Final performance.

Last night, at the Lawrence Batley Theater in Huddersfield, the Music Tech level 3 students (that includes me) performed our Ableton pieces in front of a motley crew of friends and family. The day started at noon, and the time leading up to the performance at 7pm was filled with getting the equipment to the theater and set up. There was a chance to run through our pieces a couple of times just to make sure all the equipment was working, and any problems with the pieces were ironed out.

The running order was worked out before we got there and comprised of two sets with a break in between. I was originally destined to play in the final slot, but as my piece wasn’t as up beat as Leons (who was playing second to last) I thought it probably best mine was the penultimate performance.

The whole performance went well with no real hiccups or problems, and considering that only 6 weeks previously most of the people up there hadn’t used Ableton before, or at least didn’t have any idea of what they were going to perform, I thought it was all done with great confidence and professionalism.

My piece, I felt, was always the most simple, especially when compared to at least the look of Leon’s or Brians. But I think that as this was no “masterpiece” (worked on for months aiming for perfection), an over complicated or elaborate piece could easily cause confusion in the heat of performance. Although, as I found out, the look of the piece doesn’t always show how easy or difficult it is. Leon’s piece had sections to jump backwards and forwards between and so could get muddling, but Brian’s was arranged as a piece to be played in a straight forward order so not confusing. So the apparent size of the piece doesn’t matter, and in fact as long as you are confident about knowing where everything is your piece could be huge.

I think overall I was pleased with my piece and the way it went. I actually fluffed the end (I had planned to cut out track in a particular order, and took out the wrong ones to start), so I merely improvised the drop outs to a different finish, and nobody knew I’d fluffed it (until I told them at least). The reason I fluffed it was just a mistaken key hit, but as I have already learnt – in any performance the mistake doesn’t matter if confidently worked though. I have played a fairly long grade 6 classical guitar piece in front of more people before now, so I wasn’t phased by any of the performance.

I had invited 5 people to come and see the gig. At least one of them commented that all the pieces were good, and that he enjoyed them all. All of them commented that even if they didn’t necessarily appreciate the style that the it was all good and enjoyed themselves.

Reflecting back on the course, I have definitely achieved what I wanted to. I enrolled on the Music Tech courses to learn the software involved (I’m not bothered about the qualifications or anything like that), and having completed the Ableton course I’m confident I can use the software in the future if required.

Area of expertise…

For the project I have to choose an area of expertise.

I have chosen to do my area of expertise on creating a realistic guitar solo in MIDI. I have found that most MIDI instruments aren’t that realistic and lack important nuances of the real instrument. As the only way to recreate the instrument would be to have a massively sampled MIDI sound that incorporates all the nuances at the right levels (which for an instrument like a guitar is very difficult), doing this in Ableton cannot be about using a clean sound to do so. The only way is to mask the sound.

I found a clean sounding strat (Fender Stratocaster electric guitar) midi instrument and experimented with various effects on it. I used the Audio effects rack (3) in the Audio effects section (2) of the device browser (1).

In this there are various preset effects for different instruments. I decided that as I was heading for a solo guitar sound that an amp simulator or overdrive effect would probably sound right.

After dragging and dropping the effects onto the midi track with the strat sound on it, and playing some notes with various settings on them, I found a tube amp (or valve amp) simulator called “Guitar Tube Amp”. There are three available presets – Light, Heavy and Killer. Each one is just the same simulator with different settings to achieve popular results.

I chose to use the Killer preset, and after tweaking the settings decided it wasn’t enough. The settings comprise of

• Dry/Wet – defines how much of the effect is used compared to the uneffected sound
• Light tube – allows you to use only a small amount of the effect or act as fine control
• Heavy Tube – allows you to use a larger amount of the effect or act as a medium control
• Killer Tube – allows you to use a very large amount of the effect
• Air – allows you to have a focused mono sound or add “air” which has more of a stereo feel
• Cabinet Morph – changes the sound slightly to mimic a range in cabinet sounds *
• Verb – Is the dry/wet mix for the built in reverb effect
• Verb time – adjusts the delay of the reverb to give the feeling of different sizes of room

* I wasn’t able to find any details on this sound effect online or in the Ableton manual, and so (more specifically for the Cabinet Morph settings) only have been able to determine which control does what by listening to it. The exact explanations for the controls might be different.

To get the sound I wanted I had to turn up the tube sim to full on all controls (to get the greatest distortion and reverb) and add another 2. The sound produced is heavily distorted, with masses of feedback, and when played gives the impression of a guitar solo at a large concert, compared to the original uneffected sound which sounds very digital and “keyboard” like.

To give even more of a feel of a live instrument to the sound, I used the pitch bend wheel on the MIDI keyboard when playing, to give the impression of the guitarist “string bending” the notes or using a tremolo arm (sometimes called a “whammy bar”). The wheel adds adjustment points in the clip envelope “transpose” section.

I finally recorded a set piece (or solo) using the distorted strat sound, and the pitch bending for effect (shown below),

and finally cleaned up the pitch bends in the clip envelope transpose section by removing unnecessary points (see previous blog on “Clip View & Envelopes” for details on manipulation in the clip envelope section).

The clip was then ready for use in the piece.

This clip isn’t in any scene to be triggered, I have purposefully left it out so that it can be triggered on it’s own.

Setting up the MIDI keyboard for the performance…

Now that my piece is arranged and has all the elements I want in it, I need to be able to perform the piece. This can be done just by using the mouse to trigger scenes and clips. However, using the mouse to adjust volumes or stop sections can be fiddly, and it’s not possible to adjust 2 or more things at a time.

This is where a MIDI controller keyboard is useful. The one I will be using for the performance has lots of extra controls on it. It is an Evolution MK-249C2 USB MIDI controller keyboard.

It has a section of rotary encoders (knobs) (1) that are all assignable to controls in Ableton.

I am going to use at least one for a volume control on an instrument, and another for a filter on a drum kit.

I will also use the normal keys to trigger scenes and clips, to stop instrument tracks, and to toggle the filter on and off so that I can select it and adjust it, as well as turn it off to get the normal unfiltered sound.

The way to assign the keys and knobs to functions in Ableton is very easy. With the relavent controls on the screen in Ableton, click on the midi button in the top right hand part of the screen (shown below) -

which then highlights in purple all controls in Ableton that are MIDI assignable.

To assign a control, click the function on the screen that you want to control, then tap the key or turn the knob that you want to use to control the function. From the screen grab below you can see that most of the assignable functions are un-assigned, and that the ones that are like a clip (1) and a track volume (2), have a code on them in a white box. This code not only shows that the function is assigned, but shows which key or knob it is assigned to.

Any parameters that limit the function can also be set. So, for example, a track volume isn’t controlled over it’s full extent but limited to a predefined range. This is done by clicking on the arrow (3) on the left part of the screen (whilst in MIDI assign mode) to reveal the mapping browser. It shows all the assignments, and the ranges of the variable ones (4).

For my piece, I have assigned all the scenes, track stops, a filter toggle and the solo guitar clip to keys on the keyboard. I have also assigned a track volume to a knob, and the filter frequency on a drum kit (toggled by a key) to another.

I initially tried assigning only three keys to the scenes – up scene, down scene and play scene. But in practice I found this method of selecting the scenes I want fiddly, and it’s much easier to assign the sections of the piece in patterns of scenes on the keyboard.

Arranging clips into scenes…

After creating all the clips I want, they have to be arranged into scenes (1) so that that sets of clips can be triggered at the same time. The different scenes can then be arranged into sets to form sections of the final piece. Each of these scenes can be triggered at the right hand side of the screen in the master track (2)

I started by having a simple drum sound with a slow and uncomplicated rhythm, and a simple bass line not doing much more than the drums in one scene (this is the first scene at the top of the above screen shot – the drums in the olive coloured clip in the first track, and the bass in the red scene in the third track). This section of the piece is like a downbeat introduction (A), which merely adds a couple of extra sounds so elaborate it before bridging to the next section. The drums get slightly more busy in the following scenes, but not much, before using the last scene of the first section to break down to allow a transition to the next section.

The second section (B) goes to double time drums that are very “dance” or “techno” in style. But I have used this as a “deceptive teaser section” before breaking down again (using the last scene of the first section) and heading into the main section (C) which is as slow as the first section but extremely driving.

I then have a heavily distorted guitar riff/lead clip with masses of feedback on it as a sound to be triggered at any time in the piece.

I have also removed various stop buttons (3) from the scenes (4) to allow for switching between scenes without stopping the clips I want to continue. This for instance allows the more involved melodies in the last section keep playing whilst the drums break down (using the drums in the first section without having to trigger individual stop and start clip buttons).

This lets me trigger a long clip (F) (unlinked over more than 10 bars for instance – shown in the shot below – (G) shows the clip is unlinked and (H) shows the volume change in the evelope window) so that the clip can play across scenes without interruption. It also lets me break down the beat of a more involved section without loosing the instruments in that section.

With this set in place I have been able to create a simple transistion between scenes that also has a sample that increases in volume over a number of bars to create a build in mood.

All of these things allow me to play various sections more than once but with slightly varied drums or sounds so making it interesting but simple.

Adding effects

The looped, warped and transposed sample now needs a little something else to fill the sound out a bit. Reverb and Delay are standard effects used in recording to achieve a fuller sound, so I will at least use one of these on the sample, and adjust it until it sounds right.

To start with, a return track is needed. This is acheived merely by right clicking in empty track space and selecting “Insert Return Track”.

Once created I went into the Live Devices menu (1) on the left of the screen, and found the effect (2) I wanted in the new return track. Then I dragged it into the return track (3).

This assigns the return track with the effect dropped on it, and all audio and midi tracks will automatically have a send control assigned to the return track.

The example below shows a reverb effect assigned to the “A” return track (4). It also shows the send controls for the reverb (5), which have been adjusted for the tracks that I decided needed reverb.

The Reverb effect (once placed in a return track) is then also available as a control in the clip envelope (like the transpose function in the previous blog) so that it can be adjusted automatically through the loop as it is played, and not just set for the whole track and therefore all the clips in it.

I also added “Beat Repeat” and “Simple Delay” as return tracks. I use the reverb extensively as it can soften any particularly harsh sounds, and “fill” out the sound. Delay can be used in small doses to fill out further the reverb, or to create an echo effect. I have used a lot of beat repeat and delay on the main drum section to create a more rhythmic feel to the beat without using more drum hits. The delay is also a stereo effect, and the “echo” effect from it pans left and right whilst decaying, which adds a nice dynamic feel to the beat.

Clip View & Envelopes…

Using the sampled sound I had created (in the previous blog), I needed it to change the pitch in which it was playing, but not for the whole loop – only parts of it.

For this I copied the clip that already existed into a new clip space ready for manipulation (Click and hold on the clip to be copied (1), and whilst holding down the control key, drag it to a new space (2), then let go).

Then, by double clicking on the copied clip, I brought up the clip view.

Within the envelope settings it is possible to adjust many different variables that change the way the clip is played. It is also possible to make the variables act over a larger timescale than the clip itself, and as the looped sample I used loops every beat, and I want it to change in pitch over a number of bars, the clip envelope is the perfect tool for the job.

The clip envelope settings are brought up in the clip view by clicking on the little “E” button (3) at the bottom left hand corner of the clip view. Within the envelope settings there is a Region/Loop “Linked” button (4) that when clicked deselects and becomes “Unlinked”. This is the switch to enable you to adjust the envelope over a greater time than the loop. The envelope window changes to show the beats and bars the loop will then loop over, in which can be set the transposition changes I want on the clip.

I then clicked on the transpose button ( 5 ), and the window then showed a straight red line ( 6 ) across the middle of the envelope window. This shows the transpose setting for the length of the defined envelope. As a flat line it shows no deviation in pitch across the envelope. But before adjusting the line, the start and end loop flags ( 7 ) needed adjusting to the length that I want it to play the loop and vary it. The flags were dragged out to 5 (meaning 4 bars in all) and then I used the pencil tool ( 8 ) to create the variations in pitch over the 4 bars that I wanted.

The sample was adjusted to follow the change in bass line over 2 bars, and I made a minor variation over the following two bars to create a four bar loop.

Next step…

The next step in my piece was to insert a sampled sound that could be edited and warped to fit the piece.

I did this by randomly playing songs on my iPod til I found a clean and interesting intro to a song that seemed to be usefull. Once I had found one, I recorded it into the computer using Sony Sound Forge to get a rough sample (meaning longer than required to enable me to mess with it to find the right bit).

The sample was a rhythmic guitar and drums intro to a metal song. I chose it because it had open chords with no mix of rhythms in it. It sounded like something I could get a simple sound out of without extensive warping.

I then brought the sample into Ableton by finding it in the file browser on the left hand side of the screen (1), and dragged it into an empty part of the track section of the screen (2). This created a new audio track and placed the sample into a new clip. With the clip double clicked on, the clip view is then visable to see the sample waveform at the bottom of the screen (3).

I then listened to the sample all the way through to gauge which part of it I wanted to use.

I experimented with moving the start and end loop flags (4) whilst the warp button (5) was off. This let me hear the selection in real time without being stretched by the warp function. I tried using a complete guitar riff as a loop, but it didn’t sound quite right. I eventually looped part of an open chord to create rhythm out of the loop.

Once I was satisfied with the section I’d found I activated the warp button and the metronome (6), and adjusted the warp flags (7) (by double clicking to activate – then drag to adjust) til the sample was in time with the metronome and sounded right. I used the warp function to make the sampled section of sound loop in time – the whole process was pretty much intuitive, and based on trial and error than aiming for an exact sound.

I then saved the clip by draging the clip back into the file browser.

The one sample I used by this method was a section of crunchy guitar that has a very driving feel to it. Once warped it gives the feel of a dance sampled metal guitar – crunchy but with a definite beat to it.

Starting the project

I started this final performance piece by setting out a main beat in Impulse to get an idea of what kind of sounds I could layer over it. I set the piece at a relatively low speed of 80bpm as the kind of feel I wanted to achieve was slow and relaxed but able to break out into a driving rhythm, and the basic drum pattern isn’t imposing, so a fairly relaxed sound was needed to compliment it.

I experimented with some midi instruments by copying them into an unused Midi track-

• I looked in the Live device browser on the left of the Ableton screen (1), opened up the Instrument rack by clicking on the arrow next to it (2), and dragged the relevant instrument sound into the top of the Midi track (3).

I discovered a double bass midi instrument that seemed to suit it, so I dragged it in and started to improvise a simple bass line. Once I had an idea of what I wanted to record I recorded it into a fresh clip in the Midi track.

• To record the midi notes from the midi keyboard, I clicked on the record enable button on the midi track (4). This turned all the stop buttons on the track (5) into record buttons (6). I then started the drums playing by starting the drums clip (7), and when I was ready clicked on a record button in the midi track to start recording. Once the notes were played I stopped it recording by clicking the record button on the new clip again.

Then by double clicking on the clip I’d just recorded the clip view was shown. I then selected all the notes I’d played, and by typing “Ctrl U” I quantised all the notes. This was done to 1/16th of a beat and quantising both start and end of the notes.

What I had recorded wasn’t that far off and this just brought any slightly out of time note into perfect time.

So far the bass was a good match for the beat, and would only need editing for clip variations to either increase the rhythm for “speeding” the piece up or decrease it for drops or breaks in the overall piece.

I was happy with what I’d achieved, so moved on to adding a sound sample.

Live and Dangerous…

Preparation.

The Music tech level 3 course has a final project performance attached at the end for which we must prepare. I don’t normally prepare for creating music, and the style and everything associated comes as it comes. (If you see what I mean). So, although I have a plan on style etc, I fully expect to veer off at a tangent when inspiration strikes.

I have in mind creating an industrial sound scape that changes mood. I am influenced and inspired by Nine Inch Nails , who have done an instrumental cd to accompany a computer game.

Each level has it’s own atmospheric sound and theme to create mood. Each mood of my piece will have sound effects to enhance it, and effects that change the existing sounds and instruments.

I will have to first of all hunt down a drum kit i want to use, or some samples that I can turn into a drum beat using impulse (which I think will be my area of expertise). I will attempt to attach reverb and delay to individual drums.

I will try to fashion all the instruments and sound effects around the beats, to create a piece at least 5 minutes long, and I will attempt to have it all done in time =o)

(EDIT)

Ah… yes… timescale. I did have a set of deadlines written down, but got lost on the way to final post.

My intentions were/are to have found all the samples and instrument sounds required, and to have them edited and warped by the 21st May.

I intend to have a number of scenes ready to form the structure of the piece by the 28th May, and to have all sound effects and improvised “adjustments” ready and mapped to start practicing the piece by the 4th June.