Quote:Original post by Arglebargle Actually, yeah, Sonar allows you to do notation, but I prefer the piano roll, so I don't know how comprehensive the notation system in Sonar is. Also, Sonar 4 is quite expensive.
So that's what notation is. Well, I don't DESPISE the piano roll. And since there don't seem to be a lot of alternitive programs, I'll try some of the cheaper ones mentioned. Thanks for your help.
Quote: Sonar from cakewalk.com is like $480 for the normal ver and $800 for the pro ver (has extra stuff you wont need) However, if you find it elsewhere you can get it for around $250 or better yet find a place that has Sonar 3 for cheap buy that and do the upgrade. the upgrade is $99.99 thru cakewalk.com
Good idea :) That's still a little too much for me though.
Garritan Personal Orchestra (if that's the kind of music you're making) has an introductory offer at the mo of $249. Not only will it let you use 64 different instruments, but it also comes with some extra programs, such as a notation program and a baby version of Cubase.
Sibelius is great, but very very expensive. Allthough if you work in the education sector, you can get it at a much reduced price.
You missed the group buy for GPO, though, it was half the normal price. :P
It's a good library though, if you plan on doing orchestral stuff. The sale on EWQLSO Silver might still be going (not sure though); it's an alternative to GPO.
Quality of sounds are only a portion of that. Then there's composition, making the piece work well in itself. And of course mastering, mixing, etc. These days it's not enough to be a composer. You have to be a recording engineer, mixer, masterer, general all-round bod who can do stuff you never had to do before with just a pencil and paper.
The quality of your music is all about your skills as a composer. I think everyone in the world would agree that the Mario Theme is fantastic, but not because of it's 30,000 gigs of orchestra sampling: the reason it's good is because it was well composed. That said, I highly recommend taking music theory, if you haven't--there is no substitute for it.
I use Reason 3.0.3. The orchestra samples are great, and the effects to make a virtual hall are extremely effective. I know that Reason is confusing at first, but if you keep playing with it, and just think of it the way you would think of playing with real hardware--eventually, you'll figure it out. If Reason is just too much money, or too much work, I would recommend starting out simple, with something like Fruity Loops. Best of luck!
Well, thanks for the advice. I agree with you about the fact that good instruments aren't every thing. When I code, I listen to old 16-bit era music (specifically Final Fantasy, mario, the game which my avatar is taken from, and others) and I actually prefer those old sounds :) I know that not many people feel as I do though so I'm interested in better samples.I am sure that reason is a particularly great piece of software, but it's a bit too much for me (I'm fifteen and I get an allowance:). Thanks for all of the replies so far.
If you're going on a shoestring budget, I would say stick to your basic midi sequencer and look into the soundfont communities. You can get some nice, big orchestral soundfonts, though you may have to invest in a different sound card, Im not sure. I'm heading straight towards a 3500 dollar orchestral library for gigastudio;)
Do a little research on soundfonts though, you may find something good for some intermediary work that'll at least get you past the general midi table.
Quote:Original post by Drakkcon I agree with you about the fact that good instruments aren't every thing. When I code, I listen to old 16-bit era music (specifically Final Fantasy, mario, the game which my avatar is taken from, and others) and I actually prefer those old sounds :)
If there’s one thing to say about older-era synthesized tunes for pre-millennium game systems, it’s that they stressed the need for contrapuntal writing with a strong sense of bass line, while lately orchestral sampling is drawn towards the more "sound effect" style of composition, i.e. what an orchestra is generally believed to sound like, versus the various intricacies of actual orchestration and composition. This is one reason why 16-bit era music translates to the orchestral medium so well.
As Blaise Douros suggested, music theory can help you to develop your sense of contrapuntal writing, but only so far as the classical tradition.
