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  4. More Chamber Strings noob questions: Key switching... Articulation.. Cresc..

  • More Chamber Strings noob questions: Key switching... Articulation.. Cresc..

    S
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    Sorry.

    1. Another one of those things that is easy to notate... hard for me to get the VSL effect I want.

    I have celli playing marcato 8ths and then into a legato slurred passage. So I have the keyswitch C#6 cell 3 for the marcato and then I hit D6 right before the legato begins to activate the legato patch. And it sounds -OK, but the attack of the first note has a noticeable portamento--even though the MOD wheel is turned off. How do I make that first note not do that?

    2. I am still struggling with controlling volume during a passage. Is the expression (CC11) or volume (CC7) or something else... the best way to go? I realise that the velocity of each note has something to do with this as well, but there's gotta be more to it.

    3. On a related note... I'm still looking for a big 'swell' (cresc.) effect. I keep seeing referrences to Velocity X-Fade but I don't really get it. I have the Garritan Strad and Gofriller libs and they use the expression pedal for this quite well. Hoping such is also possible with CS.

    Oddly, some other VSL instruments I have (like Tenor Sax) seem to 'breathe' more 'automatically'... ie. the notes 'swell' or 'die' more like I want without a ton of effort.

    Any thoughts would be most appreciated.

    Thanks,

    ---JC
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    N

    Regarding #1: instead of marcato>legato, possibly try regular sustain>legato, or a long detache>legato.  Sometimes you simply have to try different things to get the effect you are after.  Also depending on where the notes are in the passage, it is possible that the most natural fingering would be to play the two notes on the same string and any time two notes are played on the same string and slurred a tiny portamento (in terms of time length) will result as the left hand slides up or down the string.  There are times in the various VSL string libraries where that reality is included quite appropriately.  This is an entirely different technical reality from say a "sul G (most common on violin)" where much larger intervals may be deliberately played on the same string.

    Regarding #2: the various patches in the string libraries are played to full volume effect for each articulation.  Depending on the bowing technique a wider dynamic range may be possible for one articulation compared to another.  For example: staccato is a stronger bow bounce both in terms of arm weight/length of bowstroke bounce than spiccato.  Thus a greater dynamic range is possible with staccato.  Simply stated, IMO, there are no "magic bullets".  Some users go in and match the various articulations to each other to minimize dynamic differences between them.  The drawback to that approach is that one loses the full dymanic possibilities of the different bowing techniques.

    The advantage to VSL's approach is that one can come closer to the actual techniques of a real string player.
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    1. I actually doubt that you're hearing portamento. I think you're hearing the transition material that happens when playing a slur. This tells me that the gap between your 8th note and the longer note that follows it is not big enough. If you have VI Pro just reduce the legato detection time. If not, then play the 8th note shorter and use the sustain pedal to stop it cutting off. Or use a Sustain patch (as advised above) for your start legato note.
    2. There are two main ways of controlling expression; velocity xFade (best for longer notes; I just use velocity for short notes) and CC11 Expression, which is only for adding little subtleties that are not working with velocity xFade. I suspect that you;'re not even using xFade, which is why the expressive side isn't working for you.
    3. Aha. That explains everything. If you switch xFade on and then set a controller for that slider in the player you can seamlessly transition through the velocity layers. This is the best way to do dynamics, as all using CC11 does is turn the volume up and down. It doesn't affect the timbre of the instruments.

    DG
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    Thanks for the very helpful answer. What controller are you using to switch X-Fade on/off?

    ---JC
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    @Suntower said:

    Thanks for the very helpful answer. What controller are you using to switch X-Fade on/off?

    ---JC

     

    I think I use CC17, but actually i hardly ever need to because in VI Pro you can set it on and off per patch, which is much more elegant than switching it on and off. There is a way to do this in regular VI, but it's really clunky and uses more resources.

    DG
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    S

    Interesting. If I may trouble you with one more follow-up Then what turns it 'on' or 'off'?

    ---JC