This is definitely a good music day, which is exactly what I needed from a day off!

After completing and posting “The Call of the Challenge” and spending some time with the Computer Music issue which arrived earlier this week, I began experimenting with the Plastic Pop library from Applied Acoustics Systems and developed “Strange Friend.”  This is admittedly a rather simple piece, but the two presets, Epée and especially Marianen, give this piece a true character of its own.

For me, various visions come to mind with “Strange Friend,” most of them revolving around a young child’s imaginary friend; My Neighbor Totoro particularly fills my mind, especially revolving around the soot sprites in the attic.  Images of aliens also come to mind.

Thanks to the unique characteristics of both instruments used, the only audio processing needed were a cathedral reverb for the Epée, two instances of Blue Cat’s Widening Gain to better place each instrument in the stereo field, and volume automation at the end to ensure a good fade-out.

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Originally, I wanted to create something which might be fitting of the Olympics, perhaps in part because I had spent much of my driving time this week listening to John Williams’ Olympics pieces (which have been prominently featured on NBC’s Olympics coverage in the States since the 1980s), so this was initially titled “The Call of the Rings.”  As I worked more and more on this piece, however, it felt as if it had a more general appeal, so the title was ultimately changed to “The Call of the Challenge” (although my working files in PrintMusic and in Reaper both retain the original title).

This is a relatively simple piece featuring three trumpets from Garritan Personal Orchestra 4.  I have only ever used a single like instrument at a time in my previous compositions – in other words, only 1 trumpet, only 1 harp, etc. – because of the odd workflow I have developed over time to help combat the 24-staff limitation of PrintMusic.  This time, however, knowing from the start that the staff limitation would not be an issue, I initially wrote everything as chords (where appropriate) on one staff, then split those chords across three staffs.

Once I assigned a different trumpet player to each staff, that was when I truly realized just how different each player of an instrument in GPO4 can truly be.  Yes, they all play the assigned notes, and yes, they all sound similar, yet they also all sound rather distinct from each other.  Since I have not performed with other people in nearly twenty years (my performances since then have all been solo piano performances), I had not consciously considered the differences between players of the same instrument, even at the professional level required for the recording of the samples used in GPO4 and similar virtual instruments.

“The Call of the Challenge” is also unique in that it uses absolutely no audio processing in Reaper.  The reverb was applied in GPO4 itself while composing in PrintMusic, and was also captured when creating the initial audio files which would later be imported to Reaper.  Where Reaper became truly useful was for automating volume/dynamics changes, as I find that I can have much greater and more predictable control over instrument volume/dynamics in Reaper.

While it is still early in the year, I have a strong feeling that “The Call of the Challenge” will be one of my favorite compositions of 2012!

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“Languidity” is really nothing special, just a bit of improvisation beginning with solely the harp and adding an oboe and a flute as the composition progressed. It is a soothing piece, somewhat languid, and probably useful for mediation – or just relaxing in general. The composition stage was completed in less than an hour, with another hour or so spent troubleshooting some MIDI issues. The mixing stage took less than an hour.

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This is available for free download on SoundCloud!

This is an oddity which is the result of mucking around with various sounds tonight.

“Magic Awry” would probably do quite well as a unique ringtone.  It could perhaps also serve as the Red Alert alarm on an alien spacecraft.  Or, as originally envisioned, it could signal that a magical endeavor has gone wrong.

The sound source is the Junoesque preset from the Journeys sound library from Applied Acoustics Systems.  About a half-dozen effects were then applied in Reaper to achieve the particular sound of the ringtone/music/alarm.

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Black Octopus Sound recently released Siren by Veela, a vocal pack featuring Veela, who I have been following for well more than a year.   The pack features 15 construction kits, loops, vocal FX, spoken phrases, and bonus material featuring Veela’s unique and charming voice.

In the time since the release of Siren by Veela, I have been working on “Digital Goddess,” which uses loops and tones from the pack.  This has been a rather fun and interesting project, and also presented me with some interesting challenges in terms of mixing.

In terms of instrumentation, “Digital Goddess” is rather simple overall, but still somewhat catchy as well.  In a way, it is reminiscent of 1980s music (especially the Sliceless Mix), although that was definitely not the original intent when I was composing.

As usual, this was composed in PrintMusic and mixed in Reaper.  As sometimes occurs, “Digital Goddess” also spawned a ringtone thanks to the (I believe) interesting piano line.  Between the instruments and drum kits from www.soundsforbeats.com and the voice of Veela, I believe that others will enjoy hearing “Digital Goddess” just as much as I have enjoyed creating it!

Digital Goddess

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Digital Goddess (Sliceless Mix)

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Digital Goddess Piano Ringtone

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