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Mike with Rick Garcia at Hacienda Records Studio A control room

In the above photograph, I'm with Rick Garcia of Hacienda Records.  Rick and I are shown downloading and recording the individual tracks from my computer and keyboard.  The music will be used for a commercial.  A commercial is called a "jingle" in the business. 

We use keyboards and computers to write and create most of the music.  In the photograph above, I'm using the instruments (strings, horns, piano, organ, harps, drums, etc.) with my Korg O1W/FD.  The keyboard instruments are activated by my computer (the computer creates the MIDI data; volume and length of notes, what octave, when the notes are played, etc., to write the individual tracks for a song), and the output is the combination of all the different instruments required to complete the score.  It all can become quit complicated when you combine several keyboard instruments in one track to make a combination sound, but the effort is usually worth it.

Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) - A little Of How It's Done

Have you ever listened to a four piece band at a local dance and wonder how they get the sound of an orchestra?  In most cases it's the keyboards make the sounds.  A good keyboard can make the sound of a 100 piece orchestra, or it can create sounds that have never before been heard.  And then there's the Music Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI).

MIDI opened up a whole new world to the composer and performing artist alike.  Why is MIDI such a big deal?  Well, MIDI allows the user to select instruments and sounds to be saved to individual tracks.  Once the instruments or sounds have been selected, the music can be played for each part, while at the same time it is recorded to its own independent track.  An example of creating a song using MIDI:

The instruments and sounds are selected for each track, i.e., drums, bass guitar, rhythm guitar, strings, lead guitar, etc. Then the musician either writes directly to a music score sheet on the the computer, he/she plays the music on the keyboard while the computer records every part of each note, i.e., the length, duration, volume (the more you press a key on the keyboard, the more the volume of the individual note or notes), and octave location.  The computer compiles all of this information as it is played.  When the recording of the individual tracks completed.  It's time to head down to the studio and record each of the independent tracks.

At the studio, the computer is hooked up to either another computer, or it is hooked up to the control console (mixing board).  Once all of the independent tracks from the computer is downloaded, effects are added, panning (left, center, middle locations) is added, vocals are added, and then the final mix is completed.  It sounds like a lot of work, and it is, but the result is very impressive.

In the old days, to do the same thing, there would have to be musicians for the orchestra and the other independent parts.  All of that is eliminated, and it is possible to create a finished product (CD) with only a few people.

 

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Last Update: Tuesday, September 17, 2002 10:28 PM