Petit Poucet-- removed

[JBacal]

(***removed to make room on my server for hopefully better mockups. Please send me a PM if you really want to hear this piece)

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water…another Ravel mockup!

This one is called “Petit Poucet” and it’s also from Ravel’s Mother Goose suite. The challenge for me here was to create a smooth, sweet and passionate strings sound. I find this very difficult to do. Please post your tips and tricks for doing this here.

All instruments are from Opus 1, Horizon Solo Strings and Horizon French Oboe. The only exception is the string harmonics which are taken from Garritan Orchestral Strings. I also layered in some of the GOS strings to thicken and “sweeten” the VSL strings.

The reverb is 3 instances of Gigapulse.

As always I’m happy to post a midi file and articulation list if anyone’s interested.

Thanks for listening. I hope you enjoy it.

Best,
Jay

[magates]

speaking of "sweet" strings. Do you find that the sound of the vieanna string section sounds like it uses less vibrato than american strings sections. For example compare it to sonic implant strings which has alot more and wider vibrato. Even the so called esprs. dynamic patch seems to not have the strong vibrato I am used to.

[JBacal]

Yes, I agree. I'd love for VSL to do a library called "passionate strings" (along the lines of epic horns) that uses much more vibrato. I've heard that the chamber strings have a heavier vibrato patch but alas I don't have that library yet. I'd also like to see an update disk to the solo strings that includes patches with more expessive and romantic vibrato.

--Jay

[Julie]

Jay-
Very nice! I would love to have the midi file and articulation list, please. : ) Do you do this professionally? Just curious.
thanks,
Julie

[JBacal]

Hi Julie,

Nice to hear from you again.

Currently, this is all just an expensive, time-consuming hobby (obsession?). But I love to do it, and if I keep plugging away who knows where it may lead. I'll post the midi files soon.

Best,
Jay

[JBacal]

Bill--

I see you've deleted your comments before I could respond. I hope you don't mind if I react anyway. I honestly appreciate your constructive criticism and hope it will make my work better in the future.

Regarding you first point, I'm always afraid to take the tempo too much slower than indicated. I just have to be braver next time. [[;)]]

The ambience is Gigapulse and very similar to the Little Ugly piece but different than Le Jardin Feerique (which used Pantheon in Sonar 3). Why did it sound artificial to you?

The sudden change in dynamics near the beginning is either the result of using a crossfade patch with only 2 dynamic levels or shear laziness on my part. [8-)]

I agree strongly with your last point about needing to make the tempo more expressive, with more give and take between parts. This is something I know I need to improve. But I find it difficult to do. First, because I'm reluctant to go overboard. Second, because I do the tempo changes after I input all the parts, and it's hard to get an organic ebb and flow this way (any tips?). Third, because my computer setup is primitive. I have to lock-in a tempo track before I record all the giga tracks, and it just becomes too painful to go back and redo everything to make subtle tempo changes. I've got to figure out a workflow that gives me more flexibility throughout the entire process. (Can you say "new computer?" [:D] )

My wife warned me not to post this piece. She just didn't feel it was up to snuff. But I worked hard on it, and thought I'd put it out there anyway and see what I could learn from your reactions.

Thanks for you honesty.

Best,
Jay