Midi functions

music keyboard functions

to do my composition i have used different midi functions to create my song including the mod wheel function to manipulate effects on the Thor synthesizer to make a quite muffled filtered sound change to a very crisp sound. i also used the midi velocity to create drum fade ins to give the song a very slow build up transition to the different parts.

one of the main function i have used in creating my composition is the octave shift button that is used to make the midi keyboard respond to a different octave since the one i used was only a 25 key keyboard.

Another midi control is the pitch bend and although I didn't actually use this in my composition I have used it at some point in reason. The pitch bend increases and decreases the pitch of the instrument in reason.
I have chosen to compare to different types of midi controllers, the first being a small 25 key midi USB keyboard and the second being a 61 key keyboard with a built in gm sound bank. the key differences being that the 61 key keyboard is generally used for practicing at home and would never be used for recording a professional song because the sounds used on it would not very good sounding and wouldn't be very customizable like sounds on high end synthesizers or keyboards but it is very good at practicing wit because i is very simple as you click one button to change presets and it has built in speakers. another key feature of the 61  key keyboard is the one finger chord function that when you press one key it will play a chord from that key making it much easier to play keyboard and focus more on the melody.   the other midi controller i am comparing this to is a compact 25 key midi keyboard with several controllers that can be assigned  to do whatever you wish and several buttons, this is better for using within a recording studio for entering midi because you can more quickly record using the  built transport controls meaning you will have to use the mouse less. this midi controller is similar to the other because it as isn't recommended for playing live because of its small size and small amount of keys you will have to keep changing the octave.

Composition using Reason

Composition using Reason

I have been composing a piece of music using cubase and reason. i am doing thi sby combining the keyboard skills i have developed over the past few weeks,along with my improving knowledge of midi and inputting midi data.

i have recorded using two seperate instruments using reason (malstrome and kong) i did this using my keyboard skills. i then saved it as audio inputed it into cubase and used some effects including compressor, mono to stereo and a studio equaliser.

This is an example of my work:

later on im going to save it as audio put it back into reason and add more instruments such as a synthesiser and a piano.

After i finished doing work to my composition in cubase i then changed my mind and re-entered it back into reason. these are screenshots of my composition.

i added lots of of different synths and instruments including maelstrom, dr Octo rex, NN-XT, kong, and Thor. i then layered these multiple times and used different effects to create m composition. 

the main part of my song was this part.

I did not need to quantize this part because it is quite simple and was not hard so i didn't make a mistake.

my target for this session was to complete the second part of my composition, i accomplished this and included a second drum part which fades in and is accompanied by a synth and 2 NN-XT samplers.

I finished my composition that i did using reason and a midi keyboard it included 2 drum tracks several synthesisers and a few samplers. i also used the keyboard skills i learnt (including the keyboard exercises that i learnt to play in order to become better at playing keyboard and therefore i found it quite easy to play in the parts) to play in all of these parts and a melody. my song features a intro using automation, a chorus with a solo and a bridge that using differant parts and uses automation to fade in and out the drum tracks.

my song also features chords that i played in with a keyboard using a NN-XT sampler and a violin preset.

Unit 37 the functional music keyboard - 3

posture posture

 posture is very important because it allows you to more easily play songs and change from one chord to another, it also means that you will put less strain on your hands so after playing. the correct hand posture for playing piano is to keep you wrist higher than your fingers while playing and keep you fingers pointing down, like you are holding a ball in your hand.

Unit 37 - The functional music keyboard - 2

Learn a song that uses 2 hands on piano

as part of my unit i had to learn to play a song on piano that uses two hand, the song i chose was twinkle twinkle little star which is a very simple song to play but still uses two hand. the right hand plays a melody while the left hand plays single nots along to the melody. the following link goes to a video which shows you how to play twinkle twinkle little star

            http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mSBD9LReH8
my target is to learn to be able to play twinkle twinkle little star fluently using two hands.

Unit 37 - The functional music keyboard - 1

What can you do with MIDI and a MIDI keyboard?

Playing with a band-

Midi can be used to do lots of things such as playing with a Band; this is because midi can be used to replicate any instrument so it is possible to use a midi controller to play a drum kit along with a band. After you have finished playing

Midi correction-

Midi also allows you to correct you performance, put the notes in time and at the correct pitch using quantization

Composition-

Midi makes it easier to compose music because midi is different to audio as it can be altered and changed after you have finished playing so if you change you mid you can either re-record over the track or just click on the correct not with your computer mouse.

Tracks-

Midi allows you to use as many tracks as you want using the single midi device and they can all have completely unique sound such as different synthesizers and drum kits

Midi controllers-

Usually when using midi a midi keyboard will be used which is just like a normal keyboard that has controls at the top such as pitch bend octave transpose and a modulation wheel. Except midi controllers do not generate sound on their own and have to be used with either synth module that have a midi input or a computer that has VST instruments on that can be controlled with the midi keyboard. 

Five finger piano exercises-

Piano exercises are very important because if you do not exercises often you will lose strength in your fingers and your playing ability will not improve.

Some of the best exercises are five finger piano exercises which involve all of your fingers. 

This is a finger exercise I made which can be quite hard if you are a beginner so a preferable exercise may be to simple play 543212345 with both your hands repeatedly, or you could play chords with your left hand and then play a melody with your right hand. 

R: 53214235

L: 13245241

If you do this exercise regularly then your playing ability will greatly improve.

another way to excerise while playing piano is to learn legato the following video tells you about it. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3XDpc2WBeI

Another way to improve your piano playing ability is to learnt chord progressions such as the 12 bar blues chord progression.
doing this exercise will help your finger positioning and help you be able to play much quicker and smoother.

the next exercise is a to handed Hanon ascending piano exercise that will help you play better with both hand and will strengthen your fingers and even make you better at playing different parts with each hand. it is recommended that after this Hanon exercise is completed you move on to the second exercise.

these exercises are intended to strengthen the 4th and 5th fingers of each hand because they are naturally weaker than the 1st, 2nd and 3rd.