Here is a piece that I developed this week. I started with BiaB and put in a nice chord progression. I then decided on a style and made instrument choices. I ended up with a Pop Ballad piece I call "Midnight Overtures".

I then took the piece into Finale and worked on each part to refine the part writing and movement between instruments. Then I worked on a melody to fit the mood I was looking for. The instruments are Garritan Personal Orchestra 5 solo strings, clarinet, Tubular Bells, and Intimate D Piano. The guitar is called "Strum" and the drums are Additive Drums 2. Though it didn't end up being recorded directly from BiaB, it has its basis and development from this excellent piece of software.

Here is the piece:

MIDNIGHT OVERTURES - https://soundcloud.com/richrayer/midnight-overtures

RichR

I enjoyed listening; there`s an elegant feel to the melody. The clarinet fits perfectly and the tubular bells are a nice touch.
Its very interesting to hear someone using the Garritan orchestra as its new to me.
I did find myself thinking the drums could have come in a little further on as the piece developed.

Robert

Thanks Robert. I think you are correct about the drums and should probably rethink the percussion part as the piece progresses.

Garritan Orchestra has been around since the early part of 2000 (2003 I think). It is an excellent sample program of orchestral and band instruments. The nice thing is that it is fairly inexpensive especially when you compare it to Vienna Strings or EastWest. I have been happy with them and they do come in Finale as Garritan had join forces with MakeMusic a few years ago.

RichR

Hi Rich,

Outstanding job on this! You definitely know your way around in the MIDI world! Garritam Personal Orchestra is a very nice suite of sounds. MIDI has its strengths and weaknesses, and Garritan really does a good job of magnifying its strengths.

However, one of MIDIs weaknesses is in plucked instruments like guitars. In spite of using a good sound library, your guitar still sounds like MIDI. I think if you were able to find a real track guitar to play that part the entire arrangement would benefit.

But, that's just based on personal preference and a bit of looking for ways to critique (not criticize)your fine composition.

I thought the chord structure was very appropriate to the instruments, and I've always been a fan of Garritan's strings and orchestral sounds. (which are very well used in this piece)

Thanks Pat.

You are correct about the guitar. It is the weak member of the ensemble. I will take you up on your suggestion and see if I could get a better sounding RealTrack to fit the piece.

RichR

Pretty music Rich!! Very well put together. I agree with Pat about the guitar. There may even be a better midi sample you can get a hold of. Enjoyed this! Take care. Greg

Great use of combined technology here. I loved the sound and the sounds plural. Also, nice melody!!

Rich, if you follow the other posts in the forum, Rob and Anne-Marie (R&AM) recently posted a song that contains great sounding MIDI guitar, and they named the (free!) VST they used to get the sound! You may also want to check it out and see if it's a tool that fits nicely in your already impressive MIDI tool box!

here's a link to their song thread, mention of the guitar VST is toward the end...
http://www.pgmusic.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=357541&gonew=1#UNREAD

link to the free download:
http://www.amplesound.net/en/download.asp

Greg and David,

Thanks for the comments. They are appreciated.

Pat,

Thanks for the info on the midi guitar. I will check it out.

RichR

I have changed the url of the piece because I have updated the song with live clarinet and a change in guitar sample. I hope anyone who is interested will be able to find this new version.

Here is the link:

https://soundcloud.com/richrayer/midnight-overtures-1?in=richrayer/sets/rayer-compositions

Regards,
RichR

Like David said: "Great use of combined technology here..."

Enjoyed it.

J&B

RichR, this sounds very good. I like your choice of instrumentation and your mix is spot on.

Ps - don't feel like you shouldn't post as I do the same thing as you did on this song. Most all of my songs start in BiaB but most only have one or two original tracks left and a few have none. I replace them with things that I play. So like you I use BiaB as a starting gate for my songs.

Thanks for the helpful comments MarioD. I am not always sure what is the proper thing or way to post a song. I use all the tools I have to do the best with my compositions and it is nice knowing that I am not the only one who expands upon the inspiring stuff that BiaB gives me. And I am sure there are many others who do that as well.

I like your signature line about the masses. It gave me quite a chuckle!

Thank you,

Thank you JNB! I appreciate the listen and comment.

Rich
Pretty composition - particularly liked the addition and playing of the clarinet.

Rich, Beautiful melody line and excellent playing. The mix is on the money. Very much enjoyed. Nice job! Tom

PeterF and Tommyad,

Thank you for listening and commenting. Every mix is a challenge and I'm glad you enjoyed this one as well as the composition itself.