Discuss Notion Music Composition Software here.
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I've recorded this piece before with Notion, but now I'm using Spitfire Sacconi Strings for this recording. I've created double staves for each instrument, one for notation, and one for performance, with dynamics removed. I found that there were conflicts between the dynamics sent by the Notion markings and the ones recorded on the CC staves to control the instrument parameters. There are three CC staves for each instrument, one for dynamics, one for expression, and one to control vibrato.

The original work by Dvorak was for trio, I wrote the added cello line that you hear in this recording.

Enjoy, and feedback always appreciated, of course!

phpBB [audio]

iMac (Retina 5K 27", 2019) 3.6 ghz I9 8-core 64 gb RAM Fusion Drive
with small AOC monitor for additional display
macOS Ventura 13.4
2 - 500 gb + 2 - 1 tb external SSD for sample libraries
M Audio AirHub audio interface
Nektar Panorama P1 control surface
Nektar Impact 49-key MIDI keyboard
Focal CMS40 near-field monitors
JBL LSR310S subwoofer
Notion 6 + Studio One 5 Pro

http://www.tensivity.com
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by Marcato on Wed Feb 15, 2017 1:27 am
Michael

In some styles of music, the Notion dynamics markings are at best a trade-off, when compared to the surgical palette, the tool chest, available at the clockwork level in Studio One, Cubase, Kontakt of what have you.
Hence, to touch-up the delicate embroidery of a string quartet performance, you'd need a powerful magnifying glass and a micrometer of some sort to be able to correctly position and grade on sheet music support the various inflexions and accentuations that ultimately let the work breathe on its own.

This is why I see Notion as a clever notation editor that can also serve as a portal, a preliminary drawing board or a musician friendly yet temporary sketchpad, before exporting a creation to the recording studio.

When a human musician reads music score, he subconsciously takes case of all the subtleties hidden behind the markings or implied from the context. On the other hand, a machine has to be told everything all the time before it can musically render a score. Run of the mill sheet music has been invented to be read by a human being and not a computer.

This said, I've been on your Blog and took some studious notes, as I'm still in the exploratory stage of orchestral synthesis. Thanks.
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by michaelmyers1 on Wed Feb 15, 2017 10:47 pm
Marcato, thanks for your thoughtful note. I don't fool myself that the music I record is ever a substitute for a human performance. In fact, every time I listen to a human recording of any of the pieces I record I'm humbled by the depth, subtlety and spirit that is always there, and that, try as I might, is probably impossible in the end to reproduce. On the other hand, I've yet to find a machine program that plays better than Notion, and I'm confident that with further development it will become more and more sophisticated and useful for simulating human performance.

That said, I find great personal satisfaction in working at perfecting my craft within the limits I set for myself (in other words, no DAW) and learning something about orchestration, composition, audio engineering, and computer science all at the same time. As a practicing architect in my "day job," I create drawings, construct computer and physical models, and develop sketches and renderings of buildings. Am I building a real building? No. Never. Is there personal satisfaction to be gained from producing the best simulations of real buildings that I possibly can, and in mastering my craft in preparing those simulations? Absolutely.

So I keep plugging away, and I enjoy sharing my work. Someone once asked me why I record this music that has been recorded before so much better than I have. My response was why does the busker stand in the subway and shout out his cover songs off key every day?

We both have delusions that we have talent, and that someone might want us to share it!

:lol:

iMac (Retina 5K 27", 2019) 3.6 ghz I9 8-core 64 gb RAM Fusion Drive
with small AOC monitor for additional display
macOS Ventura 13.4
2 - 500 gb + 2 - 1 tb external SSD for sample libraries
M Audio AirHub audio interface
Nektar Panorama P1 control surface
Nektar Impact 49-key MIDI keyboard
Focal CMS40 near-field monitors
JBL LSR310S subwoofer
Notion 6 + Studio One 5 Pro

http://www.tensivity.com
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by Marcato on Thu Feb 16, 2017 4:40 am
Michael

I started my quest for the Holy Grail of machine orchestration even before the Soundblaster. I also played with a crude sample player operating from a primitive digital-to-analog interface on a MOS Technology KIM-1 engineering development board (6502 2k rom 1k ram) in the mid seventies. The very first tune it played was the theme song from "Exodus". As a follow-up, I keyed-in Theodore Dubois' Toccata in G just to impress my mother, a classical organist.
Then with an Apple II for a crude pipe organ imitation. Then on an Arp Odyssey for a not so bad cello, considering. Then on newly invented MIDI, at long last (!), keying a whole orchestra on an EMU Proteus 2 XR. . . And now with extraordinary Notion 6 + Kontakt + Vienna + Spitfire + you-name-it, the sky's the limit. Always so close yet so far! But with affordable gigacomputers and sampling technology getting better and better, we're getting there.
As Vivaldi used to say, keep on trucking! :-)
Hold on Michael, we need you.

M.

ps: Architects are the musicians of structural engineering. . . whoever said that.
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by michaelmyers1 on Fri Feb 17, 2017 11:16 pm
I've re-recorded and posted a new take at the same link location as above. In the new recording I adjusted for legato samples in the instruments (notes needed to overlap for legato), and recorded velocities using the Velocity Overdub feature of Notion. Also modified some note lengths for better phrasing.

Let me know what you think!

Michael

iMac (Retina 5K 27", 2019) 3.6 ghz I9 8-core 64 gb RAM Fusion Drive
with small AOC monitor for additional display
macOS Ventura 13.4
2 - 500 gb + 2 - 1 tb external SSD for sample libraries
M Audio AirHub audio interface
Nektar Panorama P1 control surface
Nektar Impact 49-key MIDI keyboard
Focal CMS40 near-field monitors
JBL LSR310S subwoofer
Notion 6 + Studio One 5 Pro

http://www.tensivity.com
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by Marcato on Sat Feb 18, 2017 2:16 am
Michael

Maybe I'm doing something wrong but I can't find your newer version on SoundCloud. Sorry.
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by michaelmyers1 on Sat Feb 18, 2017 12:15 pm
Marcato wroteMichael

Maybe I'm doing something wrong but I can't find your newer version on SoundCloud. Sorry.

I replaced the file, overwriting the old one at the same link. You can listen to the new version with the link above.

iMac (Retina 5K 27", 2019) 3.6 ghz I9 8-core 64 gb RAM Fusion Drive
with small AOC monitor for additional display
macOS Ventura 13.4
2 - 500 gb + 2 - 1 tb external SSD for sample libraries
M Audio AirHub audio interface
Nektar Panorama P1 control surface
Nektar Impact 49-key MIDI keyboard
Focal CMS40 near-field monitors
JBL LSR310S subwoofer
Notion 6 + Studio One 5 Pro

http://www.tensivity.com
User avatar
by Marcato on Sun Feb 19, 2017 12:48 am
My ears are ok then! ;-)

Because I initially went back to exactly where you say and listened to the take which indeed seemed much better! It has an unmistakable "presence" I can say.
But I was confounded by the same file name & location. . .

Thanks

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