Quartet for Virtual Strings (complete work)

[Jerry Gerber]

I completed this four movement work today and am posting the entire composition. Composed in Cakewalk with and for the VSL solo string collection

PLAY

[agitato]

I started listening. What a fantastic piece for the quartet! 

However I cannot help but notice something...my ear starts hurting, Ive always had this problem with virtual string samples, solo or ensemble. Ive listened to thousands of hours of live and recorded classical music all my life and never once felt this kind of pain in my ear. Why is this? What is missing in these sample libraries that we can never achieve full realism?

This isn't to take anything away from Jerry's fantastic work. I only wish it was played by a live quartet (by that I mean a good one). I will pay to attend that concert!

Anand

[Jerry Gerber]

@agitato said in [Quartet for Virtual Strings (complete work)](/post/317897):

I started listening. What a fantastic piece for the quartet! 

However I cannot help but notice something...my ear starts hurting, Ive always had this problem with virtual string samples, solo or ensemble. Ive listened to thousands of hours of live and recorded classical music all my life and never once felt this kind of pain in my ear. Why is this? What is missing in these sample libraries that we can never achieve full realism?

This isn't to take anything away from Jerry's fantastic work. I only wish it was played by a live quartet (by that I mean a good one). I will pay to attend that concert!

Anand

Well, Anand, if I had that experience listening to samples I'd never listen to samples!   I don't understand why you'd listen to virtual orchestration given your aural experience. It's like forcing yourself to eat something you don't like the taste of.  If I felt that way I'd only listen to acoustic music, live or recorded.  It's odd that, given your experience with samples, why you'd spend time on a forum run by a company that produces sample libraries! If there is some music recorded with samples that you enjoy, then maybe you just don't care for the way I use samples, fair enough, everyone has different sensibilities in terms of what they consider to be the "ideal sound". 

There are some people who don't like the idea of using samples.   I suppose it's a philosophical thing.  Others will compare how a recorded orchestra sounds with a virtual orchestra and find the sampled sound lacking. I myself love working with samples, not only for the challenge of getting the sound I want, but also because I can edit and experiment to my heart's content unconcerned about any one's time by my own.

My 12th symphony would require over 100 players and singers. The time I'd have to spend to get that performed is time I could be composing/producing music or doing astrophotography, both of which are highly time-consuming activities.  I have the social skills to work with groups as I did it when I was working doing soundtracks for 12 years.  Before that I played in bands and small ensembles.   Nowadays my preference is to work in the medium that gives me the most pleasure.  I am very lucky I can do exactly what I want and do it the way I want to do it. The politics and social conflicts that usually arise when dealing with people have shaped my motivations and aspirations so for me working in the studio is best.   Do what make you happy and forgot about what others think.   That to me is the wisest course of action.

Thanks for listening, much appreciated.  

Jerry

[William]

Agitato, the reason your ear is hurting is because of this particular MIDI performance.  I have had the same reaction. It isn't samples in general. It is a specific, horrific performance of samples.  That causes ear pain - that reaches all the way into the inner ear.  Something that may actually need medical intervention.

I urge you to consult your physician at once.  As a musician, your ears are your most important organ.

Well, maybe second most.     

[Jerry Gerber]

@William said in [Quartet for Virtual Strings (complete work)](/post/317899):

Agitato, the reason your ear is hurting is because of this particular MIDI performance.  I have had the same reaction. It isn't samples in general. It is a specific, horrific performance of samples.  That causes ear pain - that reaches all the way into the inner ear.  Something that may actually need medical intervention.

I urge you to consult your physician at once.  As a musician, your ears are your most important organ.

Well, maybe second most.     

 

William must have low reading comprehension skills, perhaps as crappy as his music composition skills.   In the original post, Anand wrote "I've always had this problem with virtual string samples".  He wasn't specifically referring to my piece, but William is such an impoverished schlep he had to use what Anand wrote to go after me again. That's what William does, that's who he is, I expect nothing better from him.  Either William's memory is seriously impaired or he has a split personality, because this is what he's written about my use of samples and music over the years:

 

Posted on Sun, May 13 2018 15:42 by William

That is a really interesting, complex composition and a lot of the performance sounds just about perfect! 

 

Posted on Sun, Oct 25 2020 17:37 by William

jsg - That sounds excellent, and an impressive amount of work! Very interesting also using the synthesizer addition. BTW sorry about my criticism a long time ago about the Gumby score - if offered that money I would have done the same thing and done no better.  I remember using gleefully any synthesizer or keyboard I could get my hands on...

Anyway, it is good to hear these different artistic compositions here on the Forum, and a wonderful benefit of VSL allowing composers to realize works that are otherwise either difficult or impossible to get out into the world.

 

Posted on Fri, Aug 24 2018 01:57 by William

It has some very interesting harmony in it and also shows how integrating a synthesizer with analog instruments is a very fruitful approach, even though it is not done very often these days.  In old Hollywood scores the electronic instruments would be added to orchestra for the expanded timbre and effects, but today one usually hears all acoustic, or all electronic.  Especially with sampled acoustic instruments.  

 

Posted on Thu, Jul 26 2018 00:53 by William

This sounds really good.  I like the overall "medieval plainchant" feel (if I can express it that way).  Very good sound and intense emotion in it.  It makes me want to hear it live with the choir.  Also I really like that combo of the flute and English Horn and harp.  Congratulations on this! 

 

With William, the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing. That's my boy William!

 

Jerry