Music with Samples: Overview

Tutorial VSL-E excerpt, V1.55, October 2022, based on November 2016

INTRODUCTION

Producing music with samples is a big challenge. Below is a list of the main topics covered in this tutorial. In order to produce music successfully with samples, you should ideally be more or less "at home" in each of these areas. This tutorial shows how to use VSL libraries. Of course, the examples shown can also be implemented with most other libraries. Probably things are called differently.


LEARNING TARGETS

- Learning how to produce music with samples
- Learning which are the themes of this tutorial
- Learning what topics you need to develop outside of this tutorial.

DAW

Digital Audio Workstation. Programs that can play Midi-Files.
They consist of 3 sections:

1. Midi-Section
Music in the form of midi information, e.g. a note played at a certain time: Note "on", volume level = 110, midi channel = 2, note "off".
This data can be changed and adjusted by different editors.
Important: There is a whole range of commands that can be used to control such midi instruments, like the Vienna Instrument.
For example, you can draw a volume curve in your DAW that the midi instrument should follow.


2. Instrument-Section contains all instruments which are to play your music (software or hardware).
Either you select Midi-Modules or you load the sample-player "Vienna Instrument" or the Host "Vienna Ensemble".

3. Audio-Section. In this section you can produce audio files of the instruments These Audio tracks can be edited by you. They show themselves as tracks in the arrangement.
At the same time these audio tracks appear as a channel in the audio-mixer.

You will have to learn how to handle your DAW by other tutorials.
At most, this tutorial explains what to do, not how to do it in DAWs.

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SAMPLE-MUSIC WITH MUSIC NOTATION PROGRAMS

Notation programs were developed to make music notes.
Nowadays they let us hear the notes by sample-files, too.

Disadvantages compared to working with a DAW:
1.
You must select the articulations by additional symbols, e.g. ">" for sforzato or "*.*" for staccato. An unusual image of notes is the result if you want to achieve a certain style of music (e.g. baroque style).
2. You cannot influence the music again by existing audio-files.

If you wish to make notes audible by samples, there will be suitable results.
Top results as with DAWS are unfortunately not possible.
"Tutorial VSL" does not offer a great help for Score Programs.


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ACOUSTICS

Especially when mixing audio signals, some acoustic requirements are necessary to make the right decisions.
The whole topic is not covered in this tutorial.
Therefore it is covered in detail in the tutorial "Mixing an Orchestra".

In chapter 2, we will go into rudimentary detail about what audio & acoustic equipment you should have in order to work well with samples.


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TECHNOLOGY AND COMPUTER

You have decided to make music with the help of Samples.
You will come across a lot of technical problems:
Installing an audio interface, extending RAM memories, installing the necessary drivers into your computer system.
Most of these problems concern the VSL products only indirectly.
You will find in a short summary of Chapter 2, what is important concerning the most important components.

You must acquire experience with installations of hardware and software yourself.
This Tutorial is treating technology and computer only rudimentarily in Chapter 2.

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MIDI (Basic knowledge)

Midi is the abbreviation for Musical Instrument Digital Interface.
The files that flow through midi-cables, are only information about which sounds are actually to be played, for how long and how loud. This sound-information is additionally provided with a "Channel-Information". A Midi-output can send sound-information on 16 different channels.
Receivers (Sound Modules, synthesizers, sample-players) can be adjusted so that they only respond to sound-information of channel 13, e.g.,.

This possibility is "adopted" by the Vienna Ensemble.
To sum up: No sounds flow through midi-cables, but information regarding sounds.
In addition: 127 different controller commands can be sent on Midi. On the Midi keyboard (above on the right) you see a number of knobs and sliders (controls) which can generate such Midi commands - also containing a channel information (1 - 16) for Midi devices, such as VI or VE.

The range of topics regarding Midi is rather wide. Please broaden your knowledge about it from other sources (Wikipedia, Google Search keyword <Midi>).
Specific things about Midi that concern VSL-products will be integrated in this Tutorial.

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AUDIO-EFFECTS

This range of topics is a world of itself, too: reverb-equipment, filters, compressors etc.. So we are speeking of the effects which are used in recording studios for creating a final mix from different audio-tracks (strings, woodwinds).

This whole area (audio, audio effects) is covered in detail in the tutorial "Mixing of an Orchestra".

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SAMPLE LIBRARIES

In the meantime there exist many of such sample libraries on the market.
Most of them vary in the following characteristics:

  • Number of different articulations per instrument
  • Resolution (steps from sample to sample)
  • Sample with space/room information > inclusive or not
  • Technical resolution (quality)
  • Specialties: performance samples, repetition samples etc.
  • Are the samples detached from a specific sample-player or not

The VSL-Libraries have been recorded in a special studio (Silent Stage). So they come without a lot of room information - they sound “dry”.
This means that the instruments must still be put into a room.
This gets the Library very flexible (playing the violin in the kitchen), but on the other hand one has to fight for a most natural playback possible in the intended room.
Sample-Libraries with integrated room information are surely at an advantage. Only: With this sort of samples we can never leave the designed "Concert Hall", which can be, in a way, a disadvantage.

  • The SE-Libraries are sampled in whole steps (1 sample must suffice for 2 halftones)
  • The Standard/Extended Full-Libraries are sampled in halftones
  • The quality of the recording is 44,1 kHz/24Bit = 16'777'216 dynamic grades (CD > 65'536)
  • There are numerous special samples which support a natural sound
  • The samples of the Vienna Symphonic Library come with their own player: "The Vienna Instrument"

This tutorial does not provide any information about the new libraries produced in the SYNCHRON studios.
This also includes the libraries which are so called "Synchronized".
Inform yourself directly on the website of VSL.

You will hear about VI and its optimal application of the Vienna Symphonic Libraries in this Tutorial. One of the main topics in the Chapters 5, 6 and 7 is how to handle the different articulations and how to organize and activate them.

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VIENNA INSTRUMENT (VI)

While the computers were getting faster it was soon possible to integrate the functions of samplers directly into music programs.
We know them: HALion, Kontakt and the like.
The VSL-Libraries have a Sample-Player of their own, the Vienna Instrument (VI).
VI can only play Vienna Libraries, but does it very efficiently!

Nowadays VSL has also the even newer SYNCHRON- Player (and the ORGAN Player)

This Tutorial presents the Vienna Instrument, shows tips and tricks regarding its application. More about this in Chapter 4.

VIENNA ENSEMBLE

The "Vienna Ensemble" (VE) is a software which controls a certain amount of Vienna Instruments, effects inclusive. So it is, e.g., possible to save complete orchestra-layouts within a VE.

This Tutorial presents the Vienna Ensemble, shows tips and tricks regarding its application. More about this in Chapter 8.

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AUDIO TECHNIQUE

A last big chapter you should be good at:
A good mix depends on a good sound engineer who knows how to handle strings, winds and percussion instruments and how to use the various audio effects to get a perfect final mix of, for example, an entire symphony orchestra.

This whole field of knowledge is covered in the tutorial "Mixing an Orchestra".


MUSIC

Primarily, music is important!
Composing, arranging, knowledge about instruments, knowhow regarding music styles and interpretation etc.
May be you are a musician. Wonderful, you are an expert.
Only - don't jubilate too early: Making music with samples means being constantly ready to make compromises, for you often have only one sort of legato. You unfortunately won't dispose of the "brilliant" or the "sad" legato...

The topic "Music" in all its facets must be excluded to a large extent!


SUMMARY

Have fun with this free tutorial and learn how to combine (VSL-) samples in a variety of ways to create music as possible.

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