EMUSIC-L Digest Volume 28, Number 7 This issue's topics: Sampling Hardware/Software sequencers//Yamaha QY10//Bus cable snake (2 messages) Hometaper Program on WMUH-FM Re: passion Mag Filings: How to Order It Magnetic Filings Liner Notes Your EMUSIC-D moderator is Joe McMahon. Please send articles to emusic-L@auvm.american.edu (or EMUSIC-L@AUVM.BITNET). Administrative mail should be directed to xrjdm@scfvm.nasa.gov. Digests will be distributed semi-monthly to monthly. For faster response to questions, subscribe to EMUSIC-L@AUVM.BITNET (or emusic-l@auvm.american.edu). The EMUSIC-L discussion group can alo be accessed via bit.listserv.emusic-l on Usenet. Subscribers to this list may send articles to EMUSIC-D@AUVM.BITNET (or emusic-d@auvm.american.edu); they will be reviewed and forwarded to EMUSIC-L. Back issues are available from xrjdm@scfvm.gsfc.nasa.gov. This is a manual operation, so requests for things like "all back issues" will take a long time. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 15 May 91 00:39:30 EDT From: James Tittle Subject: Sampling HI There, I am looking for people to converse with on the topic's of sampling and software inplemented sound generation. In particular, people who like to play at developing such software, as I do, or serious study. Also, since I've been on the list a short time, I am curious about sending samples around. I notice there are some files available but what format is used when this is done? MIDI Sample Dump? --- James Tittle ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 15 May 91 08:29:00 EDT From: wbf@CBEMA.ATT.COM Subject: Hardware/Software sequencers//Yamaha QY10//Bus cable snake Hi Huey, Not knowing anything about the IBM bus cable, I'd hazzard a guess that it won't make a good snake. Without proper shielding of twisted pairs of wires, you'll probably end up with cross talk and noise from hell. A friend has the QY10. He is pleased with it because it increased his pallette of usefull drum sounds. He has Roland TR-505, DR-550, and MT32, and Yamaha QY10 for drums and uses them all! However, he doesn't use the internal sequencers in any of these, he uses the Alesis MMT-8. Alas, it has no disk drive so he uses cassettes to store his sequences. That's OK by him because he's never intending on going on the road. He's dedicated to doing exclusively song demos. The QY10, however, is not CD quality, but it does have 32 voice polyphony and is (6 or 8? part) multitimbral. What do you use for drums? I just read a (Keyboard?) review on the newest Alesis drum machine. The reviewer liked it even better than the Roland (Boss?) DR-550. What is your performance situation? Are you doing local clubs on weekends, six nights a week? Do you plan to tour? I'm a weekend warrior who plans on no more than two to four gigs per month. (It's a hobby!) Bill Fox cbema!wbf Columbus, Ohio ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 May 91 09:55:32 BST From: Nick Rothwell Subject: Re: Hardware/Software sequencers//Yamaha QY10//Bus cable snake > 1a) I'm in love with my D-50, but two tones per patch just isn't cutting it. > Now I've read about this expansion board that Valhalla (Southfield,MI) > makes for around $450 that gives eight voices per patch, The only expansion for the D-50 which I know about is the MEX by Musitronics in Germany. It gives eight tones per patch, yes, but they share the EQ, chorus and LFO's so it isn't a full multitimbral mod. > Any other recommendations for other outboard MIDI tone generators Lots but it all depends what kind of sound you're after. >> Is there a computer setup that anybody would trust on the road, Performer on a Mac SE/30. I've used it live a few times, without any problems. Why should a computer system be less trustable on the road than, let's say, an Ensoniq keyboard? (Ignoring the Atari ST for now.) Thing is, with the SE/30 and Performer you're talking about $5000 here (in the UK at least) so you perhaps have to be wary of venue security. Nick. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 15 May 91 14:43:07 EDT From: GRF101@PSUVM.PSU.EDU Subject: Hometaper Program on WMUH-FM The Hometaper is a weekly radio program on WMUH, 91.7 FM in Allentown PA, USA. If you make tapes of original music, you can send them to this show for radio airplay reaching the Lehigh Valley area. The producers of the Hometaper are especially fond of experimental & electronic music. Send to: The Hometaper c/o LVCBA (*stands for Lehigh Valley Community Broadcasters Association) P.O. Box 1456 Allentown PA 18105 USA One rarely receives any personal reply for tapes sent, so if you're not in the WMUH listening area it's a bit like sending your tapes to a black hole. However, I know the guys who run the show and I can attest that they air almost every tape they receive. So, if you make music and have no one to play it to, this is a possible outlet. --------------------------------------------------------------- ..Glenn Frantz.. grf101@psuvm.psu.edu frantz@endor.cs.psu.edu ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 17 May 91 15:47:09 EDT From: Patrick Robinson Subject: Re: passion Nick and ronin: I'd like to thank you guys for your comments on Peter Gabriel's PASSION and BIRDY. I went out and got PASSION today, and am very impressed. I intend to stop by and pick up BIRDY on the way home from work. First impressions of PASSION: as Eric said, Gabriel's certainly got his own style. It gets a bit slow (read: "hyper- contemplative"... ;-) here and there, but overall the combination of sound palette, harmonic motion, and driving rhythms are quite good. Let me just say this will definitely get a second listen... ;-} Another observation: Gabriel's use of repetition is far from the usual 'new-age' fare. Although he uses many short repetitive rhythmic phrases, he manages to keep the music moving forward... my opinion is that this is one of the Big Downfalls of much otherwise-interesting music. Thanks again, and keep up the good work... -Patrick pgr@vtvm1.cc.vt.edu ------------------------------ ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 19 May 91 17:48:19 -0400 From: Cecilia M Tan Subject: Mag Filings: How to Order It Hello, emusic-l! Mail seems to have been weird to and from The World recently, so I'm hoping this announcement gets through. MAGNETIC FILINGS: The Emusic-l Compilation Tape Volume Two, is finally complete! Ninety minutes of solid music, composed and recorded by various subscribers to this list, including Joe McMahon, Nick Rothwell, John McIntyre, Bill Flowers, Craig Hicks, and more. Over twenty pieces in all made it onto the compilation. If you want your copy, please send US$7.00 money order or check (or cash is probably ok too as long as you hide it well and no one steals it) to cover the cost of duplication and also First Class postage return to you within the US and Canada. Overseas orders, add $2.00 for airmail. (Contributors send only $5.75 US/Canada, $7.75 overseas!) My address: Cecilia Tan 90 Montebello Road, #1 Jamaica Plain, MA 02130 ctan@world.std.com Please let me know through e-mail if you will be sending me money, so I'll know to look for it. Thanks all! This edition may be even better than the last one! -ctan ctan@world.std.com ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 19 May 91 17:38:58 -0400 From: Cecilia M Tan Subject: Magnetic Filings Compilation To give you al la good sense of just what is on the tape, here are the loner notes, each written by the individual contribiutors, for the compilation: MAGNETIC FILINGS: The Emusic-l Compilation Tape, Volume Two Side One Craig Hicks "Cyberia" Copyright c p 1990 Craig E. Hicks, used by permission I wrote and recorded this for Cyberia, the first cyberpunk television show carried on a national network. Fitting all the ideas I needed to convey a sense of the program into a 60-second format was challenging. I tried to incorporate both a grinding, gritty lo-tech sensibility with more ethereal elements evocative of virtual spaces. Guess there's a nod to SF flicks in the 1950s tossed in the mix somewhere as well. Cyberia can be seen on U*NET affiliate stations nationwide, and is produced by fellow Emusic-l subscriber Rob Camp. "Thrillzone" Copyright 1989, 1990 Craig E. Hicks, used by permission Try herding a swarm of monster bees by waving an ostrich feather held in each hand. Quite a bit of frenetic interior movement, but it never travels very far, does it? The Evolution Control Committee (Mark G.) "Third Floor" (edit) By all accounts, this shouldn't even be released. The sound quality is less than glamorous due to overextending my multi-tracking. The choir is off from the instrumentation in parts... the pipe organ drowns out the choir... The song was originally written by my friend B e 3, and this was done as a small wager where we did covers of each other's songs. I thought I'd give him all he doesn't have -- a full orchestra and choir and such. This could be much better but the lack of pinpoint ultra-quantizing perfection gives it a certain inimitable quality. Nick Rothwell "Eagle Plaza" Nick Rothwell, January 1991. This was a fairly quick piece of work. I'd had the chord progression and some of the percussion sitting around for a few months, but everything else went in over the last three weeks. I wanted to write something fairly short (under 5 minutes) and simple, a single idea rather than a progression of scenes like SUDSTERN was. I managed to make it short, but completely failed to make it simple; it uses every toy I have except the Cyclone. I still have to learn how to use space and dynamics properly when developing a piece from the opening to the close - it's hard. I'm fairly happy with the orchestration but dissatisfied with the mix - the piece really needs clarity and punch through the central section, and it hasn't got it. So, please consider this a preliminary mix; I'll put the piece away for a few weeks and then come back when I've forgotten it and remix it from scratch. Composition/recording technique: as always. Everything running at once, driven by Performer on the Mac, recorded onto the cassette which went into a jiffy bag and off to Cecilia. the volume fades are MIDI; some were preprogrammed, the later ones I recorded by hand, having taken delivery of a Lexicon MRC. As far as composition goes: the piano part I actually composed on manuscript paper, away from the computer and other synths - I wonder if it shows? The other parts were improvised and spun in in a few passes, except for the various percussion loops which were carefully wonder if it shows? The other parts were improvised and spun in in a few passes, except for the various percussion loops which were carefully constructed to interact in particular ways. Hope you like it. I'll be satisfied with it after a remix, when it'll probably get used as a finale for a live set sometime. Gearhead Fodder: Yamaha pf85, Roland D-50, D-110, MKS-70, Ensoniq VFX, Waldorf Micro-Wave, Alesis MIDIverb II, QuadraVerb, Lexicon LXP-5, MRC, Studiomaster Session Mix 16:2, MA-36 MIDI Analyser, Apple Macintosh SE/30, MIDI Manager, MOTU Performer, Anodyne, Digital Music MX-8, MOTU MIDI Time Piece. David Mantripp and Paul Gallant "A piano lesson on a sunny afternoon" D. Mantripp: Cyclic keyboards, treated voice, treatments P. Gallant: Percussion, flange gongs, treated voice, random keyboard "July 1st" D. Mantripp: Piano, synths, harmonica P. Gallant: Violin, percussion Copyright c 1991 Burrow Recordings Cambridge Taken from the LP "Level" available on chrome cassette from Burrow Recordings, 407 Newmarket Road, Cambridge, Cambs CB5 8JG, UK for US$10.00. Recorded in Cambridge, England during 1990. Mixed and digitally remastered at Tardis Studios Newmarket, England, March 1991. Produced and engineered by David Mantripp. Mix engineered by Mark Gillespie. Special thanks to Peter Maydew. Mutually Assured Destruction (John McIntyre) "Did He Smile" Mutually Assured Destruction is another duo. (John is also in Totentanz, who appear on Mag. Filings One) Rick Tumanis plays guitar. WHat I play gets a little existential. For example, the white noise wash is the cymbal sound from a kit drum machine left over in a digital delay from an earlier take with the loop reversed and doubled in length. So, technically the kit was not played during the recording. Some of the bass notes are an Arp Odyssey triggered by a Roland TR 808 drum machine, but the drum machine itself is unheard. Other bass notes are from a Moog Taurus II. Over top we have an Arp Quartet, a Polaris, an EML, and yes, a Mellotron. By the way, it was a difficult task to keep within the ten minute guideline. We tend to think in terms of sets rather than songs. David Mantripp and Paul Gallant "The last time it rained." Copyright and credits as above. D. Mantripp: Arid chords, sampled bass, pasture synth P. Gallant: Reactive percussion, finger cymbal St. Mary's Church, Newmarket: Bells The Elements: Rain and wind Joe McMahon "NC12 North" Copyright 1990 by Joe McMahon. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Joe McMahon. "NC12 North" is performed solely on the Ensoniq VFXsd. I used mostly preset patches, with modifications as necessary. All sequencing was done on the VFXsd's internal sequencer. I recorded straight to 2-track from the synth, no mixer or outboard effects. "NC12 North" is the name of a road which follows North Carolina's Outer Banks (a barrier island chain). This piece reminds me of what it's like to drive on this road, late at night. John Young "Out for a Minute" Done entirely on a Korg M! workstation with the M! internal sequencer. (It's all I got). Bill Flowers "Song For Linda" I created "Song For Linda" based roughly on the story of a friend I've known for a few years. It is divided into four very short movements: 1) "Promises Made" (An invitation/proposal and reluctant acceptance); 2) "The Marriage" (a little on the rough side but not unbearable); 3) "Words Thrown" (where the real damage occurs); and 4) "The Leaves" (a resolution with a somewhat triumphant mood near the end). Yeah, it's "New Age." What of it? The instrumentation is basically the same for all four parts: Underlying pads and washes from a Roland MKS-70; lead lines, piano, and drums from a Roland U-20; and backing tones and percussion from a Roland MT-32. Drum parts were entered on a Roland OctaPad II drum controller. (Well, I didn't start out intending it to be all Roland, but since I've had the Rol stuff longest, that's what I know best.) I would like to beef up the second section with a sizzling electric guitar lead, but I'm not that good a guitarist, and not even close to that good a keyboardist, even with the tempo set at "glacial." Oh well. Someone asked how do you know when a composition is finished: when the deadline passes and you mail in the tape. Side Two Dan Yuen "Egyptian Baby Water" OK! This song is in support of live interactive music. I am conducting two friends via a series of previously worked out gestures that indicate mechanical events, i.e. patch change, note on/off, volume up/down, etc... tempo and expression are left up to the players as well as the remaining musical direction. The players themselves are fairly unfamiliar with what sounds lurk underneath the innocent patch numbers. The players and equipment: Blake Line: Korg Poly 800, Sequential Circuits 610, Roland MKS-50, Lexicon LXP-5. Lauren Lupo: Korg M-1, Yamaha CS-20m, Alesis Microverb All to 2 tracks of a Tascam 234 (max slow) live. The Evolution Control Committee (Mark G.) "CD19910113" This "song" is a composition made from damaged compact discs. Lately, I have been studying just what ways CDs can be damaged and still be playable. This composition was made by CDs that were damaged by ink, heat, and masking tape. Prose In Cannes (Roger Skulback) (s)parseque I started [the Prose in Cannes project] as an independent project with school, incorporating self-produced and contributed works of an "experimental" nature into a two-hour, weekly radio program on WMCM (91.7 fm, St. Paul). Also, for anybody that might be interested, I will be releasing a tape of my own work, and I hope to have a similar release out on Corrupt Records (1809 Portland Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55104) The Evolution Control Committee (Mark G.) "Kill Me" I thought I'd try making a sort of industrial dance song, although this is far from being purely so. So many different sample get into this that you also get the feeling of it being in a cartoon soundtrack or something. In addition, a small homage to Jerome Kern (the great ping pong percussionist of three decades ago, whose works adorn thrift stores everywhere) is paid here, as a number of things are pinged hard left and ponged hard right. Other samples come from other thrift store finds, including instructional disco records, children's tapes and records, and one of the worst/best movies of all tmne (I'll let you guess on that one). Jon Deutsch "No Answer" Music composed, arranged, produced, etc... by Jon Deutsch. Equipment: Korg T3 (yup, that's it folks--sorry.) Recorded on a Sanyo C4 portable stereo (boom box). Ok, guys, this is my first shot at this instrumental stuff. If it's too cliched or too 4/4, that's 2 bad. Hope you enjoy them as much as I do! Jari Riitala "Bay6'N More" Composition by Janne Komi, Vesa Koskelainen, and Jari Riitala. Here's a piece of semi-commercial simplified fusion music or whatever (read: less More than Bay6). We hacked half the song together with my (funk) band's drummer and guitar player in a rehearsal some years ago just to find out we'd never be able to play it (big deal: is there anybody to listen to this kinda stuff anyway!?) so I wrote the rest of the song myself and hid it in my desk drawer for later use. This version is mostly a sequenced remake of a version with an idiot drum machine, bass and live synths (in my pre-MIDI days). Since I didn't find any real guitar player with enough interest, I ended up playing the guitars myself--that's why they are so awkward! The technically oriented might want to know that the sequenced parts were done with an Atari Mega ST2 spitting MIDI events into a DX7 and a D-110 with the help of Hybrid Arts' SMPTE Track. For the non-MIDI instruments, I SMPTE-synced a Tascam 644 and filled the remaining three tracks with my Ibanez bass and guitar through a Trace Elliot bass head and a zoom 9002 guitar processor (well, in fact the rhythm guitar was done by miking a guitar amp but that was before I got the Zoom);the acoustic guitar was just miked. Finally I created some icing by running the leads through a Quadraverb for a bit of plain hall reverberation. For the ones that search messages in music: none here. Pasi Lehti "2nd Conflict" Composed by Pasi Lihti This is a story about the conflict between thinking and talking; in other words it is an astrological term of dreaming. Bull. The extremely jazzy computeration is sung by the fabulous Roland MT-32 except for the magnificent bass drum and snare, which were transferred to a D-110 at the mixing stage for more punch, and an obscure lead doubling from a DX7. Though all the MIDI events were generated with the aid of my invaluable Alpha-Juno 1, I have done some velocity tweaking, so there were at least some values not equal to 64. A bit of room ambience was produced using an Alesis Quadraverb. Absolutely no *real* instruments were used in the making process. I'm a guitar player (sigh!). John Young "Snowflake Rag" (Another M1-only piece. An impressive set of timbres and great use of them! -ct) Triage Ritual Orchestra (Cecilia Tan) "O'Keefe's Slide" This is an unfinished set of tracks, but since it is the most recent thing I have done, I like it best right now. The drum machine, live banjo, and irish flute are missing. (I have to buy the drum machine, and the other two instruments I play but couldn't lay the tracks down in time to get it on the compilation.) Triage Ritual Orchestra is my "celtic industrial band" of which I am the only current member. Someday... Gear: Yamaha YS-100, FB-01, sequenced with Performer 2.3 on a Macintosh II. "Copper Mist" This piece is so old, it was the thing I wanted to put on Magnetic Filings Volume One. I did it late one night in the Brown University Computer Music Lab, using, I think, a Yamaha DX7II and a TX81Z. The original sketch for the piece was recorded on a Casio CZ-1000 that I don't have anymore, and I took it into the lab to dress it up with more timbres. Unfortunately, it's also an unfinished piece, as you can probably tell by all the keyboard flubs. I just don't have what I need to finish it, so I'll let it stand for now. (Anyone have a used TX802 to sell?) The Evolution Control Committee (Mark G.) "K-Tel Commercial" I hate commercials, but when I really sit down and think about it, it;s really a love-hate relationship. Just as one can love the movie Plan 9 From Outer Space for its extreme stupidity, commercials can have the same quality. All pieces are Copyright of their respective authors/composers and are used by permission. All rights reserved. ------------------------------ End of the EMUSIC-L Digest ******************************