It is a lot of work, there is a learning curve, but it is a lot of fun too. It will teach you a lot about arranging. It can also open your ears when listening to music. Just what is the _______ doing in that song? How does it contrast/complement what the other instruments are doing? How do they add up to get the total expression of the song? Is the song square and robotic, or does it 'breathe'? The more you make styles, the more you listen, and the more you understand.

Start with something simple, that you are familiar with.

Personally, I bought computer music software to play with, so playing with it is time consuming, and I guess you would call it work, but really, if you enjoy doing it, and if you enjoy watching your progress, and if you enjoy making something musical that sounds good, it's interesting.

I start by playing the parts into a MIDI sequencer, so I get real live feel to them, and then import snippets into the StyleMaker app and assigning the appropriate masks one at a time.

The better you get at this, the better the style will be. A knowledge of basic music theory and music arranging is a big help. There are plenty of books and web pages that can help with those subjects.

Good luck.

And if you come up with a disk full of styles that are good enough to sell, let me know. I sell BiaB products from myself, Roy Hawkesford, David Bailey, Jim Wedd and Sherry Mayrent.

Notes

Last edited by Notes Norton; 03/05/12 02:06 PM.
Bob "Notes" Norton smile Norton Music
https://www.nortonmusic.com

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