They say that Elgar, as he lay dying in his country home, would listen to recordings of his own works. I get that. Of course those recordings were done by the finest musicians and ensembles; he had enthusiastic fans the world over and was greatly honored. I will have none of that. But with this remarkable technology, I could hear what I imagine.

So, as the Cowardly Lion once said, "There's just one thing I want you fellas to do...TALK ME OUT OF IT!"

Great, I lost my brilliant thoughts when I tried to cut and paste them from another thread. Too bad; it was quite witty and brilliant. Suffice it to say that I was a bit disappointed when I realized Bill hadn’t actually done a midistration of Trittico. He’s probably sick of hearing me say this, but I’d love to hear him put his VSL powers to a performance of one of these classic band works or, better yet, one of his own. At least it’s a good sign that he’s thinking about the work of great band composers like Nelhybel. Maybe it will lead to him giving it a try. Here’s hoping!

oops, I put this under the wrong thread. I moved it to the right one
Tom

Dave,

Count me in (I've already sent an email)! I've been wondering what your next opus was going to be and I look forward to hearing it. You won't have to rely entirely on Artificial Intelligence for your critique...I can provide a shot of Limited Intelligence!

Representing the Few, the Proud, the Dave Carovillano Fan Club Members,

Tom

Dave and Becky,

Thanks for the beautiful holiday greeting! My New Year's Wish is that some way, somehow 2020 will be the year I get to hear you guys perform live. Here's hoping!

Where you live now is dang-near as far south as California. Take an afternoon drive to Point Pelee and you are as far south as California. (Last Fun Geography Fact of the year. I promise )

A happy and prosperous new year to you and your family.

Peace,

Tom

Nothing that sinister, Dave. The fact is, you're a sensitive artist doing your best to expose something that's in your heart through your music. If someone listening to it gets it right once in awhile, that's on you! Actually, it might also have something to do with the "kindred spirit effect." Let's just say that your method of reverse-engineering essays is not entirely unprecedented.   Come to think of it, my one and only composition (the Pop Goes the Weasel fantasy) just sort of...went there. I had no intention going in of doing a jazz-style variation, of a Bill Chase tribute, of it turning into a march...none of it. That's just how it turned out.

Bill, you may be surprised to learn that I'm quite a fan of Grofe's Grand Canyon Suite but I agree with you 100% about the jackass movement (On the Trail). It really hasn't aged well, especially as a serious concert piece. The problem ol' Grofe (a helluva musician, BTW) has is that he's best known for one his lamest tunes. I think he introduced the suite when he was the arranger for the Paul Whiteman Orchestra (the self-styled "King of Jazz." Rarely has an artist had a last name that was so profoundly fitting.) The Whiteman recording of the jackass movement was something of a hit and lead Grofe to create the version for full orchestra of the entire suite that we are familiar with. I like the Sunrise and Painted Desert movements the best. Cloudburst is pretty cool, too, but it suffers from comparison with all of those other "sturm" classical charts...4th movement of the Pastorale, Scheherazade, Eine Alpensinfonie, etc, etc.

Tom

Another wonderful piece, Dave. As usual, I've had to listen to it several times to get a handle on it. I think the idea of providing a program is a two-edged sword: On the one hand, it gives the listener something to get a grip on. (How could anything be more abstract than purely instrumental music? If Till Eulenspiegel was named Concert Rondo in F maj would you figure it was about a medieval smartass giving academics the raspberry and getting himself hung for it?) On the other hand, it can get the listener twisted around the axle trying to hear some element of the program in every note and forgeting to just listen and enjoy it for its own sake. No wonder Beethoven himself blew hot and cold on the topic: "Not really a picture of a day in the country, more, you know, an impression...like...y'know...sort of a feeling...but not reallly...sort of..." With your stuff, I try to split the difference. I always figured you went where the muse took you and tried to determine what is was about after the fact...as your note to Crusoe seems to confirm. The one aspect of the program that I hung onto for the first hearing was wondering how you would end it. What was going to happen to the fire? After acting like it was going to head off somewhere into the unknown a few times, the coda settled down and went right where it told us it was going...C maj fading serenely into the sunset. I think you're pretty upbeat about the light, my friend. Elegant, soulful stuff.

On another thought, I'm with Crusoe on hearing the violin in the distance. It's as if you placed it in the back of the house using MIR. I heard a trumpet (I think) that left the same impression. My hearing is always suspect, but if Crusoe hears it, there is likely something to it.

Thanks for sharing this, Dave. I never tire of your work and look forward to your next creation.

Tom