Flesh To Bones

This is a step closer to the first of my new music.
It's the scratchpad before all this MIDI information gets sent to my QY100.
The basic elements of the composition above were created in Seq24 which in itself is a wonderful musician's playground. This phase in Qtractor is all about seeing if the elements work together well enough to form patterns that will create the backing track for further work.
My next step is to add all the elements to the QY100 and create the patterns. I'm going to try to save the MIDI file to my SmartMedia card and see if I can extract the bits I need. If that doesn't work I'll record each phrase one at a time. It's all still a learning curve but at least it's not too steep.
Onward.

Hacking MIDI

It's been a long night.

I've been messing with the QY300 and associated peripherals for about 8 hours. The first job was to fit it with a virtual disk drive. It was advertised as plug and play which it certainly is. It's saving all the data into virtual drives so that I don't lose hours of work. The weird thing is that the drive isn't showing any files when I plug it into my Lubuntu laptop. In all fairness they are both using totally different file systems. That does't matter though because I've managed to get my laptop talking to the QY300 over USB to MIDI cables so it's all good.
The idea is to create new patterns on Seq24 and add them to the QY300 which will be the backing for my songs.
While I'm on the subject of QY's, the QY100's SmartMedia card is read perfectly well by Lubuntu so there's always the option of doubling songs back onto that before re-voicing with the Korg. It all sounds very complicated but it isn't really and bouncing MIDI files between devices (including my phone) gives me endless options for creating music. I have an OTG adaptor for my phone so I might try driving the QY300 with that tomorrow.
Now I know everything works it time to get down to the business of writing some music.
If only inspiration was as easy as MIDI!

I Can't Sing

My first post of 2019.
Sorry it's taken so long, I've been having trouble with my domain name supplier.

I've spent the last couple of weekends finalising my studio work flow. The forthcoming tracks will start life in Seq24. It's a simple MIDI sequencer but very useful for getting tracks off the ground in a very short amount of time. One advantage of Seq24 is that it exports the short patterns that make up a song individually. This is also useful for building styles on my Korg Liverpool.
The exported MIDI file gets loaded into Qtractor and the song is constructed there. I can then export the Qtractor MIDI file straight into the Korg and re-voice it ready to record into the R8. All good.
I want vocals on some of the tracks but I can't sing. There are auto-tuning options galore these days but the result wouldn't fit what I do anyway. I do like the sound of a Vocoder so I bought the Boss VO-1. It's rare that I don't rip something out of its packaging and play with it straight away but I'll wait until I'm recording vocals before messing with the Boss. I think I'll record special harmony tracks while I'm in Seq24 but they'll only be used with the VO-1.

I'm currently sequencing some D&B drums but I doubt I'll be recording much at 185bpm. They sound really good slowed right down. I'm also experimenting with chord sequences again, probably my favourite part of building tracks. It does take a long time because I constantly change the chord structures but I always end up with something I'm happy with so it's definitely worth the effort.
Due to the limited time I have don't expect a flurry of tracks soon but there should be a decent collection of work by 2020.
I want to get this right.

Somewhere In The MIDI

There are 3 modes to MIDI.
1. It works.
2. It doesn't work.
3. You have to patch it to make it work.

I've just spent an enjoyable hour and a half in mode 3. Sometimes mode 3 is a nightmare. No matter what you do it's always in mode 2 or trying to resolve itself to mode 2. When you finally get to mode 1 it's best to get your ideas recorded in the fastest possible time before you change a voicing and find yourself back in mode 2.
I say enjoyable because I went from mode 2 to 3 and then to 1 and messed with voicings and managed to stay in 1. All good.

I've spent the last few months rebuilding my late lamented studio. A few years ago I sold a lot of hardware because I was writing music in FL Studio but it's now been about 3 years since I owned a Windows PC and so I've been without both hardware and software.
I had a couple of choices. Firstly I could spend a significant amount of money on a new Windows PC and get FL Studio up and running or I could replace the hardware with updated kit for about the same price.
While I'm competent with both set-ups I went with the latter. I just thought it'd be more fun. I was right. Tonight I programmed my Yamaha MIDI sequencer and re-voiced the tracks with a Korg keyboard. It sounded great and while messing around I opened a few more sequencing doors. I've added some new ideas to my workflow.

In case you're interested the kit list is:

Yamaha QY300 - MIDI Sequencer and secondary sound bank.
Korg Liverpool (MicroArranger) - Sequencer and main sound bank.
Zoom R8 - 8 track recorder, sampler, drum sequencer and guitar fx.
Squire Precision Bass
Zoom B1on - Bass multi FX and looper.
Blue Moon electric 6 string guitar.
Ashbury baritone ukulele.

What I'm hoping to produce is some kind of techno bass jazz but we'll see about that.
Making music has never been a precise art.

Alternative Radio

UK radio stations on the whole are terrible.
Most FM stations are a complete waste of time. Radio 4 is an exception but only sometimes. AM is sparsely populated and so hit or miss as to be worth very little of my time. LW doesn't fare any better, RTE 252 is decent but reception is limited.

This is of course my opinion. Many people love listening to the same tunes on a roll interspersed with adverts. People like to phone into shows and give their opinion of the events of the day however irrelevant. They also like interacting via social media if only to listen back to what they've just typed. That's a little harsh but not wide of the mark.
What I'm looking for is educational material, in depth analysis and good investigative journalism. The BBC has this covered for the most part on Radio 4 but it seems to be dumbing itself down in recent years.
Radio 6 Music is OK most of the time when I have a digital radio nearby which tends to be only at home.

It's a sign of the times that we all want and to some extent expect personalised content. When I'm in the truck at night I listen to podcasts, occasionally Radio 4 or nothing. What I miss is the radio as a tool of exploration, of discovery, of surprise, shock or delight. At home I have so many radios that when one type runs out of options I switch to another and carry on the search. Even that's getting more difficult with digital noise deafening the bands.

What I needed in the truck for when the podcasts ran out, which they frequently do, was a scanner. I've spent these last 2 nights programming in frequencies to my new Uniden UBC125XLT. Scanners are great radios. Like fishing you prepare your rod, line and bait and then wait. Sometimes there's nothing to catch, other times you can be overwhelmed. The surprise element is always possible. The anticipation is probably the best part and if all else fails there's always aviation to keep you occupied. That's what the books behind the scanner are. One is a totally nerdy guide to Air Traffic Control for radio enthusiasts. The other is an official study guide for radio operation when learning to fly.
They're both probably a bit overkill but I do intend to understand what pilots are going on about when that's all there is to listen to.