Re: OT Composing (was My homepage is back... some of it anyway

On Tue, Mar 18, 2003 at 01:14:28PM -0600, Danny Wier wrote:
[snip]
> They were all done with Noteworthy. I really need to re-do everything, since
> 1) everything's in boring old 12-tone equal temperament, and 2) some of that
> music is ridiculously hard to play on piano. In many cases, it's the Mozart
> complex ("too many notes"), and the left and right hands get stuck in rather
> monotonous roles.
Well, personally I don't mind the too-many-notes complex as long as it is
used to good effect. Saint-Saens' concerti are frequently maligned for
having "too many notes for nothing", but I disagree. There is melodious
music that ruminates on every note, and there is atmospheric music that
surrounds you with swirling notes barely within grasp. I think there's a
place for both.

[snip]
> Noteworthy is "crippled" a bit since it's shareware, but Anvil Studios is
> another similar program I like, and it's free, though there are add-ons that
> come with a price. I really want to learn to use Microsoft DirectMusic, but
> it's a BEAR. It's like hand-punching a piano roll.
I've been struggling with a project of my own to develop a composition
program that doesn't require such pains. But so far I still can't pin down
what's the best way to input lots of notes painlessly. (Just imagine, eg.,
inputting a long melody in dotted rhythm and embedded rests. Conceptually
the rhythm is repetitive, and one should only need to specify the note
values. But under existing schemes, you either have to drag and drop notes
of different values, rests, etc., or you have to hand-edit tweak piano
roll representations for every note. Just the perfect way to ruin any
musical inspiration you may have left.)

[snip]
> > Is it possible to write for more than one instrument (say, violin on one
> > staff, piano on another?
>
> You can use any of the 128 instruments of General MIDI and mix up to 16
> tracks. I just like piano a lot.
[snip]

Is there any software at all that isn't crippled by the handicap of MIDI
channels?? In this day and age, I just do not understand the rationale for
sticking with 16 tracks, other than the fact that historical accident left
us with a crippled standard.


T

--
Let's call it an accidental feature. -- Larry Wall