Setting up a project
After opening Cubase you have to choose the default or empty setting. This gives you an empty project to start on. From here you need to add a track to the sequence.
After selecting Instrument from the list of tracks under Project, a window should pop up. The VST instrument should be set to HaLion Sonic SE under Synth -> HaLion Sonic SE. Use the pencil tool to create a new track by dragging the mouse across the track you just created.
Click the icon that looks like an arrow pointing to a keyboard underneath the VST instrument and it should bring up an on screen keyboard. From there you can change which instrument you want Cubase to simulate.
Double clicking on the drawn track will show the empty track, where you can use the pencil tool to create keys for the song.
Cubase is a digital audio workplace, or a DAW. A DAW is a program for editing, creating and recording audio files. DAW's don't have to just be on computers. An integrated DAW can mean a mixing console.
I could have used a synthesizer for the sequence. A synthesizer is similar to MIDI but generates its own music. We had access to an analogue synthesizer called the Arturia MiniBrute. It looks similar to a keyboard but has tools on it that alter the sound it creates.
My song
I chose the song Happy because I feel like I could work that song into another genre. It's a simple song.
The original song is 120 bpm but I will probably end up speeding that up a little bit.
MIDI
MIDI, or Musical Instrument Digital Interface is the result of instrument manufacturers agreeing to make their instruments more similar in terms of hardware. By doing this, it allows pitch to be changed on each of them in very similar ways. One instrument could be changed in the same way as another. A MIDI instrument could be a piece of hardware like an electronic keyboard or synthesizer, or it could be part of a software like Garageband or Cubase.
A MIDI sequencing software is useful too because an entire song can be stored in a few hundred MIDI messages. It is easy to change too. Songs can be manipulated without rerecording the entire thing, instead just by a few clicks.
MIDI files read multiple things. Every time you press a note while recording, the program records several things. First it records the note, which is the pitch, then it records when the note was pressed. It also records when the note ends, and the velocity of the note that was pressed.
15/03 - blog work
https://soundcloud.com/user-822226810/hayden-rather-be
I could have used a synthesizer for the sequence. A synthesizer is similar to MIDI but generates its own music. We had access to an analogue synthesizer called the Arturia MiniBrute. It looks similar to a keyboard but has tools on it that alter the sound it creates.
My song
I chose the song Happy because I feel like I could work that song into another genre. It's a simple song.
The original song is 120 bpm but I will probably end up speeding that up a little bit.
MIDI
MIDI, or Musical Instrument Digital Interface is the result of instrument manufacturers agreeing to make their instruments more similar in terms of hardware. By doing this, it allows pitch to be changed on each of them in very similar ways. One instrument could be changed in the same way as another. A MIDI instrument could be a piece of hardware like an electronic keyboard or synthesizer, or it could be part of a software like Garageband or Cubase.
A MIDI sequencing software is useful too because an entire song can be stored in a few hundred MIDI messages. It is easy to change too. Songs can be manipulated without rerecording the entire thing, instead just by a few clicks.
MIDI files read multiple things. Every time you press a note while recording, the program records several things. First it records the note, which is the pitch, then it records when the note was pressed. It also records when the note ends, and the velocity of the note that was pressed.
15/03 - blog work
https://soundcloud.com/user-822226810/hayden-rather-be
