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Topic: MacFormat article< Next Oldest | Next Newest >
Korgscrew Offline




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Posted: Mar. 02 2008, 18:34

The UK's MacFormat magazine has published an interview with Mike, where he talks about how he used Macintosh computers for creating Music of the Spheres.

Thanks, rumerok and Tati the Sentinel
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Sweetpea Offline




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Posted: Mar. 02 2008, 19:04

I'm not much of a techie, but I enjoyed reading that. It's fascinating to hear about the nuts & bolts behind Mike's work. I'm reminded of the delightful details concerning the early albums in Changeling. I'm also reminded that larstangmark once said, "Sex anb food are primary urges to man, but for you can squeeze in getting-to-know-about-mike-odlfied-recording-session-details in between the two. It's all about the details. It's small questions like these that I can sit and think about on my veranda with a cup of cofee and a walkman. It's wonderful. And it keeps the fear of global warming at arm's length."

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"I'm no physicist, but technically couldn't Mike both be with the horse and be flying through space at the same time? (On account of the earth's orbit around the Sun and all that). So it seems he never had to make the choice after all. I bet he's kicking himself now." - clotty
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Tati The Sentinel Offline




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Posted: Mar. 02 2008, 19:53

Mike''s future plans seems quite promissing really,maybe there'll be a chance to see him playing around the globe,let's wait and see  ;)

Curious is the fact MOTS started as an electronic album,than has become classical,what a transition!


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"But it's always the outsider, the black sheep, that becomes the blockbuster." - Mike Oldfield, 2014

"I remember feeling that I'd been judged unfairly and that I was going to prove them wrong." - Peter Davison, 2011
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Matt Offline




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Posted: Mar. 03 2008, 04:54

That does sound promising about Mikes thoughts on performing MOTS.

I am a bit confused about the comment on problems with MIDI and timing/velocity. Anyone understand the problems he is referring to?


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"I say I say I say I say, what's got three bottles and five eyes and no legs and two wheels"
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Ray Offline




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Posted: Mar. 03 2008, 08:40

Quote (Matt @ Mar. 03 2008, 09:54)
I am a bit confused about the comment on problems with MIDI and timing/velocity. Anyone understand the problems he is referring to?

Yes - when recording by using Midi to drive a synthesiser your timing on the start of each not is exact to about 1000th of a second.  Listen to a midi track on Tubnet midi section and you will find that it sounds like it ewas generated by a computor - no mistakes - perfect timing - so to add some feel to the music you need to cheat the midi into having incorrect timing that varies 0 say a hundereth of a second early on one note and a bit late on another note -it gives the music feel.  When you print the score from Midi the not length are all very wierd and it gets impossible to give it to a traditional manual musician to read and play - so Mike will have created his album then after thought - lets make it played by an Orchrestra - hence he had already made it with all these little kinks and wobbles  - so he then had to take them out to be able to score it from his midi system.    Hope that you are not now even more confused.  Ray  :cool:

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Looking out over the harbour in Peel.......
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Matt Offline




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Posted: Mar. 03 2008, 08:52

Quote (Ray @ Mar. 03 2008, 13:40)
Quote (Matt @ Mar. 03 2008, 09:54)
I am a bit confused about the comment on problems with MIDI and timing/velocity. Anyone understand the problems he is referring to?

Yes - when recording by using Midi to drive a synthesiser your timing on the start of each not is exact to about 1000th of a second.  Listen to a midi track on Tubnet midi section and you will find that it sounds like it ewas generated by a computor - no mistakes - perfect timing - so to add some feel to the music you need to cheat the midi into having incorrect timing that varies 0 say a hundereth of a second early on one note and a bit late on another note -it gives the music feel.  When you print the score from Midi the not length are all very wierd and it gets impossible to give it to a traditional manual musician to read and play - so Mike will have created his album then after thought - lets make it played by an Orchrestra - hence he had already made it with all these little kinks and wobbles  - so he then had to take them out to be able to score it from his midi system.    Hope that you are not now even more confused.  Ray  :cool:

Thanks for the reply Ray, that does make sense.

So Mike records it with life and feeling with the timing varying slightly. Then you have to make it lifeless to get the scoring software to put the semiquavers in the right places, then the performers have to put some life back into it again!


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"I say I say I say I say, what's got three bottles and five eyes and no legs and two wheels"
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Ray Offline




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Posted: Mar. 03 2008, 12:48

Precisely.  I use to have this problem - i use to make Midi music using the play it in method - 1) I'm crap on a piano, 2) I use to try then to print out the music on music sheets and there were these whole string of linked demimoorequavers and other little tadpolie things all with lots of barrs on top - and I really couldnt understand what I had done wrong - then i found out about Qauntizing - which is the opposite of what Mike has to do - Quantising forces all the little tadpoles to line up in strict timing sequence - so you only see 4 tadpoles per bar if that is what beats your drum - so to speak.  If you don't quantize you get 15 tadpoles but most of them are linked by these little annoying wavy lines.  So although there are 15 you only play 4, proving that Music was invented by a woman!  I concluded that when i was 20.
:D
Ray  :cool:


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Looking out over the harbour in Peel.......
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