This short piece (about a minute and a half) uses about 15 Zebra2 instances. I call it "Doodle". I hope you enjoy it.
http://soundclick.com/share?songid=6436622
I used a lot of Howard Scarr's patches, which I gravitate towards. I recently bought his "Zebra Science" patch library, and am extremely satisfied with it.
Thanks,
Mike Leghorn
Please check out my piece using only Zebra patches
-
- KVRist
- 228 posts since 18 Dec, 2007 from Evanston, IL.
-
- u-he
- 30215 posts since 8 Aug, 2002 from Berlin
It's a bit different than anything I've heard so far - it walks through many moods in quite short time. Although parts appear to be disconnected, they still seem to follow a dramaturgy (is there a story behind it?). Which reminds me to, hmmm, was it Stravinsky?, even though I hardly remember any of this stuff - it's been a long time. My experience with classical music is quite gone - except for the occasional concert here or there (but I don't listen to recordings, even though I've planned to check out the orchestral Zappa stuff).
However, what I totally love is how the Moog-type or the Virus-type sounds just fit into the "ensemble". The piece feels like it's performed live, by a modern orchestra.
It keeps me thinking, but I have no proper words to describe it. I guess, to fully dig it I'd need some liner notes. But maybe that's intentional?
Cheers,
Urs
However, what I totally love is how the Moog-type or the Virus-type sounds just fit into the "ensemble". The piece feels like it's performed live, by a modern orchestra.
It keeps me thinking, but I have no proper words to describe it. I guess, to fully dig it I'd need some liner notes. But maybe that's intentional?
Cheers,
Urs-
- KVRist
- Topic Starter
- 228 posts since 18 Dec, 2007 from Evanston, IL.
Urs,
Thanks for taking the time to listen to my piece and share your thoughts on it.
There's no program or story behind it. It's pretty much a stream of consciousness. I guess you could imagine it as a series of short, unrelated but connected dream sequences. I think Schoenberg's and Webern's music is kind of similar in that respect -- but a lot harder on the ears.
I wanted to compose something quickly -- in a couple of days -- so I didn't bother with large scale structures. My goal was to overcome my lack of being able to complete a composition.
I'm not sure if there's much Stravinsky influence, but I wouldn't be surprised if there was, since he's one of my favorite composers. As I work on a piece, I frequently find myself asking what "would Stravinsky do?"
I'm glad -- and flattered -- that you said that it "feels like it's performed live, by a modern orchestra." That's what I was going for. Since I started this "journey" of composing music using software synths (about 1/2-year ago) I quickly realized that I prefer synthesized over sampled sounds. E.g., I've become really turned off by sampled strings, woodwinds, and brass. They sound fake to me. Ironically, the abstract sounds, especially the ones your Zebra can produce, sound much more real to me than the sampled sounds. So, given that, I like to use the abstract sounds the same way one would use an orchestra.
I'm also glad you liked the Moog-type and virus-type sounds. It's not just me that loves them! When I started exploring the Zebra sounds a couple months ago, I drooled. They have great expressive potential. The mod wheel is my friend! Immediately I was drawn to the pads, but I started branching out to discover the other sounds as well. As I explore the presets I save the ones I really like as a track. Sometimes I capture some keyboard doodling along the way. After I accumulate about 15 or so Zebra instances, I save the project (Cakewalk Sonar Home Studio 6). This piece, "Doodle" was born out of that process.
Again, I really appreciate your encouragement. I'll keep cranking this stuff out. The sounds Zebra can produce are so awesome, I feel that it composes itself -- I'm just a vessel
If you ever hear something of mine that you really like, I would be thrilled and honored if you decided to put it on your site as a Zebra demo! (You probably get tons of offers like that -- I undersand.)
Thanks for taking the time to listen to my piece and share your thoughts on it.
There's no program or story behind it. It's pretty much a stream of consciousness. I guess you could imagine it as a series of short, unrelated but connected dream sequences. I think Schoenberg's and Webern's music is kind of similar in that respect -- but a lot harder on the ears.
I wanted to compose something quickly -- in a couple of days -- so I didn't bother with large scale structures. My goal was to overcome my lack of being able to complete a composition.
I'm not sure if there's much Stravinsky influence, but I wouldn't be surprised if there was, since he's one of my favorite composers. As I work on a piece, I frequently find myself asking what "would Stravinsky do?"
I'm glad -- and flattered -- that you said that it "feels like it's performed live, by a modern orchestra." That's what I was going for. Since I started this "journey" of composing music using software synths (about 1/2-year ago) I quickly realized that I prefer synthesized over sampled sounds. E.g., I've become really turned off by sampled strings, woodwinds, and brass. They sound fake to me. Ironically, the abstract sounds, especially the ones your Zebra can produce, sound much more real to me than the sampled sounds. So, given that, I like to use the abstract sounds the same way one would use an orchestra.
I'm also glad you liked the Moog-type and virus-type sounds. It's not just me that loves them! When I started exploring the Zebra sounds a couple months ago, I drooled. They have great expressive potential. The mod wheel is my friend! Immediately I was drawn to the pads, but I started branching out to discover the other sounds as well. As I explore the presets I save the ones I really like as a track. Sometimes I capture some keyboard doodling along the way. After I accumulate about 15 or so Zebra instances, I save the project (Cakewalk Sonar Home Studio 6). This piece, "Doodle" was born out of that process.
Again, I really appreciate your encouragement. I'll keep cranking this stuff out. The sounds Zebra can produce are so awesome, I feel that it composes itself -- I'm just a vessel
If you ever hear something of mine that you really like, I would be thrilled and honored if you decided to put it on your site as a Zebra demo! (You probably get tons of offers like that -- I undersand.)-
- KVRian
- 1371 posts since 21 Oct, 2004 from New England Transplant to West LA
Nice work. I enjoyed this. It's nice to hear something other then the typical electronic music the masses make.
"Any experiment of interest in life will be carried out at your own expense." http://rhythminmind.net - http://signaltonoize.com
-
- KVRist
- Topic Starter
- 228 posts since 18 Dec, 2007 from Evanston, IL.
Fred, I'm pleased that you liked it.fred-hal wrote:Beautiful! Any chance of getting the mp3 without joining soundclick?
I'm not familiar with the options out there for hosting mp3s. SoundClick was the easiest choice for me. I'd be happy to email the mp3 to you. I could provide a better format than the sickly 128 kbps that SoundClick requires. Any advice on where I can host mp3s?
-
- KVRAF
- 4197 posts since 23 May, 2004 from Bad Vilbel, Germany
Bravo! Although the composition appears overly disjointed, your blend of those sounds is exceptional (IMHO) - and certainly unique. Inspiringmleghorn wrote:I've become really turned off by sampled strings, woodwinds, and brass. They sound fake to me. Ironically, the abstract sounds, especially the ones your Zebra can produce, sound much more real to me than the sampled sounds. So, given that, I like to use the abstract sounds the same way one would use an orchestra.
-
- KVRist
- Topic Starter
- 228 posts since 18 Dec, 2007 from Evanston, IL.
Thanks Howard! Yes, it's quite disjointed. I still have a lot to learn about music composion! Most of the sounds are yours. I'm working on a composition now that uses only Zebra Science patches.Howard wrote:Bravo! Although the composition appears overly disjointed, your blend of those sounds is exceptional (IMHO) - and certainly unique. Inspiringmleghorn wrote:I've become really turned off by sampled strings, woodwinds, and brass. They sound fake to me. Ironically, the abstract sounds, especially the ones your Zebra can produce, sound much more real to me than the sampled sounds. So, given that, I like to use the abstract sounds the same way one would use an orchestra.
-
- KVRian
- 1100 posts since 4 Aug, 2004 from Copenhagen, Denmark
mleghorn
Fist time i heard this music it took me by surprise and i guess i was not mentally prepared. Today i gave it a listen again but was prepared and i must say this, this is so special and beautiful. Wish i could come up with things like that.
I get the feeling that you are replacing real orchestra sounds with synth sounds wich makes it kinda avantgarde like. I have a suggestion thou, experiment more with the reverb settings, try bring things up closer, hmm so close that you feel your sitting in front of a classical chamber trio. With things much closer you can also experiment with the stereo placement.
I also gave your March a listen and its just as unique.
Anyways, thanks for sharing this.
/Michael
Fist time i heard this music it took me by surprise and i guess i was not mentally prepared. Today i gave it a listen again but was prepared and i must say this, this is so special and beautiful. Wish i could come up with things like that.
I get the feeling that you are replacing real orchestra sounds with synth sounds wich makes it kinda avantgarde like. I have a suggestion thou, experiment more with the reverb settings, try bring things up closer, hmm so close that you feel your sitting in front of a classical chamber trio. With things much closer you can also experiment with the stereo placement.
I also gave your March a listen and its just as unique.
Anyways, thanks for sharing this.
/Michael
www.xsynth.com - Sound Synthesis with Vintage flavour
-
- KVRAF
- 4197 posts since 23 May, 2004 from Bad Vilbel, Germany
mleghorn wrote:I'm working on a composition now that uses only Zebra Science patches.
-
- KVRist
- Topic Starter
- 228 posts since 18 Dec, 2007 from Evanston, IL.
Michael, thanks for giving it a listen, and for your comments and suggestions. I'll try making the "room" smaller to give it more of a chamber feel. I glossed over that aspect. I agree, I'm replacing orchestral sounds with synth sounds. Maybe it's because my ears are very classically biased. For me, the space that the instruments are in is almost as important as the instruments themselves.mkastrup wrote:I get the feeling that you are replacing real orchestra sounds with synth sounds wich makes it kinda avantgarde like. I have a suggestion thou, experiment more with the reverb settings, try bring things up closer, hmm so close that you feel your sitting in front of a classical chamber trio. With things much closer you can also experiment with the stereo placement.
/Michael
Btw, I plan on submitting something for your contest. This is too much fun
Alas, I'm not ready to quit my day job
-
- KVRist
- Topic Starter
- 228 posts since 18 Dec, 2007 from Evanston, IL.
Thanks for the tip! I just put it on boxnet: http://www.box.net/shared/qxfcqpog04politcat wrote:that was cool!
you can use box.net to host your mp3. You can post a link to the file to open a player or download. It's free. Here's an example: LIVE
It's 256kbps too -- so it sounds a lot better than the one I put on SoundClick, plus it doesn't cut off the ending when you try to play it.
-
- KVRAF
- 4197 posts since 23 May, 2004 from Bad Vilbel, Germany
mleghorn wrote:Thanks for the tip! I just put it on boxnet: http://www.box.net/shared/qxfcqpog04
