GoF Singing Project reloaded?

action9000 · **Reply #20 on:** November 16, 2015, 04:24:09 PM

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That's 10 people! Wow! blink.gif

Hahaha! Have fun mixing 10 voices.

I noticed back in the day, the number of singers gradually went up as we went on. Therefore I had a chance to "practice" with fewer singers until Bestest Friends came along with its 10 or so singers. I actually found 10 to be pretty tricky, again partly because of the variety of different microphones/usages of them. Blending it nicely was all-but-impossible so I just kind of went with it as best I could.

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First of all, thanks for the detailed advice! I'm not sure if I can do this but I will try. Problem is I have absolutely no experience with such programs so it would probably take me a long while just to get used to working with them let alone figure out how to use them properly dino_laugh.gif
One thing I CAN do is writing MIDIs. I'd need a few tips and tricks here and there but I could do that I think. All the technical work with all our recordings will be tricky. I've read the thread of the very first project just previously and it was confusing at times dino_tongue.gif

Is there's anything I can clarify, feel free to let me know. I know it was a LOT to take in. We can dig more in to what some of that means when it's more applicable if you'd like. Have you ever used MIDI technology before?

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PS: I'll probably shoot a message at you again when I've downloaded a few programs and decided to go for one, Tim. I'm definitely gonna try writing the background music, using the song as a reference and trying to write it as accurate to the original as I can. So... basically what you did years ago smile.gif

Awesome, good luck!

Do you know what song you're doing yet?

Ducky123 · **Reply #21 on:** November 16, 2015, 06:57:30 PM

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Is there's anything I can clarify, feel free to let me know. I know it was a LOT to take in. We can dig more in to what some of that means when it's more applicable if you'd like. Have you ever used MIDI technology before?

Malte sent me Note Worthy Composer 2 like... ages ago and I've been playing around with it every now and then so I know some basics. Though I suppose there are better MIDI writing programs out there like those you mentioned. I'll try those at the weekend when I have some more time

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Hahaha! Have fun mixing 10 voices. wink.gif

Oh yeah...

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Awesome, good luck! biggrin.gif Do you know what song you're doing yet?

Not yet. I'm pretty sure I'll just have everyone suggest and vote for a song and I'll go with the majority

action9000 · **Reply #22 on:** November 17, 2015, 12:04:49 AM

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Malte sent me Note Worthy Composer 2 like... ages ago and I've been playing around with it every now and then so I know some basics. Though I suppose there are better MIDI writing programs out there like those you mentioned. I'll try those at the weekend when I have some more time smile.gif

Noteworthy Composer 2 is a great little program. : I've been using it since version 1.2 or something, back on my first computer ever.

It's not the most modern take on the sheet music MIDI editor since it's been around and updated for nearly two decades but it's one that I'm very comfortable with. It's actually aged very nicely and is probably as good as anything else out there. Feel free to stick with it as a MIDI writing tool if you want! It's a fine piece of software.

...That being said, there are limitations with ANY sheet music-based MIDI editor, namely when it comes to controlling MIDI events over time (CCs, such as modulation, expression, panning, etc. as well as note properties such as exact start times and velocities). They *can* do it but it's always a little clunky. Therefore there are situations where they just aren't the right tool for the job...but it goes both ways too. Many times there are situations where they ARE the best tools for the job.

DarkWolf91 · **Reply #23 on:** November 17, 2015, 12:34:55 AM

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I put this version of Beyond the Mysterious Beyond together this evening, featuring vocals from Darkwolf91 and Adam (Petrie).

All vocals were recorded back in 2009. I wrote the background music in 2009 as well. The mixing and mastering of this final release of the song was done....today.

I posted it up on my Google Drive here:
The Gang of Five - Beyond the Mysterious Beyond (2009-2015)

Action9000, thank you for posting that! I really enjoyed hearing it. Quite a relic

action9000 · **Reply #24 on:** November 17, 2015, 12:37:05 AM

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Quite a relic Dino_grins.gif

Isn't it?

No worries!

action9000 · **Reply #25 on:** November 17, 2015, 05:04:44 AM

Hey Ducky123 - There is one thing that I'm more than happy to do for you if you're interested:

You've played with Noteworthy Composer enough to know that the sound quality you get out of it is...less than stellar, I'm sure.

That isn't Noteworthy's fault. Noteworthy just creates MIDI data (data that tells some OTHER device what note to play and when on which instrument with what effects and properties). The thing playing it back, unless you have a specialized setup, is the Windows General Midi synth.

The Windows GM Synth is a collection of samples - individually recorded notes of live sound. Basically, Windows has a collection of sounds on standby and MIDI Files by default talk to the GM Synth and tell it what sounds to play and when, etc.

Naturally, because it's all most people need and Microsoft doesn't want to waste a ton of hard drive space, RAM and processing power on MIDI playback, the sound is pretty horrible - good as a reference but not much else. The total data for those samples is somewhere around 4MB. You can't do much with that.

Anyway, I'm getting off-track!

You may have noticed if you listened to our old singing projects that the background music sounds significantly better than that. That's because I'm using dedicated software that contains MUCH more realistic samples, covering a vast array of instruments and performance styles. This software doesn't come cheap BUT...and here's where I come in:

I'm happy to take your finished MIDI file and run it through my samplers to generate an MP3 for you if you'd like! I won't edit the MIDI any more than is necessary to get it to play nice with my software (which will mainly just involve setting velocity values, CC controllers and note timings and assigning notes to articulations in such a way that playback through my samplers sounds natural).

I've actually done a lot of software upgrades since the last singing project we've done here, which means the results will actually be significantly better than back when we did them before, due to the better technology (funny what 6 years will do).

Just for reference, in a very short time (so musical expression isn't quite perfect, blah blah blah blah) I threw together this recreation by ear of part of the opening to the Great Migration track from the first LBT using these samplers. That's the kind of quality we can generate from your MIDI file.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B96eLzW5-...ZHpGU1I3UHJ3TUk

That's the difference between 4MB of sample data and about 1.2 TB of it.

Whatever instruments or performance styles your song needs, I'm 99.9% confident I have it somewhere in this collection so no matter the song we can make it work.

Let me know if that sounds interesting! When you're done with the MIDI, just pass it over to me and I'll export an MP3 for ya.

Ducky123 · **Reply #26 on:** November 17, 2015, 05:47:29 PM

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You've played with Noteworthy Composer enough to know that the sound quality you get out of it is...less than stellar, I'm sure. laugh.gif

Oh yeah... my first keyboard I learned playing the piano on had better sounds than that

That one wasn't exactly too good either ^^

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That isn't Noteworthy's fault. Noteworthy just creates MIDI data (data that tells some OTHER device what note to play and when on which instrument with what effects and properties). The thing playing it back, unless you have a specialized setup, is the Windows General Midi synth.

The Windows GM Synth is a collection of samples - individually recorded notes of live sound. Basically, Windows has a collection of sounds on standby and MIDI Files by default talk to the GM Synth and tell it what sounds to play and when, etc.

Naturally, because it's all most people need and Microsoft doesn't want to waste a ton of hard drive space, RAM and processing power on MIDI playback, the sound is pretty horrible - good as a reference but not much else. The total data for those samples is somewhere around 4MB. You can't do much with that. dino_tongue.gif

Ah, I can follow so far

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Anyway, I'm getting off-track!

You may have noticed if you listened to our old singing projects that the background music sounds significantly better than that. That's because I'm using dedicated software that contains MUCH more realistic samples, covering a vast array of instruments and performance styles. This software doesn't come cheap BUT...and here's where I come in:

True, it sounds MUCH better...

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I'm happy to take your finished MIDI file and run it through my samplers to generate an MP3 for you if you'd like! I won't edit the MIDI any more than is necessary to get it to play nice with my software (which will mainly just involve setting velocity values, CC controllers and note timings and assigning notes to articulations in such a way that playback through my samplers sounds natural).

I've actually done a lot of software upgrades since the last singing project we've done here, which means the results will actually be significantly better than back when we did them before, due to the better technology (funny what 6 years will do). smile.gif

Well, that certainly sounds like an idea! If you have the required means to improve the MIDI without a lot of work and money being spent (both of which woundn't be the case I assume as you already have these sounds and it doesn't exactly sound like something taking ages to finish

) then I'm absolutely in favor of it!

Of course you may also "review" my MIDI if you see anything I could improve in it.

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Just for reference, in a very short time (so musical expression isn't quite perfect, blah blah blah blah) I threw together this recreation by ear of part of the opening to the Great Migration track from the first LBT using these samplers. That's the kind of quality we can generate from your MIDI file. smile.gif

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B96eLzW5-...ZHpGU1I3UHJ3TUk

That's the difference between 4MB of sample data and about 1.2 TB of it. dino_tongue.gif
Whatever instruments or performance styles your song needs, I'm 99.9% confident I have it somewhere in this collection so no matter the song we can make it work.

Whoa, that's darn close to the original!

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Let me know if that sounds interesting! When you're done with the MIDI, just pass it over to me and I'll export an MP3 for ya. smile.gif

I shall!

Great idea!

action9000 · **Reply #27 on:** November 17, 2015, 06:11:28 PM

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Well, that certainly sounds like an idea! If you have the required means to improve the MIDI without a lot of work and money being spent (both of which woundn't be the case I assume as you already have these sounds and it doesn't exactly sound like something taking ages to finish in-yes.gif) then I'm absolutely in favor of it!

It will take probably an hour or two - not a big deal.

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Of course you may also "review" my MIDI if you see anything I could improve in it.

Certainly! If you're open to comments I'm happy to go over it.

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Whoa, that's darn close to the original! dino_wow.gif

Muahahaha

Kittybubbles · **Reply #28 on:** November 17, 2015, 09:35:30 PM

This looks pretty cool. I don't sing, but I listened to that one link posted on the form. (I wasn't on the site when the first one was posted) It was awesome. I loved the two singers' voices in Beyond the Mysterious Beyond. I would like to listen to more. Sadly, I don't have the knowledge to help in the creation of the soon to be awesome sounding piece of collaboration music.

Ducky123 · **Reply #29 on:** November 21, 2015, 08:14:50 AM

Alright guys, I think we can get started.

The first thing we need to do is pick a song to sing so I can start preparing the background music.

I have some ideas how to pick a song:

1. You guys just name a few songs (maybe 3?) you'd want to do and we'll just sing whatever song most people vote for. Additionally, we could list these songs in an order of sorts.
For example: 1. Bestest Friends, 2 It Takes All Sorts, 3 The Lone Dinosaur etc.
The first mention would count more than the second and so on.

2. Same system, just there'll be a sort of second vote on the 3 most voted songs.

3. I'll pick a few songs which are, in my opinion, both popular and not too hard to do, and you'll vote for one, or we do multiple choice like in 1.)

4. We'll vote on one song from each sequel first. Then we have a poll between our favourites from each sequel.

So, let me know what you guys prefer and if it should be single choice or multiple choice. I know.. I like voting on things

We'll do the voting in this thread since if I'm opening a poll, also non participants of this project might vote and change the result...

Nahla · **Reply #30 on:** November 23, 2015, 02:30:51 AM

I'll be in, even though chances are everyone will laugh at my 'singing'.

I'll need to practice whatever verse I'm meant to sing to try and get into tune or it will just sound silly. So whenever it starts just send me my singing lines so I can practice them to the music.

My schedule is a bit crazy right now as it's end of year exams at Uni, but I'm not too busy that I won't be able to record a singing clip.

Ducky123 · **Reply #31 on:** November 24, 2015, 10:48:20 AM

Hello guys, since nobody replied to my question concerning voting for the songs, I will decide how to vote for our songs. I'm going to PM all participants. You will receive a PM soon with the plead to list 5 songs in an order that you would like to sing. I will present the results once I have received all PMs (or most of them if a few people just don't reply...). I have changed my mind about voting for songs. Because I don't want to vote for a song everytime we do another one, I'll just give you the opportunity to name 5 and we'll sing the few most voted for songs in the order they are voted (thus it's important that you vote the songs in an order).
Before voting, please consider two things: 1. The songs should be ones YOU'd enjoy singing. 2. We should make sure to sing some songs which the first project hasn't covered yet (which are the best and easiest songs to do, admittedly

).

That being said, I hope we complete the voting within the next two weeks so I can start working on the music after studying for my exam in early December

bestariana1girl · **Reply #32 on:** November 25, 2015, 05:54:35 PM

Quote from: Ducky123,Nov 24 2015 on 08:48 AM

Hello guys, since nobody replied to my question concerning voting for the songs, I will decide how to vote for our songs. I'm going to PM all participants. You will receive a PM soon with the plead to list 5 songs in an order that you would like to sing. I will present the results once I have received all PMs (or most of them if a few people just don't reply...). I have changed my mind about voting for songs. Because I don't want to vote for a song everytime we do another one, I'll just give you the opportunity to name 5 and we'll sing the few most voted for songs in the order they are voted (thus it's important that you vote the songs in an order).
Before voting, please consider two things: 1. The songs should be ones YOU'd enjoy singing. 2. We should make sure to sing some songs which the first project hasn't covered yet (which are the best and easiest songs to do, admittedly ).

That being said, I hope we complete the voting within the next two weeks so I can start working on the music after studying for my exam in early December

Sounds good!

landbeforetimelover · **Reply #33 on:** November 25, 2015, 07:03:00 PM

I'm not around as much as I used to be but I'd love to participate if Action is up for doing another song. It would be fun to do another community project on the brink of the next sequel.

action9000 · **Reply #34 on:** November 25, 2015, 10:42:02 PM

Quote from: landbeforetimelover,Nov 25 2015 on 04:03 PM

I'm not around as much as I used to be but I'd love to participate if Action is up for doing another song. It would be fun to do another community project on the brink of the next sequel.

I won't be making the music this time. I'm just available for questions.

Ducky123 · **Reply #35 on:** November 26, 2015, 01:15:25 PM

Hey LBTlover, even though it's not action but me this time hosting the project, you're welcome to participate

Ducky123 · **Reply #36 on:** December 24, 2015, 09:48:09 AM

Hey guys!

Finally received all votes (I knew it'd take people some time but this was longer than expected

) so without further ado I shall announce the first song we'll do: Let's go on an adventure, shall we? Adventuring it is!!!

It was a very close call though. Here are some runner-ups. We'll sing those next

- It Takes All Sorts (I'm so happy that one didn't win!

)
- Bestest Friends
- Big Water / Peaceful Valley (same amount of votes)
- If We Hold On Together / Flip Flap & Fly (that one got most mentions btw

)

Now on a slightly different note...

The current christmas break won't be long enough to finish writing the sheet music... I will have some very intense few weeks at university with 3 major exams to prepare for and lots of lab work to do so I sincerely doubt I can work on the project during that time. Therefore, my suggestion would be to postpone the actual work until mid-February (then I'll be free for 2 months!) but fully focus on the project once I'm free so we get the first song done in these two months I'll have tons of time to spare for it. That means I hope I won't have to wait for recordings as long as I had to wait for these votes

I hope everyone is okay with that :unsure:

bestariana1girl · **Reply #37 on:** December 24, 2015, 08:29:17 PM

Completely understandable!

Petrie · **Reply #38 on:** December 27, 2015, 10:26:57 PM

Interesting choice....Adventuring is one of those speak-singing songs. Shouldn't be too hard to pull off.

And while I think this is a fun thing, I'm not interesting in rebooting my untrained voice.

NewOrder · **Reply #39 on:** December 28, 2015, 12:48:21 PM

What's the problem with It Takes All Sorts?

I don't know how to read music, and singing isn't my best trait, so coun't me out. It would be fun to do something along the lines of those Christmas carols, where you get everybody in a studio to record it, too bad our community is too spread for such a thing.