I recently shared the first part of my “Pirates” composition. Here’s the whole piece. Total time: 11:28.
I. Out to Sea
II. On the Ocean
III. Into the Battle
IV. Through Dangerous Waters
7 Likes
Very, very nice, Konrad! This is just bare-bones Noteperformer with no extra libraries, right? It’s amazing how good it sounds. Congratulations!
Mike
1 Like
@MikeInBoston , Thank you! I really appreciate the kind words. You made my day.
The sounds are a mix of VSL and BBCSO. If you are interested in the details, I can take a acreenshot of NPPE when I get home.
(I may try this with only generic NotePerformer to see how it sounds. Plain NP is pretty good, and definitely worth much, much more than it costs. “The Silos” on my website is generic NP.)
Konrad, I also use BBCSO and VSL libraries, not together, usually. Sometimes I use Cinesamples percussion instruments. You can’t beat the instruments in BBCSO and VSL libraries. They work really well with Noteperformer.
Although I LOVE the sound of the BBCSO strings more, lately I’ve been using the VSL Pro and Elite string libraries. In a fast moving part, they seem to articulate better. They don’t blur together like the BBCSO strings. But for long, held notes, the BBCSO strings are fuller and richer.
Mike
2 Likes
I agree, @Mikeinboston. BBC is lush. VSL is pristine.
I’ve said it before of your work, and do again- you have a very nice ability to paint pictures with sound. What are your volume, pan and reverb settings? I use NPPE with BBCSO and VSL Synchron Prime, but don’t get the same level of contrast with dynamics in playback- in spite if being careful in notating them. Very nice work here🙂
1 Like
which is perhaps why my favourite is often CSS as it’s a bit cleaner and more responsive than the BBC but not as clinical as VSL. String legato is a known strength of Cinematic Studio. But the BBC Core certainly has its place and now with the Spitfire Symphony orchestra remarkably cheap when on sale, I may consider adding that in due course as when listening to all the NPPE supported libraries in the classical works, that one overall wins I would say with its warmth and spaciousness.
1 Like
@laughreyg , Many thanks, my friend! This is greatly appreciated!
About the reverb, pan, etc., I am embarrassed to say that I have never touched it, which is odd since I spent many years as a producer of pop music agonizing over those settings. 
When I get home, I will look and see if I can take screen shots. I seem to remember that there is a default stage set-up in NPPE that I am using.
Thanks again!
@laughreyg , After I replied, I thought about the dynamics a little more. My scores have a lot of white space and it is rare for all the sections to play at once, so there is a built-in dynamic there. That is not a particularly brilliant comment 
–just something I thought about.
I am happy to share a Dorico file or pdf with you, if you promise not to laugh at the mistakes. Well, actually, you can laugh if I don’t hear you. 
1 Like
to be honest, when I look at typical scores of filmic music for want of a better word, I’m struck just how much there often is in the way of doublings when that often seems to result in a lack of differentiated sound to me. My scores also have a lot of white space which some have criticised me for. But I’d probably rather err on the side of over-sparse but differentiated sound than technically sound but somewhat colourless and smooth.
1 Like
@dko22 , I totally agree. I like pure colors where you can hear each instrument. I have a few cases of doubling but not many (e.g, cello and bassoon in one piece).
You need to upload this to your Youtube channel. I’m a subscriber😉
1 Like
My orchestrations use color and texture- and white space too; maybe I’ll try what you did here-do nothing with the NP settings. It’d be less work🤔
1 Like
@laughreyg , Thanks for subscribing! The artist is late on the YouTube artwork. (I could upload it with placeholder artwork, but YouTube won’t let you update a file: you have to delete and start over. 
)
I really appreciate the support!
You’re welcome. You compose good music.
1 Like