Using samples professionally

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

Dear Reader

Thank you very much for your interest in this tutorial!
This is an extract from the "Tutorial VSL". From 2009 to 2016, the goal of this tutorial was to let the tutorial reader produce music as real as possible with VSL products. It was about,

A) ...to produce music with midifiles but using samples from VSL and then, by clever a choice of articulations, to produce audio signals as close to the real instrument as possible.
and then
B)...to make those audio files sound like you know them from the demos with the most professional audio mix.

I am pleased to provide you with the main content of A)
from the "Tutorial VSL" - and this free of charge!


Original "Tutorial VSL" was discontinued

Meanwhile, VSL has developed MIR, a software that helps you mix. Recently VSL even offers libraries where the positions of the instruments are already included in the audio signal. And in addition, the speed of new product developments at VSL has increased so much that it was no longer possible for me to keep my tutorial comprehensively up to date. Therefore I decided not to offer any more updates and to stop selling the "Tutorial VSL".

Contents of "Tutorial Music with Samples"

But I found it a pity that this important content of the tutorial is no longer accessible to users of samples. It is about varying articulations within melodies and other musical lines. Therefore I decided to publish this important point in connection with the use of samples as a free tutorial.

Especially the frequent change of articulations lets music arise from the actually lifeless samples.
The use of as many different articulations as possible is therefore one of the most important processes when applying samples.
Moreover, it is largely independent of the sample manufacturer!

If you listen to this violin below, it will not play with "sustain" only. No, there are some different articulations used:
Staccato, Leg-Spiccato, Leg-Marcato, Leg-Harsh, Leg-Trills, Dim 4s, Spiccato-Runs, sfz, Leg-Portato, Leg-Zigane, Repetions-legato, Détaché long, Sustain...
I tried to make music, preferably like a real violin player would do.

The content of the original tutorial is therefore reduced to the part how to get musical results from a midifile to the samples by choosing articulations as skillfully as possible. This part of the tutorial is largely independent of the product manufacturer of the samples, because all libraries today come with a large number of different playing styles. So it is not really important that you have VSL libraries. The examples are adaptable to other libraries.
Since the tutorial is now free of charge, you have to accept that everything is shown with the "old" VSL instruments. The photos, texts and devices I have not brought up to date, which one is used to today. If technical requirements are mentioned, they correspond to the state of about 2016. As I said, the tutorial is free...
But some texts I had to adapt for the present time, because otherwise they would have been unusable. Where this happened, I made a note that the text is adapted.

Nevertheless I am convinced that you can read out one or the other trick in handling samples from the tutorial, especially as a beginner. The skillful choice of articulations is still one of the most important skills you have to acquire.

All content related to mixing audio tracks has been omitted. But also applications of MIR and other VSL products, like the effects suite etc. were omitted. There is also no mention of using the newer VSL-Synchron-players or what will follow in the future.



Important information at the beginning

Let's explain some important facts first: Either they regulate things that apply for the whole Tutorial, or they explain why something needs to be so.
Please take your time - it's worth it.


Pictures

...Can as a general rule always be enlarged by clicking on it.
Try it quickly on the right!

Format of pictures

I choose the format *.gif
Advantages:
- sharp-cut pictures (important for text in the picture)
- relatively small files (for large pictures as well, because of 8-bit)

Disadvantage:
- Colour aberrations may occur, especially in transitions of colours. You will have to "live with it"…

Searching

Click on the magnifying glass icon in the upper right corner and enter the search term...
... for example "Staccato"
You will get all the links, where you can find the word "Staccato"

Only one way?

Many things are explained as if there was one possibility only.
That is not so. Take this Tutorial's solutions as one way of working.
Try other solutions, too, please.

C0 / C1 Problem

The Midi-Protocol of all Midi-Commands is an international success.
It was not self-evident that all involved companies could arrive at an agreement.
But there are still some inconsistencies.
One of them: Which keyboard-key is C0? There are still differences between Roland and Yamaha.
Do not be astonished if your DAW shows E3 for a pressed tone, but the Vienna Instrument plays E4.
I think you can adapt this in LOGIC.

Only Keyswitches

In Vienna Instruments you can select the samples by many possible Midi-Controllers und commands.
In this Tutorial there is only one form: Keyswitches. You select different samples with the help of notes which lie outside the playing-range of the instrument.

Why only this possibility of selection?
The reason: All the "Vienna Instruments" should be triggered and should react in the same way. In order to be always able to control everything from the outside, automatic selections are left away. So the only selected control in this tutorial is by Keyswitches.

BASIC PRESETS

A Midi Track prepared for die Vienna Samples must be able to be played by all possible instruments, regardless if you load the violin-preset or the flute-preset.
The Midi Track must activate the same sample-sequence for all instruments.

For this reason all midi-files are based on the special "Basic Preset", which we develop in the Tutorial VSL.
If you do not have all the samples that are applied, you can use samples which comply in a similar way:
Diminuendo = Sustain
Perf Trill = Perf Legato
Portato long = Portato short

etc.
In this manner you will be able to use the Midifiles just the same - at least for studying.
A further advantage of invariable presets: You will get more and more quick in setting the Keyswitches, because you will be able to memorize them after a short time.
C0 means "staccato" - be it for flute, trumpet or orchestra-violins.

Roll-Editor

Most of the DAWs have a similar Editor.
It is therefore suitable for showing data flows. The range of the notes played shows well (horizontal bar length). In the lower part you can read the sound volume (high bar = loud).
High tones are in the upper part of the presentations, low ones below.
In most cases you find the Keyswitches at the bottom, for activating appropriate samples.
Compare with the example below: