VI SHORT NOTES
This tutorial is optimized for using with the new Vienna Instruments (VI). If you are using VSL's First- and Pro Edition or Horizon products: Go to VSL SHORT NOTES
And finally:
Enlarge the pictures by clicking on them!
How to handle VI SHORT NOTES
Dear VSL-user
The following pictures, texts and sound examples will show you the way.
Yours
Beat Kaufmann
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Introduction
One of the problems of sampling-music is the fight against a static, monotonous and dead sound. There are a lot of little tricks to fight this battle. With VSL we got such a lot of possibilities that „we do not see the wood for the trees“.
For that reason this tutorial will show you a few of these little tricks and ways to get the knacks. It’ll be the summary of two years using VSL and finding out cunning techniques. As you may know I have been playing the Violin for more than twenty years. This circumstance often helps me for searching the "right sample type" to reach the expected sounds.
Additional information for the VI-user
1. You can't see any keyswitches with the score examples. So choose the corresponding sample articulations by yourself.
2. VSL's SHORT NOTES where called "stac / 0,3s / 0,5s" in the Horizon Products and the Pro Edition. With the new VI the SHORT NOTES names have changed to "staccato / detache short / detache medium" .For some instruments exist also a detache long (~ 1s-2s). I didn't change the old indication. Perhaps it helps in some cases to know the time conditions.
3. One short remark at the end of this introduction: Sometimes you need to have an acute hearing to notice the subtle differences between the examples.
Contents
Jump directly to a title by clicking on it.
1. Emphasizing short notes
2. Handling fast legato notes
3. Using of stac- / 0,3s- / 0,5s- files
4. Playing the whole sample
5. Changing velocities
6. Using xx-1 and xx-2 samples ?
Services
Tip: There is a "printout - function" of this tutorial.
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1. Emphasizing short notes
Even if music lives for itself by fast played notes, nevertheless it sounds boring and sterile and like a machine, if you don't add a human touch in longer played parts. That means to vary the tempo, the volume or the playing style.
The first example shows a first possibility: Setting emphasis on short notes.
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Part 1 / Example 1 For fast played phrases: Take a higher velocity level for emphasizing the staccato samples (notes). Generally: Click on the pictures if you want to enlarge them! |
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Part 2 / Example 1 For slower played phrases: sfz - samples do a good job. These samples begin like the staccatos one but continue with the sound on a low level. This little difference attaches more importance to the selected notes. The sfz-samples exists with only one dynamic layer. That's why you have to reduce the velocity in quiet parts and to increase it in louder parts. Please compare this statement with the picture on the right. |
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Part 3 / Example 1 For slow played phrases: Use 0,3s or even 0,5s - samples. Mostly they sound soft in their lower levels . Above of level 88 they have a powerfull sound. The highest velocity level (>108) sounds very striking. That's what we are looking for! |
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Click for Short Notes Example 1 [408 KB]
(Part 1 - Part 3)
or play:
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2. Handling fast legato notes
"In pairs bounded" notes are not difficult for the VI - even if it contains fast legatos - but for its result to pass the test with our ears. Because of that reason, VSL has directly recorded runs, grace-notes and so on. The current VSL-legato performances are created to sound great for playing our phrase example under one bind (slur/bow). Listen to Part 1a Example 2. But whith the "Perf-Leg" performance-result, as written in the score, I'm not satisfied: The sound comes along with a lot of noise, rough and unfeeling. That's why the tool has to choose for the first note in the pair a starting note and only just now it selects the legato notes. That's correct. But in our case, where ever a second note is a legato-start-note it seems to be not a good application of Perf-Leg-samples (Part1b).
So let's try to simulate the legato:
The trick is to simulate this legato(s) by taking our good old sfz samples for fast phrases and 0,3s-files for slower phrases.
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Part 1b / Example 2 In pairs bounded Perf-Leg - Perf-Leg - combinations. Please have a look at the picture beside this text. You will see how it is managed with the sequencer. Red notes are played with perf-leg_f in our case. |
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Part 2 / Example 2 Part 2 shows a possibility with sfz samples. The result sounds "relaxed". sfz-samples exists with VSL in only one dynamic layer. That is the reason because you have to reduce the velocity in quiet parts and to increase it in louder parts. Please compare this with the picture on the right. |
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Part 3 / Example 2 For a slower tempo you can use 0,3s samples instead of the sfz samples. At the same time you will get a more gentle expression which is sometimes necessary. |
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Listen to sound example 2:
Part 1a = legato one slur (no sequencer picture)
Part 1b = legato as written in the score of example 2
Part 2 = legato simulated with sfz-stac / sfz - stac / sfz - stac ...
Part 3 = legato simulated with 0,3s - stac / 0,3s -stac / 0,3s ...
Click for Short Notes Example 2 [518 KB]
(Part 1a/b - Part 3)
or play:
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3. Using of stac- / 0,3s- / 0,5s- files
Combining short-note-samples gives life to fast played music parts too. Example 3 shows this tip in three ways. I personally love the 0,3s and 0,5s samples. Most of them are recorded in 3-4 dynamic layers. Further on: The p and mf samples are played in a soft, sensitive and expressive way whereas the f and ff samples are played powerful and intense. Please listen to the example for that.
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Part 1 / Example 3 Use the 0,5s samples in slower played parts. It gives a nice and very natural touch to combine 0,5s samples with stac ones. At the same time you are able to set accents this way. Take account of the very last 0,5s sample (ff). It supports the music in a fantastic way and it begins like a staccato but continues with a nice and intense vibrato. You will find this fact with nearly VSL instruments. |
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Part 2 / Example 3 For medium tempos you can also use sfz samples here. They will give in p parts a more aggressiv touch. Because of their one-layer dynamic you have to reduce the sfz - velocity level in a big way. But the result isn't bad, is it? |
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Part 3 / Example 3 With medium tempos you also have the possibility to use 0,3s samples. They have mostly a 4layer dynamic and sounds soft and nice in the p-mf - range. Being played f or ff they draw nearer to the stac samples. Please listen to thisfact to the very last 0,3s - sample (played in ff ). |
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Click for Short Notes Example 3 [553 KB]
(Part 1 - Part 3)
or play:
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4. Playing the whole sample
With string instruments we sometimes have the situation, that the melody is played over two, three or even four strings. Specially the strings of instruments like cellos or double basses die away for a long time. So when you play for example alternate notes on different strings (like it happens in our example) then the only just played string sounds on and dies away in reality. We can have this effect too - also with short notes. Try staccato tones of different instruments. Although they sound in short ways, the VSL-stuff has also recorded the "fade-out-part" where it was
necessary (as I already mentioned you will often find it with instruments playing in the lower registers).
Attention: If the followed note is the same you may not overlap them. The VI choose the second version of the articulation (stacc2 for example) but it can't play overlapping tones yet > like HALion, Gigastudio.
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Part 1 / Example 4 The part is played by a cello. The samples are played until the next sample starts playing. The natural "die away" of the low strings is stopped. |
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Part 2 / Example 4 Have a look at the sequencer clip. The lower notes are lengthened so they can sound until the died away. I'm sure you agree that we got a bit closer to the real cello sound. |
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But: This effect would probably work properly in reality only for the notes low-C, low-D, low-G and again low-C (last note). |
This because the cellist can't let the fingers on the played strings for ever - he needs them on other ones to produce new sounds. |
Click for Short Notes Example 4 [295 KB]
(Part 1 - Part 2)
or play:
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5. Changing velocities
This tip is based on a sequence like you have with Handel’s Aria from Messiah: "Why do the nations". The orchestra plays only fast staccatos. So you have a repetition of this sample type hundreds of times. Taking repetition samples (spiccato) you have the advantage of really no gun effect. But you have only two-level-samples. Taking staccato samples (single notes) you have the advantage of 4 sample levels. Listen to the following staccato-examples....
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Part 1 / Example 5 All staccatos are played with the same velocity level. It is clearly audible that we have a repetition of always the same combination: stac, stac, stac, stac..., even if the VI changes automaticly stac1, stac2, stac1 stac2... you get the machine gun! 8 x G, 8 x A, 8 x Part 2 / Example 5 What a difference! As you can see I have only changed the velocity of the individual notes - also to give accents... |
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Part 3 / Example 5 If you do this procedure with every instrument you will have a very lively result which sounds - nevertheless you didn't used the Perf-Rep-Tool - natural and fresh. Important to know: Whether you need the Perf-Rep-samples or not, changing velocity is a must in such cases. With Cubase you have the possibility to randomize the velocity... But in this case it is not useful. Picture beside: Random generator to "randomize" Velocity, Delay and so on (See picture on the right). |
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Click for Short Notes Example 5 [621 KB]
(Part 1 - Part 3)
or play:
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6. Using xx-1 and xx-2 samples ?
You can't choose for example the up and down stroke of strings with the new VI. It does it by itself. So if you have select the staccato articulation and the instrument should pla the same note more then one time in a row it changes between stacc1 and stacc2. In othe words: Forget stacc1 and stacc2.
I suggest to use more the performance samples. For example: They will select - if you want - "spic/stac/det" by your playing speed. Try also Performance Repetitions...
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And finally...
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A user application: perf-repetition (detache medium) What do we do this work for? I would say to play music instead of technique, don't we? It is great to have an own orchestra, isn't it? |
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Click for Short Notes Final [575 KB]
or play:
Aria, Johannes Passion
or... J.S. Bach:
Cantata BWV 29, Sinfonia
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Epilogue
Dear VSL-user
As always this tutorial is not the Short-Notes-Bible. It shows some possibilities how to use short notes in different ways. And why? For the very reason to fight against a static and technical sound. Fortunately fast played music lives by speed, unrest, noise and drive. But in all the previous examples you can notice more or less: Between music and static
played short sample parts are worlds apart.
I hope that this tutorial about the handling of short notes will encourage you to add further valuable information in the VSL Forum.
Link to the VSL-Forum
This tutorial tried to give some ideas how to come closer to music with samples of short notes. To sum up and give some recipes one can say:
1. Often change the velocity (with lots of equal notes > best between every note)
2. Use and combine different types of short notes (stac / 0,3s / 0,5s / perf_pep ...)
3. Set some musical accents in a couple of short notes (also with sfz samples)
4. Where it makes sense let the samples die away (Example 4)
5. Generally in music: Vary the tempo
I wish you successful results while working with short-notes-samples.
Yours
Beat Kaufmann
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© Copyright by Beat Kaufmann, 2004 - 2007
