Maybe I Don't Understand Note Performer

Dorico
21

Well, I haven’t used NP4 with the newly supported libraries, but I can definitively say this, at least.

No single library is the best at everything. In what I do in a DAW, I mix and match, and layer, to get the sound I want. I use combinations of Spitfire, Orchestral Tools, and many, many other libraries to get the patch that sounds best at whatever I need it to, even if it’s for a single note (usually a really long held, evolving note of extended techniques, in such a case, but the point still stands). I don’t believe, even with NP4, that it can mix, match and layer multiple libraries together, on a note by note, phrase by phrase basis, can it?

Additionally, I frequently do things in the DAW to get the ideal sound that are not “technically” correct. I might use a French Horn sample and layer it with Trombones when technically it should just be Trombones, just because I like how it sounds with the sample. I might use staccatos on a lower velocity and crank the volume, because I like the texture it creates - and then later use the velocity maxed out and lower the volume to compensate! And I frequently EQ samples because they have resonances that muddy up the mix, and automate that EQ so that I’m only carving out those frequencies when they’re a problem, and not hollowing out the sound across the board.

A lot of my work uses extended and aleatoric techniques (for beautiful music as well as tense, horror stuff). How well does NP do any of that??

In short, how big of a delta is it between my work in my DAW and NP? Infinite. NP cannot do what I do in a DAW at all. And that includes traditional orchestral material.

But for someone who is just writing music which NP was designed for, and they aren’t trying to produce stuff at an exactingly high standard and just want it to sound pleasing for them, or passable enough to pitch to orchestras to get a piece programmed, NP is great. It’s a ton less work and sounds very reasonable. And it gets better with every version. But it will never replace my DAW, and it’s not meant to. They’re only competing against the people who begrudgingly approached a DAW because their Finale or Sibelius output was so god awful that they had no other choice. They’re not competing against DAWS as a whole for mockups.

2 Likes
22

About over-marking: I would normally put articulation marks (like staccato dots) for a couple of bars and then assume the professional musicians would assume simile until there was a clear break or change in overall style. To ensure the mock-ups play back correctly, I have to mark everything. Some players are annoyed by over-marking, but I hope that the ubiquitous use of scoring software has made them more understanding.

23

Why not write simile in order to make sure there won’t be any misunderstanding? Music notation is about transmitting information. I’d avoid any useless occasion to mislead the reader :wink:

1 Like
24

If NotePerformer and VSL expression maps understand simile, that is what I will do. I was not aware that the software understood that.

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I think it’s one of the continuation choices for playing techniques. It won’t work with the staccato accents you input from the accent panel but you can create a playing technique that triggers the same playback technique and use its continuation as simile to have it both written down on the score and played by Dorico if needed.

3 Likes
26

It’s easy to ‘hide’ things we might put in the score for the benefit of the play-back/interpretation engine.

There might be more efficient ways these days, but for years now I’ve just selected them several at a time and set a transparent color.

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Anyone have the same composition pushed as far in NP as possible versus a DAW. If so, don’t tell me which one is which, I’d like to guess.

I’m assuming NP can be tweaked beyond its initial output, but I don’t really know how much as I just started using it myself.

1 Like
28

This isn’t a new thread, but it’s a great one!

Have to add:
NP is so wonderful for sure for all the above reasons and postings.

To make it sound even better? Well, it takes a little extra time (which you may or may not have available).

But if you have the time, there are some things I’ve done that have helped get a better overall ‘clarity’ and balance.

  1. export individual, dry audio tracks from my notation program. Be sure to turn off the NP reverb settings and have the pan levels set at center. This takes a few minutes to do for sure.
  2. open up each audio file in a track in your DAW. Find a great reverb for your particular project or instruments. Use an Aux buss for different sections, and maybe use different reverbs for different section. (I like EW Spaces II, because they have Front and Rear stage reverbs and they sound great)
  3. apply any EQ you may need. Maybe you need some extra chorusing or whatever on a particular instrument. Whatever the case may be.
  4. I like to use Ozone to analyze the music and take out out any ‘digital mud’ that is inherent to using sampled libraries mixed together. Ozone will help give back some ‘space’ to NP mixes. (You might not need or want to use every module that comes in an Ozone mastering chain…choose the modules that help your sound)

That’s just one way of working with NP if you have some extra time on your hands.
The beauty of NP is that it really does give fantastic renderings for knowledgeable conductors and other musicians to get a feel for your actual music when they are to perform it.
I’m not in the ‘music for media’ business anymore. When I was doing a lot of independent film work and some documentaries (usually with low budgets that never allowed for any extra expenses like hiring real musicians) I always had to ‘compose for the samples’. That’s a drag.

NP and their sample modeling is hard to beat. The ‘modeling’ aspect seems to be the key.

1 Like
29

I’m only discovering this myself right now!
After having been exporting separate stems for mixing in Cubase, this is fantastic.

Thanks to David Tee!

30

This is interesting, as this is exactly what I’m doing :wink: