Final Review

So the performance is done, I was throughout the day quite nervous. The performance itself in my opinion went well, generally everything went to plan however there were two problems for me personally. The first one was that i could not hear my Resonator effect when i made the change on performance. This wasn’t helped by headphone quality and lack of venue practice. The other was a mistake within the project where i tried to end the performance on a vocal, however I had changed the vocal to repeat for the middle. I should have kept an original clip to allow the end to go better.

I am pleased with the progress i have made on my project, at first my project was quite simple but in the end I was able to prove my skills with ableton had much improved. I had a fair amount of controls on the MIDI controller keyboard along with triggering clips and scenes. I had feedback from a few of the audience and they seemed pretty impressed with my performance. I even had some contact with a local record label.

My project progressed well I started off with no knowledge of ableton and now feel it would be a commonly used piece of software. I have learnt about ableton’s similarities and differences with reason, the software i know more about and gone into some depth with a comparison of Reason and Ableton’s drum machines ReDrum and Impulse respectively. I think in future I would use Ableton a lot for live performances but I would love to combine the two within production and I have gained the base to continue with my music.

Overall though I think my weakness was that even though i did really well i know i made mistakes and they could easily have been avoided with a bit more time to practice.

Things to improve

1. Not running off when Graham wanted to talk to me, although i did come back to talk.
2. More practice and testing certain elements before live performance

Area of Expertise – ReDrum vs Impulse

For my area of expertise I have decided to look at Impulse vs ReDrum, a battle between the two main drum instruments within these two software programs Ableton and Reason.

Personally I have used Reason a lot, I enjoy using ReDrum as it has an easy to use interface that allows much flexibility. However I am not too keen on Impulse although now having used it am less sceptical of it.

First of all here is ReDrum and Impulse

IMPULSE

REDRUM

On face value I think both seem fairly similar, however there are differences.

First of all the controls, Impulse in my opinion is the better instrument for controls, why? well Impulse allows the user to have control over panning, pitch, volume, start, stretch, distortion and filters, not only is that a good selection of controls but it also has global controls, which affect all drum samples within the kit allowing for even more control over your drums.

However ReDrum isn’t too shabby either, with the following individual drum controls; panning, pitch, length, start, tone, soft medium and hard hits, decay gate, volume and there are some global controls but not really the same style, more about the patterns.

Yes ReDrum uses a pattern sequencer built in, you can make a drum beat and listen to it without even arranging any MIDI at all. This is one reason I like ReDrum. However it has its disadvantages, Redrum will not allow unlimited patterns, however Ableton’s Impulse is based around MIDI and so is pretty unlimited as it doesn’t rely on the instrument to store the patterns, they can be stored as clips.

Another comparison is they both use a file for each drumkit, Impulse has presets and ReDrum has patches, this is not important however as it is just the words used for the same thing.

So how do we use these instruments? Well to make a drum pattern in each this is what you do…..

REDRUM

First of all with Redrum, set up the instrument within reason, by going into create… redrum drum computer… then from here you will see the ReDrum instrument as show earlier.

From here i can load a drumkit, known as a redrum patch. fromthe bottom left corner of the instrument.

From here your kit should load up and you can preview all the sounds available, maybe play around with the controls and see what you like.

(1) Allows you to preview sound

(2) Select that drum

Then you can use the pattern maker at the bottom to fill in the drums, for each drum you must remember to select the drum using the button labelled above(2).

Then you punch the pattern into the pads at the bottom like so:

As you can see Redrum allows you to have a soft medium or hard hit of the drum denoted by different colours, making Redrum in my opinion easier to use and get to grips with. However Redrums method of longer than 1 bar patterns is complicated, I found it really difficult to modify the amount of drums and amount of beats in the bar etc.

IMPULSE

I have already looked at impulse in a previous blog here:

http://digisound.wordpress.com/2008/05/21/editing-midi/

However within Impulse, this is much easier to understand, here is a simple beat created using Impulse:

(1) Headphone icon allows you to preview sounds when lit

(2) Keys when headphone is lit preview sounds

(3) Timeline shows the drum pattern timeline

I feel that the timeline is a much easier to understand in the ableton drum machine, it is all based around MIDI however which i am not too keen on but it does allow you to see all drums inputs at the same time.

Another point I noted with ReDrum is the ability to split each drum channel up and put seperate effects and processors on these by accessing the wiring at the back.

This is a good feature and Ableton does not give Impulse this ability.

However Reason can be rewired into ableton which would slightly solve this problem.

So in conclusion, I would say that I personally like both, I prefer the look of ReDrum but i still appreciate Impulse’s versatility.

• Redrum is better for singling out drums for added creativity
• Impulse is good if you can easily use MIDI for editing and recording purposes
• Both are equally easy to pick up but also have challenging aspects
• Both have the ability to transfer samples into them from anywhere

Adding Effects in Send and Return mode…

In my project I am create something with a psychedelic nature to it, therefore after looking up on the internet and a little experimentation i found that delays would be good to use.

First I decided to Automate a delay, this is where the delay will automatically happen without any control from my MIDI Keyboard. I chose to use a simple delay to minimise the change of the effect on my psychedelic synth, this would still space out the sound but not too much if added correctly.

I already had a return track setup however if i didn’t i would just go to the space and right click then select insert return track. I know Delay to be an effect and therefore needed to be assigned in this way because it has a wet and dry control and also it can be changed over time.

Step one is to find(1) the desired effect in this case the delay and assign it to the return channel as shown below(2).

Once you have your effected set up you have two options, first the option I used for my simple delay. This was an automated effect used on the melody. You need to use the envelope in order to do this.

So first I set the effect as fully on using the send control relevant to the effect i was automating.

Once this has been set I needed to go into the envelope and automate the effect. This done by clicking on the clip you wish to automate the effect of, going into the envelope settings and finding the relevant control.

Then i was taken to the envelope screen where i could set the automation for this control. Either using the pencil or double clicking to move the line and set points where there would be changes. Here is an example of this.

However there is another option that can be utilised. I have assigned an effect to a MIDI keyboard control, this is useful for adding live effects to a clip or master track, I have used another delay, this time a ping pong delay on the melody to make this more psychedelic.

I did this by selecting the control within ableton as shown below(A) and assigning it to the midi control of my choice, as shown below. (B)

Now I can control the effect on this clip using the keyboard control I have assigned this control to.

Another point to consider with effects is that we can check that the effect is sending out purely the effected sound, a good thing to check also is the wet and dry control must be 100% wet as a general rule.

(1) This is where the effected sound volume is, showing that the effected sound is coming out

(2) Check the wet and dry control here

Adding an appropriate processor…

Within my project plan i stated that i was going to use psycedelic sounds within my project and create something maybe reminiscent of psytrance.

I researched into psytrance music to see what effects and processors, bass and other usual traits psytrance had, i found that a lot of psytrance djs make good use of the EQ processor, cutting out high and/or low frequencies to vary the music.

I had already been briefed about the need to keep my performance interesting, so i felt this processor would be a good idea.

I decided this processor would work best as something that could be changed live, but needed to be on the main master track so it would affect all channels. In order to do this I clicked on the master track enabling me to drag the EQ into the audio effects pane(1).

I could now change the overall feel of the track, leaving maybe just the bass in, or maybe taking it all out using the two controls highlighted below. This i found easy to do and it can be very useful.

Using A Range Of Ableton Instruments

Within my project, I decided to use a range of instruments from ableton. I needed drums, so I decided to use Impulse, this enabled me to have 8 drums maximum and allows for slight modifications to each drum and even has global controls.

All the instruments are found in the live devices area under instruments, in the file browser(1).

IMPULSE

Above is the Impulse instrument, with 8 drum slots(A), individual drum controls(C) and also global controls(B).

Within my project i used a preset from Ableton as my drums, the preset could be found within the instruments(E), after coming to document my project i found that the Impulse instrument was not named, this meant i did not know what my preset was, however all was not lost as I found the hot swap (D) tool allowed me to find my presets with ease.

I then used this preset to record MIDI drum beat by drawing in using the pencil tool. As you can see the drums are assigned to MIDI Keys(F), these can be recorded in using the MIDI controller keyboard or just drawn in as i prefer to do.

ANALOG

I also used Analog which a synthesiser that comes with Ableton, I used a preset within this from the sound effects area. This was the Car Alarm preset.

I decided on the car alarm preset because after some experimentation with the preset i found it was good to build up with a steady change of release(2).

Also you can make your own presets with the actual synthesiser controls(1)

Within my project i did have a go at create my own sounds using analog but found it time consuming and not the best degree of accuracy when creating suitable sounds, so i personally recommend using the presets, they are good quality sounds and easy to modify.

In keeping with my preset sounds, i decided to use more presets from the instrument rack, this enabled me to quickly experiment more with creating variations and combining them concentrating on the performance side of things and my chosen area of expertise.

Editing MIDI

Within my project I have used a lot of MIDI, I am not good with the keyboard and so I decided to draw in my MIDI, I do know how to record the MIDI in and can show that aswell.

For recording in MIDI, I first setup a MIDI track(1), this is done by right clicking in the empty track space and clicking create MIDI track.

When your MIDI track is set up you can then drag onto this MIDI track your desired instrument, I myself will show an Impulse instrument for this example.

The drums will be automatically assigned to the keyboard and then you record enable track so that you can then either draw in the notes or record on the keyboard.

It is also usually a good idea to use the metronome to help you play in time this is located at the top of the ableton window

Once the notes are played in, (if recorded) you can then quantize(4) and edit the notes in ableton, you do this in the MIDI editor at the bottom. You quantize by highlighting the notes you wish to quantize and press ctrl + u, this is shown below. Various settings are available for instance time signatures of 1/16, 1/8 and more.

From this area you can also use the pencil or double click to draw in and delete notes.

MIDI was not one of my strong points but it was something i wanted to improve on as i have mainly used the matrix and redrum machines in Reason to create music before, also i was sort of interested to see what instruments using MIDI I could use and in comparison to Reason how easy it was.

Creating Variations

Within my final project i have created some variations of clips, below is an example of a clip i decided to create a variation of:

BEFORE

First I copied the clip by hold down ctrl and dragging into a new slot then renaming it(1). Then i could click on the new clip and edit it as i wished, making the changes to create my variation. For this particular variation I changed the loop points(2), enabling the clip to start as normal but then loop the end of the clip to sort of bring a feel of build up and anticipation for the next bit of the bass.

AFTER

I could have also added more variations to this clip, I could have gone into the envelope settings at the bottom left and changed the pitch gradually over say an 16 bar period within the end loop, this would have been done by unlinking the pitch(3) within the envelope and draqgging the loop and end markers out to include more bars than the original clip as shown below. You can then draw in the gradual pitch change(4).

I only changed the loop points on this variation, this was to keep my changes simple but effective, i felt that too much would draw attention away from the music.

Another Variation i used in contrast to this was an automated modulation on the release of a clip(A), I used this to allow for a steady build up within the intro scene. Shown below. The automation is drawn in on the right(B).

This was done by finding the control on the instrument, in this case on the analog and then right clicking on the control and selecting the option show modulation, which would bring you to the above screen where you can edit the modulation on the control.

Planning Final Project

For my my final project I would like to look at a range of MIDI instruments that come with Ableton in order to sort of compare it to reason as I have made music usually in reason. I would also like to create something with a psychedelic feel to it and use some didjeridoo samples with it, this is because i went to see Kangaroo Moon live in Leeds early last year and i remember them well, some good funk sounds with the dijeridoo as an integral part to their music. Along with the didjeridoo samples i could get some vocal samples to drop in whenever i feel as non looping clips.

I have heard much psytrance and techno music played over the last few years and a lot of it has used delays and filters, so i would like also to experiment with effects to find something adds to the psychedelic feel to the performance.

Goal 1- So for my first deadline i need to collect all samples and gather them in an organised file structure which i will store on my external hard drive. This to be done by 20/05/08

I will inbetween stick to the blog deadlines, as to not lose any 3.33%’s of marks in my final grade:

Blog Deadline 1 21st May – Two Entries

Blog Deadline 2 28th May – Two Entries

Blog Deadline 3 4th June – Two Entries

Final Goal- I will have all my project completed and ready to practice with maybe a few minor edits to be done by the 04/06/2008 this means i can practice my performance to get an idea of where it will be going on the night.