Music

[Dr Whoosawhatzits]

Is there any midi program that actually makes realistic sounding music, so i can make some original orchestra music!

[Matt J Heaton]

I have asked this before, I got no answer though.

[stop_thief]

It's not as much the program but the sound card your computer possesses. MIDIs are noises altered in pitch and frequency and such to create different notes. They are not individual sounds recorded as they exist in real-life, like .WAV files. A low-end composition program or a high-end will not make one iota of difference. I'd say at the very minimum have an AWE 64 Sound Card.
Once you have the power of realistic sounds, it's up to you to make use.

[stop_thief]

Ahhh...one more thing...

MIDIs are still MIDIs.
They never sound completely realistic BUT
one tip for creating the most realism in a work is LAYERING.

Layer as many sounds as possible to create a full feel to the music.
If you have, say, track one as string ensemble, track 2 as cello and track 3 as horn section, consider adding one or two more tracks of layered background sound...maybe soft wind or soft chant-type notes. The fuller the music, the more realistic. It will blend the corny "computerness" of the MIDI into something more acceptable.

[zlebret]

I understand the SBLive is pretty good for composing midi.

[RedRaven]

I replied to you, Matt!!

The fact is, no computer application is going to 'magically' create orchestral sounding music for you. If it could, why would people still bother to learn the violin etc..? These kind of packages are mostly only suitable for creating techno music, which is easily built up from samples, unlike real orchestral music which comes from a group of dedicated musicians performing in unison.

Composing music for an orchestra (or even just for a synthesiser trying to sound like an orchestra) is a SKILL which is learnt over many years, you can't just buy a package for your PC and expect that to do it for you.

In the same way, owning Adobe Premiere doesn't mean you know how to edit....

[RedRaven]

I replied to you, Matt!!

The fact is, no computer application is going to 'magically' create orchestral sounding music for you. If it could, why would people still bother to learn the violin etc..? These kind of packages are mostly only suitable for creating techno music, which is easily built up from samples, unlike real orchestral music which comes from a group of dedicated musicians performing in unison.

Composing music for an orchestra (or even just for a synthesiser trying to sound like an orchestra) is a SKILL which is learnt over many years, you can't just buy a package for your PC and expect that to do it for you.

In the same way, owning Adobe Premiere doesn't mean you know how to edit....

[Matt J Heaton]

I know you replied! But no one gave an answer about software.

[stop_thief]

One really good program for manual composing is Guitar Pro at www.guitarpro.com. If you know how to play guitar, this is a worthy download. You write the notes in guitar tablature form, as opposed to standard notation. It makes the whole process much easier, especially drum tracks and such.

[RedRaven]

Because as far as I know there IS no such software!

Then again, there is one thing you could try - purchase a simple WAV sequencing programme like Dance Ejay or whatever, and then, instead of using the provided techno WAV files, get hold of a bunch or orchestral WAV files (there are some available, such as lingering violin chords, brass stabs, kettle drum rumbles etc.) and see if you can bung them together in Dance Ejay and create some orchestral sounding original music. My guess is it will sound kind of wierd, but possibly quite interesting, and as long as you used "copyright free" WAV files, you've got yourself an original piece of music you can use for your films. If you try this, I'd be interested to hear the results.