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  • ARTICULATIONS

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    I have spent several months just getting Mac G5/VSL/Kontakt/Digital Performer to work, and it finally does, and it works very well indeed. Now I am working on Articulations, which, after all, is what VSL is all about. I have come to the idea that if the violin articulations, for example, are understood, then it will probably follow that all the other instruments will, after the example of the violin, be understood as well. With that in mind, I recently followed the Beat Kaufmann (thank you very much) tutorial (#1-How to Use VSL) given in the VSL forum. What I came up with sounded the same as the demo he includes with the tutorial, so I think I did it right. As you probably know, his Solo Violin tutorial consists of twelve VSL samples (legatos, stacattos, Perf Legatos, etc.). These are all played together (OMNI mode) and the result is a very convincing violin sound containing vibrato, legato, staccato, etc. The beauty of it is that it can all be put on three tracks (at least with with DP)-one for all the non Perf samples, and two for the Perf legato samples. It doesn't look like you would have to have a separate track for each articulation. You can play legato for a while, then stacatto, and he has even added in a couple of diminuendo samples and a sfz also, so the result is a violin sound that has many of the articulations that an actual violin would have: vibrato, stacatto, legato, etc.. Beat also says, if I understand him properly, that this elaborate use of multiple samples is really only necessary for soloed instruments, and not so necessary when writing for the orchestra in general. What does the Forum think of all this? Is it the approach to VSL (and the articulations) that you might use? I will add to this that I have just opened a midi file of Jay Pascal's VSL realization of Wagner (Tristan und Isolde-can be downloaded). It is a great piece, and the amount of work that has obviously gone into it is staggering (numerous tracks-43 for the Horns alone). I told him that I could not have been more impressed if he had told me he had translated all of Shaksphere into Chinese. Really, congratulations for your obvious ability to get the maximum from VSL. They say, "What sounds good IS good". It would be great to hear some opinions of the various approaches to using VSL samples. Thx, OJ
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    "What sounds good IS good"

    This is the bottom line! The ends justify the means!

    -BW
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    Hello again. I see in my message that I mispelled Jay Bacal's name when I praised his magnificent effort in scoring Wagner's Tristan und Isolde for VSL (I had written Pascal, also well-known, but in a different area). I'm so sorry Jay (a rose by any other name would spell as sweet, but its also nice to catch the name).

    And Horse Opera, thanks for your reply. It doesn't look like the Articulation topic is meeting with noticeable response. I do agree with you when you say that what sounds good IS good. However, it would perhaps be helpful to have a few thoughts and suggestions as to how to use the VSL samples, either singly or layered, in order to achieve the most harmonious effect, much as any music teacher explains how to get the best sound out of the instrument that is being taught. As VSL is still developing, it is natural that there is no compendium of tecniques yet, but its always good to hear what other users have come up with. The most ambitious effort in that direction so far has been, it would seem, the tutorials of Beat Kaufmann (and Jay Bacal's tremendous Wagner). Anyone else? [[;)]]
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    As for which articulations to use, the direct answer is to use the ones that correspond to what an actual player might do. That might be what somewhat elusive if you haven't had much experience with real instruments. Since you asked for other points of view, the issue for me was not which articulations to use (most all have their uses) but how to switch among them. Obviously VSL provides basic patches that offer several common articulations that are changed by keyswitches. Obviously, you might try these if you haveen't. Taking things a step further, I use individual patches and then use patch change commands to switch between them. Along with some hardware routing, this puts all the articulations for an instrument on a single track, and more importantly a single staff for notation. That's just the way my brain works best, but there's really no right or wrong way to do it all - only what you might prefer.
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    orijames (or Jay or others):

    where is the midi file for Jay's Tristan? The mp3 I heard, and it was most impressive. When you say, 43 tracks for horns alone! That's getting into superlative. Would like to see the midi too.

    The current link, from the composition forum, doesn't lead to anything specific, not even the mp3.

    guglielmo
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    I have to agree with Beat. This is mainly because my hardware is not happy running a large number of VSL instruments. Thus, I spend more time and processing on those instruments that sit out and are more crucial, and leave those playing a much more supporting role as just that. A little "psycho-acoustic" masking is fine. I am in the middle of a project providing VSL string orchestra as accompaniment to a choir. Only certain parts of the work allow the strings to sing through in all their glory. I didn't realise soon enough and therefore spend more time than I needed to on strings that would have been fine as a single articulation throughout.
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    I have always used key-switching as much as I could. With the newer upgrade to Gigastudio, the stack feature allows one to create a custum keyswitch instrument. I love this new feature, as I can keep almost all of the articulations on one channel. I still need to use the legato instruments on separate channels.

    My hope is that future articulations of different note lengths will be avalible. I have noticed that certain instruments have sustains such as 1.5 or 1.0. I would like to see *all* of the instruments have these lengths avalible. Spiccato up/down samples on the solo strings would be great too!
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    Hello Gugliemo- Sorry to take so long getting back to you. I have the Wagner Midi File but am not able, for some reason I don't understand, to send it along to you as an attachment to an email. I have contacted Jay and he says that anyone who wants to see the fiie can. I do not have his email address, but he can be easily contacted through the VSL Forum. You can send him a private message after you find his Profile. If I can be of further help, let me know. Best, OJ
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    @orijames said:

    I have spent several months just getting Mac G5/VSL/Kontakt/Digital Performer to work, and it finally does, and it works very well indeed. ... I recently followed the Beat Kaufmann tutorial (#1-How to Use VSL) given in the VSL forum. What I came up with sounded the same as the demo he includes with the tutorial, so I think I did it right.


    OJ, I am also using DP, Kontakt 2 and a iMac G5. I am hoping to do most things in Sibelius first and then convert to DP at the final stage. Could I get a copy of your DP solution to Beat's tutorial. I was looking at his tutiorial just yesterday and am contemplating the various alternatives to doing the key-switching/track management. Just looking for ideas at this point.

    Thanks.
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    Hi Dbudde, Yes, I would be happy to send you the DP file. Although I think it sounds for the most part like Beat's tutorial example, I have questions about it and your input would be much appreciated. Does it sound "thicker" in texture to you than just a single, unlayered sample? and does it make much difference as far as realism is concerned? Beat's example does sound very realistic to me, but I also do not have a real violin to compare it with. I am experimenting with layering (putting together on the same track) sustain flute and staccato flute, for example, so as not to have to have separate tracks for sustain and staccato). You might try things like this too, and if you come up with any really good combinations, perhaps you might let me know. I am at the moment not finding many informed sources to guide me along with the articulations (aside from Beat, of course) and how to use them most effectiuvely. Send me your email address and I will send you the file. It will be a Wave File. Alright? If not, let me know. BTW, you will have to put some reverb on it because I use the reverb from a mixing board, and that will not transmit along with the DP file. You will also have to set up Performance Tool, for the same reason. Also, you will have to load Kontakt with the 10 samples that Beat uses in his tutorial which can be found at the top of the Vienna Symphonic Library list of Forum topics (the first Tutorial: How to Use VSL). But don't be put off-its not too hard to do. Best, OJ
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    You can click the email button at the bottom of my post to email me.

    I am more interested in the DP file than the wave file. I'd like to see how you implemented it. Thanks.