AMBIENT SOUND FOR A SPECIFIC VR
by Rich Studer
I had the pleasure to pass some nights making the soundtracks for the 'PARMA BAPTISTERY AND DUOMO IN VR' project. As a consequence, some people here encouraged me to talk a bit more about the creation process. Good idea, I think this could be a nice way to integrate the explanations of the basic rules and the tools needed with this practical example.
The main course of your software-based audio setup is the hard-disk recording program. With it you can record, edit and mix audio and MIDI tracks. What's the difference between audio and MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) then? Audio tracks are recorded via a Microphone (XLR connectors) for example, or through the wire of a guitar or synth (1/4 inch inputs-outputs, so called "jacks"). If you build entire songs with audio track, you'll need a fast processor and a capable hard drive. When you plan to buy an audio card, an important thing to consider is the bitrate. This tells you the number of portions that divide the amplitude of the signal. You can imagine that a great number of subdivisions make your music more detailed, but: the higher the bitrate the bigger the disk space, so for a 16-bit recording, for example, you use 5 Megabytes for each minute of recording. When you use a 20-bit or 24-bit system, you must duplicate or quadruplicate your space needs, respectively. The audio-CD industry still works on the 16 bits standard.
When you build songs with MIDI or MIDI/audio hybrid, you save space on the hard drive, as MIDI occupies much less space. MIDI is a protocol that bridges your keyboard (or MIDI enabled instrument) with the computer. You can record the notes with all the associated parameters (velocity, program number, pitch bender) and edit them afterwards. The downside is that until you mix down your song, all MIDI devices have to be on and communicating with your computer if you want to hear those parts.
I?m going to introduce the software options with the guidance of our realistic example. VRWay wanted some music to lay under their Parma VRs. We had a meeting where they briefed their necessities and the feeling they wanted to achieve with the help of the soundtrack.
The idea turned definitely to gothic and similia so I needed some medieval Monks chants. The time and the budget didn?t allow me organize and record any Gregorian Music concert so I had to turn to my sound archive where I luckily found some medieval vocal lines. I took them out and recorded them into my hard disk recording system.
The market is quite generous with such systems and presents a variety of options. If you just want to test the world of computer music, you might start with Steinberg Cubasis VST ($100, PC and Mac), which gives you up to 48 audio tracks and 64 MIDI track and includes a virtual synthesizer, bass, sound module and drum machine. It's the little brother of Cubase SL or SX ($800, PC and Mac), which are based on the platform of Nuendo ($1300, PC and Mac), a complete production system that allows one also to mix in Surround while syncing up a video track to your audio tracks.
The same evolutionary process can be made with the palette of Emagic's products (although they focus only on the Mac platform): you can start with Micrologic ($100, Mac) and go up to the flagship, Logic Audio Platinum ($800, Mac).
Other software to look into are Opcode Studio Vision Pro (Mac only), Mark of the Unicorn Digital Performer (Mac only), Cakewalk Home Studio 2002, Sonar and Sonar XL (PC only).
Digidesign Pro Tools is another great option and it is the one I use. You can download a free version of it on Digidesign's site . It is a limited version that offers 8 tracks of audio and 48 of MIDI. One cool thing about this software is that it's very detailed in its audio editing capabilities. You can for example eliminate ticks and clipping sounds by magnifing the waveform and using a pencil tool to draw out the annoying sounds with your mouse. MIDI editing capabilities are weaker than the other softwares, although Digidesign announced version 6.0 having more MIDI possibilities.
For the Parma project I used Pro Tools in two different configurations: One with the 001 interface in my home, the other with a whole HD system where usually I do the final mix and mastering. So once I had my vocal lines into the device, I experimented with some harmonics and micromelodies trying to give a modern feel to the Gregorian chant. In the medieval epoch, instruments were considered as expression of evil and sacred music was purely vocal. That's why I felt a bit irreverent when playing along, but I wasn't the first and I think the results aren't too disrespectful. As synthesizer I used Propellerhead Reason software, which I find amazing (I'll talk more on soft synths next time). Once I was satisfied with the rhythmic and harmonic lines, I saved and went to the real studio where I mixed down the tracks and mastered the final file.
Rich Studer is a partner of a production studio -Digilab, owns a recording label ? Invisible Recordings ? and is a confirmed audiophile and electronic music fan.
Email: rich@invisiblerecordings.com
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