chinese style - PG Music Forums

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a friend asked me to make some background music for his chinese restaurant.

I have a bunch of chinese instruments VSTi plugins

erhu, guanzi, guqin, hulu, pipa, sheng, suona, yangqin, matouqin, ...

is there a way to have BIAB generate soft chinese music ?

is there a "style" for that, or how should I do this ?

I noticed that generating a "normal" western song and replacing the instruments isn't a solution, because they sound off-key

the note scale is different in Chinese style, I think ...

please somebody help me ...

Thanks

Dirk

))) is there a "style" for that, or how should I do this ?

Possibly. Please give us a YouTube link to an example song.

I have created some Chinese music using sample libraries such as EW Silk. Its all been done however using the Pentatonic scale ( e.g. the black notes on a piano ) in various combinations together with drums, cymbals etc programmed directly into Sonar. I would imagine chords would need to be made up from that scale but chords as such are not generally used so probably BIAB is not suitable software you can use at present.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVC_W3ICF68

http://youtu.be/7apji-hg5j4

this is the kind of stuff that I need ...

I need to make it myself, as we don't want to pay fees to copyright societies ...

that's why I'm looking into this ...

anybody can help ?

Not sure about the chinese scale, but I know there are such a thing as a specific keyboard for middle east music, i guess they also use a different scale. I'll be interested (rather curious) about an style that can come close.

Good luck

Mike B.

Dirk,

Prior to the introduction of Real Tracks, i.e., in MIDI-only days, the sorcery of BIAB lay in the Stylemaker. It is still there and fully functional. It allows you to create unique BIAB Styles of your own. You can also create what are called Hybrid Styles which combine elements of existing Styles. Check out the video "Secrets of the Stylemaker" (available on the PG Music website and, I believe, with copies of BIAB) as well as reading up on all of the documentation available to you. If you are musically knowledgeable and determined it can be done. There is at least one resident expert here who may be willing to help you.

Richard

Quote:

Not sure about the chinese scale, but I know there are such a thing as a specific keyboard for middle east music, i guess they also use a different scale. I'll be interested (rather curious) about an style that can come close.

Good luck

Mike B.

The example youtube song posted above does not use any quarter tones or the likes, it is based on the Western Tempered Scale, in this case the Pentatonic Minor, with a few excursions through the Natural Minor Scale. In key of A minor. Then it modulates up a step to the B penta and minor, into the B Major to F# and into F# pentatonic with a few natural minor scale runs and out.

--Mac

Quote:

http://youtu.be/7apji-hg5j4

this is the kind of stuff that I need ...

I need to make it myself, as we don't want to pay fees to copyright societies ...

that's why I'm looking into this ...

anybody can help ?

In the interim Dirk I would experiment with the following BIAB style :

THESWAMP Oriental New Age, w Swamp loop

It has some pleasant sound effects built in. There maybe others. But somehow I think you are looking for a complete generation of midi parts that you can assign to your sample library instruments ?

Just an interesting bit of info trivia about the Pentatonic scale. Although it is the most common scale of 5 notes used throughout the world and “sounds” Chinese played “randomly” it is also the basis of the notes used exclusively in the following well-known Western tunes and riff: (and therefore possibly to be avoided)

Robbie Burns’s - Auld Lang Syne
Rod Stewarts - Sailing
Willis’ – Sweet Low Sweet Chariot
McCartneys’ – Mull of Kintyre
Led Zepplins’ Riff – Whole Lotta Love

Thanks to Howard Goodall’s program series “ How Music Works” for pointing this out. Worth watching all the series parts for PGMusic users:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnbOWi6f_IM

I'm still not any further with this ...

who can help me ?

pleaaaaaaase

... or maybe is somebody willing to make some chinese "muzak" for me (using BiaB or other) ?

I'm prepared to pay for it ... not going through the roof, but still ...

but it definately needs to be "rightsfree" ...

After reading Mac's reply, I thought I'd give it a try around guitar solos.

This is just for fun. Just an example.

How I did this one.

Let the melodist create a song, I picked "No Form" as this is just an example. The "style" doesn't matter as you'll replace tracks with realstyles - well the midi from realstyles.

Add a realtrack guitar Solo, like a Brent Mason Ballad guitar solo.
1168:Guitar, Electric, Soloist RockBalladBrent Ev 065 (Bluesy)

These kind of tracks have midi. Then Edit -> Copy Track to another track.

I did this twice. Then I added VSTi instruments to those tracks that sounded ethnic to me. One said "Koto", the other some flute thing.

I slowed the tempo down to 30. This is as slow as I could get. Therefore why it ended up being so long.

It sounds interesting.

https://soundcloud.com/raintalk-1/instinctive-daydream-render Instinctive Daydream

To fill in I added strings and bambo sticks.

The strings are the High-Q Sampletank ones that come with BIAB.

You can create a wave file with the same name as the Song and BIAB will play it. I added some ambient windy chime thing. And put this on the same track as the piano.

There is some distortion so in real life check the levels.
Have fun - this is all fun!

Raintalk,

I used your trick copying realtracks to soloist, a bit working on melody not below. Using mandolin solo at half time. Not what i want yet.
The solo/melody is vital, so not changing the other midi voicing yet.

Dirk
By pure coincidence I'm tinkering with New age oriental music.
This link has some number of pseudo sounding chord progressions.
Used few of them for the VERY MUCH W.I.P on this song.

Groups of chord progressions.
http://www.ibreathemusic.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-9084.html

Used the Lotus1.sty

JoyBeach.SGU link....again W.I.P. working on adding melody. Still
need to change part chords... but gives you an idea.

http://www.mp3cloud.mobi/JoyBeach.SGU

Look at the NEW AGE styles in BB... they would probably come the closest of any.

You could use them as backing by muting the undesired tracks/instruments and by using synths to play oriental and world instruments you could easily cobble together some music that would work well in that situation.

anybody out there want to help me with this ?

Dirk,

I have found this to be the most friendly and helpful forum around. Your request has been seen. If no one has answered by now it's probably because, for whatever reason, no one is able to help you. BIAB is certainly capable of doing what you want, but it would take specific knowledge of the style or styles you want to create, plus experience with BIAB's Stylemaker, and knowing where to find samples or virtual instruments representing the sounds you want to use.

It has been said that success happens where opportunity and preparedness meet. I realize that there is probably a significant opportunity that is being missed here. I have eaten in a local Vietnamese restaurant where music was being played that certainly could have been created in BIAB; I have no idea whether it was or not. My guess is that no one here is familiar enough with the Chinese styles and instruments you have in mind.

Personally, I think you have a great idea. Your choice would appear to be either to learn how to do this yourself, which sounds like quite an undertaking, or to keep looking for someone who could do it for you. My fear in the latter case is that if someone else got the idea, they would do it for themself and leave you out of the loop.

However you decide to proceed, I wish you the best of luck.

Richard

Well,

I don't need the most complicated oriental schemes and stuff, just some background muzak with an oriental touch, to accord with the atmosphere in my friend's restaurant ...

so should I learn how to do it ?
how should I proceed my learning journey ?

or can/will somebody help ?

looking forward to hearing from all you expert guys ...

.
The intro to this song has a kind of "Chinesey" sound to it. I could have made it more specifically Chinese if I had wanted to.

I got the sound using a major pentatonic scale and regular GM instruments. From Coyote, if I recall...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVxy5uuP9U0&feature=c4-overview&list=UU1HIjytygskt35Kk2JGe9tw

It switches to a Western major mode after the first 28 bars.